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 further hand-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. It is strung with TI George Benson 12-53 flats, and sings with the sweetest voice. It weighs 5.2 lbs, and is a pure delight to hold and play. I cannot see any nicks or dents anywhere. There is some very minor flaking of the burled maple, just around a few of the machine nuts on the headstock fascia, and a tiny bit of glue flaking in the joint between the neck and top on the bass side. The pickup is hand-wound Kent Armstrong, marked "P0-1." Hardshell case included, shows some minor wear, otherwise perfect {and substantial). This spectacular Peter Hopkins Contessa originally sold for approximately $7500-8500.

Shipping $125 to US lower 48 only.

Thanks for looking; please feel free to ask questions.