Secrets of the 1947 Selmer Maccaferri Guitar Revealed
N.K. Forster Guitars N.K. Forster Guitars
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 Published On Jul 2, 2023

Discover the secrets of this 1947 Selmer Maccaferri guitar in this video, including its history, unique features, and sound. Plus, find out how you can own this stunning Selmer Maccaferri guitar - it is for sale. Don't miss this exclusive look into one of the most iconic guitars in the world!

This video is about the 1947 Selmer Maccaferri guitar that belonged to my late Grandfather. The guitar is no. 647 which dates the guitar to around the middle of 1947.

In the video - I talk about the dimensions of the guitar, the materials, the condition and its history. And you get to hear it played.

If you'd like to buy this guitar, it is for sale. The guitar is in the UK, and can be shipped anywhere in the world.

You can contact me via my website:

https://www.nkforsterguitars.com/avai...

Since publishing the video a few folk have got in touch with information about the guitar.

The most popular view so far is this guitar began life as a Selmer Classical guitar. That the soundboard was either removed and re-braced or another Selmer soundboard was used. That at this stage the cutaway was also put in as the Classical guitars did not have a cutaway. This would explain the body size, the round hole and the cutaway.

The neck is also most likely an original Selmer neck, but from a different guitar or from Selmer stock. The neck /head joint is typical of Selmer guitars, the product of machine work and very difficult to reproduce by hand.

All of the work has been executed to the absolute highest standard, which suggests the work carried out by Marco Roccia of London. A dealer/collector in the USA also suggested the work was carried out by Roccia as he has a guitar with a similar cutaway. Roccia worked as a luthier for Clifford Essex in London from the late 1920s to when it closed in the 1970s. But my Grandfather bought this guitar in the late 1960s, so we know the work was done prior to that. Roccia was known for converting many Selmer tenor guitars into 6 string guitars. So he looks likely to have been involved in this guitar.

The big mystery is the date of the guitar. The number 647 suggests 1947, but the label has the name M.Maccaferri typed on it. Selmer had fallen out with Maccaferri well before this time and his name was blacked out on all the labels. However on close inspection it looks like the typed name M.Maccaferri has been added later to the Selmer label!

Another person suggested this may be a very early Classical (1932) that was later converted by M. Roccia. That the label was actually numbered 47, and that the no. 6 had been added later! Who knows?

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