David L. - Peerless Imperial

Lou,

I wanted to send a quick note to thank you for shipping the Peerless Imperial with the set Lollar pickup. It was packed so carefully that it was nearly in tune when I started to play it right out of the case. It is a sweet guitar, it is like an L5 Wes but easier to play given the scale. It sounds great and the action is incredible. I still can't understand how they can make such great guitars for that price.

Your service is great. Thanks again.

Dave

Bob R. - D'Angelico Excel

Hello Lou,

I hope that you or one of your clients is enjoying that DA Excell that you purchased from me. You really educated me on archtops. You were extremely accommodating to my needs. I am waiting for the next Palen. I may also have a couple more guitars to trade or sell you outright.

Talk to you soon,
Bob R, California

Al - Palen

Lou,

After returning from my 5 day excursion to find the perfect archtop, it's a no brainer! I must have played 200 fine archtops. I had the will power not to buy any, until I got back to Ohio. The Palen wins on tone, weight, responsiveness, and amazingly price. The workmanship is great too. The only other guitars that compared were over $10,000. You had some of the finest guitars that I had the opportunity to play, especially the ones not listed on your site. I'll take the Palen sunburst that I played. I can't wait to take the Palen to play with the 17 piece jazz group.

Thanks, 

Al Ohio

Nick -

Hey Lou,

I can believe that I spent 3 hours on the L.I.Expressway to meet somebody who lives 15 minutes from my house. The good news is that you sold me the best archtop I have ever played. I knew that I was going to buy it the minute that I picked it up. I knew that this was the one. It just keeps sounding better and better. I spoke to Nelson about "bunny", I already named her. She goes to all the gigs with me. Let's get together and play.

Thanks,
Nick, Pittsburg PA

Jonathan - Palen Performer

Hello Lou,

When I found out that you now have a showroom, I had to come down and play every one of the 100 archtops that you have on display. That 1972 Jimmy D’Aquisto New Yorker was unquestionably the best archtop that I have ever played. And since you wouldn’t accept all my vintage Gibsons for that DA, I did the next best thing. I ordered a Palen Performer which is now the 2nd best archtop that I have ever played!

thanks,
Jonathan 2007

Jonathan - JS

Hello Lou,

I'll be looking for you at the Long Island Show next year. I don't know if I'll ever find a better playing archtop than the JS that you got from the Berkeley grad. But I had so much fun this May, I may come down to help you out if you let me play those great guitars.

thanks,
Jonathan 2002

Anonymous - Gibson L5 CES

Hello Lou, I met you at the Phlly show. I am so happy with the L5 CES that I purchased at the show. Just wanted to let you know that I'll be looking for another one in Nov.

Thanks,
Anonymous

Charlie - Wes

Hey Lou,

This is the L5 guy. That 93 Wes you sold me is unbelievable. The price was great too. Please send me a list of what you have. You know what I like.

Thanks,
Charlie, South Jersey

Scott - Palen

Hey Lou,

I know that I called you many times for info on archtops. Most of the archtops that I purchased out here, were pretty true to your comments. But when you sent me the Palen, the tone just blue all the others away. Just like you told me it would. What am I supposed to do with all those other archtops? Only Kidding. I just keep on playing the Palen.

Thanks,
Scott

Fred - Palen

Hello Lou,
Just a sincere thank you. Everything that you said about the Palen, the resonance, the overtones, the fullness, the D'Angelico like acoustic tone are all true. Some day I would like to meet the fella that sold me the best archtop that I have ever played!

Thanks,
Fred, Oakland, CA

Bob - Palen Archtop

Hello Lou,

Each and every day I play the Palen Archtop and think, there can't be a better sounding guitar. I like the sunburst picture. It seems a little more subtle then the sunburst I saw before. Did you have a new crop come in? I don't think I'll even bother playing my JS anymore. We'll have to talk about another Palen.

Keep in touch,
Bob

Perry - Gibson ES-150D

Dear Lou,

Thanks for making the ES-150D available to me. It's a keeper!

One of my favorite teachers, Remo Palmier, played a custom version, (black finish, 1 3/4" nut width) of this instrument. I've always had an eye out for one. Remo passed away recently, and it means a lot to me to have this guitar to play his music on.

Best wishes,
Perry

Andy C. Hamburg - Palen

Hello Lou,

I just got my Palen this afternoon shortly before having to go to work. After opening the case my jaw dropped in amazement of its sheer beauty...the meticulous detail, fine grain, gorgeous finish, and so light! Then I played it and was blown away by its wonderful tone. The top is so responsive (just what I wanted from a floating pick-up), and plugged in it has a rich, full tone. When I got home tonight I was able to play it some more, and the more I played it the better it got. I think I'll be digging into the tonal depths of this guitar for years. Also, there were so many finish choices that I wasn't sure which to choose, but this is beautiful! The light golden brown is so tasteful and it really highlights the wood grain. Thanks for your help in getting this guitar, and please let Mr. Palen know how much I'm amazed by his craftsmanship!

thank you,
Andy C. Hamburg, NY 2007

Mike Oria - Palen

Recently, I took delivery of a very special custom archtop built by Nelson Palen. His instruments are sold exclusively through Lou Del Rosso at Guitars N Jazz (Summit, NJ)http://www.guitarsnjazz.com/ - more about Lou later. I have read reviews from those who buy a new guitar and are so excited about their purchase, the newness, the anticipation, etc, their critique becomes wrought with exaggeration and hype. On the day I received my new Palen guitar, I knew I wanted to do just that, however, I've restrained myself for 5 months in order to properly get acquainted with this instrument and allow it some time to open up and tell me its story.

Almost two years ago, I switched from playing 6-string to 7-string, which sadly rendered all my treasured archtop guitars obsolete. I owned a Gibson ES-175, a vintage Guild X-500, an '80's Benedetto Manhattan, and an Eastman; I knew they all had to go the first time I plucked a low A string with my thumb...heaven! We 7-stringers are painfully aware that the market for our instrument is so small that shopping for a guitar is often limited to a tiny population of stringed candidates, usually via the internet. It is thus unreasonable to expect to walk into a music store and find even a single 7-string archtop to play, certainly not here in northern CA.

My friend and fine NJ-area jazz guitarist, John Zweig, suggested I check out Palen; John owns several Palens himself, and has owned scores of fine guitars through the years, including the aforementioned Benedetto. I knew his recommendation was solid, so I contacted Lou to place an order. A modest deposit ($500) got me in line for a custom Palen guitar - no more money would be due until the guitar was ready to ship, AND it carried a full money back guarantee. Wow, that definitely removed the risk of buying sight unseen! I sent him my preferences, including neck dimensions, wood choices, color swatches, etc, and then prepared to curb my excitement for the next several months. Periodically, I would receive email updates and a photo from Nelson Palen showing his progress. As it started to take shape, I began to understand his commitment to quality; Nelson is a very meticulous person and not only wants to do a job well, he is intent on establishing reproducible protocols along the way, as if to tighten up his process for subsequent instruments. I suspect that each batch of Palen guitars gets better and better.

Nelson designed a unique new 7-string headstock, which I immediately loved, as it reminded me of the graceful style of Jimmy D'Aquisto. I asked for curly Hawaiian Koa appointments (headstock and binding), my favorite wood from my favorite place. He was most accommodating. Nelson even had Kent Armstrong build the exact pickup I wanted and waited for it to arrive before constructing the guitar's X-bracing to optimally surround the pickup routing.

Now let me say a few words about Lou Del Rosso. My business brought me to New Jersey at one point last year, and though my free time would be limited to a single evening, I phoned Lou, hoping to have a chance to meet him in person. It was late, but he offered to wait for me at his shop. I braved a severe rainstorm on the NJ turnpike and finally arrived in Summit, NJ, where Lou patiently invited me to try every guitar and amp he had. Lou keeps an amazing array of high end jazz guitars on hand. I got to play several Palens, including those personally owned by our mutual friend John (he had dropped his off earlier that day). I only needed to play one note to know that I had made the right decision about ordering a Palen...but I played a few more anyway. Meeting Lou was like visiting a dear friend. He even treated me to dinner afterward!

Fast forward to June of this year. My own Palen was completed, and Lou sent it out for a professional set-up before shipping it to me. I removed the case from the box and eagerly unlatched it. I was not nervous; I already knew this would be something very special. Viola! It looked spectacular in every way. He nailed the honey amber finish I had requested. The flamed woods were breathtaking. The finely shaped ebony fittings exuded a supreme level of quality. The frets were precisely crowned and polished. I tuned it up and played the first chord. This guitar was alive. The acoustic sound was big and pleasing. I immediately perceived the qualities that set this one apart from other guitars I have known: a long and pleasing sustain, and an incredible sensitivity to even the most lightly plucked note. Amplified, it likewise did not fail to impress, as I heard the very sound I had been hearing in my head; it was pleasantly warm and mellow with a clear attack.

I have been selectively gigging with my Palen 7, dubbed by Nelson, "The Koa Konstrictor", and am very happy to own it. Here she is!

-Mike Oria
www.milleroria.com

Kevin Van Sant - Palen

A student of mine recently got two six string Palens. One with routed PU, one with floating. They are easily the best sounding of all the independent luthier guitars I've heard or played. Like you said, you hear one note and you know. Congrats and enjoy!

- Kevin Van Sant
visit Kevin's Website

Sylvain Contant - Palen

Reviewed in Harmony Central:

Features : 9 
Made by Nelson Palen in 2007 after a waiting time of 17 months, this is an archtop guitar in all solid woods. The top is hand carved spruce and the back and sides are flamed maple. The floating pickup is a Kent Armstrong with thumbwheel pots for volume and tone located under the ebony pickgard.

Sound : 10 
I am very impressed with its acoustic sound, I had the opportunity to try a lot of archtops here in Montréal (Montreal Guitar Show 2007) made by the world’s best luthiers Comins, Hopkins, Monteleone, Ribbecke, Manzer. Their guitars were magnificent, but none inspired me as much as the Palen guitar - the acoustic tone, the projection, the overtones are fantastic.

Action, Fit, & Finish : 10 
Nelson's craft work is perfect – I have a lot of guitars, and this the best one, the action and the finish are perfect.

Reliability/Durability : - -
A guitar of this style and quality requires gentle handling and care - not designed for abuse.

Customer Support : 10 
Nelson Palen and Lou Del Rosso (from Guitars N' jazz) are fantastic, I'm not very good in English and both of them took time to answer all my requests. During the progress of my guitar, Mr. Palen took time to send me a lot of pictures of my guitar.

Overall Rating : 10 
Like I said this is the best guitar I have, I was dreaming about a good Jazz guitar for a long time, and now, I have a better guitar then I was expecting. Thank you very much Nelson Palen and Lou Del Rosso.

- Sylvain Contant; Montréal, Canada

Gilad L. - Palen Performer

I purchased a used Carved Palen with a floating pickup and a new Palen Performer (which is also hand carved, but has a set humbucker). So far, I have been enjoying my new amazing guitars for the past 3 weeks at home and at local gigs. I have done the review with Harmony Central:

FEATURES: Just play one and you will not feel you need to adjust anything.

SOUND: Absolutely brilliant. Uniformly rich and warm all across the fret board. Even the high notes sound "fat" and punchy. Very clear attack and beautiful sustain all through. The Carved Palen with the floating pickup sounds more acoustic and the Performer with the set humbucker more presence and has more of that jazz "electric" tone- though it is really a matter of taste. I love them both.

ACTION: Very smooth and playable. Though action can be adjusted, I found both my guitars to be adjusted to my personal taste

RELIABILITY: Can't tell you as I have not had them for long but so far. They remain perfectly in tune.

CUSTOMER SUPPORT: Lou Del Rosso has been very attentative and flexible and is pretty much a straight forward man, which is extremely important to me. I have never met Nelson Palen although he was flexible enough to finish my Palen in time for me to pick it up on my trip to New York. I don’t forsee any problems from the way that everything was taken care of so far.

Overall: I am not a professional musician, but it has been more than a hobby for me. I’ve been playing guitar for over 30 years and jazz guitar during the past 6 years. I’m a big fan of the current stream of guitarists like: Peter Bernstein, Jessie Van Ruller, John Hart, Jonathan Kreisberg and Corey Christiansen to name a few of my favorites.

Naturally I am seeking to reach that beautiful sound in my playing as I study music. I’ve always thought that I needed to buy a better Gibson, maybe an expensive 50’s or 60’s model. But then I started checking what kinds of guitars my favorite player were using. The world of fine handcrafted archtop guitars is very new to me.

I traveled to New York on September 2007 just to find out what these luthiers who made expensive guitars are all about. Before this, the closest that I got to one was playing my 90’s Gibson ES175 which is OK, but really nothing close to the sound I’m hearing from all those amazing players. Before traveling, my mind was set up to buy one really fine archtop or another good laminated one for gigs (probably a 50s-60s ES175 or L5) I had less than a week but I’ve managed to check out 5 of the main archtop dealers in the NY and NJ area and I’ve tried about 60 to 70 guitars ranging from $2000 to 20,000. The only guitars that played as good as a Palen were the every expensive ones 15-20k, though I still preferred the sound of the Palen.

- Gilad L.; Nigeria

Mike Moss - Palen Performer

Review of Palen Performer

Overall Rating: 11

I first played a Palen Jazz Performer in May 2006 at the Long Island Guitar show. I told Lou Del Rosso, owner of Guitars n Jazz, that I loved it and would order one immediately. I did. I received the guitar in September 2007. It was well worth the wait. I love this guitar.

Here's a telling comment about this guitar. I play in a quartet and have used several archtops at gigs. I showed up at a gig with the Palen and after the firts set a couple of the guys said, "Man, that thing sounds great. What is it?" The amp was the same, my playing was the same. What was different was the guitar. It caught their attention. It already had mine!

This is my second Palen. I have a 2003 Palen 7-string. So maybe I am biased. But I will tell you this: if you haven't played a Palen, you are short changing yourself. I'd buy one if it were double the cost. Palen's are that good, folks. I am not kidding. This guitar stands out. It's a keeper for me. What a sound.

Features: 10

One set Kent Armstrong pickup. 17" body. 1 3/4 nut width. Hidden volume and tone controls just beneath the pickguard. It has everything I wanted. I am a straight "flat" player - only like a touch of reverb. It has all the features I need.

Sound: 15

This is what it's all about (in addition to "feel"), right? This guitar has punch, and beautiful note separation/articulation. I like punch. I think this is Palen's signature/indelible mark on a guitar. It's got some snap, too. But it can be warm and lush when you need to make a ballad cry. Just a great, great sound from this guitar.

Action/Fit/Finish: 10

I lived in New Jersey for 16 years. All I can say about action/fit/finish: "foggettabbooudddittt". Fantastic. Nelson's attention to detail is among the best. He can rival anybody - anybody.

Reliability/Durability: 10

So far so good. It's young yet. Durability?? If you treat it right (keep it in its case when not playing, e.g.) it'll be good to go for years. It's made so well.

Customer Support: 10

Lou's a prince. You need something, he'll work it out with you. Nelson, I am sure, if I needed a tweak or two, would fit me in.

- Mike Moss

Rodney Jones - Palen

Rodney Jones (right) with 

Louis Del Rosso, 

owner of Guitars 'N Jazz

My name is Rodney Jones. I was the guitarist on the Rosie O'Donnell Show, Showtime at the Apollo, as well as musical director for Lena Horne and James Brown. I am good friends with George Benson.

We drove out together to the Classic American Guitar Show in Long Island New York where he purchased your guitar. Both he and I thought it was one of the most balanced and amazing instruments that we had ever played. I would very much like to become one of your endorsees. In addition I am a professor of Jazz Guitar Studies at Manhattan School of Music and will expose the instrument to many students. The bottom line is that since that show the memory of the sound and feel of your guitar has remained with me. You should know that Nelson Palen is an amazing builder. Your guitars were by far the best at the show. The have a sound and feel and life that really enchanted me.

- Rodney Jones

Mike Orea - Palen

Mike Orea playing his Palen 7-string guitar, on his AWESOME arrangement of "Yardbird Suite" for solo guitar!

Howard Morgen - Eastman 905-7

Lou at Guitars 'n Jazz picked me out a real winner! This Eastman 905-7 became my favorite the minute I picked it up and played it."

- Howard Morgen

visit Howard's Website

Philip C. - Palen

Hi Nelson,  

WELL – I am blown away by this guitar!  I was late to work this morning because I finally got it out of the box for the first time Sunday evening, and didn’t get to bed until 2AM!

I wanted to tell you that – forgetting for a quick moment that this is a musical instrument – that as an object, it is so beautifully constructed, truly a breath-taking work of art.  Thank you for choosing such stunning wood!  What an amazing accomplishment to be able to make this.

Then, that it is also a musical instrument on top of that!?!  Quite incredible.    I have to tell you, I haven’t plugged it in at all yet.  All of my time with the guitar has been spent just getting to know it and playing it acoustically.  It has such a rich sound, the bass strings are particularly remarkable.  This is my first 7-string and the additional range, and how that speaks on this guitar, is going to be a joy for me.

As you say, I have a lot to get to know on the guitar.  A friend asked me how long that will take, and I surprised myself by answering, “it’ll take years”.

I’m very proud to own this Nelson, thank you very much.

I hope you won’t mind if I send you a note from time to time as things come to mind.  And, I’ll certainly look forward to the pics, whenever that is convenient for you.  If it helps, I could send you a flash drive and you could just load ‘em up and send it back.  Would be great to have the highest resolution you have.  No hurry of course.

If we don’t connect before then, have a Merry Christmas and best wishes in the New Year!

Sincerely,
Philip

Justin Perdue - Eastman Jazz 16

Lou-

Just an note that a year or so later, that Eastman JAZZ 16 is still a joy to play! Finally got a video with some halfway decent audio - thought you might enjoy: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yK8iwo67JP8

As you'll see, find myself standing while playing lately - thinking of having added a strap button near the heel (strap to the headstock positioning just doesn't sit quite right). Given your familiarity with the construction on these, any thoughts on do's or don'ts for this? Really don't want to do anything that'll mess with the sound of it.

Thanks-

Justin Perdue
JustinPerdue.com

Akira M. - Eastman

Hello,  Lou.


My two Eastman's guitars finally arrived today (December 2nd).  As a matter of fact, they arrived in Japan on November 19, but the custom office commanded me to make a procedure to import them.  It took about two weeks to receive them...What a shame!  They are very light and beautiful,and also sound great and awesome. I love them, and will play them forever.  They sound greater than my old Gibson's L5 or L7 guitars.

Akira

Joe P. -

From: "Joe Phillips" <jphillips@kellnerdileo.com>
Date: November 19, 2010 9:17:34 AM EST
To: <Lou@guitarsnjazz.com>
Subject: Website Inquiry

Hi Lou,

I played the El Rey and it’s like butter. It never played so well. The action, intonation, all of it great. Please pass along my thanks to Mark for his work. Last Saturday in the showroom, while you were on the phone I played your Bennedetto Guild  Artist Award, unplugged. I thought it was very well put together, played well and sounded good. At least for some of the run, Bennedetto breathed some life into the brand. He also revamped the X-500 too, didn’t he? I never played one.  Ah, well farewell to Guild electrics; there some good ones in there. I was sad to hear the Pisanos are in poor health; I hope they can come back some day.

Thanks for showing me the George Barnes Models. I had never seen one before. The one upstairs sounded great plugged in. Also thanks for showing me the Super 400; it was amazing. I showed my wife the picture and she asked if I had enough value in my 21-guitar inventory to raise that much money. I replied alas, no, not in short order. I’m sorry for the seller’s ailments, but I commend his taste in specifying this piece.

I hope the Holiday Season is good one for you, and thanks again.

Best,
Joe

Pete S. - Palen

Well I wanted to go over and see Lou one more time thinking the guitars would be finished end of the month. But off course he always has other reasons to go over there. Some nice palens to play and other gorgeous things.

When lo and behold there it was a black Palen. It is gorgeous and it looks better than I imagined it. I went back to NY and played it all afternoon. When we plugged it in it had such a great balanced sound. No boomy bass or feedback.

It is a great guitar MAN I love this thing.

Thank you so much it is a beautiful thing and very beautiful thing

Pete

John M. - Engel Custom P90

Hey Lou;

WOW!!!! Really nice guitar. The sound is amazing...great set-up too. No need to adjust at all for me which is rare to find in a new guitar. A little too soon to tell yet but this could easily become my fave. Sounds amazing through my DR Z MAZ 18.

Thanks

Nick W. - Eastman El Rey 1

Lou,

The guitar arrived safely and expertly packaged last night.  I worked late but was able to play for awhile acoustically and was impressed with the ft and finish as well as the action.  I have not played an El Rey before and found the neck to
very comfortable.  This weekend I'll get to plug it into my Polytone Mini Brute and enjoy that fat jazz sound.

Good doing business with you.

Warm regards,

Nick

Jim K. - Peerless Monarch

Hi Lou!

Got the guitar today at about 3:45 PM.  Have been playing it, and I'm completely satisfied.  It's all you said it would be. Thanks for all of your help.  I have some friends in Nutley, NJ and I get to see them once in a while.  Next time, I'll stop in and  say HELLO!

Thanks again

Sylvain C. - Palen

Hello both of you,

Since yesterday I am fortunate to have in my possession my second Palen "The little sister".  After much concern due to complications with UPS.  And once again I am totally satisfied.

It is simply extraordinary, both in the sound than construction.  Nelson is truly a master luthier.  The guitar is simply wonderful, the beauty of wood is Breathtaking.  The photos do not do justice to such work. I'm surprised the color of maple which is much lighter than I would have imagined, which increases the beauty of the guitar, all in harmony with the spruce top.  The Binding of Picguard adds a contrast to the table and puts Obviously the Binding of the instrument.  I want to thank you again, I consider myself very fortunate to have access to exceptional people like you.

Sincerely thank you.

Regards Sylvain.

P. S. The case is also great...and the guitar smell good!!!