Monday, July 14, 2008

Delaney Guitars - Arlen Roth Leathercaster

Posted by Jon in • Cool Guitars,

Delaney Arlen Roth Leathercaster
When I hear the name Arlen Roth I think of two things, both of which give my age away! The first is the “Hot Licks” instructional VHS series which is something Arlen is most famous for. Hot Licks was set up in 1979 and originally was an audio cassette series and later through the success of the series Arlen moved to VHS with instructional videos from guitarists such as Eric Johnson, Joe Pass and Buddy Guy. The second thing I think of is that Arlen coached Ralph Macchio in the 1986 film “Crossroads”, Arlen managed to create the illusion for non-guitarists that Ralph was actually playing and to be honest he did a really good job, it must be difficult to make someone seem like they can play when they can’t! Just for nostalgia’s sake here is the video of the final duel!

Anyway if you want to know more about Arlen’s life, career and music check out his website there is a wealth of information there. But onto the guitar. This “Leathercaster” was created by Delaney Guitars (previously featured on Guitar Noize back in March) and master leathersmith Tony Murga and it was presented to Arlen at Summer NAMM on June 21st.

“Tony outdid himself wrapping the body using aged leather and double stitching to create a true work of art. Mike [Delaney] cut an Alder body and bolt on maple neck with a fifties profile and threw in some hand wound Amalfitano TP pickups. He then aged the chrome hardware and finished the neck with his secret blend to give it a broken in feel. ”

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