Marchione

Marchione Acoustic Guitars — Houston's Master Luthier, Built for the Ages

We covered Stephen Marchione's remarkable journey from jazz devotee to master luthier on our electric guitar page, and the same story applies here: a musician who graduated from Naropa University with a degree in music, apprenticed at Pensa-Suhr in New York, spent years studying privately with Manhattan violin maker Guy Rabut, moved to Houston's Montrose arts district after September 11, and has spent more than thirty years building instruments that Chamber Music America called the work of the finest young guitar maker working today. He is no longer young, and the work has only gotten better.

The acoustic side of Marchione's output spans flat-top steel strings, classical guitars, and archtops, each one built with the same obsessive attention to materials and construction that runs through his electric instruments. Hot hide glue construction throughout. Chalk-fit components assembled for perfect geometry. Stainless steel frets. Hand-selected tonewoods aged in his own loft. Instruments built to last more than a century, guaranteed for life to the original owner.

Flat-Top Acoustics

OM — Stephen developed his OM over twenty-five years of archtop and classical guitar building, using his 15-inch archtop outline as the body template rather than the Nazareth-inspired shape most builders default to. The result is an instrument of remarkable tonal balance and projection, built on an engineered Solera for perfect geometry, assembled with chalk-fit components, and finished in nitro lacquer over shop-made shellac sealer. Swiss spruce tops, Honduran mahogany necks, African ebony fingerboards and bridges, and Arabian camel bone nut and saddle are standard. Back and sides are available in rosewood, maple, ebony, or mahogany. A proprietary bridgeplate-mounted pickup offers an accurate acoustic reproduction for players who need stage-ready amplification.

OMC — The cutaway version of the OM, sharing identical construction and tonal character with the addition of full upper-register access. Built with Swiss spruce top, rosewood back, sides, and headplate, Honduran mahogany neck, African ebony fingerboard and bridge, and water buffalo bone nut and saddle. Spanish construction with integral support for both the top and fingerboard ensures long-term stability without compromising resonance.

Classical — Stephen builds classical guitars to the same exacting standard as every other instrument in his lineup, drawing on decades of archtop and steel-string experience to produce instruments with a voice and responsiveness that serious classical players recognize immediately as the work of someone who understands both the instrument and the music.

Archtop Guitars

Stephen's archtop instruments are among the most celebrated in the world, built with a depth of knowledge that comes from hands-on study of D'Aquisto and D'Angelico instruments, a working understanding of cello arching developed through decades of violin making alongside Guy Rabut, and a personal collaboration with jazz guitarist Mark Whitfield that has produced five distinct archtop designs across more than twenty-five years.

15-Inch Archtop — Originally designed in collaboration with Mark Whitfield for his tours with Chris Botti and Sting, the 15-inch is the most intimate and stage-practical model in the Marchione archtop lineup. European flamed maple back and sides, European Alpine spruce top, American sugar maple neck, African ebony fingerboard, binding, and fittings, and a hand-wound warm PAF humbucker designed by Stephen with DiMarzio's Steve Blucher. Under six pounds, designed for comfort on stage, and voiced for rich amplified tone with enough acoustic projection to fill a room unplugged.

16-Inch Archtop — The model Vintage Guitar Magazine described as hitting a golden mean among size, comfort, volume, and tone. A cello-style neck joint, violin-inspired tailpiece, European spruce top, and maple back and sides produce an orchestral voice with a definitive attack and extraordinary sustain. A side soundport adds acoustic intimacy for the player. The custom Marchione-DiMarzio pickup delivers a smooth, balanced response across every dynamic level the right hand can produce.

17-Inch Archtop — Designed to capture the acoustic fullness of a full-size 18-inch archtop while maintaining the playability of the smaller models, with reduced side depth that makes it comfortable even on smaller players. Engelmann or European spruce top, flamed or quilted maple back and sides, and a floating Marchione humbucker that captures the full subtlety of the acoustic voice. As Stephen puts it: in nearly all settings, the richness of sound achieved acoustically will satisfy all of your desires.

18-Inch Archtop and 18-Inch Texas Archtop — The largest and most acoustically powerful instruments in the Marchione catalog, built for players who want everything an acoustic archtop can deliver at full volume. The Texas variant reflects Stephen's Houston years and stands as the most regionally rooted instrument in a body of work that has always been fundamentally personal.

Browse our full selection of Marchione acoustic and archtop guitars. Reach out to discuss a commission or to learn more about any instrument currently available.