Benedetto Custom Manhattan S1847, 2009

From Howard Paul, President / CEO of Benedetto guitars:

"This Custom Manhattan Honey Blonde Floral S1847 was made to order for guitar collector Bob Yelin, delivered in December 2009. Yelin had a large collection of instruments from a number of independent luthiers. He was a player and a teacher, but also a patron.
 
"The simple entry in our serial number logbook lists the guitar as a Manhattan Custom HB (Honey Blonde)/Floral holes, wood binding – Yelin. The description belies the complexity and elegance of the guitar – a 17" Manhattan model using select, highly figured book-matched European maple back and sides, a maple neck and European spruce top, hand carved and graduated by Bob Benedetto. The floral asymmetrical sound holes were cut by Bob at the customer's request to pay homage to Bob's 35th anniversary model. The instrument is bound with highly flamed maple binding, and all ebony appointments.

"This instrument was built during a transitional period for Benedetto, as we were focused on insuring the next generation of luthiers were mastering their skills and Bob was positioning himself to spend less time on the workbench and looking towards retiring. But for unique instruments like this one, Bob did the lion's share of the build. The instrument was finished by our team of expert luthiers from finishing and final assembly.

"This is a fine instrument built by one of the 20th century's most renowned artisans, for a nationally recognized guitar collector."

I've known Robert Benedetto for many years, and have owned and enjoyed several of his superb instruments. Benedetto is one of the true masters of archtop guitar lutherie. In fact, he literally wrote the book on how to build an archtop guitar. His influence in the guitar world is wide, deep, and legendary among artists and builders alike. Countless great guitarists have played and loved his instruments. To many archtop aficionados, he's "the man." Icing on the cake is that he, along with his wife Cindy, are wonderful and caring human beings, always tuned into the needs and desires of their artists.

I am so pleased to have this very special Custom Manhattan in the shop. It's not only off the charts beautiful, but it just might have one of the best acoustic sounds of any Benedetto I've ever played. That makes sense. Bob was deeply involved in building it. (Read the description above.) Bob did the lion's share of important work (like tap tuning) on this guitar.

This just might be one of the finest Benedettos I've played. I originally played one of Bob's "Floral" designs when I got to sample the blue guitars in his Chinery collection. His guitar (of which this is same design) just delighted me; it was a star of the entire collection. As I said, the acoustic sound is rich and full and transparent; it just blooms. The playability is stellar. You just want to melt into its honey blonde finish. The craftsmanship is of the highest level. It speaks well of Bob and his crew at Benedetto Guitars.

The guitar was built for a fine player and collector who obviously has discriminating tastes. Only the best European woods were used. The Floral sound holes are a Robert Benedetto classic design, a signature of Bob's subtle elegance.

This is a rare custom archtop that journeyed through the hands of one of our finest builders. For any players or collectors who desire a guitar that can jump start their heart, just check this beauty out.

If you'd like to find out more about this item, just call or e-mail me. It would be my pleasure to talk to you about it.