News

The guitar you choose defines how you sound and feel as a player. In jazz, tone and touch matter more than volume or flash. A well-chosen guitar responds to your phrasing, supports your rhythm, and inspires new ideas. Choosing the right instrument means understanding how design, tonewoods, electronics, and playability align with your style.

Body Size and Style

Archtop guitars have been the foundation of jazz for nearly a century. Their carved tops and hollow bodies produce warmth and depth that flatter complex harmonies and subtle dynamics. But not every archtop feels the same in your hands.

Large-body archtops offer big acoustic projection. They’re powerful enough to fill a room even without amplification, which makes them a natural choice for players who want resonance and presence. Medium or small-body archtops, on the other hand, provide comfort and focus. They are easier to handle and often excel in modern settings where clarity is more important than sheer volume.

Benedetto’s line illustrates this spectrum. The Bravo archtop gives players a professional-grade instrument with balance and depth, while the Bambino jazz guitar delivers a compact, focused voice perfect for travel or smaller stages. Both are true jazz instruments, but each appeals to a different type of player.

Tonewoods and Their Impact

The woods chosen for an archtop shape the instrument’s voice as much as the player’s hands do. Spruce and maple are the most common choices in jazz guitars, and together they define the classic archtop sound.

A spruce top gives balance and resonance. It responds well to touch, making it versatile whether you’re comping behind a horn section or taking a solo. Maple, often used for backs and sides, adds clarity and projection, helping notes cut through without becoming harsh. The pairing of spruce and maple remains the gold standard because it balances warmth with definition, allowing the guitar to sit comfortably in any ensemble.

Equally important is how the top is built. A hand-carved top produces greater acoustic complexity and dynamic range, which many players prize for solo or small-group work. A laminated top offers durability and feedback resistance, making it ideal for louder stage settings. Benedetto demonstrates both approaches, from hand-carved models like the Manhattan archtop to stage-ready designs such as the Bravo Deluxe.

Pickups and Electronics

The introduction of pickups changed the role of the jazz guitar forever. Today, your choice of electronics can make as much difference as the wood or body shape.

Floating pickups are mounted away from the top, which allows the guitar to maintain its acoustic resonance. They produce the kind of airy, woody tone associated with traditional jazz. Built-in humbuckers are more powerful and provide sustain, making them better suited for players who need volume and consistency on louder stages.

If you’re playing mostly in small clubs or recording, a floating pickup will give you the most natural voice. If your gigs include amplified settings with drums and horns at full force, a set-in humbucker might be the practical choice. The Bravo Deluxe shows how Benedetto balances electronics and design for working musicians.

Playability and Comfort

A guitar can sound beautiful but still be wrong for you if it isn’t comfortable to play. The shape of the neck, the height of the strings, and the spacing between them all affect how easily you move across the fingerboard.

Slimmer necks encourage faster lines, while fuller necks offer more support during chord-heavy playing. Wider string spacing benefits comping accuracy, while closer spacing makes single-note runs smoother. Action height also matters: low action helps fluidity, while higher action supports a more aggressive right-hand attack.

Choosing a guitar isn’t only about how it sounds from the audience’s perspective. It’s also about how it feels during a three-hour set. For ownership and setup tips, Benedetto provides Customer Care resources.

Acoustic vs Amplified Needs

Some players want their guitar to project strongly even before it’s plugged in. Others see amplification as their primary sound source.

If you lean toward acoustic character, look for a larger body with a carved spruce top and a floating pickup. If you expect most of your playing to happen through an amp, a smaller body with a set humbucker will give you a tighter, feedback-resistant tone. The Bravo Elite demonstrates how Benedetto refines this balance for professionals.

The Value of a Professional Setup

Even the best-built guitar benefits from a professional setup. Small adjustments to the truss rod, bridge, and nut transform playability. A proper setup ensures your instrument responds to your touch with consistency and precision. Regular maintenance is not an option, it is part of preserving your sound.

Matching Guitar to Style

The right jazz guitar isn’t defined by price or reputation, but by alignment with your playing. A straight-ahead player looking for a warm, traditional voice might lean toward a large-body archtop with a spruce top and floating pickup. A modern jazz guitarist working in varied ensembles might prefer a smaller, more versatile body with built-in electronics. A solo guitarist may want projection and resonance above all else.

Benedetto’s Approach

Every Benedetto guitar is designed with these principles in mind. From hand-carved bodies to carefully selected tonewoods, each instrument is built to serve the player’s needs. Bob Benedetto’s designs have shaped the standard of modern archtop guitars, trusted by professionals like Pat Martino, Jimmy Bruno, and countless others. Choosing a Benedetto means choosing an instrument that supports your style rather than fighting against it.

A jazz guitar should feel natural, sound balanced, and inspire you to play more. Pay attention to body size, woods, pickups, and playability. Think about where you play and how you want your sound to translate. The right instrument is the one that responds to your hands and makes your voice clearer to the audience.

Bob’s top of the line Flagship model guitar. Featuring spectacular fiddle-back European maple and tight-grained spruce, it is totally acoustic with a huge, balanced voice. Read more here: https://www.benedettoguitars.com/product/cremona/

Benedetto’s annual “Summer Shutdown” begins next week, June 27th – July 7th. We’ll be available to answer questions during that time, but please note that the shop will be closed and production on hold. Wishing you and yours a happy summer and holiday!

Huge congrats to Senior Craftsman, Steve Holzknecht and wife Kelly for welcoming their firstborn and the newest addition to the Benedetto Family, little Sara! Momma and baby are healthy and happy!

DR Strings give us confidence in a great first impression.  Their quality and consistency help highlight the warmth, balance, resonance and projection of every Benedetto guitar straight out of the box.

This Pat Martino Signature model is ready for immediate shipping and features a rare one-piece, very flamey top. Check it out in Bob’s Boutique!

La Seconda Cremona Azzurraa shipped this week… What an incredible commission! This very special guitar is an exacting replica of the original Cremona Azzurra from the Chinery Blue Guitar Collection, except in a 17″ size for comfort. Extremely detailed, this guitar mirrors almost every element from the original, including intricate inlay, stained burl faceplate, and a personalized inscription.

We’re closing out the week with a second guitar showing up in Bob’s Boutique. This time and unreal Pat Martino Signature model with a Light Antiqueburst finish and a flamed maple top worth writing home about. Visit Bob’s Boutique to buy online or contact us at info@benedettoguitars.com with any questions.

This new Bravo is up in Bob’s Boutique and ready to go! Click on over to buy online, or contact us with any questions: info@benedettoguitars.com

We have just added this incredible Bambino Deluxe to Bob’s Boutique, ready to ship! With upgraded woods, a B-6 pickup, an inlaid logo, and ebony faceplate, this is kid of like a tiny Bravo Deluxe with a 16-B headstock… Don’t sleep on this one, it will be gone before you know it.