Victor Baker 16-Inch Special

16" Archtop with all solid woods ... Englemann Spruce, Flame Maple, Aged (100 yr) Mahogany, Select Ebony. All TOP quality. Single floating Kent Armstrong Pickup. Volume & Tone with ebony knobs mounted to ebony fingerrest. Ebony Bridge, tailpiece, tuner buttons, even trussrod cover. Fossilized ivory nut. One piece flame maple back! My guitar was designed after a D'Aquisto Solo with four graceful soundholes and a curved fingerrest. The other custom feature is a gorgeous (vine) of life design executed in cocobolo, brass and abalone inlays. It is understated, classy and unique. Victor now offers this as an option. No features ranking ... this is perfect for ME.

Classic acoustic archtop tone. The large soundholes in my custom design is more open, airy and loud than traditional f-holes. Victor tap-toned the front and back and it resonates very well. Easy harmonics all over the neck. Bright and clear acoustically, this guitar is wonderful through my Deluxe Reverb. Volume and tone very linear and broad. The sound will only improve with age!

As I told Victor, this guitar isn't flawless, but it is perfect. Only under a strong light and magnifyer can I see a few tiny imperfections. It is very, very well constructed with clean seams, no slop anywhere, and a AWESOME neck. This guitar arrived after 2 shipping days in tune, ready to play. Victor is known as a guitar-playing luthier, and he makes a great playing instrument. And it is a real stunning guitar to look at. Wow!

This is a custom-made accoustic archtop - it will require careful handling. It has a thin finish. But I see no reason that it will not last as well as other guitars in its class. Personally, I will only use it on gigs rarely (I only play out on Sundays anyway). I'm giving a high score for the quality of woods, hardware and construction.

One of the great joys of ording a custom-made instrument through a luthier is the personal attention and service you get. I cannot praise Victor enough for his support throughout the whole process. He is a real pleasure to work with. I had many reservations about ordering an expensive custom instrument long-distance without seeing any of his previous guitars personally - but I have to say I am an extremely satisfied customer. Victor goes out of his way to help you. The warranty is lifetime - and I can't imagine ever needing to return it.

I have been playing for 29 years. This is the second custom-made guitar I've had made, the other is a custom strat. I've owned a couple other achtops, along with acoustics and solid-body electrics, and I've always wanted a top quality archtop. Now I have it. I love having a guitar a whole category above Gibson, Heritage, Guild, etc. This instrument is special - I helped design it, and the guy who made it is on the headstock. I researched many, many luthiers before giving Victor the job. To be honest, most of the others were out of my price range. Reputations are made by building instruments like this, and Victor's is definitely on the rise. Extra money may get you snob appeal with Bendetto, Megas or Campellone ... but I don't know how much better a guitar can get than this. Unless you are a collector, I just can't see spending more than 5K on a playing guitar. I highly recommend Victor Baker, and suggest you contact him while he is still affordable.