Home / Instruments /Accessories / Ordering / Tips / Friends

archtop.com

1995 Lacey Premier Custom

Status: For pricing and hold status for this instrument, please check our Instruments page here. If this instrument does not appear on the Instruments page it has been sold, and is no longer available. Photos and descriptions of Previously Sold instruments may by found here. To be notified of examples of this or any other model in the future, please contact [email protected].

Serial #: 0030, dated 1/18/95, signed by the maker

Nut Width: 1 11/16" Scale Length: 25 1/2" Body size: 17" Body depth: 3 1/4"

Finish: Amber blonde finish, nitrocellulose type

Materials: Solid bookmatched handcarved quartersawn spruce top; solid tiger flame maple neck and body; solid ebony fingerboard; multiply binding; polished bone nut.

Hardware: All original dark ebony hardware includes contoured tailpiece, bound stairstep pickguard, compensated adjustable bridge. Gold Grover Imperial tuners; engraved pearl truss rod cover, Benedetto S-6 humbucking pickup with volume and tone controls, endpin jack.

Notes: Among the most accomplished of modern American luthiers, Mark Lacey began his career in the mid-70's in London, building renaissance and baroque stringed instruments. After stints with Gruhn and Bill Lawrence, Lacey opened his own shop, first in LA and then in Nashville, where he currently resides. His artist roster has included notable jazzers like Herb Ellis, Howard Alden and Bruce Forman, and other artists including Jackson Browne, Stevie Ray Vaughn and Paul McCartney. Influenced by D'Angelico and D'Aquisto as well as the Gibson classics, Lacey has earned a reputation as one of the world's premier builders of the archtop guitar.

This spectacular instrument was built when Lacey was planning a book project on archtop guitar construction, with this guitar featured as the star of the show. Begun in 1993 (the date inscribed in the solid pearl truss rod cover), this full depth 17" Venetian cutaway guitar is built in the style of the legendary D'Angelico Excel, one of the most iconic guitars of the classic era. Though the book was never finished, this stunning guitar was the happy result, completed over the course of some two years, (as indicated by the label, which includes the inscription 'Book".)

Formerly owned by noted recording artist Bruce Forman, this remarkable guitar weighs in at a mere 5lb. 10oz., one of the lightest contemporary archtops we've ever had the pleasure to play. Open and deeply resonant, the finely graduated tap-tuned X-braced soundboard produces an exceptionally rich voice, with remarkable depth and resonance, and volume to burn. Lacey's meticulous attention to detail is evident throughout, from the multi-ply grained ivoroid binding to the engraved art deco mother of pearl truss rod cover. Even the pickguard is a faithful recreation of the D'Angelico original, with its signature stairstep profile.

The body is crafted of outstanding AAA bookmatched tiger flame maple of highly symmetrical figure, and the neck profile is a marvel of playability, with a gentle "D" profile that is sleek and surpassingly comfortable in the hand. The guitar is in splendid 100% original condition, with all original finish and electronics, including the floating Benedetto S-6 humbucking pickup. Free of pick, buckle, thumb or fingerboard wear, the instrument shows few signs of play altogether, apart from a few traces of incidental finish checking, mostly near the pickguard.

We've said it before: one can spend many times the price, and not find a finer archtop guitar. One only: call now.

Setup: This instrument is strung with medium gauge nickel roundwound strings (.012-.054). 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 for acoustic playing with medium strings. The action may be lowered or raised to your requirements with the adjustable bridge.

Case: Deluxe lightweight arched molded plush lined hardshell case.

Home / Instruments /Accessories / Ordering / Tips / Friends