James L. DAquisto (November 9, 1935 – April 18, 1995) was an American guitar maker best known as the premier maker of custom guitars. He served as an apprentice to John DAngelico from 1952 and was considered his successor after the latters death in 1964. From his shop in Huntington, New York then in Farmingdale, New York and later during his golden period in Greenport Long Island, New York, DAquisto became known as the worlds greatest guitar maker from the late 1960s until his death in 1995. James D’Aquisto, born November 9, 1935 was trained by, and is the successor to, John D’Angelico. James D’Aquisto was born in Brooklyn in 1935 to an Italian American family, both sets of grandparents having emigrated from Palermo. D’Aquisto was a skilled musician who studied jazz guitar and played the bass. As a teenager, he was taken to visit John D’Angelico’s workshop and was immediately entranced by the idea of instrument building. He was offered a job as a shop boy in 1952 at age seventeen. Both men are considered to be the finest independent builders of archtop guitars in the history of the instrument. James apprenticed to John, starting in the 1950s, possibly as early as 1954. Jimmy said “I was making $35 a week. I was like the runner: I’d go to the stores, pick up the tuners, go get the tailpieces from downtown, take the necks to the engraver, all that. I cleaned the windows, swept the floors, everything – we all did that. On Friday we put away the tools and cleaned the shop so when Monday came the place would be spotless.” Later, James learned the “rough work” of the D’Angelico building style. By around 1960, John’s health was failing and Jimmy was asked to do more and more of the finishing work, and, finally, the hand-crafting of components. John died on September 1, 1964 at age 59. Jimmy continued the business of building guitars, under his own name.
Posted on: Mon, 03 Feb 2014 14:43:35 +0000
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