2026 Marco Bortolozzo "Gold Record - REG Limited Edition" SP/SW

This is the latest creation from Marco Bortolozzo, built especially for presentation at the 2026 Roma Guitar Expo and this guitar really got a LOT of attention as a first quick glance will make clear due to its daring and strikingly beautiful design concept. The origin behind this begins several years ago when Marco had been here in Los Angeles to see us. He had visited some record shops in Hollywood and found an old 78 rpm LP of Caruso singing "O Sole Mio" - so he bought it and took it back to Italy as a souvenir. Marco is an extremely creative and artistic luthier, and is always looking for new design ideas and so recently when he realized that this vinyl record was largely composed of shellac... well - the rest is history! He simply broke off a small part of the record, melted it and realized it took to alchohol just like regular shellac, and voila, he was able to polish the soundboard as normal, but obviously with a strikingly different result! Matched with satinwood back and sides that sparkle like gold (this is a particularly beautiful and dramatic set), and fitted with a brass "fluted" tornavoz that reminds us of the horn of a vintage gramophone player, we have lovingly all agreed to call this guitar the "Gold Record"! Several other of the aesthetic details of this guitar are (as usual) of Marco's individual style which are deeply connected with his background in industrial design. The hard "modern" edges and angles of the inlays and shapes of the guitar (look at the headstock for example) are fused with traditional elements that Marco draws from the architectural wonders of his residence (Milan), one of the great design capitals of the world. He even gives a "tip of the hat" to his good friend Richard Reynoso with similar style inlay work in the heel cap and tie-block inlays.

As bold as its appearance, it is equally matched in sound and playability. The ultra-lightweight and efficient build results in a powerful, explosive sound with deep resonant basses and singing, voice-like trebles. As already mentioned, the soundhole is fitted with a low-depth tornavoz as he's done many times in the past which lowers the body resonance, giving a boost to the bottom-end. As per his usual style, this instrument has immediate and fast response making it incredible easy to play, particularly for the right hand due to the quick attack. At the same time, there is a solid firmness to every note, reminiscent to us of the more lightweight guitars of Hauser I and II. Marco has nuanced the top to maximize sustain and also to control the overtones to help the guitar modulate easily with a variety of tonal colors and dynamic range. The guitar plays very comfortably with both hands thanks to the smooth neck shape, easy action and fast responsiveness. Absolutely delightful to play and hear, this is a fantastic guitar built on the most traditional of foundations, but with a unique and very tasteful aesthetic. Included with the guitar is a certificate of authenticity with a small sample of the very 78 rpm vinyl used for the top varnish. Simply spectacular!

Marco Bortolozzo was born in the early eighties in a small town in Italy in the midst of vineyards, vegetable gardens and dismantled engines. He comes from a family of hard workers and learned early in life from his father how to hold every type of tool in his hand. As a child he built wooden machines and disassembled (and reassembled) bicycles. At 14 years of age, music became an indispensable thing in his life and like many teenagers Marco studied guitar and started playing together with friends. Later, Marco enrolled in a university to study industrial design. These years had been fundamental for his training as a luthier, because he learned about production processes and design stages. Marco learned about the materials and processes that go into making a product. He lived for 5 years in a fantastic environment, surrounded by friends who were passionate about the most varied forms of creativity. Towards the end of Marco’s studies, he realized that guitars don’t just come out of factories, but that there are also craftsmen who manage to live building splendid musical instruments by hand. So Marco decided to go and meet one - he chose a luthier at random from the yellow pages and met Dario Pontiggia. Dario immediately proved to be very kind and introduced Marco to the story of Antonio De Torres. After an hour of conversation Marco Bortolozzo understood that being a luthier was what he wanted to do in life. Since 2010 Marco has been a professional luthier and guitars have become his life. He has built many guitars and has always made sure that his instruments are easy to use, have correct intonation, deep basses, brilliant high frequencies and broad dynamic capabilities. His guitars are the result of the passion and study of the great guitar makers of the past.