Conference napalm::guitar

    Heard somewhere that Jimmy was 59 years old, the same age as D'Angelico
    at the time of his death.
    

    RE: Jimmy D.
    
    	Jimmy had his shop in Greenport, Long Island. To my knowledge
    (since I lived in that area for years), Jimmy didn't have an apprentice
    working with him. This is very unfortunate, since most of Jimmy's
    secrets died with him. I just found out about his death last Saturday
    when I was visiting my mother on the island. My brother-in-law knew
    him personally and told me that he was working a BIG deal with Fender
    out on the coast when this happened. Jimmy himself produced ~12 guitars
    per year...   with no apprentice. Not only is it a shame that he
    passed on, it's a shame that his specific type of craftmanship won't
    be passed on by someone who witnessed Jimmy's art first hand.
    
    	Fred (ex-islander)

    
    There is a note in here somewhere about a guy that apprenticed with
    Jimmy for a short time but had to discontinue his apprenticeship 
    due to financial constraints. Apparently, the guy had a wife and
    kids to support and Jimmy couldn't afford to pay him a salary that
    they could live on. 
    
    Despite the high price of D'Aquisto instruments, there must have
    been a lot of expenses associated with building them, including
    materials, tooling, equipment, and the problems associated with
    finishing materials (environmental and safety concerns). Jimmy
    used to labor so long over each instrument that there probably
    wasn't a lot of profit margin left by the time the instrument was
    complete. Last I heard, his custom instruments were selling for
    $10k. If there was $1k of cost, and it takes him a full month to
    complete it, his salary was definately not in the stratosphere.
    Many executives working for large companies make 2 or 3 times
    that amount, but I doubt they enjoy their work nearly as much as
    Jimmy enjoyed guitar building. 
    
    Jimmy probably died happy knowing that his efforts were applauded
    by thousands. His craft is being carried on by the likes of Bennedetto,
    Triggs, SCGC, Comings, Borys, etc. I've heard Danny say that there
    are more people building excellant quality arch-top guitars today 
    than at any other time in history. 
    
    The legend lives on!
    
    Mark

    Jimmy didn't have an apprentice, but he had many disciples. A number of
    now well-known luthiers studied with him and there have been numerous
    guitars built using his design principles.
    
    Although his recent works were more avante-garde than I cared for, each
    of his instruments was an artwork--I've never heard one that had less
    than superb sound, and each was impeccably built.
    
    The economics of guitar building have improved to the point that it's
    no longer necessary for a luthier to actually starve or build bookcases
    for a living, but I doubt that Jimmy died a rich man. More dealers and
    collectors profited from his talents than he did.
    
    15 years ago, Jimmy was the only game in town. The large number of
    expert archtop craftsman today is a testimony to him.
    
    Danny W. 

    
    	Check out pages 38-39 in the latest GP with T-Bone on the
    	cover.  Major lust...
    
    	Has anyone (Danny ?) played one of these??  
    
    	Tom
    

    I don't know if I've played any of the instruments pictured, but I have
    played recent D'Aquisto guitars. Each has been superb in sound,
    playability and workmanship, but I have to admit I prefer the
    traditional style guitars to his avante-garde pieces.
    
    As good as they are, I've not been inclined to want to pay for them.
    From a guitarist's position, I think the point of diminishing returns
    in archtops accurs at around $6k. As an investment, they're probably
    worth every penny, but at $25k-$75k a copy...
    
    Danny W.