Campellone’s New Batch

[vinnyv1k]

He does batches of 4 now but the quality is still the same…..top shelf !

[marcwhy]

Yowza! Fantastic!

[Is the last guitar "blue" or "green?" Those colors are tricky with photos ... Regardless - pretty sweet!]

[Gitterbug]

Never tried or even seen one, but Campellones appear to be in a class of their own in terms in materials, workmanship and price/quality relationship. And they look splendid! If Gibson ever manages to re-introduce the ES-175, a laminate guitar, the price could be prohibitive compared to these. I'm repeating myself, but it's a pity individual luthiers prefer to work alone or retain their apprentices for a limited period only, instead of creating a "school" or cooperative, and therewith a brand extending over generations. Gibson created by now iconic electric guitar models 60-80 years ago. Their reputation supports the brand and resale values despite corporate downs and ups since.

Of all the luthiers active in the past centuries, only a few names - Stradivari, Amati, Guarnieri, Guadagnini - are known today outside the circle of cognoscienti. As far as I know, their workshops employed several people and generations, including sons and other family members.

May Campellone achieve a similar reputation in the future! Yet, reaching the status of D'Angelico and D'Aquisto is already a challenge, with Benedetto and Buscarino looking down from the next alphabet ladder. I think its up to us, lovers and buyers of archtop guitars, to cast our vote in favor individual luthiers, whose promotional resources are limited and who aren't benefiting from the marketing muscle of major retailers either.

[skykomishone]

Oh yea!

[Betz]

I'm repeating myself, but it's a pity individual luthiers prefer to work alone or retain their apprentices for a limited period only, instead of creating a "school" or cooperative, and therewith a brand extending over generations.

Is this not what Bill Collings did?

[deacon Mark]

Never tried or even seen one, but Campellones appear to be in a class of their own in terms in materials, workmanship and price/quality relationship. And they look splendid! If Gibson ever manages to re-introduce the ES-175, a laminate guitar, the price could be prohibitive compared to these. I'm repeating myself, but it's a pity individual luthiers prefer to work alone or retain their apprentices for a limited period only, instead of creating a "school" or cooperative, and therewith a brand extending over generations. Gibson created by now iconic electric guitar models 60-80 years ago. Their reputation supports the brand and resale values despite corporate downs and ups since.

Of all the luthiers active in the past centuries, only a few names - Stradivari, Amati, Guarnieri, Guadagnini - are known today outside the circle of cognoscienti. As far as I know, their workshops employed several people and generations, including sons and other family members.

May Campellone achieve a similar reputation in the future! Yet, reaching the status of D'Angelico and D'Aquisto is already a challenge, with Benedetto and Buscarino looking down from the next alphabet ladder. I think its up to us, lovers and buyers of archtop guitars, to cast our vote in favor individual luthiers, whose promotional resources are limited and who aren't benefiting from the marketing muscle of major retailers either.

Mark Campellone has a reputation now that is second to none. He already has achieved what I believe is the modern day D'angelico guitar. It is not a once in a blue moon special that is made for some event or marketing tool. He makes great sounding guitars that are traditional, used by real players, and are priced so that players will actually buy them.

I would not publicly do this, but I could easily name a number of luthiers who build guitars, or a "one off" type designed for collectors and esoteric type archtop lovers. There are more than a few and frankly I am never going to buy one of those guitars. Not to be mean or take anything away from them but I want a guitar and plays well and sounds great and I use it ever day not sitting it on a showcase. The Gibson L5 did not get to the top of the heap and survive 100 years without being quite available and practical yet styled well.

[andrew]

Wow. Another blonde non-cutaway! Is that three in the last two batches?

Maybe it’s the photo angle, but doesn’t that blonde Wes Mo spec Deluxe look like it’s 18”?

[MCampellone]

Wow. Another blonde non-cutaway! Is that three in the last two batches?

Maybe it’s the photo angle, but doesn’t that blonde Wes Mo spec Deluxe look like it’s 18”?

Yeah, especially in the back shot, that blonde cutaway does look like an 18", but it's just the camera angle - it's a 17" guitar. HOWEVER, your eyes did pick up something - I recently made new bending forms and body molds for my 17" guitars, and I did change the outline a little! When I first started out, my forms were based on a tracing of an old (50's) Gibson L7 - my early forms were somewhat crude, so I eventually made better ones. In forming the outlines of the new forms, I strayed bit from the old Gibson model - I wanted to go a little more 'modern' looking, with less tight of a bend at the waist, and these are the forms I've been using for the past 20 or so years.

I'd recently been thinking about going back to a 17" body outline more like the older Gibson 17" models - last January, I bought a 1970 L5CES (as a 'fixer-upper' project - pictured below) which, to my eyes, has the perfect Gibson 17" body shape, and I decided to make all new forms based on a tracing of this body. It was quite a bit of work for a difference so subtle that most people wouldn't even notice it - but I've always been very tuned into that particular aesthetic, so for me it was worth it.

Gibson, too, has made changes in the L5 body over the years - the radius of the waist bend, the depth and shape of the cutaway, etc. - I've always been curious as to who at Gibson makes those decisions and what they base them on.

[MCampellone]

Yowza! Fantastic!

[Is the last guitar "blue" or "green?" Those colors are tricky with photos ... Regardless - pretty sweet!]

I used my usual blue stain - however, the top for that guitar had a rather yellowish natural color, so at least the top does look a little blue/green in real life.

[floatingpickup]

So, do I have to replace both of mine with new body shape?
Keith

[andrew]

So, do I have to replace both of mine with new body shape?
Keith

Maybe. Or maybe years from now people will view the new shape like the Florentine cut L5s and prefer the old shape. In which case your guitars just got more valuable!

Better get a couple of each just to be safe.

[deacon Mark]

Well now I need a non cutaway 18 to go along with my cutaway, I suppose that is out of the question.

[MCampellone]

So, do I have to replace both of mine with new body shape?
Keith

Ha! - like I said, the difference in shape is very subtle - nicely illustrated in this Campy/L5 comparison - a bit of computer magic that Hammertone did a while back : )

[andrew]

Mark, just out of curiosity, why did you stop building 18"s? In one of your workshop photos, I saw some 18" forms sitting on a shelf. Is it because premium grade wood that large is getting too hard to find?

[Hammertone]

Mark, just out of curiosity, why did you stop building 18"s? In one of your workshop photos, I saw some 18" forms sitting on a shelf. Is it because premium grade wood that large is getting too hard to find?

I thought the same thing, and asked the same question, which he answered on one of my visits to his shop. Mark is not a tall person*, so the reach required to work on 18" guitars is a stretch. Combined with advancing age...

*He's only 4 feet tall.

[MCampellone]

Mark, just out of curiosity, why did you stop building 18"s? In one of your workshop photos, I saw some 18" forms sitting on a shelf. Is it because premium grade wood that large is getting too hard to find?

It is a little difficult to get wood big enough for an 18" guitar (even for a 17" nowadays), but the main reason I stopped building 18's was because I was having shoulder problems which were making it difficult (and painful) to manipulate an 18" guitar in the spray booth. I never got many orders for 18's anyway, and I had plenty of orders for 17 and 16 inch guitars, so I figured it wouldn't hurt me to lose the 18" business.

[jim777]

I think the biggest difference between my 18" and my 17" is the 18" has flats and the 17" has rounds. I play almost 100% of the time acoustically, and have a fairly light touch, so take that into account They are both an absolute joy to play, which is the main thing.