Nashville, Tennessee custom guitar maker Mark Lacey was commissioned to create an archtop guitar using his clients personal stock of Brazilian Rosewood with an Art Deco Car theme. Lacey patterned all of the guitar components after the iconic roadster and used 3D printing to replicate the cars grille to serve as the instruments tailpiece.
While deciding on the theme for his custom guitar, Oregon guitar collector Don Fisher accompanied Lacey to the Sensuous Steel Art Deco Cars Exhibit in Nashville. Fisher was sold on the idea of making a guitar that looked like the art deco cars featured at the event. During the year-long brainstorming and design process they settled on patterning the guitar after the classic 1937 Delahaye 135MS Roadster.
The guitar is full of features and parts inspired by the design of the classic roadster. The pickguard is patterned after the cars dramatic front fender and is made of brushed aluminum trimmed with maple. Small details like the volume and tone knobs were made to resemble the pistons of the engine, while the guitars headstock was patterned after the car’s unique door handle.
The most striking feature on the guitar however is the dramatic tailpiece that was patterned after the Delahaye Roadster’s front grille. The frame of the grill was 3D printed in stainless steel and the vertical rods that complete the look were attached to the frame manually. The entire guitar was stained with a deep black finish to really accentuate the 3D printed grill.
Lacey has been restoring and constructing custom guitars and string instruments for 40 years and has worked closely with musical artists like Aerosmith, Pink Floyd, Jackson Browne, Bon Jovi, Paul McCartney and U2, so he knows his way around a musical instrument.
You can read more about the guitars designed and restored by Mark Lacey on his website where you can also see all of the truly beautiful instruments that he’s created during his four decade long career.
