Among the few builders who excel at both archtop and flattop guitar lutherie, Mario Beauregard has been crafting deeply musical, modern top-shelf guitars for over a quarter century. Based outside Montreal, Quebec, he is by now a veteran of the venerable Canadian lutherie scene. While we have had several of his instruments come through the shop over the years, it has been many years since we last saw one of his MB models.

The  MB is a fully hollow body archtop that draws inspiration from Taku Sakashta's iconic design. Mario hand carves the spruce top and maple back and sides, setting the plates into carved rounded sides that seem to wrap around and cradle the face of the guitar. An ebony fingerboard, bridge, tailpiece, and pickguard all serve create a dark, visual contrast to the wonderfully subtle, honey amber finish. Thin wood veneers set under the f-holes serve to limit feedback and echo the ebony. A multiple b/w purfling scheme defines where the top joins the sides, and visually delineates the seamless transition between rounded side and back.

Sonically, the MB makes a very fine jazz (rounded) box, with a lively acoustic response. Though with the mounted Kent Armstrong humbucker, this guitar can cover a wide range of styles. Overall, this is a singular, unique modern archtop with a stunning aesthetic and a masterful sound to match.

Priced with hard case.

• Carved spruce top
• Carved, figured Big Leaf maple back and sides
  
• Ebony fingerboard, bridge, and tailpiece
• B/W wood fiber purflings
• 1 11/16" nut width
  
• Kent Armstrong pickup w/ volume and tone controls
• Top-mounted humbucking pickup