2013 Luigi Locatto "Simplicio" SP/SW

Luigi Locatto has been building guitars for the last 25 years out of Turin, in northern Italy. In addition to making guitars, he is also a guitarist and teacher. His artisty as a luthier has attracted several top collectors for restoration work which has allowed him access to some of the most prized vintage instruments in the world. His restoration work has prompted him to build replicas of many instruments, and he has made copies of Panormo, Lacote, Simplicio, Garcia, Torres, Fleta, Hauser and Ramirez. He credits Torres, Garcia and Simplicio in particular as his most important influences. Although his foundation in style is rooted in these traditional makers, particularly with regard to tone color and expression, he is at the same time attentive to contemporary concerns, primarily in ensuring that his instruments have the improved power, projection and balance that modern concert artists require.

This particular guitar that we are now offering is a near-exact copy of a satinwood Simplicio from 1929 (No. 241) which Luigi has seen and inspected many times. It is an exact copy of the original in every detail, including the materials. Sound that is powerful, dark and beautiful, with a haunting "antique" quality to the sound, just as is often heard in authentic Simplicio instruments. It is also very expressive, with a rich, color tonal palette just like the old Spanish guitars he so much loves.

His instruments are played by a large number of concert artists, and have been used on several recordings, most notably the Naxos release of Castelnuovo-Tedesco's works by Lorenzo Micheli (winner of GFA 1999), and of Shin-ichi Fukuda's 2007 recording of Barrios and Villa-Lobos for Meister Music. We're very happy to be working with this fine maker and representing his instruments in the US.

Photos taken during this guitar's construction.Orfeo Magazine article on Tacchi, Locatto and Frignani