D'Aquisto
What happens when a great luthier has a
great protege? D'Aquisto, that's what.
Imagine being a young fellow with an interest in music and finding yourself working for the greatest guitar-maker of your generation. James D'Aquisto didn't have to imagine, he got to live it for himself.
James D'Aquisto had always been interested in working with his hands as well as is interest in music. He was encouraged to visit D'Angelico's shop by another guitarist and it soon became an all-absorbing interest. Eventually, he was asked to go to work there and he remained working there for the rest of D'Angelico's life. He started out doing simple tasks, running errands and keeping the place clean but he took every opportunity afforded him to learn as much as he could.
His diligence served him well because D'Angelico passed away when D'Aquisto was still in his 20s and he had to strike out on his own. At first, D'Aquisto guitars looked just like D'Angelico guitars but after a few year D'Aquisto started to make changes that would mark the beginnings of the most innovative line of archtops to date.
By
the mid '70s D'Aquisto was using "S" shaped sound holes and ebony
tailpieces. The guitars looked modern and unadorned in stark
contrast to the art-deco look of the D'Angelicos. The instruments
sounded good and D'Aquisto knew that there was a place not only for
highly resonant acoustic archtops but also for electric archtops
designed to meet the needs of amplified playing. About this time
D'Aquisto guitars started showing up on the covers of albums by Jim
Hall. While I don't believe there was ever an endorsement
agreement the publicity of those album covers, coupled with the
wonderful guitar sounds found on the recordings, helped bring D'Aquisto
national recognition as the luthier of choice for the '70s and the '80s.
Fender built a line of archtops that were designed by D'Aquisto and I can say from personal experience that these guitars sounded wonderful. Joe Pass played a D'Aquisto during much of the "Virtuoso" era and I was privileged to actually play his laminate-wood concert guitar on one occasion, the only D'Aquisto I've ever played. He also had a solid-wood D'Aquisto that was used in the studio. Eventually Ibanez made a Joe Pass model that looked an awful lot like a D'Aquisto. Even to this day Ibanez uses "S" holes on many of their guitars.
Sadly, just like his mentor, James D'Aquisto died at the age of 59. He had suffered epilepsy and in 1994 it took his life. The guitars he created towards the end of his life were innovative designs that have yet to be outdone.
The Avant Garde, the Solo, the Centura and even a reprise of D'Angelico's teardrop guitar were all products of D'Aquistos later years. I can't imagine any luthier outdoing the creativity or artistry of D'Angelico. The man was a living treasure that combined the soul of an artist with the hands of an artisan.
