New Mortillaro Customs acoustic (w floating pup) archtop

[JoannMP]

Here is my 70th birthday present, a custom made archtop from luthier Robert Mortillaro in Maryland - carbon fiber with a carbon fiber-wrapped cedar neck, that carries a theme that honors my Sicilian ancestry, including a Trinacria on the headstock - the model is called "Conca D'Oro" (Golden seashell, coast, or basket) - it has some features that are also inspired by my Tacoma Jazz King (a similar soundhole) and pickguard and tailpiece reminiscent of my Eastman AR905.

The parallel bracing and soundhole help this instrument project very well acoustically - at a local senior center "senior guitar" meetup, where I was not amped up, some folks remarked at how well this guitar cut through the amplified sounds of the solid body guitars in the group. (I grant, no one was cranked up to 11!)

I can also easily remove the pickup and pickguard assembly (the volume and tone controls are discretely placed under the pickguard, as is the 1/4 inch jack) by removing two small screws in the side of the neck - and then it is a pure acoustic (something to consider if I need a guitar out with me in questionable weather conditions).