It is with his own words that I would like to begin the presentation of the remarkable Italian luthier Michele Della Giustina. “A big part of myself is up to be revealed through the guitars I make. They are all deeply inspired by places I have seen, feelings that I breathe, people I know, friends I haven’t met yet…”
I first spotted one of his guitars in late 2003 when it was already two years old. I fell in love immediately, knowing that it was the guitar I wanted there and then. Its charming tone has captivated me since the very first day and it’s still there and really makes this instrument a pleasure to play.
Soon after I acquired my 2001 “Della Giustina”, I had the privilege of meeting this exceptional luthier. There have been very few people that I have encountered in my life, devoted to their work as passionately as signor Giustina. And there I was, on our first encounter with him, with only a handful of basic Italian vocabulary, and suddenly I found myself discussing every imaginable aspect of guitar-making with him and before I knew it, a couple of hours had passed by… In the years to follow, I have always been happy to come back and try out his recent instruments.
Michele is an open-hearted person who helped me understand the profound beauty of guitar playing. He is full of joy and yet there is something nearly mystical about him. And that’s exactly what his guitars are like – warm, alluring and inspirational.
My 2001 „Della Giustina“ has a sandwich-top construction (Canadian Cedar on the outside, Italian Spruce on the inside and a layer ob Balsa wood in-between) and a beautiful „Rio“ Brazilian Rosewood on its back and sides. The latter, however, are reinforced with a layer of Spruce on the inside. The neck is made of Central American Cedar („cedrela odorata“) while the fingerboard is cut out of West-African Ebony (Gabon).