2015 Enrico Bottelli "Twelve" SP/CSAR

A 2015 "Twelve" classical guitar by Enrico Bottelli, with a spruce top and CSA rosewood back and sides – No. 253, the twelfth special instrument of its kind that he had built, made in Voghera, Italy.

In Enrico Bottelli's Words

"This instrument that I have built for GSI follows my consolidated style and my experienced principles regarding construction and sound. Starting with a traditional Spanish 7 fan bracing pattern for the soundboard, I always look for perfect balance between rigidity and flexibility and the right weight and mass distribution in the different areas of the top in order to obtain the result I set out for. This instrument in particular reflects and shows perfectly and fully what I am looking for in a guitar: a fundamental, cathedral-like deep bass, firm and sustaining, to support the music; a warm, relaxed and full middle range; a round, thick, dense, creamy but transparent, clear and sustaining treble with a touch of sweetness and allure, a touch of soul... This will develop through the years, gaining more and more focus and losing the brightness naturally found in a new spruce top instrument. It is already an open, responsive guitar with great volume, presence and projection, quick attack, but still the possibility to work the string during the attack and obtain many different sounds needed to express all the musical nuances."

"I do not obtain this through particular secrets, new inventions or 21st century materials. It's just that since the very beginning when I was a young maker I have devoted all my time and effort in search of the most beautiful, complete possible sound. I have seen and inspected a wonderful selection of the best instruments ever built and I have found that only some (very few) of the old Spanish guitars and some of the new instruments (in the Spanish tradition) could produce sounds that moved me. So I have just allowed myself to be inspired by that beauty which informed my personal sound – learning by experience and meticulous observation, trying to improve every aspect one instrument after the other. An instrument, to be a really complete work of art, must also be beautiful to look at with well-chosen materials and it is with great effort and with my personal taste as a guide, that I set out to accomplish this task. Beautiful woods and harmonic forms, precise workmanship, elegant and elaborate decoration, and a warm, deep, clear shellac varnish. The name "Twelve" is a significant number for me and my family and also this guitar is the twelfth special instrument of this kind that I have built until now." – Enrico Bottelli

Light, Responsive and Elegant

Simply stated, this is a super-responsive, lightweight, traditionally inspired classical guitar with plenty of power for solo or ensemble playing. The rosette and purfling are refined and elegant, and even the nut is subtly and beautifully inlaid.

Photos of this guitar taken during construction

Read more: Orfeo Magazine No. 13 – Italia Special (with a feature on Enrico Bottelli)

Enrico Bottelli: Classical Guitar Maker of Voghera

Enrico Bottelli was born in Milan, Italy, in 1961. His first experience in lutherie came in 1981 under master luthier Carlo Raspagni; in 1982 he took Ervin Somogyi's steel-string course in Berkeley, California, and in 1988 he studied the Kasha system with Richard Schneider – the year he began to build classical guitars exclusively. Today he works in Voghera, south of Milan.

Learning from Romanillos and the Spanish Masters

The turning point came in 1994 and 1995, when he studied the traditional Spanish approach with José Luis Romanillos. That led him to the guitars of Antonio de Torres, Enrique García, Manuel Ramírez, Hermann Hauser I and David Rubio, which he has examined extensively. His work has been shown at exhibitions in Italy, Europe and the USA, and he was featured in Orfeo Magazine No. 13.