In the world of custom-made guitars, few instruments are as highly regarded, or fetch as high a price, as those made by the late James L. D’Aquisto. A guitar maker who had studied with the renowned John D’Angelico, D’Aquisto created archtop acoustics that were favored by jazz guitarists and collectors.

Following his untimely death at age 59 in 1995, the market for D’Aquisto guitars exploded, the more so because he only made about 370 guitars. Collectors, particularly in the U.S. and Japan, were soon paying as much as six figures for one.

What made his archtop guitars so sought after were their dynamic range and a broad tonal color. At a time when acoustic guitars were losing out to electric and mass-produced ones, D’Aquisto tried to reinvent the guitar so it could compete as a completely modern one. Nevertheless, he forsook fancy inlays, believing that such ornamentation detracted from the sound, and instead concentrated on such innovations as step-pattern metal tailpieces, small pickguards and redesigned f-holes. One of his most significant ideas was the adjustable ebony tailpiece, which adjusts up and down in order to vary string tension on the bridge.

His last guitar, the Centura, which was exhibited at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston as part of the exhibition “Dangerous Curves: The Art of the Guitar,” from November 2000 to February 2001, has an estimated value of $70,000 to $120,000.

Forbes Fact
D’Aquisto, who lived on Long Island, N.Y., began making guitars when he was 17. In addition to his handmade guitars, he was a designer for two leading guitar makers, Fender and Hagstrom.