Dave's Francotta Radio guitar

Written by Dermot on Monday, 24 August 2009

“This is my favourite acoustic guitar, my Francotta Radio. I have never seen another one and no one has yet been able to give me any information about the maker. It is aproximately 1930s and carries the scars of many years use but is lovely and very responsive to play.

"The body although ply is very thin and you can feel the vibrations in your stomach as you play it. It has a very crisp well defined sound and articulates each note clearly. I bought it off a friend of mine, Vince Purcell, who is a violin maker and musician. We were both playing in 'The Crawfish Scrapers' at the time. He had found it in pieces in a skip and rescued it. He carved the top from the inside and shaped and refixed the bracings inside of it. This type of archtop is a similar construction to a violin. I imagine it is the work Vince put in to it that makes it such a great feeling and sounding guitar. Everyone who picks it up and plays it never wants to give it back. I am never going to sell this guitar, although I have had many offers over the years.”

Editor's note: I can verify that - having played this old beauty - I also didn't want to give it back, and asked Dave for first refusal if he was ever to sell it. He replied that, first of all he would never let it out of his hands, and that even if he did, I'd have to join the line of people waiting to add it to their collections. Hey ho!

You can also read about Vince, who restored the guitar, here.

Show us yours

We'd love to hear all about your special instruments and your relationship to them. Please send us pics and its 'story' to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it