Devoto Design’s handcrafted electric guitar: hear the story!

Handcrafted electric guitar by Devoto: today story is the story of a long-lasting friendship, of the scented wood coming from the Italian Val di Fiemme and of the creation of an exclusive set of handcrafted guitars with a unique sound. 

WE HAD THE CHANCE TO GIVE A FAMOUS INTERNATIONAL ROCK STAR a guitar made by us… he was amazed!

On a normal work day at Devoto Design everything can happen: like bumping into a musician that is testing a brand new guitar made by us.

Would you like to know how come Claudio Devoto ended up in this music adventure with his friend and musician Massimo Carturan? And where the idea of crafting an acoustic and an electric guitar came from?

We asked him, we talked to Claudio about these instruments as the result of a friendship, but also of the passion and interest in all types of wood and their hidden qualities. And we did this while listening to Massimo testing the new guitars.

Let’s make an electric guitar, why not?

– Claudio, can you tell us how this collaboration started?

– Latina is the home of a crazy friend of mine I sincerely love. His name is Massimo Carturan, an old friend of Devoto Design for years. Since he retired, Massimo has been focusing on his passion for making acoustic and electric guitars.

– Designed by him?

– That’s right. At the moment he’s also taken on cellos. He’s really good. All we do is help him turn his ideas into reality by sharing our know-how and knowledge.

– What kind of wood did you choose to make these guitars?  

– Well, to tell you this, we need to talk about the Rivolta family, one of the biggest European companies that sells wood for musical instrument. It’s thanks to them that we had the chance to know, touch and smell a lot of new and unknown kinds of wood.

– Like ebony?

– Yes, like the black ebony we use for making guitar handles and violins, among the others. We got to know, we touched and smelled the frize maple that is used to make violin bodies. Or cypress for the harpsichords. I also had the chance to find out that for violin bows it is recommended to use snakewood or Pernambuco wood.

– And what’s the best wood to make guitars?

– Harmonic fir, used to make both guitars and violins (but not only). Talking about Rivolta, the harmonic fir they sell is beyond compare.

– Where does it come from?

– From the Dolomites, from Val di Fiemme.

– And how do you know whether a fir trunk is good for making a harmonic body or not? 

– Well, it is a fine art. You need loads of experience. Just think that these trunks from Val di Fiemme can turn into the music instruments that the master luthiers of all Europe patiently craft. It’s fascinating, isn’t it? And always thanks to the Rivolta family I learned how to recognise rosewood, Pao violeto, Pao amaranto, and cocobolo from central America…

– And also those big Tuja root wood…  

– Yes, some time ago they sold us some Tuja root wood coming from the Atlas mountains..

– Going back to the guitars you made, did Massimo Carturan take care of the project?  

– Yes, that’s right, the project is all his, we took care of the manufacturing.

– How was the electric guitar made? 

– It was made with our CNC machines.

– One last thing, Claudio: you gave one of these guitars as a present to a famous rock star we all know and appreciate.. 

– Yes. All I can say is that he was extremely happy about it.

– Should he use it publicly one day, will we be able to tell his name?  

– We’ll see..

–  What do you think about the way these Devoto guitars sound, Claudio?

– I really like their sound.

If you want to learn more about wood for music instruments, visit the Rivolta website:  

• Rivolta: the official website of the best Italian company specialized in instrument-making wood