D'Aquisto Jim Hall Model 1983 Tawny Sunburst

D'Aquisto "Jim Hall" Model 1982

I purchased this REAL D'Aquisto from Mandolin Bros. in 2005.  It has been kept in my humidity controlled studio since at 45% humidity.  I replaced the tuners with a new set of Grovers like it originally came.  I also replaced the black pickup in the photos with a gold Lindy Fralin PAF Humbucker (shown in the last photo).  The guitar is 16" wide and 3"deep.

Sorry, but I'm not interested in a trade.

The info below is how the guitar was listed on the Mandolin Bros. website.

#101, signed 2/23/82, special laminated body electric archtop cutaway, in very good to excellent condition with original Harptone hard shell case.

In addition to making acoustic archtop guitars Jimmy D’Aquisto made some built-in pickup hollow body guitar suitable for the jazz musician who played with a band, who was required to play loud when amplified, and who wished to eschew (Gesundheit) feedback.   To this end he built his own laminated wood bodies and decorated these instruments similarly to an Excel.   This guitar, for example, has the same open headstock architecture as one might find on a 1989 Excel. Its ebony overlain, crème and black bordered with crème outermost headstock is inlaid with a large “D’Aquisto” mother of pearl script logo, and under that a diagonally positioned banner (mother of pearl with etching) that at the center reads “D’Aquisto.” Just below the banner is a whale-tail shaped ebony truss rod cover held in place, at the bottom, with two gold screws. Jimmy hand-signed the back of the guitar in pen and ink, dated it, serialized it. This can be seen through the bass f-hole, when the guitar is angled.  

This guitar’s arched face proffers twin graceful, non-traditional S-shaped  soundholes and an elevated ebony pickguard.  Features include a crème bound ebony fingerboard, inlaid with 6 large mother of pearl blocks and measuring a generous 1.775” at the nut. The string spacing at the bridge is 2”, the scale length is short at 24.9”.   Its tawny sunburst face, sides, back and neck is un-figured maple.  Both the top and the back are bordered in four plies of crème and black.

Its tuners are gold-plated Grovers with sealed backs, with metal buttons. The heel cap is ivoroid, and has a chip missing; the bridge is the massively carved ebony two-piece designed by this most honored builder, and the hinged tailpiece is, in keeping with the D’Aquisto tradition, Macassar (striped) ebony with a hinged black-chrome end piece. Although certainly very good to excellent condition, this does not preclude it from showing signs that it was played – a few small scratches, dings and minute scuffs.  Mounted in the neck position, the pickup, has a black plastic surround. In the lower treble quadrant are two large black ebony rotary knobs and a black coil tap switch.  Even though this guitar has a neck that’s width-worthy of the finest fingerstyle (chord voicings) jazz guitarist, the back of the neck is low profile.  

Students of his work know that D’Aquisto’s hollow electric #110 (dated 5/20/83) was made for Jim Hall and some people call examples of this type a “Jim Hall” model.  Jim Hall’s laminated hollow body was the last Electric Jimmy entered in that book. We count a total of 43 of this type of guitar entered in his log.  The names of artists who purchased D’Aquisto guitars is a Who’s Who of American music:   Jay Berliner, Carl Thompson, Tony Mattola, Gene Bertoncini, Jim Hall, Mel Bay, Paul Simon, Mundel Lowe, Gary Larson, Robert Gordon, Akira Tsumura, Woody Mann, Paul Schmidt (who wrote the book on D’Angelico and D’Aquisto), Steve Martin, Barry Kornfeld, Janis Ian, and our own John Zagami and Peter Rogine. In owning this guitar, you will be adding your own name to this cross-section of jazz history – those who were lucky enough to own a D’Aquisto.

As one would expect from James D’Aquisto – this guitar, even laminated, is a paean to the consummate artistry of a world-class professional – a musical instrument made by a visionary builder who, because he died so young, was never was able to properly bask in the aubade* – the limitless luminosity and international intensity of his success.   His work and his reputation are a supernova in a universe of bright giants.     

I attached a link to a YouTube video about Jimmy D'Aquisto and Jim Hall that's great.  Worth watching.

I'll be happy to answer any questions.  Yes, that last photo is George Benson playing this guitar with me playing my Andersen Vanguard that is also for sale on this site.

I have this guitar listed for sale locally and reserve the right to cancel this listing at any time.

Please visit my store and check out my other listings.