❌SOLD❌ Tony Duggan Smith Mystic Short Scale Archtop Blonde, 1995

Here is a treat – a Tony Duggan Smith Mystic, a short scale (21.89 inch, 556mm) cutaway archtop built during 1995 at Duggan-Smith’s Toronto shop.

Tony Duggan-Smith has been around the Canadian arts music and film scene for decades.  He was a member of the Pukka Orchestra and Neotone after apprenticing with Jean Larrivee and leading the repair department at Ring Music, then run by Bill Wagner and Michael McLuhan (yes that McLuhan.),  and has also over a decade of work in the film industry.  One of his current projects is the Apprehension Engine, an instrument specifically designed for use in horror films.  

Duggan-Smith also works closely with Linda Manzer, studying her archtop construction methods as she learned from the late Jimmy D’Aquisto, who had himself apprenticed to the legendary John D’Angelico.

This brings us to the guitar at hand, the Tony Duggan Smith Mystic short scale archtop. This is a very well built instrument using highest quality materials. The carved top is Englemann Spruce paired with nicely figured German Maple for the sides and carved back. The neck is Sugar Maple with Ebony for the fingerboard, tailpiece, bridge, headplate and pickguard. The Mystic logo is Mother of Pearl. For hardware, tuners are Sperzel locking models in black. A Benedetto pickup has been installed to the end of the neck, replacing the original Kent Armstrong model.   The Tony Duggan Smith Mystic is finished in clear nitrocellulose lacquer. 

Wear on this guitar is light,  with slight pressure marks on the back. 

This guitar has a performance history and one of its appearances was at the Group of Seven Guitar Project at the McMichael Gallery. For these performances, the reason for the short scale becomes clear; it allows the guitar to be tuned up to F# to match the singer’s natural voice.

Here’s some commentary, provided by Tony Duggan-Smith, on the Mystic: 

“”Back in 2005, I had the privilege of playing the Mystic Short-Scale for the better part of a year. Don’t let the size fool you. It is a serious jazz box. I played it in trios, duos and solo performances. Everyone remarked at the incredible deep tone that came from the smaller body. Being a smaller human, I have always sought out smaller instruments after having some upper back issues and this guitar is unbelievably comfortable.  I highly recommend this guitar. The craftsmanship is truly top shelf.”

Bob Sneider 2020”

The original Calton lightweight flight case is included.