cmatthes Posted May 14, 2021 Posted May 14, 2021 I had a fantastic, COVID-safe visit to Shishkov HQ over the weekend. Always a great hang with Mike and Trish, and I always learn something too. Digging through the Archives, Mike pulled out an amazing piece of musical craftsmanship that simply dazzled me. if you’ve never seen a superbly-crafted 10-string Jazzbox before, well, you’re not alone! Several years ago, Mike designed and custom-built this beauty for an internationally renowned 10-string jazz player. Spectacular flamed maple neck, back and sides, a flawless Adirondack Spruce top, and amazingly, Mike fashioned the trim, fingerboard and hand carved bridge and tailpiece and pickguard from dark Brazilian Rosewood. This guitar is amazingly light, and super resonant. Dual truss rods, because, well, it’s a 10-string! Every part but the tuners and jack was custom fabricated for this guitar. Where does one find a pickup for a 10-string Jazzbox? Well, you carve a form out of a block of wood with the precise string spacing and have it wound by Kent Armstrong himself, of course! The pics don’t really capture the beauty of the finish/burst on this one, but it looks 3 ft. deep in person, and the tort binding really sets it off. Note that the pink burst Archtop was one MIke built for his daughter. I’ve played 7 and 8 string guitars before, and it’s easy to get lost below that low B-string, but I was honestly out of my element on this one - a third hand would have, uh, come in handy! Seriously, this thing is a BEAST, and I’d love to see it in the hands of somebody who knows what she or he is doing! Truly amazing work...
0054 Posted May 14, 2021 Posted May 14, 2021 That is ten tons of beauty, wow. Also forgot to ask about Linberger.
specialk Posted May 14, 2021 Posted May 14, 2021 Jeebus! Love to hear something on it, but I'd hate being the one responsible for playing it. About 9 strings too many 😁
G Man Posted May 14, 2021 Posted May 14, 2021 Damn! That is HAWT!!!!! I'd love to see the likes of Charlie Hunter give it a spin. That headstock, whooo boy.
cmatthes Posted May 14, 2021 Author Posted May 14, 2021 I’m just glad that MIke didn’t shoot any video of me playing that one plugged in.
Travis Posted May 14, 2021 Posted May 14, 2021 1 hour ago, cmatthes said: I had a fantastic, COVID-safe visit to Shishkov HQ over the weekend. Always a great hang with Mike and Trish, and I always learn something too. Digging through the Archives, Mike pulled out an amazing piece of musical craftsmanship that simply dazzled me. if you’ve never seen a superbly-crafted 10-string Jazzbox before, well, you’re not alone! Several years ago, Mike designed and custom-built this beauty for an internationally renowned 10-string jazz player. Spectacular flamed maple neck, back and sides, a flawless Adirondack Spruce top, and amazingly, Mike fashioned the trim, fingerboard and hand carved bridge and tailpiece and pickguard from dark Brazilian Rosewood. This guitar is amazingly light, and super resonant. Dual truss rods, because, well, it’s a 10-string! Every part but the tuners and jack was custom fabricated for this guitar. Where does one find a pickup for a 10-string Jazzbox? Well, you carve a form out of a block of wood with the precise string spacing and have it wound by Kent Armstrong himself, of course! The pics don’t really capture the beauty of the finish/burst on this one, but it looks 3 ft. deep in person, and the tort binding really sets it off. Note that the pink burst Archtop was one MIke built for his daughter. I’ve played 7 and 8 string guitars before, and it’s easy to get lost below that low B-string, but I was honestly out of my element on this one - a third hand would have, uh, come in handy! Seriously, this thing is a BEAST, and I’d love to see it in the hands of somebody who knows what she or he is doing! Truly amazing work...
kizanski Posted May 14, 2021 Posted May 14, 2021 4 minutes ago, cmatthes said: I’m just glad that MIke didn’t shoot any video of me playing that one plugged in. We'll discuss you passing my house multiple times in the past few months and not giving me a heads up offline.
Jakeboy Posted May 15, 2021 Posted May 15, 2021 Wow... my musical collaborator AC is a true jazz guy at heart.....he would KILL with this thing. Simple rocker and blues player that I am, I’d just get lost with anything below the 6th E string...
ptm1diver Posted May 15, 2021 Posted May 15, 2021 Question, If it was built for a jazz musician years ago, why does Mike still have it? Beautiful guitar, but does it come in a 12 string bass version? 😁
0054 Posted May 15, 2021 Posted May 15, 2021 http://lostartvintage.com/Categoryinfo.aspx?categoryid=8&categoryitem=143&itemid=727&country=us Always thought these were cool too. Shhh dont tell Mike, lol. Beautiful!
django49 Posted May 15, 2021 Posted May 15, 2021 36 minutes ago, 0054 said: http://lostartvintage.com/Categoryinfo.aspx?categoryid=8&categoryitem=143&itemid=727&country=us Always thought these were cool too. Shhh dont tell Mike, lol. Beautiful! Man.....If there was anything that might knock me off my "Do not buy any more guitars" stance, that would be it.
HSB0531 Posted November 17, 2021 Posted November 17, 2021 On 5/14/2021 at 12:49 PM, cmatthes said: I had a fantastic, COVID-safe visit to Shishkov HQ over the weekend. Always a great hang with Mike and Trish, and I always learn something too. Digging through the Archives, Mike pulled out an amazing piece of musical craftsmanship that simply dazzled me. if you’ve never seen a superbly-crafted 10-string Jazzbox before, well, you’re not alone! Several years ago, Mike designed and custom-built this beauty for an internationally renowned 10-string jazz player. Spectacular flamed maple neck, back and sides, a flawless Adirondack Spruce top, and amazingly, Mike fashioned the trim, fingerboard and hand carved bridge and tailpiece and pickguard from dark Brazilian Rosewood. This guitar is amazingly light, and super resonant. Dual truss rods, because, well, it’s a 10-string! Every part but the tuners and jack was custom fabricated for this guitar. Where does one find a pickup for a 10-string Jazzbox? Well, you carve a form out of a block of wood with the precise string spacing and have it wound by Kent Armstrong himself, of course! The pics don’t really capture the beauty of the finish/burst on this one, but it looks 3 ft. deep in person, and the tort binding really sets it off. Note that the pink burst Archtop was one MIke built for his daughter. I’ve played 7 and 8 string guitars before, and it’s easy to get lost below that low B-string, but I was honestly out of my element on this one - a third hand would have, uh, come in handy! Seriously, this thing is a BEAST, and I’d love to see it in the hands of somebody who knows what she or he is doing! Truly amazing work... These two guitars I appreciate more than the solid bodies, because they Really show Mike's full on talent. The skill and creativity to build these are not something most luthiers can accomplish. All the finishing touches and the often minute detail to things like the headstock, the pickguard, the tailpiece, the fine detail put into the bridge where the strings meet the Ebony, and how the string ends mount through the upper portion of the tailpiece. Just outstanding craftsmanship!
conorb Posted December 31, 2021 Posted December 31, 2021 Holy crap, that’s amazing. Can’t wait for my number to come up.
gorch Posted December 31, 2021 Posted December 31, 2021 Very nice. A friend of mine is a classical guitar player and teacher. He can play all sorts of oddities and could maybe even play this one.
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