Picture a guitar that could replace your gypsy jazz box, D28 Flat-top AND L5, an instrument where your hands and pick attack, as well as your string selection, be it flatwounds, roundwounds, electric or bronze and combinations thereof, can take you to all those familiar places while delivering a level of exquisite tone and clarity superior to what you've had before.

In Cliff's words: "I use it as my flat-top as well as my electric jazzbox, could not give it higher praise and truly believe it to be one of the most significant advancements in the evolution of the archtop guitar. It would be ideal to own 3 and keep one strung with bronze, one with electric and one with bronze on the low 3 and electric on the 3 high strings, but wishful thinking aside, I consider myself extremely fortunate to own and play a Halfling. I believe it to be a very important instrument that should be looked at closely by all those devoted to the guitar."

In the words of Ribbecke Guitar Corporation: "The HJG-1 Jazz Guitar is a result of over 25 years of Tom Ribbecke's unique understanding of carved top design. A true crossover instrument; it combines the sensitivity of a steel string guitar, with its flatter soundboard on the bass side, and the articulate sound of a true jazz guitar. This instrument has superior separation of course (ability to hear individual notes and complex chords in individual strings). And, of course, the HJG-1 has the outstanding multi-dimensional acoustic imaging common to all Halfling(TM) instruments. It has great feedback suppression with an enhanced bass response not found in any other archtop guitar."

"This versatile guitar may be strung with either phosphor bronze or electric strings, we suggest you try both! The HJG-1 has a floating Kent Armstrong, American made, pickup which is mounted in a unique platform on the neck, giving this instrument the ability to perform like a Gibson L5 or a Gibson 175. It features volume and tone control, mounted under the pickguard as well as unique proprietary hex adjustable thumb wheels for the bridge. The HJG-1 has a nitro cellulose finish in the great tradition of fine guitar making, designed to age like an excellent wine."

SPECS:
BODY: 17" Bout With Single Venetian Cutaway, 3 2/16" Deep
BACK: Hand Selected Western Bigleaf Maple
SIDES: Hand Selected Western Bigleaf Maple
TOP: Hand Selected Red Cedar
BRACING: X Bracing
SCALE: 25"
BINDING: Black & White Purfling
NECK: Birdseye Maple
FINGERBOARD: Ebony
FRETS: 22
WIDTH AT NUT: 1 3/4"
WIDTH AT 14th FRET: 2.2"
HEELCAP: Ebony
NUT MATERIAL: First Quality Bone
BRIDGE: Ebony
PICKGUARD: Ebony
PICKUP: Kent Armstrong Floating Pickup
CASE: Cedar Creek Hard Case
FINISH: Nitrocellulose Lacquer Gloss / Amberburst or Darkburst

PRICE: $6300