Monday, July 28, 2008

Rizzolo 8 String Archtops

Posted by Jon in • Cool Guitars in • Really expensive guitars

Rizzolo 8 String Archtop
I was contacted recently by Marcel Rizzolo in Melbourne Australia who let me know about his dad’s business Rizzolo Guitar Company. I’m always happy to find Australian Luthiers so I checked out their site (no not the most elegant url but ignore that). Rizzolo make a wide range of guitars, Archtops, Solid bodies, Acoustic and Bass guitars. They make an extremely nice Sunburst Deluxe Telecaster, have a look in their Electrics section and I noticed some of the solid bodies use a local Australian wood called Tasmanian Blackwood, obviously from Tasmania which is a sustainable resource that is used as a substitute for Mahogany. I found this information about the sustainability:

“Nearly all Tasmanian Blackwood comes from the so-called Blackwood Swamps near Smithton in the north west, where almost pure stands of black wood trees occur. Here, the harvest is strictly controlled and the forest is managed on a 70-year rotation. This program protects the continuity of the limited resource and guarantees a small but reliable supply of excellent mature logs each year. More importantly, this cyclic harvest, combined with natural regeneration, guarantees the unique Tasmanian Blackwood resource will be here always.“ - Ornamental Tasmanian Timbers.

Having said all that, the thing that really caught my eys was the 8 string Archtop which is actually made from European Fiddleback Maple for the back and sides and a favourite for acoustic and archtop guitars, European Spruce for the top. The neck is 3 piece maple with an Ebony fretboard with your choice of a 24 1/2” or 24 3/4” scale length. The tailpiece is also made of Ebony. The guitar features a humbucker in the neck position and an optional Fishman transducer for an extra $600.

Now if 8 string archtops are your thing and you happen to live in Australia, well anywhere really but you will obviously incur shipping costs, this guitar can be yours for $10,000! Yikes! I think that qualifies for my Really Expensive Guitars category!

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Tennyson Williams on 07/29 at 06:32 AM

*drool* - I’d love to get my hands on something like that. The design on the headstock is a nice touch as well. I wonder how much of a role the swamp conditions play in the wood. I would guess a lot. Wish I was more of a Luthier, hehe.

Jon on 07/29 at 07:52 AM

Yeah not sure about 8 strings, that would confuse me too much but their 6 string models are just as fantastic to look at, looks like its another one to add to my G.A.S. list!

fairings on 08/27 at 01:00 AM

This is something that will be in my “oh, how i wish i have this” list. Its design is very cool and sleek. Really, really great to have.

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