1940s Busato Modele #45

MichaelHorowitz

Highly ornate, flagship model from the great master!

noodlenot

that´s one of the funkiest looking woods i´ve seen, the figure so logically laid-out it rather seems man made. even for a wild method of veneer cutting it looks over the top, almost reptilian... definitely not cypress, though. winter growth on cypresses (and false cypresses too) doesn´t have a high contrast. also, is it a one piece back? no bookmatch there.

still, one hell of a guitar!

noodlenot

sorry, that wood´s got me puzzled: at first it seemed like some uber-form of quilt (although a very geometrical and homogenous quilt), but as you move the guitar around, the quilt should change it´s looks as it reflects light differently (adjacent fibers on quilt figure are oriented all over the place) - but in the clip it looked quite the same way irrespective of light angle. is it just me? anyone care to say what wood you think it is?

Al Watsky

What ever it is , its striking !
The listing mentioned that the back was with out braces.
The only time I've seen that done is with a carved back. Not bent or joined but carved as is some times done with a violin that has a 1 piece back.
No way to know without very close examination.
Amazing piece.

CalebFSU

That guitar sounds amazing!

Michael Bauer

That guitar lived with me for several months in 2009. I sent pictures to wood guys all over the country with no luck. Then I found numbers for a wood club in Washington. I called one of the officers and he asked me to send him pictures, telling me it would likely take a few weeks to figure it out. To my surprise, he called me back in about 15 minutes, telling me that the wood was some obscure maple that only grew on the island where he lives in Washington. he told me what it's name was, but I have long since forgotten. Take it for what it's worth. He sounded very sincere to me. If it's maple, it's the weirdest stuff I have ever seen. But he insisted that he was absolutely certain.

Al Watsky

Wood is endlessly variable.
Only god/nature can make a tree.
Trees are like snow flakes, every one is different.
Busatos are also endlessly variable it would seem.
Whats not to like ?

Jazzaferri

Drooling, wishing Ihad a spare 15k :shock:

noodlenot

if that guitar was near me, and there were no shipping and custom issues i would be VERY tempted, in spite of the cheesy ivoroid bindings...

michael bauer: which guitars haven´t gone through your hands?

noodlenot

ok, the story continues... i consulted with a few luthiers/lumber guys and the consensus points to tamo ash as the most probable candidate. still, it would be a VERY special specimen of Tamo ash, someone talked about doug fir being able to exhibit such kind of pattern, although i suspect it to be very rare. Maple didn´t pop up in any answer.

Bones

Looks like a one piece back (no center seam)?

Maybe flat(ish) sawn curly bigleaf maple?

I dig the ivoroid binding. Not very Selmer but more of a traditional US archtop look.