Fadolin instrument handcrafted by Ithaca Stringed Instruments with unfinished bodies and design sketches in background

For over 40 years, Eric Aceto has crafted custom instruments for musicians worldwide, including three multi–Grammy winners.

Instruments from ISI feature the finest tone woods, the highest quality fittings and hardware & the unique ISI Pickup System. Although amplified acoustic instruments are ISI’s specialty, our pure acoustic instruments are unsurpassed for tone & playability.

The ISI Pickup

pushing the boundaries of amplified acoustic sound

The ISI Pickup

Experience the most natural-sounding amplified tone ever captured in a violin pickup.

After 25 years of pioneering amplified acoustic sound, ISI's Aceto/Violect Deluxe Pickup System combines twin sensors in a handcrafted bridge design to deliver unparalleled tone, clarity, and responsiveness while preserving your violin’s natural voice. Available on all current models—or as a retrofit for ISI violins since 1988—it offers professional-grade performance with no clamping required. For those seeking ultimate versatility, the Dual Pickup/Mic System adds a floating electret mic on an adjustable arm, cleanly wired to a chinrest-mounted stereo jack.

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Custom Instruments

every ISI instrument is a one-at-a-time collaboration between luthier and player

Custom Instruments

One-of-a-kind instruments, for one-of-a-kind musicians

From six-string violins and 10-string mandocellos to carved pegheads and hybrid reso-electrics, every ISI instrument is a one-at-a-time collaboration between luthier and player. ISI combines aged tonewoods, cutting-edge electronics, and design flourishes like inlay and sculpted heads to build tools as unique as the musicians who play them.

What We Build

Handcrafted one at a time, the amplified and acoustic instruments created by ISI draws upon the rich heritage of American Luthiers, mixed with a sensitive amalgam of modern technologies. This unique line of instruments have the grace & feel of classics with the performance and sound of truly modern masterworks.

Fadolin for card

Violins

From the beginning ISI has focused on developing an amplified sound that retains and projects all the subtlety and nuance for which the traditional violin is known.

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Parlor Guitar

Guitars

Ithaca Stringed Instruments sells custom guitars built by master luthier Eric Aceto, including the Oneida line of acoustic-electrics and beautiful Parlor acoustics.

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mg 1750

Mandolins

For the serious mandolin player seeking beauty, nuance & response. The ISI mandolin utilizes the same design principles & techniques as our bowed instruments. 

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Eagle head for card

Custom Instruments

ISI offers options that make an instrument truly one of a kind. Peg head carving (on bowed instruments), inlay, and decorative options are also available.

Custom Instruments

Trusted by World-Class Musicians

From Grammy-winning guitarists to global touring violinists, ISI instruments and pickups are praised for their tone, playability, and stage-ready sound.
"The Oneida has made it possible to have a warm, natural acoustic guitar sound onstage at a loud volume...The neck feels wonderful and it plays like a dream. It has changed my whole approach to playing live acoustic guitar.
Tommy Malone
The Subdudes
"The NV is by far the best amplified violin I’ve played. It has the good tone qualities and feel of my classical violin, without the problems associated with amplifying it to high volumes...I’m sure going to enjoy this fiddle
Bryan English
Violinist
"I have been looking for years for a 5-string violin that sounds good acoustically and that sounds closest to a real violin when used with a pickup. This new 5-string made by Eric for me is exactly what I was looking for so many years, an instrument that sounds great in both contexts!
Jean Luc Ponty
Violinist
"When I got my first NV, a process began that allowed me to reach sounds I had been trying to express for years!
Zack Brock
Violinist
"The NV is by far the best amplified violin I’ve played. It has the good tone qualities and feel of my classical violin, without the problems associated with amplifying it to high volumes...I’m sure going to enjoy this fiddle
Bryan English
Violinist
"The Oneida has made it possible to have a warm, natural acoustic guitar sound onstage at a loud volume...The neck feels wonderful and it plays like a dream. It has changed my whole approach to playing live acoustic guitar.
Tommy Malone
The Subdudes
"A new instrument that, tonally, is as far beyond other electric violins as a $40,000 modern instrument is beyond the factory fiddle you played in high school.
Darol Anger
Fiddler

What's New

The Oneida Mini

Introducing the Oneida Mini — a custom short-scale acoustic/electric guitar crafted for Dr. Joe Palermo. This unique build features a torrefied Sitka spruce top paired with stunning flamed Brazilian maple back and sides, offering rich tone and striking visual appeal. Finished with Gaboon ebony trim and equipped with an LR Baggs Anthem pickup system, the Oneida Mini delivers premium performance in a compact, expressive form.

More about The Oneida Mini
Oneida Mini acoustic-electric guitar with offset soundhole handcrafted by Ithaca Stringed Instruments

Contact ISI

To contact us at Ithaca Stringed Instruments call us at: 607-387-3544 or click the button.

Contact ISI