This guitar was designed and created in conjunction with Tom Ribbecke and Larry Robinson for a special Archtop customer. It was one of the most incredible creations I’ve participated in, and had the privilege of helping to Architect and realize.
Starting with a hand selected incredibly clear Adirondack Red Spruce top and Master Grade Flamed maple sides and back, this 18 inch beauty blends in rare Curly Koa bindings on the top, back, fingerboard, S-Holes, and headstock. S-Holes provide exceptional projection and with Tom’s top and back archtop carve, the responsiveness is fast and bass was clear and balanced. The trim woods are incredible. The 12” radiused fingerboard makes use of Cameroon Ebony. Tom’s necks are a dream to play and this Highly Figured Birdseye maple two-piece neck with a thin Ebony center has a great L5-like feel. The Headstock Veneer, finger-rest, and tailpiece utilize striped Macassar Ebony. The Ribbecke/Mantzer sized finger rest adds a 3mm perimeter accent to compliment the colorings in the fingerboard. The “ship” themed inlay work was crafted by the inlay master Larry Robinson (1,000,000th Martin). The Headstock is one of the most incredible I’ve seen and was based on a drawing by the Customer. The detail of recessing the truss rod cover to the plane of the headstock is outstanding. This guitar plays and sounds AMAZING.
Tom’s Private Practice Guitars are now very limited and start at $30,000.
Artistic Guitars can help you with the Archtop of your dreams from Tom.