For Sale: JIMMY FOSTER BASIN STREET EDITION THINLINE ARCHTOP (completed by BurkeGuitar.com)

[sburke]

We have just finished this beautiful Jimmy Foster Basin Street Edition Archtop. When we saw the unfinished body, neck and other items available for sale from Mr. Foster’s estate, we immediately did some research and discovered how Mr. Foster made beautiful looking and sounding instruments that were treasured by their owners. His website is still available to see his work and read about his superior playing talents and guitar building skills. (www.fosterguitars.com)

We purchased these parts with the goal of completing Jimmy’s work and finishing his creation. We have done that, and this great guitar is available. It is likely the last “New” Jimmy Foster Archtop to ever be on the market.
The guitar has great volume unplugged, plays very smooth and has significant sustain. It produces a full acoustic sound while offering the comfort given by its’ compact design.

Here are some specifications for this instrument.
Hand Split Carved Cedar Top with X bracing
17″ lower bout
13” upper bout
2” depth at heel and tail
25.5” scale length
1.75” nut width
20” body length
Select One Piece Mahogany back and sides
One Piece Mahogany neck joined at the 15th fret
Venetian Cutaway
Body Bound in Black Plastic Binding
Adjustable Steel Truss Rod
Solid Ebony Tailpiece, Pickguard, Bridge, Fingerboard, Headstock, Truss Rod Cover and Heel Cap
Beautifully Chamfered F Holes
Engraved Truss Rod Cover
Delicate Abalone Inlay on the 12th fret, headstock, and tailpiece
Custom Kent Armstrong Built In Pickup with Volume, Tone
Gotoh mini locking Rotomatic tuners
High Gloss Nitrocellulose Lacquer Finish
6-String
Fishman Jack
Custom Hardshell Case

We received the beginnings of the build as shown in the pictures. Basically, the body construction was done but the neck fittings, pickup fittings and other such items were not finished. We also received the neck with the fretboard attached but no frets. Included loose items were the truss rod cover, bridge and the metal part of the tail piece. We sourced and obtained from other sources the rest of the items needed to finish the guitar.
Our project consisted of doing all these items:

NECK
Drill Correct Size Tuner and screw Holes
Install Gotoh Mini Locking Rotomatics
Finish and Install Truss Rod Cover
Square Nut Pocket
Radius and sand Fretboard
Install Frets, Med #148
Add Heel Cap
Fit Neck to Body
Sand and Finish
Attach to body
Detail
Install Strap Button to Heel

BODY
Reshape Neck Pocket
Reshape Pickup Hole
Fit Body to Neck
Sand and Finish
Attach Neck
Drill Hole for Tail Piece and Jack
Drill Holes for Pickguard in Top and on sides

OTHER
Made and Installed Ebony Pickguard, mounting holes, hardware
Re-aligned Tail Piece Hole in Body and Brass Mount
Reshape Tailpiece Hinge to fit
Added Grounding for each string in Ebony Tailpiece
Shape Bottom of Bridge to Top of Guitar
Lower the Saddle to allow for up and down adjustment
Installed Armstrong 12 Pole PAF Pickup, 1 Volume, 1 Tone
Installed Fishman Endpin Jack
Installed Pickup Rings
Installed Wood Control Knobs
Carve, Slot and Polish Bone Nut
Recheck and Detail Finish entire guitar
Assemble
Polish Frets
Install Tomastik-Infeld Jazz Flatwound 12-50 Strings
Setup
So, it is ready to go! More pictures, full specifications and a sound video are available at BurkeGuitar.com
$5,900