1960s Del Vecchio Electrified Resonator Tenor Guitar

Del Vecchio, made-in-Brazil, resonator instruments have "that sound." It's woodier-sounding and sweeter than a National or Dobro voice but has about the same cut as your average wood-bodied version of either, plus more sustain than your average National biscuit-bridge types after which they're modeled.

The body on this guy is ply Brazilian rosewood that's lacquer-yellowed a bit to a medium, milk-in-coffee brown. It has a thick Brazilian rosewood fretboard, classical-style wood binding, and a wooden coverplate. The screens for the soundholes are lacquered fabric which is a nice touch. It has a "puck" rosewood bridge that sits in the center of the cone and it's fitted with an original, blade-style, single-coil pickup with Danelectro-sounding vibes.

I love everything about this instrument -- its green coverplate retaining insert, blue headstock plate, goofy control knobs and bridge cover, and 12-fret neck joint. It's fun and different.