Blue Guitar

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After acquiring over 1,000 guitars, collector Scott Chinery bought one that refueled his passion for the instrument. It was an 18-inch archtop guitar designed by Jimmy D'Aquisto, a man considered by many guitar aficionados to be the greatest luthier who ever lived. D'Aquisto finished off his creation with a blue sunburst design that inspired its new owner to commission a series of blue guitars because "blue just seemed the perfect color to jolt people out of the old, staid, traditional way of looking at the archtop." Chinery tracked down 22 of the world's finest luthiers, sent them each a bottle of Ultra Blue Penetrating Stain #M 520, and told them to make the archtop guitar of their dreams. The results are as beautiful as they are varied. Bozo Podunavac named his creation, which features an intricate abalone and pearl inlay, the Bozo Chicagoan. Bill Collings created the Collings Custom in his state-of-the-art, climate-controlled workshop in order to ensure the highest sound quality. Linda Manzer, inspired by the intoxicating French liqueur, constructed the Blue Absynthe from ebony and curly maple. A solid history of the evolution of the archtop and anecdotes about guitar making by the featured luthiers help expand readers' appreciation of the craft and are a real treat for guitar lovers.


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Novelist and playwright Vose documents the 22 guitars generated when collector Scott Chinery challenged the world's top luthiers to create their own versions of Jimmy D'Aquisto's lightning blue archtop, hailed for its sensuous lines and mythical blue color. Quotations and descriptions curl around color photographs of the guitars, details, and the construction process. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.


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