Enrico Bottelli - 2022 No. 296 REG Limited Edition

Enrico Bottelli was born in Milan, Italy in 1961 and is one of the most respected and renowned luthiers in Europe. He gained his first experience in guitar building under the guidance of master luthier Carlo Raspagni in 1981 and began building classical guitars as a professional luthier in 1988. However, he not only builds excellent instruments, which are appreciated by professional musicians and collectors worldwide for their elegant, very appealing musical attributes, their refined beauty, and precise craftsmanship but also passes on his knowledge and experience to some very talented luthiers by training them.

The Roma Guitar Expo is one of the world's most distinguished classical guitar events. Its focus on luthiers and the art of guitar making makes it unique. Each year, the carefully selected luthiers attending the expo present a Special edition, a one-of-a-kind guitar that pushes the boundaries of woodworking, art, and sound.

Enrico Bottelli's 2022 REG Limited Edition guitar is based on his highest model, the Special model. In addition to this luxurious model, it has extra inlays and artistic work, such as the figured ebony stripes on the sides and the marquetry mimicking snakewood. The result is a strongly decorated guitar with an absolutely stunning sound. Enrico Bottelli is widely recognized for his guitars' elegance, delicacy, and charm, and this instrument is one of the best types of evidence of this statement.

A few words of Enrico Bottelli about this very special 2022 REG Limited Edition:

"This instrument is based on my special model, but the mosaics on the soundboard and the head are made with two wood essences: Rosewood and Mahogany, to give a two-tone effect that perfectly matches the Snakewood bindings. Moreover, I used a decorative black and white ebony for the extra bindings and purflings on the back and sides.
The main idea was to make the bindings composed of two highly decorative kinds of wood: snakewood and black & white ebony. As a result, the 2 x 2,5 mm snakewood bindings on the soundboard match the two-tone mosaics.On the sides, the 5 mm ribbon-like black & white ebony shows its beauty with marble-like lines and texture, shading from yellow to grey to black in the dark Ziricote side background. The unique, expressive character of this wood still surprises me after several years; it is like a marmorized natural wood with a continuously changing look.

Regarding the sound, the goal was to deepen the Helmholtz resonance and create a highly sensitive instrument while maintaining balance and sustain. The final result is a pretty deep instrument with 90 Hz Helmholtz resonance (around F) and 183 Hz (below F#) top fundamental resonance.

The instrument is highly sensitive and delicate; the tone is pure, clear, and transparent with a round, medium-bodied treble. Moreover, I aimed for a good balance between attack and sustain, deep focused bass with good sustain and control, perfect polyphonic separation of the notes, and uniform and even emission.

I made this guitar for highly sensitive musicians seeking the best tone quality and expressive possibilities."

Check out the presentation video of this specific guitar below in which you will find plenty of extra information about its playability and sound.