First Impressions Of An Unexpected Campellone Deluxe

[andrew]

For most of last year I, like many of us, gushed over one set of magnificent photos of Campellone guitars after another. Both the construction process and the finished products looked amazing. The reviews were nothing but glowing. So finally, after months of torment, I managed to sneak my way onto the back of Mark’s list and I buckled in for the 4 year wait. Having gone slightly insane the last few years and buying way too many guitars, I tried to set the goal for myself of not buying another guitar until I got the Campellone. In a way, I achieved that goal, but certainly not in the way I imagined.

About two months after I got on the list, I received a message about a Benedetto guitar I was consigning for a friend of mine. Someone wanted to trade a Campellone plus cash for the Benedetto. I told myself “Ok, ask for the specs. It probably won’t be what you want”. When I received them, I was quite surprised; It was almost exactly what I would have ordered. (The only difference is that I’m generally not a big humbucker guy, so I would probably have opted for some sort of single coil pickup). I knew the offer was too good to pass up, so I accepted the trade, and paid the difference to my friend for the Benedetto.

I’ve only had the guitar for a few days, but I wanted to share my first impressions. First of all, wow, you guys weren’t kidding! The build quality is second-to-none. How one man manages to build guitars like this in his basement is astounding. I had the opportunity to directly compare it to a carved Benedetto and two different L-5s. The Campellone was not outclassed in the slightest despite being about half the price of a Benedetto. There really was no clear winner. They were all excellent, it was purely a matter of personal preference. And that’s really saying something.

The guitar came with roundwound strings. I usually have flatwounds on my archtops, so my initial tonal comparisons aren’t exactly apples to apples. But it sounds as good as it looks. The tone is bright and clear and still retains plenty of that acoustic nature, despite being a set-in pickup. The guitar weighs 7 pounds exactly. The body is nice and light. I’m still playing around with the pickup height. The previous owner had the pickup at an extreme angle. I’m really splitting hairs now, but I’m having a hard time getting the tone of the low E string (and A string to a lesser extent) to match the tone of the other strings. It seems those strings are darker and a bit woofy compared to the others. Who knows, it may be the strings themselves and a fresh set may solve my problem. Or it may be the pickup, which I was told is a standard wind Lollar Imperial. (This is why I generally don’t like humbuckers. I find most of them can get a little muddy for my taste).

My only two criticisms come down to personal preference. 1) All of my favorite feeling necks have nut widths between 1.62” and 1.65” inches (1-5/8” to 1-21/32”). This nut was advertised as 1-11/16”, but like all necks, measurements vary slightly and this one comes in at 1.70”. It’s a touch wider than I would have hoped, but I think I’ll get over it. 2) I’m not a fan of the taper of modern pots and like to change my guitar volume pots to linear taper (or at least J taper) for a more gradual sweep. The pot in this guitar has one of the most extreme sweeps I’ve ever seen. Going from 10 to 9 is a huge leap. With the volume on 6, the output is practically zero. This is definitely going to get swapped out.

Anyway, I’ve rambled enough. Moral of the story is: if you have the chance to pick up a Campellone, do it! You won’t regret it. Now I have 4 years to decide what my next one will be (wine red with a white pickguard perhaps?)

And of course, no thread would be complete without pictures. The previous owner had Mark make two sets of truss rod covers and pickguards. And the last photo is it out on its first gig with me this past Saturday night.

[deacon Mark]

Wes would have played one of these guitars if he was still with us for sure. You made and outstanding purchase and why wait 4 years to get a Campy. There are 4 on Reverb now and the waiting list is only in how fast you get it shipped. Great story play the frets off it.

[Stringswinger]

Congrats! My Campellone was made to Vinny's specs and yet still works quite well for me. Had I ordered it, It would be a bit different, but at the price I paid, I am not complaining. It is amazing how much acoustic property this guitar has with a built in pickup (mine has a Kent Armstrong handmade PAF). Welcome to the club and may she inspire your playing for many years to come.

[Gilpy]

Congratulations on the new guitar!

Campellone guitars really are as good as everybody here says they are. I was fortunate to only have to wait two years for mine.

When the time comes for your guitar to be built, you will enjoy the process. Mark will communicate every step of the way.

[Mark M.]

A beauty! I have a Standard Custom 17” in Dark Cherry Burst with a floating Biltoft CC pickup that Mark built for me a year and a half ago. It’s an amazing guitar!

[vinnyv1k]

Hmmm - interesting about the pots. All my Campy's have had the full 0-10 perfect sweep range. It could be a pickup issue and not the pots. I know for a fact that Mark uses full sweep pot on his guitars.

[andrew]

Thanks for the well-wishes everyone. I hope my post didn't come off as too negative. I didn't mean to dwell on the minor nitpicks. It's very rare that I don't end up tweaking something on a guitar. It really is a word class instrument. And, after all the trading, I picked it up for an attractive price.

I think this forum needs a new Campellone icon added to the options down below when you create a post.

[pilotony]

However long you have to wait for a Campellone it is definitely worth it. I've been playing since 1960 and have played and owned many really "good" guitars. My Campellone played through a Fender Princeton Reverb Reissue (12 inch speaker) sounds so good I wish I could play better!

[MCampellone]

I was happy to see that you're pleased with the Deluxe, Andrew - you probably already know this, but as a pickup alternative, a number of pickup manufacturers offer a P90 in a humbucker frame - a pretty easy swap if you ever wanted to make a change.

As for the action of the controls, this issue continues to baffle me - I always use the same pots for humbuckers - CTS 500K audio taper - I assume the quality of the pots is pretty consistent, but every now and then I'll find the sweep having most of the action at one end of the rotation or the other - my best guess is that it has to do with how the impedance of a particular pickup balances against the impedance of the pots - but I'm not an electronics expert - maybe someone here on the forum can offer a more technical explanation -

[bluenote61]

Might be that OP is not used to audio taper pots. I would recommend in this case to switch to linear pots.
The impedance of a humbucker pickup is too low to have an impact on a 500k pot.
Just my 2c.

[vinnyv1k]

Our modern day John D’Angelico

[skykomishone]

Lovely guitars!
Congratulations on the NGD.
I unexpectedly bought a Deluxe a couple of years ago.
It too is a set humbucker, but a 16", and short scale. Remarkably resonant with good sustain when compared to similar guitars.