Steve Andersen Model 14 Little Archie Made for and used by Bill Frisell Arch Top Hollow Body Electric Guitar (1996)
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Steve Andersen Model 14 Little Archie Made for and used by Bill Frisell Model Arch Top Hollow Body Electric Guitar (1996), made in Seattle, WA, serial # 210, natural lacquer finish, maple back, sides and neck, spruce top, ebony fingerboard, black gig bag case.
This instrument is a very unique and quite rare oval-hole Steve Andersen "Model 14 Little Archie" small-body archtop guitar. This unusual diminutive carved top instrument was designed by Steve Andersen specifically at the request of Bill Frisell; THIS IS the first one, built in 1996 specifically for Bill who then played it extensively for many years. The instrument comes directly from Bill with a truly lovely letter of provenance detailing his history with the guitar.
"I had fallen in love with my Anderson model 17" writes Bill "But it was difficult (and dangerous) to travel with. So I started talking with Steve about the possibility of making something that might have some of the same qualities but smaller so I could carry it onto an airplane. This Model 14 is what he came up with. It's a for real carved top acoustic instrument!
He continued in a note to us: "I toured a lot with this guitar with my Quartet: Ron Miles, Eyvind Kang and Curtis Fowlkes. It appears on the TV show: "Sessions on West 54 th." with Jerry Douglas, Robin Holcomb, Viktor Krauss, Jimmy Dale Gilmore, and my Quartet. This is viewable on YouTube."
I played it on these albums:
-Bill Frisell & Fred Hersch: "Songs We Know"
-Marc Johnson: "Sounds of Summer Running" with Pat Metheny.
-Bill Frisell, Elvis Costello & Burt Bacharach: "The Sweetest Punch" (Duet with Cassandra Wilson)"
The builder Steve Andersen has described the Model 14 thusly:
"This guitar design arose from conversations I had with Bill Frisell concerning a guitar he could travel with. Since building (this) first Little Archie for Bill in 1996, I've found the appeal of a small, easily carried archtop to be wider than I had expected. The lower bout is 14", and the body depth 1 7/8" yet the guitar is "full-sized" in the areas that really count: Scale length, neck size and shape, and bridge and soundboard design. Because I consider this a professional or performer's guitar, a "floating" magnetic pickup is included. The Little Archie sounds incredible plugged in, and is surprisingly resistant to feedback."
The instrument is a small 14 1/8" wide carved top guitar, also thin at just under 2" at the rim. The most unusual design element is the oval large soundhole on the upper bout which adds a really unique character both visually and sonically. The guitar is built with beautiful flame maple for the back, sides and neck and lovely tight and even-grained spruce for the top. The fingerboard, bridge and peghead facing are high-grade ebony, the tailpiece is a brass block attached directly to the endblock through the top. All bindings are celluloid, as is the early L-5 style pickguard. The delicately carved top is X-braced, the one-piece neck is a lovely shallow "C" profile that shades to more of a "D" shape as it approaches the body. A floating Johnny Smith style pickup is fitted, wired to tone and volume controls on the top and an output jack in the side. The knobs are vintage radio-styled pieces (variations on a knob Gibson used around 1940) and strap buttons are fitted to the tail and the upper bout.
The Little Archie feels effortless to play and as intended is very easy to transport, especially compared to a full-sized archtop. For a small body instrument this guitar has a surprisingly big sound even unplugged, due at least in part to the unusual soundhole design. This is a simply lovely guitar all around with a sweet resonant sound anyone who has listened to Bill Frisell will recognize. Steve Anderson continues to build these Little Archies in very small quantities, and this of course is not only the original artist-specific prototype but a heavily used performance guitar.
Bill seems to gravitate more to Tele-style instruments these days so has decided to let this special little archtop go after nearly 30 years. It comes with a detailed handwritten letter from Bill and a selection of materials including a copy of the biography "Bill Frisell Beautiful Dreamer" by Philip Watson and a collection of Bill's music on Vinyl and CD including several this guitar is featured on. In concluding his letter Bill writes of the guitar "It's a good one; I played a LOT. I hope you like it too". We can't imagine anyone who appreciates Bill's unique contributions to the world's musical landscape would not love this guitar!
Overall length is 38 1/4 in. (97.2 cm.), 14 1/8 in. (35.9 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 1 7/8 in. (4.8 cm.) in depth, measured at rib. Scale length is 25 1/4 in. (641 mm.). Width of nut is 1 23/32 in. (44 mm.).
Despite being one of Bill Frisell's long time performance instruments this guitar shows only very light wear; Bill is a careful steward of his guitars! There is some minor scuffing and handling wear overall and that's about it. The pickup cover has some marks in the plating on the top and the small block tailpiece has considerable tarnishing. The frets have a bit of wear but really remain pretty clean considering the use the guitar has seen. There is a small hole in the top under the front end of the pickguard indicating the guard was likely changed from another style along the way.
The guitar plays and sounds extremely well, as might be expected from a performance instrument used extensively by a player of Bill's caliber. It remains exactly as last used by Bill Frisell, including the strings and setup and resides in a high grade Reunion Blues gig bag especially made for this guitar. This is simply about the nicest and most complete package of a personally designed and used instrument with attendant materials we have ever received from any artist. Overall Excellent Condition.
This instrument is a very unique and quite rare oval-hole Steve Andersen "Model 14 Little Archie" small-body archtop guitar. This unusual diminutive carved top instrument was designed by Steve Andersen specifically at the request of Bill Frisell; THIS IS the first one, built in 1996 specifically for Bill who then played it extensively for many years. The instrument comes directly from Bill with a truly lovely letter of provenance detailing his history with the guitar.
"I had fallen in love with my Anderson model 17" writes Bill "But it was difficult (and dangerous) to travel with. So I started talking with Steve about the possibility of making something that might have some of the same qualities but smaller so I could carry it onto an airplane. This Model 14 is what he came up with. It's a for real carved top acoustic instrument!
He continued in a note to us: "I toured a lot with this guitar with my Quartet: Ron Miles, Eyvind Kang and Curtis Fowlkes. It appears on the TV show: "Sessions on West 54 th." with Jerry Douglas, Robin Holcomb, Viktor Krauss, Jimmy Dale Gilmore, and my Quartet. This is viewable on YouTube."
I played it on these albums:
-Bill Frisell & Fred Hersch: "Songs We Know"
-Marc Johnson: "Sounds of Summer Running" with Pat Metheny.
-Bill Frisell, Elvis Costello & Burt Bacharach: "The Sweetest Punch" (Duet with Cassandra Wilson)"
The builder Steve Andersen has described the Model 14 thusly:
"This guitar design arose from conversations I had with Bill Frisell concerning a guitar he could travel with. Since building (this) first Little Archie for Bill in 1996, I've found the appeal of a small, easily carried archtop to be wider than I had expected. The lower bout is 14", and the body depth 1 7/8" yet the guitar is "full-sized" in the areas that really count: Scale length, neck size and shape, and bridge and soundboard design. Because I consider this a professional or performer's guitar, a "floating" magnetic pickup is included. The Little Archie sounds incredible plugged in, and is surprisingly resistant to feedback."
The instrument is a small 14 1/8" wide carved top guitar, also thin at just under 2" at the rim. The most unusual design element is the oval large soundhole on the upper bout which adds a really unique character both visually and sonically. The guitar is built with beautiful flame maple for the back, sides and neck and lovely tight and even-grained spruce for the top. The fingerboard, bridge and peghead facing are high-grade ebony, the tailpiece is a brass block attached directly to the endblock through the top. All bindings are celluloid, as is the early L-5 style pickguard. The delicately carved top is X-braced, the one-piece neck is a lovely shallow "C" profile that shades to more of a "D" shape as it approaches the body. A floating Johnny Smith style pickup is fitted, wired to tone and volume controls on the top and an output jack in the side. The knobs are vintage radio-styled pieces (variations on a knob Gibson used around 1940) and strap buttons are fitted to the tail and the upper bout.
The Little Archie feels effortless to play and as intended is very easy to transport, especially compared to a full-sized archtop. For a small body instrument this guitar has a surprisingly big sound even unplugged, due at least in part to the unusual soundhole design. This is a simply lovely guitar all around with a sweet resonant sound anyone who has listened to Bill Frisell will recognize. Steve Anderson continues to build these Little Archies in very small quantities, and this of course is not only the original artist-specific prototype but a heavily used performance guitar.
Bill seems to gravitate more to Tele-style instruments these days so has decided to let this special little archtop go after nearly 30 years. It comes with a detailed handwritten letter from Bill and a selection of materials including a copy of the biography "Bill Frisell Beautiful Dreamer" by Philip Watson and a collection of Bill's music on Vinyl and CD including several this guitar is featured on. In concluding his letter Bill writes of the guitar "It's a good one; I played a LOT. I hope you like it too". We can't imagine anyone who appreciates Bill's unique contributions to the world's musical landscape would not love this guitar!
Overall length is 38 1/4 in. (97.2 cm.), 14 1/8 in. (35.9 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 1 7/8 in. (4.8 cm.) in depth, measured at rib. Scale length is 25 1/4 in. (641 mm.). Width of nut is 1 23/32 in. (44 mm.).
Despite being one of Bill Frisell's long time performance instruments this guitar shows only very light wear; Bill is a careful steward of his guitars! There is some minor scuffing and handling wear overall and that's about it. The pickup cover has some marks in the plating on the top and the small block tailpiece has considerable tarnishing. The frets have a bit of wear but really remain pretty clean considering the use the guitar has seen. There is a small hole in the top under the front end of the pickguard indicating the guard was likely changed from another style along the way.
The guitar plays and sounds extremely well, as might be expected from a performance instrument used extensively by a player of Bill's caliber. It remains exactly as last used by Bill Frisell, including the strings and setup and resides in a high grade Reunion Blues gig bag especially made for this guitar. This is simply about the nicest and most complete package of a personally designed and used instrument with attendant materials we have ever received from any artist. Overall Excellent Condition.