February 2007 DOWNBEAT 71
Sadowsky JimmyBruno Archtop: Little Axe, Big SoundThe Jimmy Bruno arch-top from luthier RogerSadowsky looks great,plays smoothly and pro-duces a tone that’smuch bigger than itsphysical size. Featuringa compact body, lami-nate construction andimpeccable workman-ship, this axe is definite-ly a player.
An expert setup andrepairman, Sadowskygot into hollow-bodyguitar construction afterspending 15 years work-ing on Jim Hall’s D’Aqui-sto. The Jim Hall signa-ture model was thebuilder’s first archtop,sporting a larger bodydesign. Building on thesuccess of the Hall, Sadowsky teamed up withjazz guitarist Jimmy Bruno to create this sec-ond archtop signature model.
The Bruno scores high on both appearanceand workmanship. The design is simple yetelegant. The craftsmanship is impeccable andthe nitro-cellulose lacquer finish highlights thesunburst stain and flamed maple body.
The instrument felt comfortable in bothstanding and sitting positions. Its body mea-sures a sleek 14 3/4 inches at the lower boutwith a depth of 2 3/4 inches. The guitar featuresa single cutaway design constructed with five-ply maple laminate. A single custom-woundgold-plated pickup is mounted into the top, asare the ebony volume and tone knobs. Thebridge, tailpiece and pickguard are alsoebony. The neck is solid mahogany with anebony fingerboard and 24 3/4-inch scale length(22 frets total); it joins the guitar body at the15th fret.
The guitar performed wonderfully. Thetone was big, clear and warm without theheavy midrange that full-sized archtops areprone to have. In fact, Sadowsky designed theBruno to maximize the tonal characteristics ofthe amplified sound. The combination ofsmaller size, laminate maple top and cut-inpickup mounting helps reduce the feedbackproblems that occur with many archtops,especially in larger and solid carved-topdesigns. This guitar is practical and functional.At a price of $3,995, the Bruno archtop com-petes and even excels over many higher-priced jazz models. —Keith Baumann
Ordering info: sadowsky.com»
