In the heart of Tuscany, Fabrizio Paoletti set up his guitarbusiness, where he builds handcrafted guitars of very high quality. His grandfather was a local winemaker with a family owned vineyard, that produced Chianti wine for many years. When that company closed, Fabrizio secured the old wine barrels, that had been used for 120+ years, and in 2005 set up his own guitar production, using the Chestnut wood from the barrels. The barrels are cut down, and Mr Paoletti makes 16 guitarbodies out of one barrel.
The wood has aged and dried, and the moisture is long gone, so the wood is very stable for guitarproduction. So reclaiming the wood makes a lot of sense ,and it is not only a gimmick. The old Chestnut planks come with great tone and sustain. And Fabrizio goes all the way, as he is also making his own pickups, brass bridges and pickguards, so every guitar is something special.
Many players have fallen in love with the instruments, including Richie Sambora, Richard Fortus (G’n’R), Keith Richards (R.Stones), Bruce Springsteen, Slash, James Hetfield & Kirk Hammett (Metallica), Joe Walsh (Eagles), Phil X (Bon Jovi), John Norum (Europe), Noel Gallagher(Oasis), Brian May (Queen), Phil Collen (Def Leppard, Phil Cambell (Motorhead).
At Guitar Gandhi, we are pleased to include Paoletti Guitars on our list of great guitars. We love the story, but even more the guitars, and the craftmanship. And another great feature we think, is that you can add several custom options to your Paoletti guitar, without any extra charges. And Fabrizio can add your own graphics, logo, pictures, etc. to your personal guitar, if you wish to make something really special. (not for free though)
With artists like Scott Holiday/Rival Sons, Kauerguitars are in demand, and the current leadtime is 7-9 months, if you order a guitar.
We saw Kauerguitars for the first time at NAMM 2018, at the Boutique Guitar Showcase. They really stuck out, and we fell in love, way before Guitar Gandhi was born.
After only little contact, we soon had a sense of Doug Kauer, being both a helpful and humorous guy. He is having fun building outstanding instruments, and at the same time very dedicated.
Just as we like ‘em!