2004 Stefano Moccetti SP/IN

A 2004 classical guitar by Stefano Moccetti, with a spruce top and Indian rosewood back and sides – a copy of the famous 1973 Romanillos guitar played by Julian Bream.

In the video above, Julius Reder Carlson plays Sérgio Assad's "Valseana" on this guitar.

Built to the Specifications of Bream's Romanillos

In appearance it has Moccetti's own aesthetic details, but in construction – wood thicknesses, dimensions and so on – it is built exactly to the specifications of Julian Bream's 1973 Romanillos. Moccetti studied with Romanillos both privately and in master classes, and was one of his first students.

The Classic Bream Sound

The sound is very similar too: very strong basses, bell-like, percussive trebles and a warm glow through all registers. For anyone looking for the classic Bream sound, this is a highly recommended maker and a great example.

Stefano Moccetti: A Pupil of Romanillos in Switzerland

Stefano Moccetti is a Swiss-Italian guitar maker who works in Biogno, in the Italian-speaking south of Switzerland. A guitarist first, he began building in 1982. In 1984 he met José Luis Romanillos at a lutherie course in Zurich, and a year later he studied privately in the Romanillos workshop – one of the master's first students.

Old Swiss Spruce and French Polish

Moccetti's guitars have the natural, woody sound and sweetness of a Romanillos. He has won prizes in European guitar-making competitions, his guitars are played by Andrea Dieci and Massimo Laura, and he finishes every instrument with flake shellac French polish; his tops come from red spruce nearly 300 years old, grown in the Swiss Alps.