Great Acoustics: 2005 Benedetto “Vinodetto” with Wine-Stained Maple

This article was first published in the December 2008 issue of Acoustic Guitar.

Luthier Bob Benedetto has established himself as one of the premier archtop makers in the business, and in 2008, he’s celebrating 40 years of building guitars. He spent his teen years playing guitar in various Italian-American dance bands around New Jersey but ultimately followed a fascination with his chosen instrument’s construction. By the late ’70s, Benedetto counted players such as Bucky Pizzarelli and Chuck Wayne among his clients, and his list of high-profile customers has grown steadily since then (check out the “The Benedetto Story” for a great read on the luthier’s history).

As part of the first post-D’Angelico generation of archtop builders, Benedetto greatly influenced the design of the contemporary jazz guitar by getting away from heavy-handed decorations and introducing more streamlined appointments. And his experience in building violins (one of which was long played by Django Reinhardt’s former playing partner Stéphane Grappelli) has influenced many of his guitar design choices, as is evidenced by his incorporation of elements such as violin-style wooden tailpieces rather than the more common metal designs.

The guitar pictured here is a custom creation for Napa Valley winery owner Dave Miner (minerwines.com), who has since created a line of Benedetto-labeled reds and has started hosting concerts featuring Benedetto players. Nicknamed “Vinodetto,” the guitar’s most unusual feature is that its maple back and sides were stained into a glowing red color using a Miner cabernet sauvignon. The instrument was built during Benedetto’s Riverview, Florida, period (he moved his shop several times over the years), and is constructed with European maple back and sides and a European spruce top. It follows an almost austere design that’s based on a 16-inch-wide non-cutaway body with a single center soundhole, rather than the more typical f-holes.

According to Benedetto, the guitar sounds “very nice and loud,” and with a new Savannah, Georgia-based facility that has allowed an increase in production, he hopes to start offering a round-hole 16-inch archtop as part of his standard line in the near future.