Visit to Roger Bory’s

[QAman]

Just got back from visiting Roger Bory’s today. He’s in the process of building me a Jazz solid model , which was a collaborative design between him and Jim D’Aquisto. In fact , the earlier D’Aquisto solids, before the Centura solids , were built this way.

This guitar consists of a solid carved top and back, with an integral ledge which interfaces with the rims, which contains a solid extension. These guitars ring like a church bell and sustain forever.
I attached a few pics.

During my visit I played a rack full of guitars and examined 8 bodies in production. One that caught my ear was a B165 laminate that had a powerful tap tune. Roger said it’s going to be a whopper - and it was available, but not any longer. He will be completing that along side my Jazz Solid.

For the Jazz solid I chose the abalone fingerboard inlays and the aqua blue finish seen on his website - and the B165 will be getting the apricot light burst.

Pics will be in post 2


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[QAman]

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[QAman]

Here is the B165


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[wintermoon]

Cool beans!
btw is that the D'Angelico/D'Aquisto vice?

[QAman]

Cool beans!
btw is that the D'Angelico/D'Aquisto vice?

Wintermoon,
Not sure if that Vice is from Jim or John’s shop. But visiting Roger is like going back in time. He has a wall containing photos and CD’ s of famous jazz pros - and neck and body templates from his relationship with Jimmy D. He has such reverence for Jimmy - we chatted about the past for several hours

Here are more pics









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[Mark M.]

Great post. Thanks for this, Steve!

[Rob MacKillop]

Confession: I didn’t know Boris was still making and selling guitars, as they seem to be only talked about in the past tense. It’s great to know he’s still active, and I hope you keep us abreast of the creation of your guitars.

[QAman]

Great post. Thanks for this, Steve!

Thanks Mark - it was a fun day for sure.


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[QAman]

Confession: I didn’t know Boris was still making and selling guitars, as they seem to be only talked about in the past tense. It’s great to know he’s still active, and I hope you keep us abreast of the creation of your guitars.

Hi Rob- I’ll keep the post updated through completion of these builds. Roger is healthy and doing just fine. He’s in the process of building out back ordered guitars - so he can move his shop from the Hoboken NJ area to a more suitable and easily accessible location.

His current shop is in an old industrial factory with different units, which is being gentrified - and He’s been trying to transition out of that location. But it’s been tough. He’s a solo builder about 70 yrs. old and the task is daunting to say the least.

[skiboyny]

Confession: I didn’t know Boris was still making and selling guitars, as they seem to be only talked about in the past tense. It’s great to know he’s still active, and I hope you keep us abreast of the creation of your guitars.

He makes IMO, the best laminate guitar there is in terms of sound and playability!

[ccroft]

I don't know about the vice, but the pencil sharpener looks like it could be from Kenmare Street!

Excellent day in Hoboken Q'. I'm envious. Congratulations on a couple more fine new instruments in your future! So about how much does a Jazz Solid weigh?

Late last year I talked to Roger about retirement and he said emphatically he's not interested. I hope he can swing the shop move without too much drama.

I'm with Ski. I love my B-120 and rarely touch anything else. I'd like to thank both you guys (and a few others here) for helping me decide to make the move.

Charles

[wintermoon]

Too bad he has to move at that age, Monteleone has been lucky in having his shop behind his house in Islip
I had a great time when John Zeidler and I visited him there once, was cool watching 2 master luthiers chat [both great mandolin makers as well] I have some old pictures around here somewhere....

[skiboyny]

I don't know about the vice, but the pencil sharpener looks like it could be from Kenmare Street!

Excellent day in Hoboken Q'. I'm envious. Congratulations on a couple more fine new instruments in your future! So about how much does a Jazz Solid weigh?

Late last year I talked to Roger about retirement and he said emphatically he's not interested. I hope he can swing the shop move without too much drama.

I'm with Ski. I love my B-120 and rarely touch anything else. I'd like to thank both you guys (and a few others here) for helping me decide to make the move.

Charles

I'm so glad to hear that you "get it" Just a great guitar!

[D'Aquisto Fan]

Great post, Steve. I'm anxious to learn more about your build with Roger. I'm sure it will be a whopper!

[QAman]

I don't know about the vice, but the pencil sharpener looks like it could be from Kenmare Street!

Excellent day in Hoboken Q'. I'm envious. Congratulations on a couple more fine new instruments in your future! So about how much does a Jazz Solid weigh?

Late last year I talked to Roger about retirement and he said emphatically he's not interested. I hope he can swing the shop move without too much drama.

I'm with Ski. I love my B-120 and rarely touch anything else. I'd like to thank both you guys (and a few others here) for helping me decide to make the move.

Charles

Thanks cc, not sure how much the Jazz solid weighs, but other finished examples felt lighter than my 59' reissue Les Paul -which weight 8lbs. 9 ounces.

Glad your enjoying your B120. Sonically, it's a laminate without compare in my opinion. It's a different vibe than say an ES-175. It's very lively acoustically with a "carved guitar " like vibe - and a good whiff of that DA mid range and round note purity. Also, the 24-3/4 scale enables lengthy playing with minimal fretting resistance (they play real easy). They are also very balanced.

I also played a B155 laminate- which is slightly smaller than the B120, and it was amazing - but already spoken for. I told Roger if for any reason the new buyer is unhappy I'll take that one too....... it was that good.

The benefit of me living close ( 50 miles) , is I can frequent his shop and play what's available and what's in the build stages.

He currently has 2 solid carved 17's available- a blonde with a DArmond floater and a light brown burst with a built in humbucker. The later was fantastic - and was very tempting.... but I didn't care for the color.




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[QAman]

Too bad he has to move at that age, Monteleone has been lucky in having his shop behind his house in Islip
I had a great time when John Zeidler and I visited him there once, was cool watching 2 master luthiers chat [both great mandolin makers as well] I have some old pictures around here somewhere....

Yeah - it would be great if Roger finds a house with some property to build a shop like John. I remember when John was building the shop, he made a miniature scaled model of the floor plan - hes really a deep thinker. John and I have been friends for over 30 years.

John Zeidler was another incredible Luthier, and highly regarded by his peers for his meticulous workmanship. One day I have to acquire one for my collection.

Before John M buit his shop on Smith Street in Islip, he was renting a small buildng in the Islip shipyard. I visited him at that location in the early eighties- at which time he was building his earlier Eclipse model.

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[QAman]

Great post, Steve. I'm anxious to learn more about your build with Roger. I'm sure it will be a whopper!

Michael,
If you ever visited Roger - you would immediately be enamored by the endless conversations about Jimmy D'Aquisto. Their collaboration went on for decades. He was telling me yesterday how he helped Jimmy make 50 neck blanks because Jim was falling behind, mainly due to the increased frequency of his seizures.

He brought me to the wall of photos and pointed to a pic of Jimmy taken Nov 94 '- not long before his death ......and it was the last pic of his good friend. I could see the sadness in his face.

This is a man with such a close lineage to Jimmy D'Aquisto, that owning one of his guitars might be inevitable. You can hear Jimmy's influence in the tone.

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[sgcim]

Thanks cc, not sure how much the Jazz solid weights, but other finished examples felt lighter than my 59' reissue Les Paul -which weight 8lbs. 9 ounces.

Glad your enjoying your B120. Sonically, it's a laminate without compare in my opinion. It's a different vibe than say an ES-175. It's very lively acoustically with a "carved guitar " like vibe - and a good whiff of that DA mid range and round note purity. Also, the 24-3/4 scale enables lengthy playing with minimal fretting resistance (they play real easy). They are also very balanced.

I also played a B155 laminate- which is slightly smaller than the B120, and it was amazing - but already spoken for. I told Roger if for any reason the new buyer is unhappy I'll take that one too....... it was that good.

The benefit of me living close ( 50 miles) , is I can frequent his shop and play what's available and what's in the build stages.

He currently has 2 solid carved 17's available- a blonde with a DArmond floater and a light brown burst with a built in humbucker. The later was fantastic - and was very tempting.... but I didn't care for the color.




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I can't tell you how much my Borys Jazz Solid weighs; I tried putting it on my digital scale, but that doesn't work , but it's a heavier guitar than my B-120.
I had to buy a strap with some type of cushion, because I was getting a 'pain in the neck' from using my regular strap.

Other than that, it's my guitar of choice for everything except rock work. I bought one from a guy on Reverb who has five(!) of them ( he owns 179 guitars!) , and it only had a neck pickup on it. He had a piece of junk DiMarzio pickup on it and
I immediately replaced it with a hand made KA pickup that is his version of a DeArmond RC-1100. I ordered it over the phone from Kent, and he sent it to Roger, who installed it for me.

I was just thinking last night, what would I do without it? There's no other guitar I can think of that could replace it, especially for a smaller guy like me. There's no Gibson that comes near it. A Mario Beauregard MB is similar, but someone I knew said it was just like an archtop, with all the feedback problems I was trying to avoid.
The only other guitar is the Benedetto Bambino, which Paul Bollenback uses, but I've never tried one, so I'm only going by what he's said to me.

Does Roger have any other Jazz Solids that he's selling?

That's lousy news about his shop. I know he's renting from the great Paul Meyers in JC, and it's a short walk to his shop from there, but housing is insane right now, otherwise buying a house that he can both live and work in would ordinarily be a good solution.
How much time does he have to find a new place?

[QAman]

I can't tell you how much my Borys Jazz Solid weighs; I tried putting it on my digital scale, but that doesn't work , but it's a heavier guitar than my B-120.
I had to buy a strap with some type of cushion, because I was getting a 'pain in the neck' from using my regular strap.

Other than that, it's my guitar of choice for everything except rock work. I bought one from a guy on Reverb who has five(!) of them ( he owns 179 guitars!) , and it only had a neck pickup on it. He had a piece of junk DiMarzio pickup on it and
I immediately replaced it with a hand made KA pickup that is his version of a DeArmond RC-1100. I ordered it over the phone from Kent, and he sent it to Roger, who installed it for me.

I was just thinking last night, what would I do without it? There's no other guitar I can think of that could replace it, especially for a smaller guy like me. There's no Gibson that comes near it. A Mario Beauregard MB is similar, but someone I knew said it was just like an archtop, with all the feedback problems I was trying to avoid.
The only other guitar is the Benedetto Bambino, which Paul Bollenback uses, but I've never tried one, so I'm only going by what he's said to me.

Does Roger have any other Jazz Solids that he's selling?

That's lousy news about his shop. I know he's renting from the great Paul Meyers in JC, and it's a short walk to his shop from there, but housing is insane right now, otherwise buying a house that he can both live and work in would ordinarily be a good solution.
How much time does he have to find a new place?

Sgcm,
Thanks for posting and sharing your experience with your Borys Jazz solid. I can also understand why the seller had 5 Borys. They are fabulous sounding guitars with a remarkable ease of playability. Skiboy and ccroft love their guitars as well.

My head was spinning the other day with so many possibilities I lost track of what's available, but I will reach out to him tomorrow and post what's available. If you like smaller guitars, the B155 , which is 15.5 inches was amazing. The completed one I played was spoken for, but I know he had another B155 body under the bench that was complete , with the neck roughed out and was available.

It is a shame about his need to move- but I don't think he has a deadline, but the noise from the gym on the adjacent wall is a bit distracting. Plus, he wants a location that's easier to access for his customers,

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[NSJ]

The OP said: “Glad your enjoying your B120. Sonically, it's a laminate without compare in my opinion. It's a different vibe than say an ES-175. It's very lively acoustically with a "carved guitar " like vibe - and a good whiff of that DA mid range and round note purity. Also, the 24-3/4 scale enables lengthy playing with minimal fretting resistance (they play real easy). They are also very balanced.

Well, another guitar that comes to mind is the Sadowsky Jim Hall (and Jim was famous for his 175 and DA before that, too): (1) lively acoustically like a carved guitar vibe but a laminate: (2) patterned after his DA mid range and round note purity: (3) 24.75 scale (4) minimual fretting resistance that plays easy.

It’s the only 6 string jazz box I still own. Got rid of my 175, got rid of my L5C. Got rid of almost all of them.

Kept the Sadowsky. It plays SO EASILY. I have never played a Borys and will never buy another 6 string guitar again. But I kept the Jim Hall. And, interestingly, the PRS John Mayer. Because both of them play so well.

I would love to hear a comparison of the Borys laminate with the Sadowsky Jim Hall. By those who have owned or played both.

[QAman]

NJS,
Thanks for the info on the Sadowsky Jim Hall. If I get my hands on one I’ll do a comparison and post the experience.

When it comes to being expressive in our playing , we cannot be struggling with the guitar. Some guitars require strenuous gymnastics to play then - and everyone knows that feeling. It becomes a distraction.

When we pick up a guitar and it plays effortlessly, we can then go on a relaxed musical journey and create our best music. Sounds like you have that experience with your Jim Hall - that’s awesome and thanks for sharing your experience.

[sgcim]

The OP said: “Glad your enjoying your B120. Sonically, it's a laminate without compare in my opinion. It's a different vibe than say an ES-175. It's very lively acoustically with a "carved guitar " like vibe - and a good whiff of that DA mid range and round note purity. Also, the 24-3/4 scale enables lengthy playing with minimal fretting resistance (they play real easy). They are also very balanced.

Well, another guitar that comes to mind is the Sadowsky Jim Hall (and Jim was famous for his 175 and DA before that, too): (1) lively acoustically like a carved guitar vibe but a laminate: (2) patterned after his DA mid range and round note purity: (3) 24.75 scale (4) minimual fretting resistance that plays easy.

It’s the only 6 string jazz box I still own. Got rid of my 175, got rid of my L5C. Got rid of almost all of them.

Kept the Sadowsky. It plays SO EASILY. I have never played a Borys and will never buy another 6 string guitar again. But I kept the Jim Hall. And, interestingly, the PRS John Mayer. Because both of them play so well.

I would love to hear a comparison of the Borys laminate with the Sadowsky Jim Hall. By those who have owned or played both.

I asked RB what he thought of it, he just gave me a look that spoke volumes. I won't elaborate...

[gitman]

I asked RB what he thought of it, he just gave me a look that spoke volumes. I won't elaborate...

Now THAT does not come as a surprise ....

[QAman]

Just received this update from Roger.
My neck is now attached to the B165 Body.
Roger also informed me that he has a few guitars available as follows:

1. 17” solid carved guitar.
2. A nylon string jazz guitar
3. A 7 string Jazz solid
4 Possibly a two yr old B120 coming in
on trade. He will let me know if/ when that
happens.

He did not give me prices to post. So you’ll have to reach out if your interested . He’s very fair with his prices compared to other luthiers.

He said if anyone is interested - just send him an email to Borysguitars.com and mention the forum post. I am not getting anything out of this, just helping another luthier friend of mine.


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[Rob MacKillop]

That's really taking shape, QA. Most envious, my friend! I'm sure you are worthy of it in every way.

If I lived in the US I'd be emailing him right now...