1950s Joseph Di Mauro Special Chorus

The elder Joseph Di Mauro was part of the mass emigration of master Sicilian luthiers (Busato, Oliveri Anastasio, etc) who left Catania in the early 20th century. In the 1930s Di Mauro and his countrymen setup a series of shops on the East side of Paris and quickly adapted their skills to making jazz guitars in the Selmer Maccaferri style. Di Mauro was certainly one of the most successful and long lasting of these Franco-Sicilian luthiers as his guitars were widely adopted by players of many styles. Notable players include Moreno, Boulou Ferre, Patrick Saussois, Samy Daussat, Jean-Yves Dubanton, and even Pat Metheny! Di Mauro guitars were produced continuously until the early 90s, first by Antoine and his brother Joseph and later by Antoine's son Joseph.

This guitar was built by Antoine Di Mauro's brother Joseph, not be confused with Antoine's son of the same name. This f hole model by the elder Joseph is extremely rare with very few known surviving examples.

The dimensions of this instrument are typical of Joseph's work: 16 1/8" body width, 3 7/8" body depth, and a 660mm scale length. The top is spruce. The back and sides are made of birdseye maple which Joseph used extensively. As is typical with most of the Sicilian luthiers, the back is bent and the neck is reinforced with a center spline. As one of Joseph's most ornate models, this guitar features ivoroid rope binding and the Di Mauro style diamond fingerboard inlays. Hardware includes a nickel trapeze tailpiece and a set of DM tuners.

This instrument is in excellent condition. There is one small top crack that runs along the treble side of the fingerboard. Other than that, the instrument just has a small number of dings and scratches, far less than you'd expect of an instrument of this age. The frets have some very light wear. This guitar is amazingly well preserved for it's age and, after all these years, is still quite stunning both sonically and visually!

The top of this instrument has a very shallow bend, hence it produces a warm and full tone. The chordal sound of this guitar is particularly noteworthy for it's rich, thick character that is ideal for filling out the rhythm section of any Gypsy group. Single notes are round with lots of body which is particularly nice for unaccompanied solo playing. This is a fantastic instrument for a full time rhythm player or a lead player looking for a less aggressive tone than is typical of your average Gypsy guitar.

This is the CASH price...add 3% if you'd like to pay with a credit card. Add 4% for international credit card orders.