Please note: All instruments that have stock numbers followed by an asterisk (*) are in stock at our San Diego store. Please call Tom @ (619) 280-9035 for further information.
JUST IN!! Used! Benedetto Benny Claret Red: Benedetto's beautifully compact solid body electric guitar is designed for the player looking for a solid body Benedetto. Providing a wide spectrum of classic and modern ones, it features a select carved spruce top and chambered mahogany body with a Florentine cutaway. A warm and responsive guitar with twin A-6 humbucking pickups and custom switching system, its tone replicates the Benedetto carved top instruments. This prime example shows only minimal signs of use with just a touch of very light pick scratching. With original hard shell case. Buffalo Bros price: $3550 Stock #UGC22127. photo
New! Eastman T184MX-LTD Classic Finish: The semi-hollow archtop has long been known and appreciated for its versatility of tone as well as its comfortable playability. Eastman brings the design to a new level with their thinline archtops. This limited edition version of the T184MX features a 14" double cutaway body made of solid maple for the top, solid mahogany back and sides, one-piece mahogany neck, ebony fingerboard with dot inlay, flame maple binding on the body and neck, chrome hardware including tune-o-matic bridge and stop tailpiece and a pair of humbucking pickups with individual volume and tone controls. Great looks, great sounds, great feel.....and great price! With hard shell case. (MSRP $2195) $CALL FOR BUFFALO BROS PRICE! Stock #NGB28947. photo
JUST IN!! Used! Eastman AR803CE Classic Finish: This is an ideal instrument for either the working pro or someone looking for a slightly down-sized jazz box. The Eastman AR803CE features a body with 16" lower bout and 2 3/4" depth, solid carved spruce top, solid maple back and sides, maple neck with ebony fingerboard, ebony adjustable bridge and tailpiece, single top-mounted humbucker with volume and tone controls. The smaller body size is very comfortable either seated or standing and the neck profile is slim and fast with the 1 3/4" nut width providing ample string spacing for chordal work and fingerstyle playing. Superb tone at an amazingly affordable price! With hard shell case. Buffalo Bros price: $1600 Stock #UGB29492. photo
Used! Eastman AR810CE: Hand carved Spruce top, with carved Maple back & sides, a 17" body all wrapped up in a light sunburst. The Eastman folks bring their over 100 years of experience in building exceptional violins to the arch top world. The tone of the Eastman instruments is just amazing. A whole lot of sound and playability for the money. With hard case. $1650 Stock#UGB27043. photo
JUST IN!! Used! Eastman AR910CE Sunburst: You'd be hard pressed to find a better value for a high quality, hand-crafted hollowbody archtop jazz guitar than the Eastman AR910CE. This meticulously hand-built instrument features a solid carved spruce top, solid flame maple back and sides, multi-layer wood bindinge, maple neck with ebony fingerboard, ebony tailpiece, adjustable bridge and bound pickguard, floating mini-humbucker with stealth volume and tone controls mounted to the underside of the pickguard. The neck profile is a comfortably slim "C" shape and the 1 3/4" nut provides ample string spacing for fingerstyle playing and chord work. This Eastman AR910CE is a great deal for the working player who doesn't want to sacrifice tone and quality but also needs to keep spending under control. High value, affordable price! With hard shell case. Buffalo Bros price: $1950 Stock #UGB26937. photo
1935 Gibson L-5 Sunburst: For many players, the 17" Advanced body was the beginning of the modern Gibson L-5. This exquisite example is one of the very early examples of this new body size and not only offered more projection and volume, it also added warmth and a deep roundness to the overall tone. Hand-carved solid spruce top with early-'30s small f-holes and X-bracing, splendid figured solid flamed maple for the back and sides, quilted maple neck with ebony fingerboard, pearl block inlay, multi-layer binding on the body, neck, headstock and pickguard, adjustable Brazilian rosewood bridge, and gold trapeze tailpiece. The tuners were professionally replaced, apparently a long time ago, with vintage '30s Grover Imperial tuning machines. The guitar may also have been treated to a light overspray to protect the original finish (checking and dings included) and give it a gorgeous luster.....speaking of luster and shine...the tone of this baby is simply magnificent. It's big, round, woody and warm with all the character and feel that these incredible guitars have come to be known for. Couple that with the comfortably rounded neck profile and you've got a classic combination that's tough to beat. With original hard case. $12,500 Stock #UGB28909. photo
1945 Gibson L-5 Sunburst: Here's a exceptionally fine sounding version of a Gibson L-5 from the mid-'40s. By this time the Advanced body with 17" lower bout had become the standard and the bracing had returned to the traditional parallel style. The top is solid straight grained spruce, back and sides of solid maple, tiger maple neck with ebony fingerboard, pearl block inlay, adjustable rosewood bridge, gold trapeze tailpiece and Kluson Sealfast tuning machines. The pickguard is an accurate and period correct replica. Tonally this one is balanced and full with a voice that's open and present with nice projection and volume. It's one that just WANTS to be played and needs to be experienced in person. With original hard shell case. Buffalo Bros price: $9500 Stock #UGB25926.
JUST IN!! 1936 Gibson L-7 Sunburst: It's common knowledge that although the L-5 was the flagship model of Gibson's archtops, it was the L-7 that was the most popular guitar in its heyday. This became the workhorse instrument for professional players across the nation as it offered similar construction specifications at a lower price point as the ornamentation was kept to a minimum. Featuring the 17" Advanced size this is built with a solid spruce top, solid maple back and sides, "X" bracing, single ply body binding, mahogany neck with bound rosewood fingerboard and split parallelogram inlay, nickel hardware including trapeze tailpiece and Kluson tuning machines. The neck has been professionally reset at some point restoring the proper neck angle and the bridge is a newer adjustable rosewood replacement. What is surprising is the unusally slim for its age "C" shape neck which offers fabulous playability, a perfect companion to the instrument's punchy tone and bark. This '36 Gibson L-7 is one you won't want to miss. With original hard shell case. Buffalo Bros price: $3250 Stock #UGB30942. PHOTO
1939 Gibson L-37 Black: (exc-) This is the small bodied flat back Gibson archtop that became the basis for the ES-100 Charlie Christian guitar. Petite dimensions, yet still able to put out a lot of volume and tone, especially considering its diminutive size. The neck is the vintage V shape that falls easily into the player's hand. Combined with the short scale, 5 fret stretches become amazingly easy. With original hard case. $1650 Stock#UGB29265. PHOTO BUY NOW
ca. 1935 Gibson L-50 Sunburst: The more we get to see and play these old Archtops, the more our affection and appreciation grows. This is in a classic Sunburst finish with a flat back, Spruce top and Maple back and sides. The L-50 sports a very comfortable V-Neck. The tuners, pickguard and bridge have been replaced (which after nearly 75 years makes sense!). With hardcase. $1,500. Stock #UGB30938 photo
2007 Heritage H-525 PTD Translucent Wine Red: WHOA is this totally cool or what? You need to get in and check this hollowbody beauty with the single cutaway out! Twin P-90 pickups for big fat single coil tone that really reasonates! Plus it has a Bigsby vibrato too! Whether you're doing soft jazz tones, playing sleepwalkin' to rock and rockabilly, this is a great choice. With hardcase too! $1,800. Stock #UGB30421 photo
New! Heritage H-575 Custom Vintage Sunburst: The H-575 continues to be one our most popular models and features include a body of solid maple for the top, back and sides with binding on the top and back, florentine cutaway allowing easy access to the upper register notes, one-piece mahogany neck with bound rosewood fingerboard. This example is the Custom version with the addition of pearl block inlay and gold hardware, including a pair of Heritage HRW humbucking pickups with 3-way toggle selector switch, individual volume and tone controls. Players continue to be drawn to this body size for it's comfortable feel and it's versatility as it blends nicely into many styles of music. Jazz and blues, rock and R&B, even rockabilly and country can be coaxed from this great instrument. With hard shell case. (MSRP $4800) CALL FOR BUFFALO BROS PRICE! Stock #NGB26980 photo
JUST IN!! 2000 Heritage H-575 Amber: Here's a nice Heritage H-575 that's been around just long enough to begin opening up. Warm amber finish over the figured maple of the body, one-piece mahogany neck with rosewood fingerboard, pearl dot inlay, rosewood adjustable bridge, gold hardware including Grover tuning machines, Heritage bail tailpiece and a pair of humbucking pickups with 3-way toggle selector switch, individual volume and tone controls. This is an extraordinary value for a high quality professional level archtop hollowbody. With hard shell case. Buffalo Bros price: $1500 Stock #UGB29634.
New! Heritage Sweet 16 Old Style Burst: This Heritage Sweet 16 is just in, brand new from the Heritage factory. The features of this very popular model features a solid carved spruce top with solid maple back and sides, maple neck with ebony fingerboard, split-block pearl inlay, gold Grover tuning machines, adjustable ebony bridge, ebony tailpiece, multiple layer binding on the body, neck headstock and solid maple pickguard, bound f-holes and a single floating jazz humbucker attached to the pickguard with volume control. The body of the Sweet 16, as the name suggests, is a comfortable 16" across the lower bout. The tone is big, warm and balanced and would give even the larger sized hollowbody jazz archtops a run for the money. The single florentine cutaway allows the player easy access to the upper range of the guitar. All the Heritage instruments we've had in the store have been special and this Sweet 16 definitely caught our eyes and ears when it arrived. With hard shell case. (MSRP $6110) CALL FOR BUFFALO BROS PRICE! Stock #NGB27748. photo
New! Martin CF-2 Sunburst: Definitely built to be amplified, this 17" archtop has a 2 1/2" depth, laminate Alpine Spruce top, laminated European flame Maple back and sides, Ebony fingerboard, Gotoh Tune-O-Matic bridge with Ebony foot, gold Gotoh tuners with Ebony buttons, Ebony tailpiece and 2 Seymour Duncan humbuckers with individual volume and tone controls as well as 3-way toggle pickup selector switch. The full "U" shaped neck gives this a vintage feel and the tone is smooth and warm. Definitely worth a look or two...or three...heck, ya better just pick this one up! With hard shell case. (MSRP $5499) Stock #NGB20039* photo
Sept. 1945 D'Angelico Excel: (VG+) Imagine the sense of optimism John D'Angelico must have had when he finished work on this guitar! WWII had just ended and America was ready to take a giant step towards peace and prosperity. There's certainly no question that these amazing and rare instruments embody everything anyone could ever want from an archtop. One look at this beauty and it's plain to see why these guitars are the stuff that dreams are made of. The top is meticulously carved solid, straight-grained spruce with back and sides of solid flame figure maple. The maple neck is a comfortably round "U" shape that's full without feeling too clubby or chunky and simply a joy to handle, both for chords or single note passages. The ebony fingerboard is inlaid with pearl block position markers. This non-cutaway Excel is outfitted with Kluson Sealfast tuning machines and the classic D'Angelico signature stairstep tailpiece. At some point the fingers of the tailpiece end tab failed so this part was professionally and expertly repaired. This D'Angelic Excel is truly a rare and wonderful guitar with a big, throaty voice that can only be obtained from the finely aged tone woods of an instrument that's been well played and loved. There is definitely no question as to why the works of John D'Angelico are legendary and this Excel is here to verify it! With hard case. $21,000 Stock#UGC29631 PHOTO BUY NOW
1951 Epiphone Zephyr Deluxe Regent: One of the all time great jazz boxes. Two of the small Epiphone humbucker style pickups ensconced in a natural blonde cutaway body. We can give you a better description as soon a Adrian and bobby stop handing it back & forth and drooling all over it. With original hard case. $2950 Stock#UGB31020 photo
JUST IN!! Used! Gretsch G5129 Electromatic Hollowbody Firebird Red Top: Groovy baby! The Gretsch Electromatic® Hollow Body is just plain cool! Features include dual U.S. DeArmond® 2000 single-coil pickups, rosewood fingerboard with Neo-Classical "thumbnail" markers, floating Bigsby® compensated bridge and Bigsby® licensed Vibrato tailpiece. With hard shell case. Buffalo Bros price: $650 Stock #UGB27109. photo
Used! Hofner Jazzica Natural: (EXC+) The Hofner Company was founded in 1887 and became Germany's largest maker of fretted and bowed instruments. The company's strong violin background gave it an edge in producing archtop guitars which they've built for more than 50 years. The Jazzica blends traditional craft, top notch materials and highly innovative design ideas. The top is tone bar braced and carved from solid European spruce. The contoured body tapers over two inches from endblock to heel, creating a resonant acoustic soundbox that fits quite comfortably under the player's arm. The Jazzica also features solid ebony and gold hardware and a body of highly figured tiger flame. The contoured ebony pickguard is designed to minimize interference with the cat's eye soundholes and the guitar produces a remarkable acoustic volume and projection, surpassing many high-end guitars at many times the price. The Hofner Jazzica offers both Old World craftsmanship and bold modern design ideas at an unbeatable price. With hard shell case. $2500 Stock #UGB15405. photo
Used! Hofner Verythin Standard Cherry: In the world of semi-hollow archtop electrics the Hofner Verythin is one of the most underrated models. This guitar offers high quality craftsmanship, amazing playability and versatility of tone at a very affordable price making it an ideal choice for the working player. The features include a flame maple body with cherry finish, one-piece maple neck with rosewood fingerboard, chrome hardware including tune-o-matic bridge, stop tailpiece and a pair of full size humbucking pickups. The body is a mere 1 3/16" deep and the neck joins the body at the 18th fret allowing complete access to the 22 fret fingerboard. Combined that with the ultra slim neck profile and you've got a package that's hard to beat....especially at this price! Buffalo Bros price: $1000 Stock #UGB22765. photo
1975 Ibanez Model 2453 Howie Roberts Cherry Sunburst: (EXC) At this point most of us are familiar with the legendary "lawsuit" era of Ibanez. This early Ibanez Model 2453 Howie Roberts is a perfect example of that famous time period. A stunning rendition of the Gibson counterpart, this model is a 16" full hollowbody archtop with oval soundhole providing a rounder and warmer tone with a rich low end response. The body is made with fabulously figured flame maple, maple neck with bound rosewood fingerboard and notched block inlay, gold hardware including L5-style trapeze tailpiece and pickguard-mounted floating humbucker with volume, tone and "phase" control. The neck profile is slim and fast, simply a joy to play. There aren't many of these around and this is certainly one of the nicest we've seen. With hard shell case. Buffalo Bros price: $1850 Stock #UGB28910* photo BUY NOW
ca. 1950 Isana Jazz: Certainly this guitar, hand built by Ignaz Sandner would be little more than a footnote in the annals of guitar history were it not for the fact that Elvis Aaron Presley owned two of them while serving in the army in Germany in the late 1950s. One of those guitars recently sold at auction for $150,000. This one, with its unique 'S' holes and an additonal small round soundhole near the end of the fretboard, has that same remarkable tone for a whole lot less money. With gig bag. $600 Stock#UGB30972 photo
1938 Kalamazoo KG-31T: Pretty high up on the rarity scale is this unique 4 string tenor made by Gibson under their Kalamazoo label. It's definitely a kalamazoo model even though a previous owner has added his own logo that reads "Atom" screwed onto the peghead. It has great tone, easy playability and who knows, may have belongd to a famous Atom at one time. You gotta see it, you gotta play it. That's just all there is to it. With chipboard case. $1000 Stock#UGB30923 photo
'50s Kay K-45 Professional Sunburst: Although primarily known as a manufacturer of entry level student instruments, Kay also produced some very fine higher quality guitars. Case in point is this model K-45 Professional from the 1950s. Aimed at the Gibson L-7 and Epiphone Triumph market, this is a 17" hollow body archtop with single rounded cutaway, solid spruce top, maple back and sides, maple neck with bound Brazilian rosewood fingerboard, block inlay, trapeze tailpiece, 3-on-a-side tuners and trapeze tailpiece. The neck profile is a comfortably full "D" shape that's not overly clubby or chunky and the tone is warm and full with nice clarity. This Kay K-45 Professional is an excellent choice for the vintage archtop afficionado and is a great value for a very well crafted instrument. Buffalo Bros price: $1500 Stock #UGB30971.
'50s Kay 15" Archtop Sunburst: Well isnt' she cute! This is a very rare find indeed. Perhaps manufuctured with the ladies in mind, this vintage Kay archtop features a 15" body with rounded cutaway, bound rosewood fingerboard with simple dot inlay, adjustable rosewood bridge and nickel trapeze tailpiece. If you'd like to have a nice sounding vintage archtop for playing at home on the couch you can pick up this little beauty for a song! With chipboard case. Buffalo Bros price: $550 Stock #UGB31037. photo
Looking for something special? We can't possibly list all we have so please ask!