Rare Albanus on Reverb - Narrow nut?

[Woody Sound]

There is a great condition rare Albanus on Reverb. Nice guitar, but the seller says it has a 1-5/8" nut, and it looks as if both E strings are almost off the frets. Anyone know if all (or most) of his guitars shared that? They were made to order, so maybe this customer just wanted a narrower neck. From the description of another one that archtop.com had with a 1-11/16" nut:

Body size at lower bout: 17", Body Depth: 3 1/8" Scale length: 25" Nut: 1 11/16"
Finish: Sunburst finish, nitrocellulose lacquer type.
Materials: Solid bookmatched handcarved fine grain spruce top; full-depth handcarved solid maple back and sides with Venetian cutaway; tiger flame maple neck with walnut centerstripes; solid ebony fingerboard with block mother of pearl inlays; pearl diamond and headstock logo; 9-ply body binding, 3-ply neck and headstock binding; triple-bound f-holes; solid bone nut.
Hardware: Original hardware includes gold Schaller tuners; hand carved ebony tailpiece with pearl inlay, compensated adjustable ebony bridge with inlaid feet; bound black acrylic pickguard with original gold DeArmond Model 1100 Adjustable Rhythm Chief pickup with tone and volume control box and mini-jack output.
Notes: The decade of the 1960's saw the most explosive increase in guitar sales in the history of the instrument. In the wake of the folk revival, the British Invasion and the legacy of Elvis, baby boomers kept guitar manufacturers scrambling to meet exponentially increasing demand. Swamped in the tsunami of mass produced dreadnoughts and solid bodies, the venerable archtop guitar kept a lonely vigil at the top of the catalog, with the major manufacturers showing their lowest production figures in history.
Nowhere was this more true than in the rarified world of the hand built guitar. D'Angelico's long career had ended with the beginning of the decade, and his successor D'Aquisto wouldn't fully hit his stride until the next. Stromberg had passed away in the mid-50's, and the renaissance in hand building sparked by Benedetto and his followers was almost a quarter century away. Despite the setbacks, a hard core of working session players, sidemen and soloists continued to demand hand-carved instruments crafted to their exacting specifications. Into the void stepped Carl Albanus Johnson.
According to Chicago guitarist Chuck Kling, Johnson was a Swedish immigrant schooled in violin making. He is said to have learned guitar craft at the Boston workshop of Elmer Stromberg, another builder of Swedish heritage. Relocating to Chicago in the 50's, Johnson built a reputation among the working players in the area with his finely crafted instruments which, like those of D'Angelico, were generally built to order. None of his instruments bear a date, but we understand he was active between the late 50's and his death in 1973, and that he probably produced no more than a hundred or so guitars in his career. (We believe this example to be one of his later guitars, owing to the presence of the original gold Schaller tuners.) Among the rarest of American archtop guitars, we believe most surviving specimens remain in the Midwest.
The 17" Venetian cutaway body is handcarved of highly figured fiddleback flame maple, finished in a subtle tobacco sunburst showing wood grain from rim to rim. The handcarved spruce top is quartersawn, bookmatched, and hand graduated throughout. The body binding is extravagant, with a full nine plies on the body and triple bound f-holes. Of particular note is the handcarved ebony tailpiece, which reflects Johnson's roots in violin building. Predating D'Aquisto by a number of years, Johnson may indeed deserve credit for introducing the wooden tailpiece on the modern archtop guitar. Expertly contoured with a slim contemporary feel, the birdseye maple neck is reinforced with a three piece centerstripe and is dead straight with smooth low action over a solid ebony fingerboard with excellent medium jumbo frets. An original gold DeArmond Model 1100 Adjustable Rhythm Chief pickup is installed, with tone and volume control box and mini-jack output. Now out of production for many decades, this classic pickup is a holy grail for many jazzers, and alone commands a princely sum on the vintage market.
This example has been maintained in superb 100% original condition, without cracks, pick, buckle, thumb or fingerboard wear, and showing only very light normal checking in the all-original nitro finish. The original multi-ply binding is tight to the body and in excellent shape. Of particlar note is the double scroll headstock, a highly distinctive design somewhat reminiscent of (and possibly predating) a similar contour used by noted builder Sam Koontz. This example is the only Albanus we have seen with this headstock design to date. The body is nicely lightweight and well balanced, just 6 lb. 1 oz., and the voice of this X-braced guitar is particularly clear, vibrant and musical, with a deep woodiness that is truly exceptional under the ear. Slim, low action with orginal medium-jumbo frets over a comfy gentle D profile neck. A thrilling performer, and one of the rarest American archtops ever, the Albanus is a continuing testament to the Stromberg of the Windy City.


Albanus archtop circa 1957-1965 Sunburst | Reverb

[deacon Mark]

Albanus guitars are some of finest sounding guitars you will ever play. I owned one for a long time and yes I should not have sold it. This one clearly looks like the nut and the string spacing is off. It is Jack Chiccine's guitar and I will not comment any further on that. Certainly worth a look if the price was not way off the mark. These a great guitars however the market does not know Albanus guitars really, Carl used his middle name for the guitar his name was Carl Albanus Johnson. Only serious archtop players really know them and probably at this point the younger guys are clueless. Jack as a Barker for sale to and he wants $12k for it. If anyone is interested in that guitar please see me I will sell you my Barker for less and it is in much better condition.

[Woody Sound]

Albanus guitars are some of finest sounding guitars you will ever play. I owned one for a long time and yes I should not have sold it.

From the light, it looks like a V neck. Is that just an optical illusion because of the wood strips down the middle?

[NSJ]

I was wondering when Jack would start selling off his guitars, more en masse. He had an occasional one on consignment at Guitar Works in Evanston, from time to time (Terry the owner, and Geoffe Benge constructed Jack’s guitar room). Jack knew all the great luthiers, from Barker to Benedetto to D’Aquisto

Jack knows his guitars, having worked at Yamaha and then at Fender. The reason he only played one jazz box as his regular gigging guitar was because it was head and shoulders above the rest. an Oval hole carved 17” with a monkey on a stick, made by his good friend, Sam Koontz. Jack took that Koontz guitar to Colorado when he visited Johnny Smith on one occasion. Mr. Smith played the guitar and immediately said, “Jack, this is the finest guitar I have played, without exception”.

When I had the funds, I bought one of Jack’s guitars, an early 60s L5C. Jack said, “if you ever sell this guitar, you’re stupid.”

I actually may sell that guitar, but I’m weary of shipping it anywhere. It’s a fantastic guitar.

I wish Jack all the success in selling off his guitar collection. I haven’t talked to him in a few years, and he’s going to be 86 this year, and sadly, his gigging days are long into the past.

[wintermoon]

There was an Albanus for sale for $5500 recently. It looked nice but had some binding issues as some do.

My friend the late Howard Krive knew Sam Koontz and had the biggest Koontz collection in the world, over 30 guitars I believe. He had many D'Angelicos and vintage Gibsons as well. He bought Ceccini's oval Koontz, I never got to play it but he and said it was the best sounding guitar he ever heard, bar none.