2006 Arthur Davis "Cutaway" CD/CY

Arthur Davis has been building stringed musical instruments since 1978. He started in a small repair shop in East San Diego where he worked on all types of stringed instruments: guitars, banjos, violins, cellos, mandolins, ukuleles and more. Davis attended seminars at the Gibson, Kalamazoo and JBL factories which gave him a close-up view of how the best guitar companies operate. A ten year stint at Taylor Guitars helped Davis to create an outline for A. Davis Guitars production and design. Leading the final assembly department at Taylor Guitars which delivered a million dollars of product every month, Davis oversaw the completion of nearly 20,000 guitars and acquired plenty of his creative repair skills. Since his childhood, Davis has always been passionate about books on aviation and automobiles. He built flying aircraft constructed surfboards and repaired and customized cars. Even though these skills may seem unrelated at first, Davis claims they are crucial to understanding the way he applies modern technology to guitar making. With A. Davis Guitars, Arthur Davis wanted to combine the mass production he experienced at Gibson, JBL and Taylor with the humanity and classical expression of traditional guitar building.

This instrument is a hybrid of a Spanish style guitar with steel-string acoustic guitar construction. It’s a bit sturdier than a typical classical guitar. Classical spacing at the bridge makes it easy to handle for both classical and steel string players. Apart from a couple of dings in the top and a well-repaired crack in the side, codition is excellent. Perhaps it’s best to hear how a brilliant guitarist, producer, film composer and Grammy Award Winner Mark Mancina describes A. Davis Guitars in the video below. This particular instrument was generously donated to the GSI Foundation by Mark Mancina from his fine collection of guitars.