2003 Marchione 16" Spruce / Maple

[Cincy2]

This instrument found its way to me from an eBay seller in Japan. The difficulty I experienced with US Customs and FedEx is a story for another time. The guitar itself is very well preserved considering its age. The front is a beautiful piece of spruce with several areas of Bear Claw. The flame on the maple back is three dimensional in person. The only problem is the previous owner did a bad job of replacing the volume pot. I contacted Mr. Marchione about doing a refresh / repair and he graciously agreed to take her in early September.

I particularly like the proportions of the guitar. The cutout is more voluptuous than most and the curves are the arches are more pronounced. Considering the price and waitlist for new instruments from this luthier, I feel lucky to have found this well preserved example of his craft.

Cincy

[Gitterbug]

Congratulations! What's good for Mark Whitfield (I heard him play a red one in NYC) is good.

[vinnyv1k]

Gorgeous ! A big Congrats. May it serve you well.

[kris]

wow...great guitar!

[marcwhy]

Yow!! Congrats!!

[jazzkritter]

That is a pretty blond! Congrats and play in health.
(I know about these things, I was blond once)

[Woody Sound]

Wow, incredible acquisition!

[Max405]

Oh wow.. that’s really nice.
It’s funny when looked at the pictures, I thought, now THAT is the perfect place for a volume knob.
I really like the small details the gifted luthier added.
What’s with these Italian guys making guitars? How come I didn’t get that kind of talent?
Really nice guitar. Enjoy it.
Joe D

[Cunamara]

The body shape is reminiscent of Zeidler to my eyes (e.g., Pete Bernstein's guitar) rather than the typical Gibson or Benedetto shapes. Nice!

[Gitterbug]

Oh wow.. that’s really nice.

What’s with these Italian guys making guitars?
Joe D

I've been wondering about this, too. I've spent quite some time in Italy both in business and for family reasons. These people have a fantastic handcrafting and musical tradition. The also have a way of nurturing an artisanal touch on an industrial scale. Also think of all the great Italian-American jazz guitarists. Jazz guitar really owes a lot to people of Italian descent. And of course, the "local" jazz guitar scene in Italy is flourishing, too. Complimenti!

Edit: I forgot one word - passione. Italian sports cars and Riva boats are fruits of true passion, mass market vehicles not necessarily and some consumer appliances absolutely not.

[Woody Sound]

Edit: I forgot one word - passione. Italian sports cars and Riva boats are fruits of true passion, mass market vehicles not necessarily and some consumer appliances absolutely not.

I once asked a well-known high-end auto mechanic, "Who makes the worst cars?" Without hesitation he said "The Italians."

[grahambop]

I've been wondering about this, too. I've spent quite some time in Italy both in business and for family reasons. These people have a fantastic handcrafting and musical tradition. The also have a way of nurturing an artisanal touch on an industrial scale. Also think of all the great Italian-American jazz guitarists. Jazz guitar really owes a lot to people of Italian descent. And of course, the "local" jazz guitar scene in Italy is flourishing, too. Complimenti!

Also I think there’s a long tradition of building stringed instruments in Italy, i.e. violins, cellos, mandolins. Can see how they would be good at guitars (Stradivarius made some).

[Jabberwocky]

Marchione 2003 16 Inch Archtop "SIREN" Natural???????????????

Marchione 2003y 16 Inch Archtop "SIREN" Natural - GUITAR TRADERS

Looks like you bought Siren.

Congratulations! Play her in good health.

Speaks volumes when a luthier agrees to take a guitar back he/she had long sold to give her some tender, loving care. Not all luthiers want to do that. Some want to sell only new guitars and not see them cross their threshold again once gone.

Guess there is a new Marchione in your future.

[Jabberwocky]

By the way, don't shop for guitars located in Japan on ebay. Search for the guitar you see on ebay on ã?ã??ã?¸ã??ã?¼ã??ã??楽å?¨ã¨é ?³æ¥½æ©?材å°?é??のæ¤?ç´¢ï¼ ?総å?æ??å ±ã?µã?¤ã?? . On there you can find the actual dealer of the guitar and go to him/her directly.

The guys posting on ebay are usually guys who don't own the guitar. In other words, they act as broker or your agent. They scour the webpages of Japanese dealers, lift off the photos, post them on ebay. When you buy off ebay from one of these guys he takes your money, goes to the shop to buy it and then posts it to you. If the guitar is already sold you get your mney refunded with some hokey apology but you oftentimes lose on the foreign exchange on JPY back to USD. In a round trip you could lose as much as 10% in forex for nothing- 5% on USD to JPY; 5% on JPY back to USD.

You end up paying 10% Japan sales tax that you do not have to pay when the dealer exports it to you directly-the ebayer buys it as your agent so he has to pay 10% Japan sales tax as he is a resident. The ebayer usually marks up the price by 20% to 25% on the dealer's price when he sells it to you,and he receives loyalty points from the dealer to exchange for goods with your purchase. Japanese dealers usually stand behind what they sell. Independent ebayers go missing when something goes wrong because they don't own the guitar.

The positive image of Japanese people as polite, respectful and honest people was shattered when I ran into these folk online. Then I knew, the Japanese could be as scummy as the rest of us gaijin but they do it with a bow.

[Marinero]

Also I think there’s a long tradition of building stringed instruments in Italy, i.e. violins, cellos, mandolins. Can see how they would be good at guitars (Stradivarius made some).

Hi, G,
Italians are some of the finest craftsmen in the world from hand-carved furniture to stringed musical instruments. My concert CG is a LoPrinzi "Spanish Grand Concert"-cedar made by Agostino LoPrinzi-- originally from New Jersey and later Clearwater, Florida. He came from an immigrant Italian family and was trained as a barber. He began building Jazz guitars in the back room of his father's barbershop. Later, he became a full-time luthier and began building Classical Guitars and high-end ukeleles played by some of the instrument's greats. His guitars have a great depth and response that, usually, can only be found in instruments costing $10K plus-- for half the price. I have owned my LoPrinzi since 2000 and, for me, is irreplaceable.
Marinero

Meet Augustino LoPrinzi

[Jabberwocky]

John Buscarino-another Italian-American-was Augustino LoPrinzi's apprentice.

Cincy2, the OP, is also of Italian descent, in case anyone is curious. I hope Cincy2 doesn't mind my revealing that.

[Marinero]

John Buscarino-another Italian-American-was Augustino LoPrinzi's apprentice.

Cincy2, the OP, is also of Italian descent, in case anyone is curious. I hope Cincy2 doesn't mind my revealing that.

Thanks, J,
I didn't know that!
Marinero

[Stringswinger]

Congrats Cincy2. May she inspire you playing for many years to come!

Marchione is a Facebook friend and seems like a very intelligent fellow. I have never played one of his guitars, but I suspect, having heard John Storie play his, that I would be impressed.

[citizenk74]

That's a real knockout, for sure! Congratulations, and play it in good health!

[citizenk74]

Oh wow.. that’s really nice.
It’s funny when looked at the pictures, I thought, now THAT is the perfect place for a volume knob.
I really like the small details the gifted luthier added.
What’s with these Italian guys making guitars? How come I didn’t get that kind of talent?
Really nice guitar. Enjoy it.
Joe D

Joe: Console yourself with the knowledge that, without truly gifted players such as yourself making gorgeous music with them, the rest of us would never know how wonderful they sound!

[Max405]

I've been wondering about this, too. I've spent quite some time in Italy both in business and for family reasons. These people have a fantastic handcrafting and musical tradition. The also have a way of nurturing an artisanal touch on an industrial scale. Also think of all the great Italian-American jazz guitarists. Jazz guitar really owes a lot to people of Italian descent. And of course, the "local" jazz guitar scene in Italy is flourishing, too. Complimenti!
Edit: I forgot one word - passione. Italian sports cars and Riva boats are fruits of true passion, mass market vehicles not necessarily and some consumer appliances absolutely not.

You know, Passione is the key. Most of the people on this planet have it, but italians have perfected the art of showing it outwardly.
It is a breath of fresh air hearing something positive about my people. I am proud to be an American of 1st generation italian decent! I can't imagine it being any other way..

Joe: Console yourself with the knowledge that, without truly gifted players such as yourself making gorgeous music with them, the rest of us would never know how wonderful they sound!

C74, that was really nice to see you say that. And I really appreciate it. Thanks, JD

[jazzkritter]

Wine.
Sicilian olive oil.
Dante.
Opera upon opera upon opera.
Vivaldi.
‘nuff said

um, FIAT, not so much

[Stringswinger]

Wine.
Sicilian olive oil.
Dante.
Opera upon opera upon opera.
Vivaldi.
‘nuff said

um, FIAT, not so much

But Italy also make Ferrari. Fiat? Nobody is perfect, after all, America made the Corvair and the Vega.

And if you want to mention some of Italy's greatest gifts to the world, you must mention John D'Angelico and Joe Pass.

[JGinNJ]

Hi, G,
Italians are some of the finest craftsmen in the world from hand-carved furniture to stringed musical instruments. My concert CG is a LoPrinzi "Spanish Grand Concert"-cedar made by Agostino LoPrinzi-- originally from New Jersey and later Clearwater, Florida. He came from an immigrant Italian family and was trained as a barber. He began building Jazz guitars in the back room of his father's barbershop. Later, he became a full-time luthier and began building Classical Guitars and high-end ukeleles played by some of the instrument's greats. His guitars have a great depth and response that, usually, can only be found in instruments costing $10K plus-- for half the price. I have owned my LoPrinzi since 2000 and, for me, is irreplaceable.
Marinero

Meet Augustino LoPrinzi

LoPrinzi made guitars not far from me, while I'd heard the name i didn't realize it until many years later. I went into an area music store and tried a LoPrinzi D-18 style acoustic, and noticed the label on the inside said "Rosemont, NJ". It was a great sounding guitar for about 1000 bucks, if i remember, but I already had a couple of Martins.

[wintermoon]

LoPrinzi made guitars not far from me, while I'd heard the name i didn't realize it until many years later. I went into an area music store and tried a LoPrinzi D-18 style acoustic, and noticed the label on the inside said "Rosemont, NJ". It was a great sounding guitar for about 1000 bucks, if i remember, but I already had a couple of Martins.

My pal the late John Zeidler apprenticed under Loprinzi out of high school but was soon running the shop