2026 Gerardo Centonze "The Blue Guitar - REG Limited Edition 2026" SP/AR

For over a century, the idea of a "blue guitar" has been a regularly ocurring motif in the artistic world. Most famously its origins begin with Pablo Picasso’s "Blue Period" (1901-1904) and his famous painting The Old Guitarist (1903–04) which inspired the poem “The Man with the Blue Guitar” by Wallace Stevens in 1937. This idea was put into musical form when composer Sir Michael Tippett wrote the solo guitar piece "The Blue Guitar" for Julian Bream which he premiered in 1983. And this old theme of a blue guitar continues here in this astonishingly beautiful new instrument built by Italian luthier Gerardo Centonze. This is a unique one-off, never to be repeated, and was the guitar he built for presentation at the 2026 Roma Guitar Expo. Of course just after we saw and played it there, we immediately realized this exceptionally striking instrument must come to GSI, and here it is!

So, to the materials sourced for this guitar: First, it has a spectacularly gorgeous soundboard, heavy in bearclaw markings that was sourced in 1988 from the Val di Fiemme region in the mountanous Dolomites of northern Italy. Gerardo tells us that due to its age and natural characteristics, it is very rigid, and therefore he was able to work it to his desired thickness with ease. Second, the back and sides are a top-grade set of African rosewood with wildly colorful and very straight grain patterns. Last but not least, the inlay materials which give this guitar it's bold look: Throughout the guitar, there is blue "stabilized curly birch" conspicuously used in the head veneer, rosette, top and back purflings and tie-block inlay. The process of colorizing this wood is quite interesting and worth a short mention here - curly birch is a very fragile material and in its raw state would be unusuable for a project like this. The color is applied by soaking the wood in colored resin in a vacuum chamber for several hours. Then the pieces are removed from the vacuum and dried in an oven. The vacuum bath allows the color to penetrate the entire piece of wood. This proces of being infused in resin stabilizes and hardens the wood making it usable for all kinds of things like knife handles or pens... or in this case - the decorative elements of a guitar! The curly figures in the wood infused with the blue make this absolutely breathtaking in appearance. Overall an elegant and contemporary design, beautifully executed with precise craftsmanship.

Gerardo's building philosophy is inspired primarily by the traditional Spanish models for most of the structural considerations. Under the soundboard there are 7 fan braces and a bridge patch in the lower bout. In the upper bout there are an additional 4 braces (fanning away from the heel). The heel itself extends all the way to the soundhole in two pieces, adding additional support under the fingerboard and neck. For personalized setup and playability, the neck angle is easily adjustable thanks to it being fitted with a truss-rod. Like some makers in the contemporary French school, the sides are lined internally by a series of braces to add stability. This solidly reinforced body allows the vibration to be directed largely to the soundboard (which again is on the thinner side), and although a slightly more compact box, it manages to have huge, thick, rich and full quality of sound with a low body resonance between F and F#. This focused/directional quality of sound production also gives it excellent projection, making it fit for any sized venue. This is a spectacular guitar all around - as much in appearance as for sound. Lastly, "The Blue Guitar" presented here is housed in a blue Cibeles hardshell case with blue interior. Gerardo missed no detail for this unque project!

Gerardo Centonze was born in 1986 in Taranto, Italy. Initially he was self-taught, however in 2013, he enrolled at the Civic School of Lutherie of Milan where he learned the main building techniques of the family of plucked instruments. In 2017, he obtained his Diploma of Master Luthier, under the guidance of the Masters Lorenzo Lippi, Federico Gabrielli and Gabriele Negri. After completing his studies, he began an internship with Maestro Mirko Borghino, deepening his skills also in the field of archtop and acoustic guitars. In 2018, back in Milan, he focused his passion specifcally towards construction of classical guitars and began a long and intense internship in the workshop of Maestro Lorenzo Lippi, thus being able to learn various approaches to guitar construction, all the while refining his own personal style. This same year, he also opened his own workshop in Milan where in addition to building his own instruments, he also took on restoration work for vintage instruments. Since 2021, he has participated in the REG (Rome Expo Guitar) as an exhibitor multiple times. After several years of working at his craft, Gerardo Centonze was awarded third-prize for his classical guitar at the prestigious sixth Antonio Marin Montero Guitar Making Competition held in Granada, Spain in August, 2023.