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1979 Benedetto Supreme
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Serial #: 3079, Clearwater, FL label, hand signed by the maker. Body size at lower bout: 18" Body Depth: 3 1/4" Scale length: 25 1/2" Nut: 1.69" Neck depth, 1st/10th frets: .79/.90
Materials: Solid hand graduated tap-tuned Adirondack spruce top; handcarved birdseye maple back and sides; 5 piece curly maple neck; quilted elm burl headstock facing; walnut reverse headstock overlay and heelcap; walnut and elm burl end graft; Paua abalone inlaid african ebony fingerboard, headstock logo and floral back inlay; 7-ply body binding; 5-ply neck, headstock, and f-hole binding; polished bone nut.
Hardware: All original gold hardware includes DeArmond 1100 floating Adjustable Rhythm Chief pickup with volume control, and 1/4" endpin jack, Grover Imperial tuners; abalone inlaid floral motif ebony tailpiece, pickguard and bridge.
Notes: One of the rarest offerings from Bob Benedetto's own Clearwater, Florida workshop, the Supreme model was the pinnacle of his personally hand crafted archtop guitars. Offered only from 1978 to 1982, the Supreme ranked above Benedetto's current top line Cremona model, and was so limited in production that only eight examples ever left the maestro's workbench. Bob's 30th hand crafted archtop, this staggering example was originally built for guitarist and instructor Carl Trollinger, a popular performer around Pennsylvania's Lehigh Valley.
With its eye-popping Paua abalone tree-of-life fingerboard inlay, the guitar's floral motif extends from the sumptuously decorated peghead to its African ebony tailpiece, including the bound ebony pickguard, and the instrument back, just below the heelcap, making it certainly one of the most ornate Benedetto guitars ever built.
In the construction of traditional archtop guitars, curly or flame maple is by far the most common varietal, followed by maple with quilted figure, and blister or bubble maple, as seen on some finer archtops of the postwar era. And then there is birdseye, the rarest of the bunch. Found occasionally in upmarket parlor guitars and banjos, this striking variety is notoriously hard to work, and vanished almost entirely in instruments built after the First World War.
A full-depth 18" super jumbo archtop, the body is positively aboil with intensely figured birdseye in the back and sides, with a five piece curly maple neck with walnut centerstripes. The hand graduated, tap-tuned soundboard is crafted of bookmatched Adirondack spruce, showing the typical reddish grain throughout. Built by Bob entirely by hand, this magnificent guitar shows unique appointments, including the raised walnut overlay on the reverse headstock, and the marvelously art-deco walnut and elm burl end graft surrounding the endpin. The sound holes are slightly larger than on later models, and the headstock logo is faced in figured Carpathian elm burl, like the dashboard of a vintage British luxury sedan. Even the truss rod cover is crafted of shimmering solid mother of pearl.
This striking instrument has been maintained in splendid condition, without cracks, pick, buckle, thumb or fingerboard wear, and is happily free of checking its lustrous, warmly ambered natural blonde finish. Apart from a few scattered lacquer nicks, this carefully maintained instrument shows few signs of play for its long career. The tap-tuned, X-braced soundboard is meticulously hand graduated. Aged almost half a century, it lends the voice a brilliant clarity, detail and resonance, all transmitted faithfully to the amp through the coveted original DeArmond 1100 Adjustable Rhythm Chief pickup. The gentle D profile neck sits easily in the hand, with smooth low action over a fresh high-precision setup.
A true masterwork of contemporary luthiery, this noted guitar has been featured in a national television profile of the maker, and in a number of publications, including a 2001 profile in Just Jazz Guitar Magazine. Written by noted performer and author Robert Yellin, he described the guitar as the ultimate guitar in his personal collection. (A copy of the article is included, along with the original deluxe Harptone plush lined hardshell case, with black Cordura covering.)
A rose by any other name could never sound so sweet. And they'll never be another. A peerless prize for the player and collector alike: one only, call now.
Setup: This instrument is strung with medium gauge nickel roundwound strings. The guitar will accommodate lighter or heavier gauge strings, according to preference. String action is set at 4/64" to 5/64" at the 12th fret, with moderate relief. The action may be lowered or raised to your requirements with the adjustable bridge.
