Frank Di Leone Tenor Guitar 1940s - Natural - Classical

Hoo boy that lower bout, amirite!?

Player grade. I've been quite pleased with it, but have to get rid of a few things before our move this July.

That said, this plays as it should with decent action.

The caveat is that this is clearly built to be a machine for playing classical music. There is so much top on this thing that when it's attacked, it just vibrates furiously and can't seem handle it. It sounds great playing simple progressions/ picked, but again, this is probably not for flat picking / bluegrass. I guess the floating bridge should also provide that clue. :)

All mahogany. I believe it to be 40s. The dudes at Upton Bass helped me out with some info on the builder. Apparently he typically altered other instruments, swapping tops/ changing carves on double basses etc. To my eyes, this looks like a solo build, and it has his label in it. I don't know for sure, but this definitely seems like an extremely well performed, albeit understated, one-off build. Either way, the builder clearly had some nice materials to work with on this one.

It does look as if someone reset the neck very slightly cattywompus. Rather than reset the neck again, I had the bridge moved about 1/4". The top center line was also basically split when I got it so I had it repaired. The crack is still clearly visible, but is a solid, professional, no frills repair. Again, this is not a showpiece but very functional as a massive tenor.

As should be obvious, this is not a museum piece, but it's an awesome box. It has definitely been played. Someone clearly whaled on this old girl. In perfect condition it would be priced much higher. The builders double basses fetch upwards of 10k.

Overall, a beautiful luthier-built tenor with some scars.

Comes with a new molded Gator case that fits it nicely.

I will try to post a video/ sound sample in the next few days.

Please ask any questions prior to purchase, we're moving in a few months and I'm not accepting any returns. If you're in the Philly area, you're welcome to come play it.

Thanks for looking!