Jimmy D'Aquisto

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James L. D'Aquisto (1935-1995) was an American guitar maker best known as one of the premier makers of custom archtop guitars.<ref>A Room Full of Blues (2006). Retrieved on September 29, 2006.</ref> He served as an apprentice to John D'Angelico in the early 1950s and was considered his successor after the latter's death in 1964. From his shop in Farmingdale, New York, D'Aquisto became the top guitar maker from the late 1960s until his death in 1995. D'Aquisto's name is attatched to many guitar models from brands like the Fender "D'Aquisto Elite"<ref>1984 Fender D'Aquisto Elite. Retrieved on September 29, 2006.</ref> and the Hagström "Jimmy", and his blue "Centura Deluxe" was the inspiration for the book Blue Guitar.<ref name=Blue>Vose, Ken (1998). Blue Guitar. Chronicle Books. ISBN 0811819124.</ref> Today, his guitars sell for hundreds of thousands of dollars, and some expect that the first guitar in history to sell for $1,000,000 mark will be a D'Aquisto.<ref>Nager, Larry. "To Guitarists he's a Guru", The Cincinnati Enquirer, October 11, 2001.</ref> <ref name=Blue>Vose, Ken (1998). Blue Guitar. Chronicle Books. ISBN 0811819124.</ref>

D'Aquisto was a 2006 inductee to the Long Island Music Hall of Fame. His tools and work bench—the bench passed down to him from D'Angelico—are on disply at the National Music Museum.