A Chicagoan Oval Hole with a Unique Vibe
This Chicagoan Oval hole was fun to work on. One of my biggest critics (my wife!) says it’s her favorite guitar that I’ve made so far. The ebony binding against the lightly stained natural body wood provides such a beautiful contrast. The x-braced Carpathian top features an oval sound hole that is bound with a fine mother of pearl ring and the same purfling lines that outline the body. All the appointments here are carved from Macassar Ebony which help give it a beautiful warmth both visually and aurally. In mid-2019 I added a Barbera Saddle pickup as well as a fingerrest with a stealth volume control to give this instrument a lot more versatility for its owner. Here are the guitar’s specs:
2015 Chicagoan Oval hole
- Select Romanian (Carpathian) spruce top
- Select Romanian Maple back and sides
- Cutaway
- X-braced
- Flame maple laminated neck with bone nut width of 1.75″ , C Shape profile (.8375” @3rd fret)
- Macassar Ebony fingerboard with scale length 25″
- Ebony headstock face veneer
- Macassar Ebony veneer on rear of headstock
- Macassar Ebony heal cap
- Macassar Ebony bindings
- Medium jumbo frets
- Tab fingerboard inlays
- Personal rear headstock inlay, “espresso art”
- Ebony bound rossette ring with Mother of pearl detail
- Waverly tuners, nickel, with ebony buttons
- Hand cut compensated, ebony adjustable bridge and fittings
- Finish, gloss lacquer, matte-rubbed finish on neck
- Barbera Saddle Pickup with volume under fingerest
- Custom fit Hoffee carbon fiber case
Koentopp Chicagoan Front and Back
Heel with Macassar Ebony cap
Purfling detail
Rosette and Spruce top
Back, Sides, and Ebony Binding
Barbera Saddle pickup with volume control, hidden and padded wires, and custom side wire clips.
Picture with added ebony fingerrest
Tags: acoustic, archtop, archtop guitar, art of luthiery, Best Archtop, boutique, boutique guitar, Chicagoan Oval Hole, Constructing oval hole rossette, custom archtop, Guitar, guitar builder, Guitar Construction, Guitar making, hand made, jazz, jazz guitar, Koentopp Chicagoan, Koentopp Guitars, Los Angelas, Luthier, The art of Lutherie
Danny,
Thank you for allowing me this grand opportunity. The whole process was enjoyable and right on schedule. My guitar has a very distinct ( in your face ) presence unlike any other guitar I own.
My technique has taken a very nice enhancement because all spectrum of sound is now heard, simply everything matters because everything is projected evenly forward.
Playing your guitar demands bringing it with you in all areas of form and posture, all movement will have an effect on a defined expression of interpretation.
This guitar has awoken something inside of me to dig deeper in exploration of what can be? I hear every song in a different dimension of possibilities.
I will be 56 years old in 2016 and get very excited when something causes self examination on my journey through expression.
Sincerely,
Alfonso Cavazos