Custom Built Solid Body Archtop Electric Guitar - The Phoenix

I got to meet with Dweezil Zappa and he played this at a soundcheck. He had it plugged into the wrong jack for the acoustic section through his rig, and he looked at me and said “what’s wrong with this?” He plugged it into the proper jack after I corrected him, and played some of Frank’s music. He was blown away by the sound of this instrument. People asked me “where did you get this?” And I answered honestly that I made it in my basement. Many guitarists have said it is the most beautiful and the best sounding guitar they have ever seen and played in their life.

My electric arch-top design combines the electric sound of a solid body and the acoustic sound of an arch top. Most of the body is chambered and hollowed. This guitar has four transducers located around the neck, body and bridge to give it a sound like no other guitar on the market. It has two separate jacks so it can be played through two separate amps or channels while recording.

It is quite a versatile instrument for any type of music. It is a one-of-a-kind built in memory of my guitar teacher James D’Aquisto who had one sitting on his bench when I met him in Farmingdale, Long Island. I wanted to pay homage to him by creating this beauty, which took at least 800 hours to build.