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ca. 1957 Vega E-201

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Serial #: 10428, white Boston label

Body size at lower bout: 16" Scale length: 25" Nut Width: 1 11/16"

Finish: Original sunburst finish, nitrocellulose type

Materials: Quartersawn bookmatched solid carved spruce soundboard; arched flame maple back and sides; solid Honduras mahogany neck; Brazilian rosewood fingerboard with mother of pearl inlay; bound fingerboard; triple-bound top

Hardware: Original hardware includes nickel trapeze tailpiece, adjustable deco-style rosewood bridge, open-back nickel tuners; recent bound 5-ply tortoise pickguard with Kent Armstrong adjustable floating Alnico single coil pickup with volume control, and 1/4 jack mounted under guard.

Notes: If you've looked for a vintage carved top cutaway with a 16" body, you know how hard they are to find. Add the graceful rounded Venetian cutaway to your wish list, and your options narrow fast. Real fast. To one guitar, in fact: that pretty one to your right. Vega introduced its first archtops in 1933, but didn't produce its first cutaway until 1949. This guitar is a rare example of that later production, and boasts a solid carved bookmatched spruce top, an adjustable trussrod, and a fast, contemporary neck profile. Built circa 1957, this example is in wonderful condition, with excellent original frets, original tuners and tailpiece, and it's gleaming tobacco sunburst finish. It's handsome bound tortoise pickguard is fitted with a Kent Armstrong floating Alnico pickup, which produces the classic single coil sound reminiscent of the DeArmond model 1100 or Gibson P-90.

Best of all, it's really fun to play. The comfortable 16" body is a joy to hold, and is a size recently rediscovered by top contemporary builders like Gilchrist, Andersen and others. The fast 25" Johnny Smith scale makes for faster solos and smoother stretch chords. One of the rarest American carved-top cutaways, the Vega is an outstanding value in a true hand built jazz box from the Wes Montgomery era.

Setup: The frets have been precision leveled, recrowned and polished; trussrod tension and neck relief adjusted; bridge height adjusted; bridge compensation set; string slots at nut and bridge inspected and recut as necessary; bridge foot contour inspected and fit to top as necessary; bridge radius inspected and recurved as necessary; bridgewheels and tuners lubricated; fingerboard and bridge oiled; body and neck cleaned and hand polished.

This instrument is strung with medium gauge bronze strings (.013-.056). The guitar will accommodate lighter or heavier gauge strings, according to preference. String action is set at 5/64" to 6/64" at the 12th fret, with moderate relief for acoustic playing with medium strings. The action may be lowered or raised to your requirements with the adjustable bridge.

Case: Deluxe black arched plush lined hardshell case.

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