Instruments
- Display 15 Products per page
-
1998 Buscarino 14-String, 5A Bigleaf Maple/Sitka Spruce
This one’s in a category all its own. In 1998, renowned teacher and music writer Robert Yelin commissioned this force of nature 14-string archtop from the one and only John Buscarino, and the result is quite a unique piece. The 14-string setup is essentially a 7-string Jazz guitar in double courses, with the additional strings adding a low B (or A, or C) to the bass register. There is a long line of 7-strings in Jazz, but this is the first time we’ve seen one set up with octave strings. You’d be amazed how much color and flexibility that single string (well, double) adds to your playing.
Tuned to A, chord positions which root on the 5th string suddenly have a fat bottom end when you fret on the seventh pair, instead. Or you leave it at B for easy access to more legroom for those walking bass lines. John built this one out with carved 5A Bigleaf Maple back and sides and a Sitka Spruce top, Maple bindings, and a flower-and-vine inlay scheme along the fretboard and tailpiece. The neck carve has a wide, shallow profile that’s comfortable in hand, and the setup has the classic silk smooth feel we’ve come to expect from every Buscarino.
Other keywords: jazz box, arch top, big-leaf, custom guitar, 14 string, RY0150699
SOLD Read moreScale Length 25 in Nut Width 2.125 in String Spacing 2.5 in Woods Spruce - Sitka, Maple - Bigleaf 
2012 Buscarino Grand Cabaret, Madagascar Rosewood & Adirondack/Cedar
We’ll take one of John Buscarino’s Grand Cabarets any day. These are hands down some of our all-time favorite crossover nylon string guitars, with John’s impeccable build quality bringing buckets of rich nylon tone to an easy-playing setup. This particular Cabaret from 2012 is dressed up with a Carved Madagascar Rosewood back, and features a Cedar/Adirondack Spruce double top for added power and projection. Additionally, this one has a Venetian Cutaway and one of John’s custom-carved soundports in the upper bout. The neck is closer to Classical dimensions with a 1 15/16” nut, but the scale length comes in at a flattop standard 25.4”. When you’re ready to take this Buscarino on stage, it’s been outfitted with a killer Barbera pickup system to boot!
Other keywords: xover, classical guitar, nylon-string, fingerstyle, crossover guitar
SOLD Read moreScale Length 25.4 in Nut Width 1.93 in String Spacing 2.25 in Woods Double Top - Spruce/Cedar, Rosewood - Madagascar 
2011 Buscarino Rhapsody, Plum Pudding Mahogany/Adirondack Spruce
John Buscarino’s catalog includes everything from nylon string crossovers to straight ahead flattops, archtops, and the experimental space in between. This 2011 Rhapsody model features flattop bracing on its Adirondack Spruce top, but John carved the Plum Pudding Mahogany back in the style of an archtop guitar. The result is a voice that combines warmth with punch—an excellent flatpicking machine that can cover a lot of territory. John added a fleur-de-lis soundport to the upper bout to keep the player in tune with their tunes, and a K&K Pure Mini pickup for onstage work.
Other keywords: lutherie, luthier, guitarbuilding, buscarino guitars, flat pick, jazz, adriondack, hiscox
SOLD Read moreScale Length 25 in Nut Width 1.75 in String Spacing 2.188 in Woods Spruce - Adirondack (Red), Mahogany - Figured 
Brand New Buscarino Cabaret, Malaysian Blackwood/Cedar
Beautiful, much? Our latest Buscarino Cabaret was custom built for one of our clients, and we’re happy to say that John more than delivered on every count. These crossover nylon string guitars are some of our all-time favorites, and this one comes to us with a hand carved Malaysian Blackwood back, Cedar top, and Koa bindings throughout. Oval soundhole with an all-wood rosette, hand-carved Fleur de Lis soundport, Brazilian Rosewood bridge—and on.
This Cabaret crossover is built with player comfort at the forefront. The short, 630mm scale fingerboard comes with a 30” radius to feel more like a steel string, and John installed stainless steel frets to maximize the lifespan of this effortless setup. 48mm at the nut, 57mm at the saddle, smooth-operating Sloan tuners with Snakewood knobs, an undersaddle pickup, and Venetian Cutaway as the cherry on top.
Even brand new, this Buscarino has immense clarity and note definition. We love how easily it plays, and the amount of projection that John’s teased out of this nylon string guitar is impressive, even by steel string standards. We cannot recommend the Buscarino Cabaret more highly. If you’re interested in getting one for yourself, give us a shout! We’re happy to help.SOLD Read moreScale Length 25 in Nut Width 1.875 in String Spacing 2.25 in Woods Cedar - Western Red, Blackwood - Malaysian 
1995 Buscarino Cabaret, Flamed Maple/Engelmann Spruce
It’s always a pleasure to have one of John Buscarino’s Cabaret crossovers in the shop, and this Maple beauty from 1995 has had some time to open up for added warmth and sustain.
The neck profile errs on the side of a C shape, and the 1 3/4 inch nut will feel especially familiar to steel string players. A Venetian Cutaway keeps those upper frets from getting too dusty, and John’s early proprietary “Implant” pickup offers an excellent amplified tone with a built-in volume knob accessible by the soundhole. Weighing a scant 3lbs 11oz, this Cabaret crossover is certifiably effortless to play, and the Engelmann Spruce top lends a creamy flavor to the overall voice.
We’re hard-pressed to think of another nylon crossover we’d recommend more highly than a Buscarino Cabaret. Snag this one before it gets gone!
SOLD Read moreScale Length 25.5 in Nut Width 1.75 in String Spacing 2.25 in Woods Spruce - Engelmann, Maple - Figured 
2009 Buscarino Grand Cabaret Tasmania Black Acacia/Cedar
This astonishing Buscarino Cabaret was originally custom built for a lucky customer of ours overseas, but has returned to our shores after six years’ sabbattical in pristine condition. John’s Cabaret is the ultimate Crossover Nylon String guitar for players with a Jazz background. The arched Tasmanian Black Acacia back and sides (in addition to being strikingly flamed) provide resounding clarity to the low-end, and the Cedar top helps to warm up the tone across the registers.
Featuring Snakewood appointments across the instrument, from the bindings to the fretboard and bridge, this guitar is jaw-droppingly gorgeous–and that’s not including the custom flower petals soundport on the upper bout! Clearly, this is an instrument which deserves equal praise for its appearance, playability, and rich, complex tone.
1997 Buscarino Artisan Custom Maple/Sitka
All you jazz box aficionados, gather round: we’ve got a contender for the finest Archtop of 1997 on the line here. If it comes from John Buscarino’s shop, you know the guitar’s going to have golden tone, and this Maple-and-Sitka–Spruce beauty has the looks to match. An Artisan Custom, this Archtop has a single Lindy Fralin Humbucker pickup below the fingerboard which cranks out some of the fattest, juiciest tone we’ve seen in a jazz box in a long time.
In this guitar, traditional aesthetics (see the Ivoroid bindings and MOP-and-Abalone parallelogram fret markers) are married to contemporary voicings to give the guitar classic looks and an increased dynamic range. When the low-end warmth and mellowness that we expect from vintage archtops combines with these trebles, rich and bright with a well-defined edge, you get an Archtop perfectly set up for fingerstyle jazz comping and solos. Just under 20 years old, this Artisan Custom is fully opened up and ready for more action!
SOLD Read moreScale Length 25 in Nut Width 1.75 in String Spacing 2.06 in Woods Spruce - Sitka, Maple 
Buscarino Virtuoso European Maple/Spruce
A king among Jazz boxes! Whenever John Buscarino’s hands touch wood, the wood sings. This, his top-of-the-line Virtuoso, is no less than what we’ve come to expect from his guitars: strong attack, flawless construction, a hearty, meaty tone with that big jazz box feel, dynamically voiced for rhapsody or jitterbug.A gorgeous set of European Maple has here been paired with a European Spruce top to produce a muscular sound, with very present trebles with great sustain, and a fat low-end dripping with sweet sustain. For such a large-bodied guitar, it is surprisingly gentle to play, thanks in part to Buscarino’s glossy Nitrocellulose finish and glass-smooth neck profile, but it’s the little details and appointments which really let this looker shine. Featuring bound F-holes, Burl headstock veneers, Maple bindings throughout, and a laminated tailpiece and pickguard which exhibit gorgeous alternating bands of Ebony and Maple. Of course, let’s not forget his custom floating Humbucker pickup or the fleur-de-lis inspired soundport on the upper bout–a motif which is returned to in both the headstock inlays and in the tailpiece.With warmth like a roaring fire, and attack like lightning, this Virtuoso is ready to get down to the business of making music.
SOLD Read moreScale Length 25 in Nut Width 1.81 in String Spacing 2.13 in Woods Spruce - European, Maple - European 
New Buscarino Cabaret Double Top Maple/Engelmann
This is custom Buscarino Cabaret that we had built specially for us here at Dream Guitars! It is no small secret that we love the Cabaret model, it is in our minds the most successful crossover classical guitar. There hasn’t been a Cabaret that has come through the shop that has not been exceptional. What we wanted to do with this custom order was condense all of the good qualities of all of the Cabarets we have seen into one ultimate guitar that would fulfill the needs of our clients and then some. Built from choice Quilted Maple with Curly Koa Bindings and an Engelmann Spruce and Cedar Double Top, this Cabaret combines top quality woods and design. Tonally this guitar falls in the perfect sweet zone, the Engelman top face provides complexity and overtones while the Cedar underface provides warmth and richness, all reigned in and equalized with the carved maple back. Another of the great features we wanted to add to this Cabaret was the Barbera pickup which gives an accurate representation of the acoustic tone while eliminating basically all feed back when plugged in. John certainly delivered with this Cabaret, this is the ultimate.
SOLD Read moreScale Length 25.5 in Nut Width 1.94 in String Spacing 2.25 in Woods Spruce - Engelmann, Maple 
2010 Buscarino Virtuoso Flamed Honduran Mahogany/Sitka
John Buscarino builds some of the finest guitars around, bar none. John studied with two master Luthiers, Augustine LoPrinzi and Bob Benedetto, those are some serious credentials to be sure. Every guitar that John builds is rare, they are often customized and each instrument is highly different from the last. This one, however, is a truly rare bird. Built from Mahogany with “Plum Pudding” figure and Sitka Spruce, this Virtuoso will knock you out with its looks, this guitar is masterpiece. Tonally this Archtop has everything we have come to expect from John, clarity and power with a warmth that just envelops the player. We found that this Virtuoso can handle all the jazz you can throw at it from swing to gypsy this will fit the bill of whatever you need.
SOLD Read moreScale Length 25 in Nut Width 1.59 in String Spacing 1.94 in Woods Spruce - Sitka, Mahogany - Honduran 
2009 Buscarino Cabaret Macassar Ebony/Cedar
Here we have a Buscarino Cabaret nylon crossover in Macassar Ebony and Sitka Spruce, this is the sister guitar of the Cabaret Steel string that we have in. John has proven again that his is a master builder and is able to achieve great consistency, this is exactly what we have come to expect from John and his Cabaret model. The voice is clear and precise, well suited to jazz and swing while also being able to handle classical music nicely. Macassar Ebony is a beautiful wood that we don’t see too often, it adds a great clarity to the tone that really works well in this application.
SOLD Read moreScale Length 25.59 in Nut Width 1.81 in String Spacing 2.25 in Woods Cedar, Ebony - Macassar 
2000 Buscarino Cabaret Custom Indian/Engelmann
John Buscarino’s Cabaret model is one of the most versatile crossover models we have ever come across. It is well suited to jazz, swing, and classical, all of which sound at home on this custom Cabaret, making it a solid all around guitar. John built this Cabaret from solid East Indian Rosewood and Engelman Spruce, which make for a powerful, yet sweet sounding guitar. The tree of life was particularly well executed here with multiple types of shell and reconstituted stone. This guitar is a rare beauty just looking for someone to give it a great home.
SOLD Read moreScale Length 25.5 in Nut Width 1.91 in String Spacing 2.25 in Woods Spruce - Engelmann, Rosewood - Indian 
New Buscarino Cabaret Indian/Carpathian
The Buscarino Cabaret design is perhaps the finest Nylon crossover we know of. The carved arched back design make for a voice that excels at Jazz, Brazilian and many other crossover genres. This beauty was custom made for a lucky customer but call us and we’ll help you get your very own.
SOLD Read moreScale Length 25.5 in Nut Width 1.95 in String Spacing 2.25 in Woods Spruce - Carpathian, Rosewood - Indian 
2012 Buscarino Starlight Nylon String Mahogany/Sitka
John Buscarino’s Starlight model is designed for the gigging nylon string player. It’s thin body is hollow but with a solid tree beneath the bridge and a Barbera pickup installed so it can be played at volume with clear tone and no feedback. John built this one with a Silky Sitka Spruce top and carved Mahogany back and sides. It is beautifully simple with fine details such as the Snakewood fingerboard and bridge and tastefully purfled tie block. The 48.4mm (1 29/32″) nut and 57mm (2 1/4″) spacing allow for a multitude of styles from Jazz to Brazilian to Classical. Now you can have a hassle free gigging guitar with Buscarino quality.
SOLD Read moreScale Length 25.5 in Nut Width 1.91 in String Spacing 2.25 in Woods Spruce - Sitka, Mahogany 
2000 Buscarino Grand Cabaret Custom Snakewood Theme Indian/Spruce
This is a custom ordered Buscarino Grand Cabaret crossover nylon string model with Snakewood Fingerboard, Bridge and Headplate. The body features a carved back of Indian Rosewood and a German Spruce top voiced to perfection for Jazz, Brazilian or any crossover application. There is a side Soundport, cutaway and a Buscarino Implant Pickup for live performance and a beautiful vine inlay on the fingerboard. The 1 13/16″ neck is perfect for all styles. The Buscarino Cabaret is one of our most sought after nylon string guitars and this is one of the nicest we’ve had.
SOLD Read moreScale Length 25.59 in Nut Width 1.81 in String Spacing 2.25 in Woods Spruce, Rosewood - Indian