Peter Hopkins Contessa 16" Gorgeous NOW ON SALE!

Fully hand-made by renowned luthier, Peter Hopkins of Penticton, British Columbia, and of the absolute highest quality.

The Contessa is the distilled essence of the classic archtop guitar. Unadorned and understated, its elegant simplicity, sensuous edges and purity of form allow the senses to appreciate the downright sexiness of a hand carved archtop guitar. Its visual purity is echoed by the purity of tone. Clean, rich tonality springs forth in both acoustic and electrified configurations.

Features include

Gorgeous burled maple lacquered matching tailpiece, bridge, pickguard and headstock.
Ebony fingerboard with decoration at 12th fret
Violin Finish, no binding
Kent Armstrong P0-1 suspended pickup.
Top: AAA Sitka spruce and
Back & Sides: Big leaf curly maple.
One piece flamed maple neck with 2-way adjustable truss rod.
Scale length 25"
Nut 1.75"

Building The Instrument

Peter Hopkin's fascination with the carved archtop began in 1973, when his father built a Gibson A-5 mandolin.

"I was in awe of the process, of the fact that he could take a solid piece of wood and, with his hands, create a musical instrument of such sublime beauty!"

Throughout his building career, Peter continued to impart that reverence for the creative process into each and every one of his hand-crafted archtop guitars. Extremely well-respected in the industry for decades, Peter's guitars enjoy an enviable reputation for easy playability combined with incredible, absolutely gorgeous tone and visual beauty. Instruments like this gorgeous Contessa archtop rarely show up in the pre-owned marketplace, and are considered by many to be among the finest hand-carved archtops a jazz player can ever hope to own.

Starting with select spruce and maple tonewoods, he begins to draw out the tonal qualities unique to the carved archtop, finished with the understated elegance of fine ebony, abalone and mother of pearl. "The most important consideration has to be tone, that balanced blend of a rich, deep bass all the way through to a clear, ringing treble. Once you've achieved that, when you combine it with the classic lines of the traditional archtop, that's the ultimate guitar!"

All woods, whether Sitka spruce sound boards, "big leaf" maple backs and sides, or Eastern maple necks are hand selected for color, figure and grain, and then seasoned in the workshop until ready for use.

Tops and backs are carved, scraped and planed to exacting tolerances and then finely hand-graduated and tap-tuned to ensure optimum resonance and tonality in each individual guitar.

Condition

The guitar is nearly mint with only a few slight indications that it has actually been played. I cannot see any nicks or dents anywhere. There is some very minor (tiny) flaking of the darker burled maple, just around some of the machine nuts on the headstock fascia, and also a teeny-tiny bit of finish-flaking in the joint between the neck and top on the bass side. This instrument has been carefully inspected by Master Luthier Joe Bonomo who found it to be stunningly constructed and structurally sound with no issues whatsoever, and he has assured me that this flaking is cosmetic only, and does not affect structural integrity in any way at all. And, you really have to look closely to find any of it.

Please refer carefully to my pics. I'm calling it "Excellent," my highest rating, since you might actually find a tiny mark or two somewhere under bright lights, where I did not. It weighs just 5.2 lbs, and is a pure delight to hold and play. It is strung with TI George Benson 12-53 flats, plays like butter and sings with the sweetest, silkiest open voice, typical of only the finest solid wood, hand-carved instruments.

The pickup is a hand-wound Kent Armstrong, marked "P0-1." Hardshell case shows some minor wear, otherwise perfectly intact (and substantial). This spectacular and very special Peter Hopkins Contessa originally sold for approximately $8500.

I'm located in Rockland County, NY and if you're local, you are welcome to stop by to have a real look...

Shipping $125 to US lower 48 only.

NO TAX COLLECTED outside of NY State.

Thanks for looking; please feel free to ask questions.