Debut of dream guitar

February’s Milton of Buchanan gig will also be the Stirling district debut of the new‘Dave Arcari signature model’guitar made by California-based National Reso-Phonic Guitars.

The signature guitar project began last January following Dave’s appearance at the National Reso-Phonic stand at the National Association of Music Merchants Show (NAMM) at Anaheim, which was a highlight of his West Coast trip.

National guitars have been used by Delta blues pioneers including Son House and Bukka White – and were famously namechecked on Paul Simon’s‘Graceland’ with the opening line‘The Mississippi Delta was shining like a National guitar.’ Dire Straits’Mark Knopfler also used National’s‘Style O’guitar which featured on the cover of the band’s 1985 album Brothers in Arms.

Dave has been playing National Reso-Phonic guitars professionally for more than 20 years. His signature guitar took five months to make and was launched at a special show in Morro Bay in California in July.

He said:“It was exciting to be pulling together the dream guitar. And to do so with a company synonymous with blues music and the development of resonator guitars was both an honour and a privilege.

“When I first started playing these guitars in the 1990s I never dreamt our relationship would evolve into what it is today.”

The volume of the National ResoPhonic guitar when played accoustically is an important feature for the guitarist who has seven of them – one of which he keeps in New York for touring in the States.

Resophonic or resonator guitars use metal cones to produce their sound. They were developed in the 1920s to be louder than regular acoustic guitars to prevent the sound being drowned out by the horns and percussion in dance orchestras.

Dave said:“The resonator acts like mechanical amplifier, it’s like a thin, spun aluminium speaker cone. Combined with the metal body, it gives a very unique sound.

“I use extremely heavy gauge Newtone strings which add another unique dimension to my sound.

“The build quality and craftsmanship of National’s instruments is extremely high and they are of such consistency that they are one of the rare companies where a buyer can confidently buy an instrument without playing it and know it’s up to scratch.”

Dave’s signature guitar will feature in the next issue of Guitarist Magazine. It has its own Facebook page (at http://www. facebook.com/ DaveArcariSignatureGuitar). He is currently doing a‘song a day’series of livestreams to the guitar page on Facebook.