This was a fun project. The theme of this Petillo archtop guitar was based on a Mallard duck. The details of the hunter scene on the headstock were a lot of work. The background of the headstock is German figured maple. The Mallard inlay is 18 pieces of exotic wood veneer. The Petillo banner logo is made in 24k gold foil. The hunter’s face and hand is bone, the shotgun is sterling silver, and the outfit he is wearing is padauk and purpleheart veneer. The pussy willows are Indian rosewood and American maple dyed green. The three mallard in the background are 24k gold; they were so hard to cut out. The arch of the front and back of the guitar are hand carved in the Italian techniques my family learned from the D’ Angelico tradition. The sunburst nitro lacquer is a three tone transition of hunter green and white/grey fog – which brings out the image of an early morning fog rising against a green landscape. The hunter green with sterling silver and 24k gold dust mixed into the lacquer give the effect of a wet dew that shimmers in the sun. The humbucking pickup I designed for this guitar is based on the same sound as the Bruce Darkness album, but without the single coil hum. I hope you enjoy the pics of the hand carved Mallard volume and tone knobs. God bless.
The Petillo “Mallard” Semi-Hollow Body Archtop Guitar
