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Benedetto seven-string jazz box (first one made)


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Egalitarian article I penned for the al.com website about the owner of a Benedetto seven-string guitar. The website is a consortium of the largest newspapers in Birmingham, Huntsville, and Mobile; reportedly the state's biggest news source:

 
 
Your comments invited.
 
WGM
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Polly Harrison is a Jazz legend in San Antonio. I always thought she had the first 7 string Benedetto but perhaps not. I know she's been playing that thing since the early nineties. 

Polly Harrison.jpg

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22 hours ago, gtrdaddy said:

Good article Willie. I’m a big Pat Martino and Bucky Pizzarelli fan. I’ve always loved the tone of Benedettos. Amazing guitars.

Great article!

I caught Bucky at Raritan Valley Community College (NJ) in 1994 or 95. It was a very laid back wine and cheese affair - picnic tables on the stage with a small one step riser. Just Bucky and an electric bass, with 40 or so people, mostly folks he'd known for decades, a few feet away. I was 16, and had only been playing for a few years, and this was my first live jazz 'concert.'

"Gee, thanks - now I have to go home and start all over!" I can't believe that was my reaction when I got the chance to meet him after he had finished playing, but I guess I thought it was an appropriate way to introduce myself to a local legend.

He chuckled, then said, "Oh! You play! Here ya go..." He turned around and picked up the guitar from its stand, and held it out to me with both hands.

I stood there, dumbfounded and overwhelmed, for what felt like 30 seconds before I regained control of my body and some semblance of speech. "What's it tuned to?" All I could manage was a near whisper as I took the gorgeous archtop and looked at the seventh string as I moved my hand up and down the neck to get a feel for the extra width.

He told me it was an A, so I played an A major in a couple different positions. The whole instrument came to life with that extra octave, and I could feel every bit of it vibrating in an almost startling fashion, from the neck in my hand to the top under my forearm and the back against my chest! I had no idea a guitar could respond to a simple cowboy chord like that! It practically jumped when I strummed it! I began examining the guitar, looking at every perfect detail as I tried to understand what voodoo was at play here, making this >$20K guitar a form of life while a $2K guitar was just a really nice instrument. I looked in the f hole and saw the label on the back. "Benedetto Guitars, Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania," followed by a message in faded #2 pencil. "To my friend Bucky, from Bob." Whoa! I held my nose up to the f hole and inhaled.

Seeing this, Bucky threw his head back and laughed. "You just got a Martin, didn't you?" I turned beet-red. It was true! I'd just bought my D35, and couldn't help myself! What's a Benedetto smell like???

"Yes, sir. Got a D35 a few months ago. Thank you for letting me look at your guitar!" I handed it back to him, shook his hand, and made for the exit (I had school the next day, and my parents had work). I knew I would never be able to afford such a fine instrument... I'd have to learn to build them!

When I decided to return to England in 2001 to build my first archtop with Norman Reed (under whose tutelage I'd made my first acoustic in 1997), I struck up a great email correspondence with Bob. He was so generous with his time and knowledge, answering my questions about design evolution and construction techniques (I had his book already) and discussing Jimmy D'Aquisto with me and the similarities and differences in their designs and philosophies. He even set up an afternoon in Manhattan with a high-end broker for me to examine some of his and Jimmy's instruments and compare them to legendary designs like an original early L5, an early D'Angelico New Yorker and a later Excel, and a few from other current luthiers. His enthusiasm about passing on that knowledge to someone who was just beginning their journey by putting me in a position to see and play those guitars is a debt I can never repay.

I owe my interest in luthierie to Bucky and Bob. Someday, I'll get the shop set up again.

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