Albanus guitars feature a carved ebony tailpiece that was a carryover from Carl Albanus Johnson’s training as a violin maker.

It preceded the more widely publicized ebony tailpieces of James D’Aquisto by as much as a decade. Johnson’s distinctive, asymmetrical headstock, inspired by Gibson’s “dove-wing” design, proved to be perfect for the extra tuner on this 7-string model.

Seven-string guitars were popularized by jazz stylist George Van Eps, who tuned the 7th string to a B below the standard low-E. When rockers discovered the 7-string in the 80’s they tuned down to A to get a powerful root-fifth-octave configuration on the lower strings.