Acoustic Image Express Custom

This a beautiful modern archtop that is designed as a tribute to the designs of Jimmy D'Aquisto. Bill Moll is a Master luthier whose guitar are both stunning in apearance and the tone is exceptional. This is a 18 inch cutaway with all Solid handcarved woods of top grade. The top is spruce with heavy cross silking and tight tight grains. It is finished suburst but the grains still shine through. The back and sides are seriously flamed and have a beautiful natural maple figure within. It has multiply bindings all over and W.E. Moll inlayed in the ehadstock. It is handcarved taptuned both top and back which is zonal graduated. It has all ebony appointments and not the prefab bought pieces all handcarved. The fretboard is ebony and no inlays just side markers and it exudes elegance and beauty. It is a full 18 inches at the lower bout and although it has a Kent Armstrong floating PU it is designed for acoustic playing first and it doesn't disapoint in that areana. It has a deep vaulted arch, just huge and D'Aquisto deco soundholes. Schaller tuners and ebony keys. This is all you need in a top top quality archtop.

It suits me perfectly. The sound unplugged is huge but more importantly so sesitive and responsive. In addition it has remarkable string to string balance and the tone is warm but beautifully articulate. This guitar is voiced for Jazz and it is a beautiful tone. Plugged in the KA floater is really great. I really like these PUs as they are more articulate and clear than even a vintage Johnny Smith floater, as I ahve 2 guitars with original JS PUs. It is my favorite Jazz guitar and I use it in all my acoustic settings though. It is not for ROck and certainly not for metal. This is a classy and elegant Jazz guitar that is a sure collector as Bill Moll is an exquisite builder.

The action is perfect for me I use both a pick and fingerstyle. It responds well to both and just rings. It wants to bounce from my lap as it is super light and responsive with bounce. It doesn't get better. The bindings are perfect, fretwork perfect, woods stunning, and the finish is top notch. Bill is a true craftsman.

I don't know how it will last as I have had it for about 4 years now and it is absolutely stable and like new. I do not take it out except when the pay for the gig is reasonable enough to warrant removing it from my home. I take out other guitars usually to be honest. It is too beautiful to bring to a Jam or a low pay gig. It is all solid woods so I am sensitive to people even touching it.

Bill is a grea person and his guitars are only going to get higher and higher in price. He is currently not taking any more orders as he has a huge wait list.

This archtop is exactly what I was hoping for. The full rich Jazz tones of a 18 inch archtop. It is an acoustic masterpiece. This is a not a cheap guitar but man for this price for a handcarved tap tuned archtop by a Master like Bill it really is a serious value. I was searching for months and months for the right builder to get an 18 inch archtop that would fulfill my need for a big beauty. I was loloking at some other builders I own archtops from such as Ed Schaefer, Megas, Tom Ribbecke, and John Buscarino. I still have 17 inch Schaefer and a Buscarino I love but I wanted a full 18 inch for nostalgic reasons. I used to have a SUper 400C and a Epi Emperor cutaway and need to fill the vintage void and I knew that the new Gibsons weren't going to do it for me anymore. After playing my buddies Custom 18 inch Bill Moll Classic model, which was similar but with less styling and a more traditional looks. It was spectacular. That being said I would have paid over 12000 to start from any of the other builders I mentioned and although they do make amazing archtops this was clearly the way to go for my taste. I was so excited when it arrived as it was beautiful and when played it met my expectations for sure and more. It has something really special about it. If you are looking for a carved archtop and want the best value out there, check out Bill Moll's archtops. He is well known for building John Pizzarelli's laminate top archtop too, which is a great gig guitar, but this is another category and a different animal. Trust me do not miss out on his carved archtops, they will heralded in the future and the enjoyment it is providing me way way beyond what I could expect from a new Super 400 which would have been more new somehow!