2009 Thorell Caravane

Utah based luthier extraordinaire Ryan Thorell has long been the darling of the archtop world. Renown for his meticulous woodworking skills and extensive knowledge of instrument acoustics, Ryan has attracted numerous top professionals including the illustrious Frank Vignola. As a highly versatile player whose style spans genres from bebop to bluegrass to Gypsy jazz, Vignola required a guitar that was capable of functioning well in a variety of situations. The result was the now legendary Thorell FV model which is at home both as an acoustic and an electric guitar.

This brings us to this very unique Caravane model for sale here. This instrument is a variation of the Vignola model, custom made by for a professional Gypsy jazz guitarist who is good friends with both Ryan and Frank. The Caravane is more specialized as a Gypsy jazz guitar, with numerous features inspired by the original Selmer Maccaferri design. The bent top, four lateral top braces, D shaped soundhole, Maccaferri body shape, and slotted headstock give this guitar the look and feel of a traditional Gypsy jazz guitar. Ryan's innovations include a tornavoz soundhole, stylized fretboard extension, raised heel with a strap button, and modern looking "dot-less" fingerboard.

This guitar features a sitka spruce top, paduak back and sides, a two piece flamed maple neck, and ebony binding. The headstock is embellished with an ebony front veneer and a walnut rear veneer. The three piece back has an ebony center strip flanked by two pieces of beautiful, red tinted paduak. The headstock has been fitted with a set of Swiss made closed Miller tuners with ebony buttons and the tailpiece is a Miller as well. A bigtone pickup is installed.

The tone of this instrument is a wonderful mix of archtop, flatop, and Gypsy! It posses the deep bass of a flatop, the midrange focus of an archtop, and snapping highs of a Gypsy guitar. The tornavoz soundhole adds detail and clarity to the low end while reigning in unwanted overtone ringing. This instrument's incredible versatility allows it to be at home in a variety of settings, from straight Gypsy jazz to folk to bebop. Additionally, the short scale length and low string tension make it very easy to play.

This guitar is in mint condition with virtually no sings of use over its relatively short life.

Ryan Thorell is already a living legend in the world of high end luthiery, with a long wait list and prices starting in the /00 range. This mint condition, one-of-a-kind custom model is nothing short of a bargain for work of this caliber. Here's your chance to own a unique model by a celebrated maker!