Raffaele Dantone - 2025 - No. 14

About the luthier:

Italian luthier Raffaele Dantone builds his instruments in Canazei, in the Dolomites, where he combines a strong respect for the Torres and Bouchet traditions with his own ongoing research. His guitars are characterized by carefully selected tonewoods, refined craftsmanship, and an approach that emphasizes clarity, projection, and expressive range. Each instrument reflects his continuous exploration of bracing concepts and soundboard architecture, aimed at balancing power with the warmth and beauty of a traditional voice.

About the guitar:

This 2025 concert guitar, numbered 14, marks a further step in Dantone’s evolution as a maker. It features a five-fan bracing system, a departure from the seven-fan layout he employed earlier, with the goal of achieving greater projection and tonal purity. Some of the braces are made of local spruce while others are of aged larch, complemented by an under-bridge sound bar. With its spruce top and Indian rosewood back and sides, the instrument has an air body resonance around G, offering a powerful yet elegant voice. The rosette design has been simplified to emphasize the natural beauty of the wood, and the slightly elevated fingerboard, with increased ebony thickness, allows both improved comfort in the higher positions and future adjustability while preserving a traditional appearance. The result is a guitar with a brilliant, full sound, remarkable clarity between voices, and a very wide dynamic range. It offers both immediate response and ample headroom, making it suitable for intimate playing as well as concert projection. This instrument demonstrates how Dantone’s work, inspired by Torres and Bouchet, has matured into a personal style of great distinction.