This guitar was custom built for my friend Nick. He named her ‘Maria.’ He told me what type of sound he wanted and I worked to incorporate all of that into his guitar. I remembered what D’Acquisto told me when I met him, that the sound you’re trying to create is all about feeling. I used that wisdom when creating the sound Nick wanted in this instrument. That feeling is all about choices of woods, thickness of the wood, density of the wood, grainings and beauty. Nick was thrilled when he finally received ‘Maria’ and said this guitar was a dream come true. Al Di Meola played this and did a ripping solo across the whole fingerboard, smiled and said “nice!” It was an incredible moment in my career.