I have been imagining a 17-inch Siracusa since long ago, but I couldn’t find the time to make it.
New models need a lot of design work, and also jigs. In my case, I use two body molds, one for gluing the top and back and the other is what I call a thermal mold. There are also bulky jigs for binding the top and back and for bending the plastic purflings. Add mold inner forms, many other small jigs and twenty or thirty component designs and you’ll realize how disruptive a new model becomes. On the other hand, many players feel that 17 inch archtops reach the best compromise between glamour and common sense. Personally, I wanted to make them because I am sure that acoustics, which is 100% of my Siracusa guitars, would be improved: more projection, more presence. The other 100%, the electric part, will be the same that you will find in smaller Siracusas.
The new Siracusa 17 has a contour that is not the same as my previous 17-inch guitars. I wanted to start fresh, free of old designs, and I think that it is a more consistent and harmonious design. In fact, my last 17-inch design dates from around 25 years ago! Apart from the improved curves, the new one has a deeper cutaway, a shorter length and a less pronounced waist.
The tailpiece is different also. It is a little longer than the one for the Siracusa 16, just to compensate for the longer soundbox.
The peghead is larger, more in the line of what large guitars have. I like my machines, hidden inside the peghead, even if that makes my life a lot more difficult, so making them that way was a requisite. It went well, really well.
A lot of things remain. The depth of the soundbox, the internal construction using what I call “peoneta”, the piece that raises the tailpiece above the top, the light hollow bridge, the symmetrical top that needs a taller binding inside the cutaway, etc. The electronics, as I mentioned above, are the same.
Finally, I would like to mention that they come in a Hiscox Artist case where they fit as a glove. Some may come in a exclusive custom Benedykt case.
Here are some photos that show two different guitars, one of them finished with nitrocellulose “old violin” color and the other with oil. I hope that you like them as much as I do!
