Guitar
Maker
James D'Aquisto
Maker
Fender Custom Shop
Date1994/08/03
Place MadeCorona, California, United States, North America
ModelD’Aquisto Ultra / single cutaway arch top
Serial No.001
SignedInlaid in cursive mother-of-pearl on headstock: FenderEngraved in cursive on truss rod cover: D’Aquisto
In black ink on back of headstock: 001 / Custom Shop™ [in cursive lettering above Fender “F” over “V” logo] / USA [in cursive lettering]
Stamped in cursive lettering on back of each tuner housing: Fender
Markingsnone
DescriptionBeginning in 1984, James D’Aquisto worked with Fender to produce arch-top jazz guitars at more modest prices than those of his own work. The D’Aquisto Standard and D’Aquisto Elite were made in Japan, and featured laminated bodies and humbucking pickups. In 1994, these models were superseded by the D’Aquisto Deluxe and the D’Aquisto Ultra, both made in the Fender Custom Shop, with hand-carved spruce tops. NMM 10822 is the first D'Aquisto Ultra model guitar produced by Fender and bears serial number 001. According to the D'Aquisto family, this instrument was substantially made by James D'Aquisto himself.
James D’Aquisto posed with this guitar in a 1994 Fender ad. He subsequently gave the guitar to his daughter. D'Aquisto died the following year while staying in a hotel near the Fender Custom Shop.
Stringing: six steel strings
Soundboard: two-piece spruce, wide grain broadening toward the flanks
Back: two-piece quarter-cut maple with narrow curl ascending slightly from center joint; wide grain
Ribs: two-piece quarter-cut maple with narrow curl; wide grain
Head: four-piece maple (wings on each side) with mahogany center strip, veneered with ebony; six-piece geometric mother-of-pearl inlay; white celluloid binding with black-white-black-white purfling strip trim; black-over-white celluloid with white beveled edge affixed to head with two gold-plated steel phillips head screws
Neck: two-piece maple with faint, narrow curl and pith flecks; mahogany center stripe; integral with head; extends over top with fingerboard
Heel cap: white celluloid; black and white purfling strips between heel cap and neck heel
Binding: white celluloid; trim comprised of black-white-black-white celluloid purfling strips on top and back; trim comprised of two purfling strips of black and white celluloid on ribs
Fingerboard: ebony bound in white celluloid with black and white purling strip trim; binding cut to cover end of fret profile; 22 nickel-silver frets; split mother-of-pearl blocks behind 1st, 3rd, 5th, 7th, 9th, 12th, 15th, 17th, and 19th frets; single black celluloid side dots behind 1st, 3rd, 5th, 7th, 9th, 15th, 17th, and 19th frets; double black celluloid side dots behind 12th fret
Nut: bone
Bridge: two-piece ebony; compensating; adjustable with brass screws
Tailpiece: ebony; contoured, with S-shaped curve on upper edge and bulge on lower end; strings extend through upper edge to hook through curved brass plate with drilled holes at upper edge of carved-out section; tailpiece affixed to lower rib with gold-plated steel plate with curved lower edge, fastened with three gold-plated steel phillips head screws
Pegs: six gold-plated steel worm-gear machine tuners with convex ebony heads and enclosed mechanisms
Endpin: gold-plated steel with gold-plated phillips-head screw; extends through slot in tailpiece, padded with white felt
Soundholes: f-holes with single notch on outer side, bound in white celluloid
Pick guard: ebony bound in white celluloid with black-white-black-white celluloid purlfing strip trim; affixed to treble side of neck extension with two steel phillips head screws through ebony block; black foam pad between lower end of pick guard and top
Lacquer: clear
Linings: kerfed mahogany
Neck block: mahogany; chamfered corners
End block: mahogany; chamfered corners
Top braces: spruce X-brace
Back braces: none
DimensionsTotal guitar length: 1066 mm (42″)
Back length: 522 mm (20-9/16″)
Upper bout width: 320 mm (12-5/8″)
Waist width: 263 mm (10-3/8″)
Lower bout width: 432 mm (17″)
Rib height (including edging) at heel: 77 mm (3″)
Rib height, at waist: 76 mm (3″)
Rib height, at end block: 76 mm (3″)
Head length: 200 mm (7-7/8″)
Head width, top: 104 mm (4-3/32″)
Head width, bottom: 90 mm (3-17/32″)
Neck length (nut to ribs): 355 mm (14″)
Neck width, nut: 43 mm (1-11/16″)
Neck width, heel: 53 mm (2-3/32″)
Soundhole length: 170 mm (6-11/16″)
Vibrating string length (nut to bridge edge): high E: 639 mm (25-5/32″); low E: 643 mm (25-5/16″)
ProvenanceFormerly owned by Pamela D’Aquisto Giordano, daughter of the instrument's designer, James D’Aquisto, who have the guitar to her. Purchased in 2005 from D'Aquisto Giordano.
Published ReferencesPaul Schmidt and Arian Sheets. The Masters' Bench (Vermillion, South Dakota: National Music Museum, 2016)
“Artistry By D’Aquisto, Improvisation By Ford, Guitars By Fender,” Guitar Player (November 1994), p. 100.
“Recent Acquisitions,” National Music Museum Newsletter 34, No. 1 (February 2007), p. 6.
Credit LineTony and Bonnie Vinatieri Family Trust, 2005
Object number10822
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