D'Aquisto 1971 New Yorker Special #1051, Amber Sunburst (Formerly owned by Johnny Smith)

Jimmy D'Aquisto, one of the most respected guitar makers of all time, has had a lasting impact on the world of Jazz guitar that has far exceeded his unfortunately brief lifetime. An apprentice of John D'Angelico, Jimmy drew from decades of New York based archtop building to create some of the most sought after guitars of all time. Only building 257 archtop guitars in his career, Jimmy's guitars are regarded as some of the highest quality archtops ever made, and are collectable to reflect their rarity.

This 1971 New Yorker, in an incredible Amber Sunburst, is reflective of designs that were more similar to the later offerings from D'Aquisto's mentor and fellow NYC based builder John D'Angelico: metal tailpieces, the split headstock with metal finial, larger F holes reminiscent of 60's New Yorkers, and split parallelogram inlays. Signed 12/7/1971

Like most quality archtops, this incredible guitar features a solid, hand carved spruce top, incredible flame maple back and sides (and neck), and a gorgeous ebony bridge and fretboard. The thin nitro finish is in incredible condition, and is a beautiful amber sunburst.

Now, to the most notable thing about this guitar: it was previously owned and used by foundational jazz player Johnny Smith. Included with this guitar is an original hand-signed letter from Smith signifying its sale to the next owner, who sold it to us. This is a real piece of music history, and is waiting for the next person to carry on that legacy.  Included is a photo of a copy we made of the letter: the real one is in the case.

Serial #1051 comes with the original hard shell case and case cover.