2016 Graf 17" Archtop Big Leaf Maple

Oskar Graf Archtop Guitar (New, 2016)

From the Vault, never sold !  And a Rare Bird at that!

• Big Leaf Maple back & sides on this noble 17" archtop guitar
• Sitka Spruce top with heavy cross-silking
• Venetian cutaway
• Ebony headstock front & back plates
• Abalone headstock builder logo
• Gold Schaller tuning machines with Ebony buttons
• Kent Armstrong floating pickup
• Ebony pick guard with discrete volume & tone wheels
• Ebony fretboard with purfling lines
• Laminated maple neck
• Compensated Ebony bridge
• Sculpted Ebony tail piece
• Macassar Ebony bindings
• Macassar Ebony heel cap & end graft
• The f holes are Oskar's own design
• This archtop sounds amazing unplugged, which is why Guitar Gallery's owner, Robin, tucked it away for all of these years.  It is also light in weight compared to other archtops.
• Original Hiscox Pro II lite flight case 
• Here's a description of Oskar Graf's approach to crafting archtop guitars, in his own words.

Just like with my other instruments I mainly use hand tools in the building of the archtops. Using gauges and finger planes to carve the top and back gives me the freedom and flexibility in shaping the arching and contours of the plates. This slow and careful approach allows me to optimize the acoustic quality and balance it with the amplified sound of the hand carved archtop guitar.

Since initially I used Bob Benedetto's book to guide me, my starting point has been the traditional shape and size of the archtop guitar. Of course being a designer at heart, I re-worked the shape and appearance just a little bit, slimming down the bulbous S-curve of the cutaway and adding my own headstock and F-hole designs.

I avoid using the white plastic bindings, preferring Macassar ebony to create a contrasting framing for the blonde curly maple back and sides. In keeping with this simple elegance, I leave the fingerboard unadorned. The tailpiece is sculptured out of ebony and attached solidly to the body by a brass bracket. The string pull-through design makes string changes fast and convenient. All the other fittings are also made from ebony.

My standard pick-up is a floating Kent Armstrong Humbucker with adjustable pole-pieces. Unobtrusive, but easily reached and adjusted, mini wheel pots for volume and tone control are fitted underneath the ebony finger rest.

OPTIONS

• Condition: New (NOS) - Never before Sold
• Frets to body: 14
• Scale Length: 25.375"
• Nut Width: 1 23/32"
• Saddle string spacing: 2 1/8"
• Pickup: yes, Kent Armstrong floating
• Cutaway: yes, Venetian

AUDIO

This last sample is played unplugged