After years of making Citterns and mandolins, in 1981 famed English luthier Stefan Sobell finally ventured into the world of Archtop guitar building. Inspired by his 1930’s Martin C1, these archtops weren’t the usual Gibson style fare, but oval hole, fairly squat, 16-fret-to-the-body guitars with European spruce tops and, usually, rosewood back and sides. As with everything Sobell, he knocked it out of the park.

This particular guitar, made in April of 1989, has a European spruce top and, most likely, Indian rosewood back and sides. Herringbone inlay, as well as a herringbone rosette, adorn the tastefully, lightly, sunbursted top. The top, by the way, is X braced, which, coupled with the triangularized oval hole, give this guitar a sound which is halfway between a small body Archtop and a small body flattop, fitting both sonic landscapes adeptly and surprisingly well.

The mahogany neck is surprisingly thin, offset by a 1 ¾ nut and a near flat radius, which make for a very 80’s futuristic feel, almost akin to Ibanez or a similarly speed oriented brand. It’s surprisingly comfortable even with its thin size, and tantalizingly fast to play. Don’t get lost in it!
The full contact ebony bridge with a flat top saddle inset is an interesting hybrid solution to this guitars already multifaceted personality.

The top, unfortunately, was broken in on the lower bout bass side, and has been repaired by our in house luthiers. Completely stable now. Nice brass tailpiece also!

Comes with an unknown pickup installed. Hard case included.