A Chicagoan for Eduardo Mercuri
This was a very fun build. Eduardo visited the shop a number of times, once before the guitar was being built, where we picked through some old tonewood, and then once in the middle; at the time when the neck joined the body and he could really feel the life of the guitar coming together. We built the neck around his desired specifications and I voiced the guitar to be articulate, clear, and balanced. Eduardo wanted a guitar he could play gigs with, record with, and I wanted to make him a guitar that would push him and inspire him as a player. If you haven’t checked out Eduardo’s work, do yourself a favor. He’s brilliant! (link to Eduardo Mercuri )
2023 Chicagoan (#084) Specifications
- 17″ Lower Bout, 2.625″ depth
- X Braced
- German Spruce Top
- Romanian Maple Back and Sides
- One piece flamed Maple neck
- Body and neck bound in flamed maple and purfling
- 1.72″ Bone Nut Width
- 12″ Fingerboard Radius
- 25.25″ scale
- Indian Ebony Fingerboard
- Elliptical side position markers in Ebony
- Rear Headstock veneer in Macassar Ebony
- Carved Ebony Tailpiece
- Carved and compensated, adjustable Ebony bridge
- Gotoh 510 HAP tuners with Ebony buttons
- Oil varnish finish
- Ron Ellis LRP humbucker
#084 Chicagoan
#084 Well aged German Spruce top
#084 Close up of fhole and signature
#084 Fhole
#084 Fhole trim and binding detail
#084 Cutaway horn and Ron Ellis LRP Humbucker
#084 Front Lower Bout
#084 Close up of Fhole binding
#084 Extension with position markers
#084 Headstock Face
#084 Headstock rear face in Macassar Ebony
#084 Neck shaft, rubbed oil finish
#084 Custom knobs with embossed detail
#084 Close up of Ron Ellis LRP Humbucker and ebony finger rest
#084 Hand cut and compensated ebony bridge
#084 Ebony tailpiece with personal “Ararucaria” tree inlay, a native tree from Brazil.
#084 Wonderful figured Romanian Maple with contrasting maple binding
#084 “Blackbird” shot
#084 Waist
Tags: acoustic archtop, archtop, Archtop Art, chicagoan, Eduardo Mercuri, hand made, jazz guitar, professional archtop, Ron Ellis, The art of Lutherie, the best archtop, The Blue Guitar
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