Tucker Barrett Koa Luma 5-string electric violin

Here's a beautiful 5-string Luma electric violin in highly figured koa wood, built by Tucker Barrett of Vermont.  

Barrett made well-regarded electric violins for 25 years, and the Luma model was his pièce de résistance. Unlike his earlier Anchor stick fiddles, the Luma features carved, resonating back and top plates like an acoustic violin, open at the sides and connected by a series of posts. Its streamlined, sexy, futuristic profile sets it apart, as does the Barbera Transducer Systems multi-transducer bridge, which delivers excellent tone with warmth, presence, and ample character. Few Lumas were produced, and they tend to inspire jealous devotion among those lucky enough to own one, including professional artists like Seattle's Geoffrey Castle.  

The plates and the Barbera pickup combine to produce plenty of "air" in the tone, yielding a sound that's close to that of an acoustic but slightly more aggressive, and of course friendly to effects pedals and so forth. Check out the demo video—it's a maple Luma model but matches this one in all other respects.  

I prefer the Luma to any production-model, solidbody electric violin being offered today. I'd rather play it than any Zeta or Mark Wood I've ever tried, and it's in a completely different class from the Fenders, Yamahas, and dozens of cheap Asian-made brands currently clogging up the market. This is a handmade, boutique-built, professional-grade instrument, and could well be the last electric violin you will ever need.
This one has been played a lot. There's a spot of thumb wear on the back of the neck below the scroll, and some wear on the plates, particularly along the edge of the bottom bout on the back plate, where the instrument would have come in contact with the player's shoulder.

Why so few of them? Well, Tucker Barrett ceased production of new instruments in 2006, and strictly does repairs now. So there won't be any more Lumas. They are rarely seen and tend to go fast. I am offering it with a case and a basic bow.