Local Luthier Review – Anthony Arcuri
Okay, so I’m no Carlos Santana or Keith Richards, but you know what, I like to play guitar, and I like to play a guitar that plays well. And in my price range, that’s not always affordable. Sure, I can get an off-the-rack Taylor or Martin, but that’s not the same as a custom made job that’s personally tailored to my exact specifications. So what’s a poor slob like me to do. Call Anthony!
Anthony Arcuri is southeast Florida’s own wonder wizard of guitaromania. He can take that Cinderella-pumpkin of an axe you’re grinding and turn it into a magic, musical carpet you can ride to the stars. So what’s all this metaphorical musical voodoo about? Let’s just say that I’ve had Anthony fine tune both my thousand dollar Emerald graphite guitar and my one hundred dollar Yamaha guitalele (a six string uke) and now they both sound and play a million times better. And he did it all for less than the price of a nice dinner for two at the Casablanca Café on Fort Lauderdale Beach. And unlike that nice dinner, I can enjoy the musical feast he’s prepared for me over and over, again, at no further charge.
Transplanted here in 1992 from Syracuse, New York, Anthony, who is 46 now, has been playing and repairing guitars ever since he was a teenager. A lover of everything from Beethoven, to Led Zeppelin, to the Beatles, he’s a self-taught luthier who can do everything and anything your guitar needs to have pitch perfect intonation with feather-light action. Working full-time from his hand-crafted garage studio in his Hollywood home located in a nice neighborhood just east of US1, he repairs and improves the guitars of both local headliners and nationally known rock stars. He’s even available day or night for average Joe’s and Josie’s like you and me. And an average setup (luthier lingo for making it sound and play right) including adjustments to the string height, frets, neck, and intonation, with string replacement and cleaning/polishing averages about a 48 hour turnaround time.
Anthony offers pick-up and delivery service from Miami to West Palm Beach. You can reach him on his cell at 954-224-7305, or email him at ARC33020@bellsouth.net. Better yet, come meet him this Saturday, July 30th, at Your Big Picture Cafe’s open mic (4900 S. University Drive, Davie, FL, www.YourBigPictureCafe.com). He’ll be there from about 8pm to 9:30pm. And bring your axe. Who knows. You might just walk away with a magic carpet.
Dr. Bob