New 16" Rhapsody Mahogany Archtop

SOLD

This new rhapsody 16” archtop is the most versatile archtop i have ever made. acoustically the guitar has a strong, loud volume but more importantly the sweetest midrange and highs we all crave in a good acoustic archtop. what makes this guitar different is it has 2 pickups systems: the james may ultra tonic acoustic pickup system and our signature magnetic humbucker. it truly crosses the lines between a true acoustic archtop tone and a warm jazz tone. You can use each pickup separately or blend them together for a truly unique sound. to achieve this james may created a brilliant passive blender board that allows a seamless transiton between the 2 pickups. Even more amazing is that this is all done passively eliminating the need for a battery or preamp. controls via pickguard thumbwheels are a balance control (between the magnetic and acoustic pickup), and a treble roll off and volume for the magnetic pickup only. the acoustic pickup does not have a dedicated volume control but if you want to just use the acoustic pickup exclusively just turn the volume all the way down on the magnetic pickup and then the blance control acts as a volume control for the acoustic pickup. this is the best and most practical setup i have ever used for archtp guitar. the ultra tonic is the closest i have ever heard a pickup on an archtop sound like that of a mic’d archtop. whether you play jazz or popular music this guitar has a sound that is truly spectacular. it would be totally at home for folk or americana and would add a new dimension for bluegrass and avant garde styles. of course switch to the magnetic pickup only and find the sweet spot with the tone control and you have a mellow, sweet jazz box or blend in the acoustic pickup for the Martin taylor tone. clean and understated this guitar is a true beauty and a dream to play. truly a one of a kind instrument!

SPECIFICATIONS

BODY WIDTH:            16"

body depth:            2 3/4” - 3 1/4” Tapered Sides

neck width:            1 3/4"

body wood:            Lightly figured Flame mahogany

top wood:               aged and seasoned 100 year old sitka spruce

neck wood:            one piece honduras mahogany aged and seasoned

bracing:                  adirondack spruce - forward x braced

sound hole:           traditional f-holes

cutaway:                 single venetian

finish:                      high gloss nitrocellulose lacquer in natural

fingerboard:        Malaysian Blackwood 25”scale, 22 frets

frets:                     evo gold

face plate:           malaysian blackwood

binding:                flame mahogany

Pickguard:           MALAYSIAN blackwood

tailpiece:              malaysian blackwood

bridge:                  malaysian blackwood

pickup:                 floating signature humbucker and the james may ultra tonic acoustic system

controls: thumbwheels underneath pickup: balance. Treble roll off and volume for mag pickup only

tuners:                gotoh 21:1 with snakewood buttons

truss rod:         two way adjustable

case: hiscox lite flight