Meet the Maker: Michele Della Giustina
Born in Vittorio Veneto, northern Italy, in 1962, Michele Della Giustina graduated in Classical Guitar from the Udine Conservatory in 1990 and has been professionally crafting guitars since 1991. His journey in guitar making owes much to Maestro Carlo Raspagni, whom he considers his first mentor.
A pivotal encounter with the renowned Japanese luthier Kazuo Sato led to a fruitful collaboration with the Niibori Guitar Music Academy in Japan. In 2003, he was invited to their Tokyo headquarters to present a conference on guitar making. The following year, he hosted Japanese luthier student Hiroyuki Arai for two months, an experience that significantly shaped Arai’s future career upon his return to Japan.
Participation in the GFA Conventions in Montreal (2004) and Columbus-Atlanta (2006) opened doors to the American market. These events led to an invitation to New York by NBC journalist Ramon Zayas, who introduced him to the East Coast guitar community, where his instruments continue to be in demand.
In 2007, he was invited by Maestro Danny Yeh to the Shanghai Conservatory, where he held a conference on guitar making during the Quindao Guitar Festival. More recently, in 2023, he was a guest at the National Music Institute in Krakow, Poland, for an event dedicated to classical guitar.
To date, over 420 of his guitars are played by musicians across Japan, the United States, China, South Korea, Taiwan, Vietnam, Colombia, Brazil, numerous European countries, and Italy. Slovenian guitarist Uroš Barič stands out among his clients, having performed and recorded extensively with two of his guitars.
He collaborates with prestigious guitar salons worldwide and attributes his craftsmanship to a deep understanding of the acoustic properties of wood and the study of past master luthiers. While his designs lean toward a modern sound, they remain balanced, avoiding extremes. He believes that the charm of the guitar lies in its inherent limitations, even as modern techniques push boundaries.
Recent endeavors include developing guitars with an “Italian” concept, using spruce and maple to echo the rich tradition of Italian violin making. Simultaneously, he is working on a conceptual guitar featuring a Sinker Cedar top with Bog Oak back and sides, producing a unique sound with both archaic and modern characteristics.
Committed to teaching, he has guided around twenty students in crafting their own guitars in his workshop. He resides in a mountain town in the Belluno province with his wife Viviana, their son Vassili, and a variety of domestic and wild animals.
