D’AQUILA GUITARS
Unique ornate electrics by designer/luthier Scott Beckwith
“A D’AQUILA is not for everyone. That’s OK,
I can’t make that many anyway. If you’re not
for everyone either and feel this is for you,
please get in touch.” ~S. Beckwith, Luthier
Welcome to my passion. When I started out cutting my first guitar body in the back room of a little Massachusetts music shop in the late 1990s, I didn’t know it was going to define my path for the next 27 years. The Texas “Hill Country” chapter in the woods, Birdsong Guitars, and me in a honed, experienced version were all on the horizon. The path of music brought me - or me to - everything in my adult life. I just knew at that time I had loved the unique fancy guitars played by the Dead, and Trey Anastasio, and the mystique of “the individual instrument, of woods with stories, from one set of hands to another.” Unique players and their individual Excaliburs. Rack guitars are cool too, but I was drawn to the thought of a craftsman in a small workshop carving a piece of ebony or cocobolo to fit on some wild, custom instrument.
Well, I became that guy. It’s autumn in my life but springtime in my world. I make little handfuls of super short scale basses (what became my specialty) and other guitars that are simpler and unique in their own way; I manage Birdsong Guitars but production of those pro-level short scale basses has been taken over by the Head Luthier Jake. And I continue to make the occasional D’AQUILA. These are the top of my craft, the blossoms of my foundational influences as filtered through my own decades and inspirations, and now as more of a main artistic focus. Each is different, as different as the player who sees in one their answer and finds in one their voice. Their inspiration…
Here’s a video from a few years back.
Nobody will ever ask you which superstore wall you pulled this off of. Entirely hand crafted, with a little help from my friends, from my hands and creative inspiration to yours. I see them as electric solid jazz guitars like Kevin Eubanks’ Abe Riveras or Lenny Breau’s Kirk Sand… with a little Doug Irwin seasoning, and influences from rural Texas woodcraft and classic automotive curves and temples of India to grandfather clock tops, silverware handles, Art Deco and a little Nouveau, Southwestern Native American art, old architecture, and antique carved furniture. Somehow I work it all in together into these; and there’s little more fun to me than designing such playable art and bringing it to life to help create music that can be offered or shared.
The voices, these are sonic recipes I came up with from years of prototyping and experimenting. I see “Which pickup?” as only the start. A cook sees an ingredient and uses it; fair enough. A Chef sees an ingredient and further dresses or roasts it first, then uses it as an ingredient. Combine ingredients prepped like that, pieces all worked a little themselves, and together a different magic happens. A D’AQUILA is not a simple sandwich, it’s more a ceremonial meal. If you like what you see and what I say speaks to you, please get in touch! I’m always cooking up a couple and carving on something. Maybe it’s for you.
Thank you for your interest.
Thank you for the opportunity to be of service.
(512) 395-5126 (calls only)
wingfeathermusic@yahoo.com
“D’AQUILA” can be translated roughly from Spanish or Italian as “Of the eagle.” I’ve always had a kinship with the winged world; maybe that’s why I “fly” whenever possible. My wings are wheels, but I do cover some ground. A bit more free at this time in my life, I chapter in places and set up little workshops where these instruments are carved and come together. I feel the nomadic nature is somehow in the free spirit of what I craft. They have wings in their own way.
In progress: D’AQUILA #011
Florentine model
Deco-edged
Hand carved scroll
Center: Bloodwood on cherry
Wings: Spalted Texas pecan
Stringers: Black ebony
Neck: Mahogany, ebony board
Scale length just shorter than Gibson, for soft feel with thicker strings, and easier reach for complex chord voicings. Planning on a complete ebony trim package and a few subtle turquoise inlays on the body and headstock. Anticipated completion: Late 2024. Available (Inquire).