Stephen Marchione Spruce/Rosewood VT

In my mind, there is a spectrum of guitar builders. It ranges from assemblers to builders to craftsmen, to artisans, to artists. An artist imbues every one of his (or her) creations with a part of his or her soul. It's something that's hard to characterize in words, but it's something you can feel the moment you touch their instruments. There's no question that Stephen is a true artist.

The body of this guitar is simply amazing. And probably one of a kind. It's a single, stunning piece of spruce, the likes of which I've never seen before. The figuring is intense - almost like something you'd see on a premium piece of curly maple. It is so organic, so loaded with character, that Stephen chose to do a hand-rubbed oil finish on it. It took him a month to apply before he began polishing it. All the grain, the sap marks and texture - all of this remarkable piece of spruce's beauty shines through. The color was achieved by letting it all cure in the Texas sun. And if that wasn't enough wood goodness, Marchione then chose some old growth quartersawn Indian rosewood for the neck and fingerboard. It's a wood lover's delight!

The playability is truly outstanding! His refined shapes and contours have added next-level sensibilities to an already legendary design. His tweaked pickups (Marchione new-generation designed silent singles) help create a deep and wide sonic palette. It has all the woody resonance of a fine vintage piece coupled with with the clarity and precision of a modern bespoke guitar. Personally, I just love it. There is an an elegant simplicity about it: nothing to add or change — the ultimate sophistication!

Bottom line: If you are looking for something really special, this Marchione is certainly worth considering. I think the real magic here is in how a single builder can conceive all the details and then execute them as a complete thought into one beautiful handmade guitar. It's all here. You need to experience it.

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.

ABOUT MARCHIONE GUITARS
At one time in his life, Stephen Marchione spent six hours a day playing the guitar. Now he makes them—in fact, since beginning his career as a guitar maker in 1989, Stephen has created more than three-hundred guitars for some of the best guitar players in the world. The journey from high-school jazz devotee to “the finest young guitar maker working today,” according to Chamber Music America, was a rich and complicated one. After establishing his own brand and working for several years in New York, Stephen Marchione moved to Houston, Texas, where he builds his entire family of guitars, but Marchione has also studied privately since 1994 with Manhattan-based violin maker Guy Rabut. "I try to build one violin a year to keep my chops up" Says Marchione. He feels that building classical guitars and violins broadens his understanding of top thicknessing, tap tuning, and surface preparation. On the other hand, building electric guitars has taught him the importance of the fretboard in a player's appreciation of a guitar. Marchione is considered one of a very few leading-edge pioneers in the design of guitars that combine elements of both jazz and classical construction. This well-rounded approach contributes to the magic one finds in a Marchione instrument, a magic that is at once very broad yet truly individual.