Di Mauro Special Chorus De Luxe Late 1940's to Early 1950's - Natural

from a similar listing at Djangobooks.com:

Antoine Di Mauro was part of the mass emigration of master Sicilian luthiers (Oliveri, Anastasio, etc) who left Catania in the early 20th century. In the 1930s Di Mauro and his countrymen setup a series of shops on the East side of Paris and quickly adapted their skills to making jazz guitars in the Selmer Maccaferri style. Di Mauro was certainly one of the most successful and long lasting of these Franco-Sicilian luthiers as his guitars were widely adopted by players of many styles. Di Mauro guitars were produced continuously until the early 90s, first by Antoine and then later by his son Joseph. Notable players include Django Reinhardt, Moreno, Boulou Ferre, Patrick Saussois, Samy Daussat, Jean-Yves Dubanton, and even Pat Metheny!

Of all the models Di Mauro produced, the Special Chorus is easily their most well known design. A hybrid of American archtop and Selmer Maccaferri designs, the Special Chorus combines the Maccaferri style body and bent top with archtop style F soundholes. The result is a guitar that has the acoustic power of a traditional Gypsy guitar but with the midrange focus and clarity of an archtop.

This is the de luxe version of the Special Chorus, hence it was built with the highest quality materials and features more ornate details then you'll find on Di Mauro's more pedestrian models. The back and sides are maple, the top is spruce, and the neck is built by combing maple with a rosewood spline for reinforcement. Aesthetic upgrades include the diamond shaped inlays, ivoroid side and soundhole binding, an ivoroid arm rest and sunburst finish.

This guitar is in Good "Restored" condition, showing signs of moderate playwear and careful storage and restoration. In our estimation, after the restoration was completed, this example may be one of the finest Special Chorus De Luxe examples that has ever come to market. The neck was replaned was refretted at Keith Holland Guitars by the human-PLEK-machine, Jaxson Cottrell, with 6100 fretwire. The tuning machines have been upgraded to NOS Maurice DuPont units. The tailpiece has been upgraded to a handmade brass tailpiece crafted by Killy Nonis. This instrument was tirelessly set-up by the techs at Keith Holland Guitars and by Ron LaFrance of LaFrance Luthiers. The reverse of the neck has been sanded to the wood for maximum comfort and playability.

The top of the body shows some professionally repaired cracks above and below the F-Holes. There is noticeable pick wear in the picking area. There is finish checking on the top and on the sides of the body. Some areas on the top that showed wood breakthrough have been touched-up with lacquer pen. The reverse of the body shows some light checking and a small area of belt worming. The neck has been sanded to bare wood, as it arrived in its original state with a heavy & sticky gloss coating. The armrest is original to this instrument and shows some lifting only at the ends. A wooden strap peg has been added to the tail of the body. It is not known whether the bridge is original to this instrument, however it was professionally seated to the top by Ron LaFrance of LaFrance Luthiers. A small area of binding on the treble side of the body was restored by Robert Alan Witmeyer. The neck heel has a very slight gap but was deemed structurally stable by Keith Holland. The tip of the headstock shows a small area of delamination but was also deemed structurally stable by Keith Holland. Should you require more photos of this guitar, please contact us via Reverb or directly at the shop.

Flamed Maple Back & Sides

Spruce Top

Maple Neck with Rosewood Insert

Rosewood Fingerboard

"Louisville Slugger" Neck Profile

Diamond & Dot Inlays

Replaned/Refretted at KHG with 6100 Frets

Brass Tailpiece crafted by Killy Nonis

Maurice DuPont NOS Tuning Machines

Bridge Professionally Seated by LaFrance Luthiers

Multi-Ply Top Binding & Single Bound F-Holes & Back

Original Ivoroid Arm Rest

25 3/4" Scale

7.25" Radius

1 3/4" Nut Width

4lbs