Somehow John Buscarino manages to coax a huge amount of power and presence out of his tops while also maintaining clarity and articulation—this gorgeous 17 Inch Archtop from 1994 exemplifies that with a silky setup to boot. AAA Quilted Maple back and sides paired with Spruce on top, a Benedetto humbucker with volume knob on the guard, and 25” scale for sweet, sweet trebles. This beauty has opened up handsomely in the almost three decades it’s been making music, and it’s set up for another three!


Other keywords: jazz box, arch top, big-leaf, custom guitar, AT0719794, arched top, duane simpson

All you jazz box aficionados, gather round: we’ve got a contender for the finest Archtop of 1997 on the line here. If it comes from John Buscarino’s shop, you know the guitar’s going to have golden tone, and this Maple-and-Sitka–Spruce beauty has the looks to match. An Artisan Custom, this Archtop has a single Lindy Fralin Humbucker pickup below the fingerboard which cranks out some of the fattest, juiciest tone we’ve seen in a jazz box in a long time.

In this guitar, traditional aesthetics (see the Ivoroid bindings and MOP-and-Abalone parallelogram fret markers) are married to contemporary voicings to give the guitar classic looks and an increased dynamic range. When the low-end warmth and mellowness that we expect from vintage archtops combines with these trebles, rich and bright with a well-defined edge, you get an Archtop perfectly set up for fingerstyle jazz comping and solos. Just under 20 years old, this Artisan Custom is fully opened up and ready for more action!

A king among Jazz boxes! Whenever John Buscarino’s hands touch wood, the wood sings. This, his top-of-the-line Virtuoso, is no less than what we’ve come to expect from his guitars: strong attack, flawless construction, a hearty, meaty tone with that big jazz box feel, dynamically voiced for rhapsody or jitterbug.A gorgeous set of European Maple has here been paired with a European Spruce top to produce a muscular sound, with very present trebles with great sustain, and a fat low-end dripping with sweet sustain. For such a large-bodied guitar, it is surprisingly gentle to play, thanks in part to Buscarino’s glossy Nitrocellulose finish and glass-smooth neck profile, but it’s the little details and appointments which really let this looker shine. Featuring bound F-holes, Burl headstock veneers, Maple bindings throughout, and a laminated tailpiece and pickguard which exhibit gorgeous alternating bands of Ebony and Maple. Of course, let’s not forget his custom floating Humbucker pickup or the fleur-de-lis inspired soundport on the upper bout–a motif which is returned to in both the headstock inlays and in the tailpiece.With warmth like a roaring fire, and attack like lightning, this Virtuoso is ready to get down to the business of making music.