I have been imagining a 17-inch Siracusa since long ago, but I couldn’t find the time to make it. […]

This model will have most of the characteristics of the other Siracusas, but the electronics will be simpler. Single pickup and no piezo makes it closer to the most common configuration of a standard jazz guitar, and it also reduces the bill a little. Its pickup can work in two ways, just like the other Read more about New Siracusa 16G – Pickup and Pickguard details[…]

We’ll see there! October 31 -November 2, 2024 – Edificio Ensanche – Plaza Ensanche 11 – 48009 Bilbao (Spain)

We’ll see there! October 26 -27 2024 – Nave de Terneras – Paseo Chopera 10, 28045 Madrid

In my experience, a responsive archtop with f-holes is an oxymoron. You can have a great volume on one of these guitars, mostly based on mid and mid-high response, but bass is always poor, something that large soundboxes can somehow mitigate. However, f-holes are one of the most recognizable characteristics of jazz guitars, one that many players are not willing to put down. […]

I’ll have a guitar there, a Siracusa 16E+, as part of the Boutique Guitar Showcase exhibition! […]

I have redesigned the pickguard in my Siracusa 16R models. I extended it, substituted a slide switch for a smaller unit with several times larger life expectancy (mechanically and electrically) and changed the way it connects to the preamp board inside the guitar. […]

I’ll be there! September 9-11 in Arvada, Colorado (USA)

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I have just finished two guitars, the “R” and “E” versions of my Siracusa model. I have worked hard on every single step, in a process that has taken months, changing my methods and making significant improvements for many parts in terms of mass, robustness, reliability, etc. […]

This model adds a piezo to the Berlin II model, much as the Berlin IV, but  making control much easier thanks to its master volume.

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My archtops without f-holes (the different versions of the Berlín and Siracusa models) are the ones that I build more these days.  These manuals will give you an idea of their characteristics.

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A few months ago a client asked me for some way to cover the soundhole on the guitar that I was making for him. I didn’t want an ugly piece just to skirt the issue, I wanted to make a beautiful piece that also worked well. […]

Recently I had to modify the pickups that I use for my Siracusa guitars. They had three terminals, and I wanted to add a fourth, which I will use for a really interesting variation that I’ll explain soon. I thought that I could take a few photographs and explain how crazy it is to do Read more about Pickups for Siracusa Guitars[…]

Not long ago, in my last post here, I explained how I had modified the design of the pickguard in my Siracusa 16R model so that it had a master volume control. There I wrote:

Throwing away a design and a complex component does not make anybody feel good, but this other design is so stuffed with great ideas that I feel happy after all. Right now I can’t find anything that I dislike (we’ll see in a few weeks…)

And, as expected, I found something that I didn’t like. […]

I have been making guitars with piezo sensors integrated inside the bridge, that I make myself from piezo plates. I am not going to talk about that now (I’ll do it), but about a particular design, that I call “Siracusa 16R”, that I have been working on.

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I finished this guitar a few days ago. It has 17 inches, and it was going to be acoustic, but a pickup was added later.

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Not long ago I designed a pickguard for my Siracusa model with new pots of long rotational life, explained here. Not much later I did the same for the tailpiece of my Berlin II guitars, here. A couple of months ago it was the turn of the Siracusa 16 tailpiece. […]

Note (January 2021): This content was published (with some modifications) in issue #141 of the prestigious magazine American Lutherie.

Some of my guitars are very light. On these, I must refine my building techniques to guarantee that they have a long life without problems. Recently, I devised a new technique for making the side lining of these instruments that will make them stronger. I liked it so much that I’ll use it for all my models. To my knowledge, no one has done this before, so I am happy to share it with the guitar making community!

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The Siracusa 16 is the new addition to the Siracusa concept family, this one with a larger soundbox. Far from being a catch phrase, this guitar is 100% acoustic, 100% electric!
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