What makes this guitar worth your attention?
I've always had a particular affection for 18-inch archtops. While the trend over the years has moved toward smaller instruments, to me the great 18-inch guitars represent the true art of the archtop. This was where the great builders could really strut their stuff and show the very best they were capable of making.
This guitar is especially important because it is Bob Benedetto's first 18-inch guitar, built in 1978 as serial #1878. That isn't simply part of the guitar's oral history—#1878 is identified as the first in Bob's own production ledger reproduced in his book.
The guitar was originally made for Bob's first dealer and eventually found its way to a wonderful owner in Scotland, who cared for it for almost 30 years. That's part of the reason it survives today in such remarkable near-mint condition.
Years later, while Bob and I were working together on the specifications for my Cremona, I asked him whether he remembered the guitar. He did immediately and then told me about the materials he had used.
The guitar has European spruce and European maple, but one of my favorite details is the walnut. The inset in the back was made from walnut left over from one of his father's cabinet jobs. Walnut and American maple were also incorporated into the laminated neck, and the headstock veneer came from walnut on his father's workbench.
Bob was still developing some of the visual language that would eventually become associated with his guitars. You can see that experimentation in the unusual shape and placement of the f-holes. As Bob himself said about #1878, ‘It's quite a piece.’
I've played this guitar, and despite the 18-inch body it is remarkably comfortable to hold and play. The substantial D-shaped neck and 1¾-inch nut provide wonderful room for fingerstyle playing. Acoustically, what strikes me most is the smoothness of the bass and the exceptional balance from string to string. The Bartolini floating pickup lets the carved top remain essentially an acoustic archtop while providing a very useful amplified voice.
To me, this isn't simply an early Benedetto or a rare 18-inch archtop. It captures Bob at an important point in his development as a builder—experimenting, using extraordinary traditional materials, and even incorporating pieces of wood from his father's cabinet work.
It's the first of something that would become an important part of the Benedetto story.
— Gary Thomas