Welcome to Pagelli's world of finest handmade guitars

Enjoy our booth and shop - have fun!
 Part 1
 Part 2
 Part 3


Copyright: Pagelli Gitarrenbau 2020

Pierre Journel did a live FaceTime with us. Thank you so much for that. Great and looking forward having the beer (or two) together ;-)

Watch the tour of the workshop and the presentation of the guitars we should have presented during The Holy Grail Guitar Show.

 

Rotary shot and closeup of the guitar

Played and explained by Claudio Pagelli



Copyright: Pagelli Gitarrenbau 2019

Played by Francis Coletta



Copyright: Pagelli Gitarrenbau 2018

Enjoy our custommade BOWtop



Copyright: Pagelli Gitarrenbau 2019

Pictures and playing by Andreas Schulz | www.leftover-visuals.de 



Copyright: Pagelli Gitarrenbau 2019

Filmed and played by Claudio



Copyright: Pagelli Gitarrenbau 2020

+41 79 460 98 83 for a call, whatsapp or facetime....

or via

www.facebook.com/pagelliguitars

www.instagram.com/pagelliguitars

Outside the Box

Innovation, artistry and elbow grease - how women luthiers are rewriting the rulebook.

Many thanks to Adam for thinking of me when you planned this feature about guitar makers.
At first I mentioned to him that I am not a guitar maker, but rather that I became a guitar designer. But I think because our instruments have achieved a different way of thinking in guitar making thanks to my unconventional approach, our innovations and implementations, I still fit into the interview.
Many of his interview questions were an interesting challenge for me to think about. When you are involved, you often forget what it looks like from the outside ... It feels good to be featured with such well-known women in guitar making.

link to the Guitarist Magazine issue

Our dear friend Kaz from Jersey Girl Homemade Guitars in Japan, one of the finest builder on the planet, has written a really beautiful article in the Japanese Laid Back Guitar Magazine about us. Jerseys and Laidbacks, thanks for choosing us!..

Kaz's translation of the articles. Here is the meanings of that. I wrote it with the styles of Japanese poetry. So it is more unique English than always. Please read with your full imagination!

——————————————————-

Emerald of deep forest, pale yellow of warm wood. Whirlwind created by contrast. Again, I was fascinated by Pagelli.

Late 1960s. The purple haze of hippie culture drifted from the radio quickly captured A Boy- Claudio in Switzerland. He learned piano building, and his "sense of the tones” cultivated there are further trained in the work of guitar repair. While he was working actively in the Swiss music scene as a bandman, engineer and producer, his guitar production continued passionately.

Claudia's designs, like abstract paintings that capture the sparkle of creature’s life, stimulated artisan Claudio, and the world of Pagelli became wider and deeper with each work.

This work was created for S. M. in 2019.
 

Maple flows to the body back as if holding a Swiss moon spruce top, and the ebony bindings applied throughout show the supreme handwork. Häussel special rail type single coil that fully reproduces the emotional expression of the player. The Zirikote bridge tailpiece, inlayed with copper oxide, incorporates controls and output jacks as well as rear pickups.

Sophisticated and simplistic enough to forget the complex process and the production process that requires meticulous calculations, the shape is like an innocent dance that spins lightly.
 

The praise for their works are to many to count, that fulfill player’s thoughts, but at the same time are innovative. However, those words become powerless when we see their breathtaking originality and high completeness in real. 
 

«Pagelli‘s are Pagelli‘s»
 

I gave Claudio a small antique tin can when we met again. Then he took a tin can out from his pocket and gave me in return. That small tin can, he found when he first visited Woodstock, he told me. I also received his unvarying rock spirit, I felt.

A great article, written by Andreas Schulz, in the April/May issue of Akustik Gitarre Magazin, Germany about our new 40“anniversary guitar.
Here some Phrases:

Ear wellness, artwork, great feel, modern, harmonic, innovative construction details, between musical instrument and art, can't get much better...!

A.S.... a man with style..:-))

guitarpics ©2019 by Andreas Schulz I www.leftover-visuals.de

We are happy to announce that we will be exhibiting at the last Holy Grail Guitar Show in Berlin.... 

We have been in the presentation group the year before it started and are proud that it worked so well. Unfortunately it was too much work for the people who organized the event since they did it apart from their main job…guitar making!

So our thanks mainly to Tania Spalt who did a fantastic job, to all other members of the board and to all unknown helpers behind.

LET'S CELEBRATE A GREAT LAST PARTY!

Antonio Marano works as a full professor of Industrial Design at the Department of Architecture, University of Chieti-Pescara, Italy. Among other things he is very interested in guitar designs for his researches and teaching in industrial design at the University.

That's why he pubslished end of the year his new book called:
«Design Musicale» Innovazione tecnologica ed evoluzione del linguaggio nel guitar design.

Published by Gangemi Editore of Rome.

During his research, Antonio also asked us about some of our designs. The Golden Fretless Bass, the Gitane Nouveaux, the Tim Ray Archtop and the incredible Convertible won the race.
It is a great honour and we are proud to be part of such an informative, well-made book.

And we are also proud that three other members of our «Luthiers Beyond Limits» group are published with their extraordinary work. Michihiro Matsuda, Jean-Yves Alquier and Tao Guitars by John and Serge.

Thank you Antonio for your incredible and important work.

It’s possible to buy the book through these links:

https://www.amazon.it/musicale-Innovazione-tecnologica-evoluzione-linguaggio/dp/8849237340

https://www.gangemieditore.com/dettaglio/design-musicale/8402/4

In the January / February 2020 report on the Aria D'Aquisto teardrop archtop in GrandGtrs Magazine, we are mentioned along with John D'Aquisto and John Monteleone. Among the current guitar makers as bravest innovators in terms of shape and constructive features of the sounding «dinosaurs».

Thank you very much - Wolfgang and grandgtrs ...you are real connoisseurs!

Very proud to present the extravagant and one-off «SM» semi hollow electric guitar!

We are so lucky to have customers like S.M. (he’s not eager to see his name in public) who is open minded for extravaganza… :-)

He is into art, form, function and knows a lot about that. Therefore, after bringing all ideas together, making quite a few designs und proposals, the «SM» was ready… on paper!

I had no idea what will expect me during building and I was about 3 times at the point to call the client to say: «Sorry…it’s just not possible to build!» However, after making the whole guitar out of a special foam, I finally found the solution and a way to make it. It was so tricky and at the end, it looks so simple. As almost every time... ;-)

Many thanks also to Harry Häussel who made the Pick-ups. It’s great to know such people who share the same passion in what they do and also are starting to bloom when innovation is asked.

Please watch the videos (click below) for a view and a sound sample.

The sound sample is played by myself and it serves just as an idea how the guitar sounds. I hopefully will have the chance soon to do a better recording with a proper guitar player and a well-tuned guitar.

The guitar is made out of stunning flamed Swiss maple and Swiss alpine moon spruce. All the bindings are made with deep black ebony and the fingerboard, head plate and the electronic - and string-holding devise is made out of Ziricote. That devise is inlayed with acid treated copper, as the back plate and the truss rod cover are. The one piece flamed body embraces the top where the hidden custom made Pick-ups from Harry Häussel/Germany, are mounted. The volume and tone are mounted nearly invisible at the side of the electronic devise. Invisible inside qualities are the 2way truss rod and the carbon neck reinforcement.

Pagelli «SM» semi electric guitar 2019

Demo 1 rotary shot and closeup of the guitar
Demo 2 played by Claudio Pagelli

Click here for demo 1      and demo 2   

Copyright: Pagelli Gitarrenbau 2019

Interview with the Swiss luthier Claudio Pagelli who builds gorgeous and very original guitars with his wife Claudia. Here's the video recorded during the 2019 edition of the Guitar Summit in Mannheim, Germany.

Click here for the video (you have to scroll a bit...) and
the Guitar Channel site  

And if you are interested, Pierre shared the link with us to the full video he recorded in Mannheim, even though this is part of the content reserved for paying subscribers on the Guitar Channel*

Thanks Pierre for that!
Pierre is a great support for all luthiers, so lets support his site too!

theguitarchannel.biz

Thanks to all the people who attended our «lets drink some gin to celebrate our 40year of guitar making» event at Mannheim!

It was a great pleasure that we did it together with the small gin factory «upstairs». Their 144 Square dry gin from Mannheim...excellent stuff.

And the way some guests said goodbye shows that we have not been the only ones who liked it...:-)

www.upstairs-gin.de/upstairs_gin.htm

We like to thank the Organisations of the Guitar Summit in Mannheim for their great effort to make that event happen. Just great, that it paid off with so many visitors.

www.guitarsummit.de

We are very thankful to Akustik Gitarre and Andreas Schulz for doing such a long and great article on Pagelli’s 40 year celebration! There are real guitar lovers working for that magazine.

www.akustik-gitarre.com

So, finally back home from our intense trip to Tokyo!

We have been invited from JERSEY GIRLS GUITARS, 
ATELIER REZIKA and Gallery SIDE2 to exhibit at the ART FAIR TOKYO.

Together with Jersey Girls Guitars, Michihiro Matsuda, Spalt Guitars, M-Tone Guitars, Ergon Guitars, Andy Manson Guitars and Malinoski Guitars we exhibited by invitation of Atelier REZIKA, Daisuke Ushiku, at the Booth of Gallery SIDE2 of Junko Shimada.  It is the first time that guitars have been officially displayed at a big international ART FAIR! First not accepted by the jury, they changed their mind when seeing the guitars.

After a walk trough the Fair we understand the concern, since the whole Fair was such a high standard. Hardly found art that was not inspiring. So even more it was a big honor to be a part of it.

Another display of the great works of the builders was at Yamano Music, the biggest store in Tokyo. Our instruments were presented on extraordinary stands, which were already art by themselfes, designed and made by JGHG.

We want to thank all involved people, especially the Jersey Girl Guitar Team (Kaz, Eiko, Akiko), Daisuke Ushiku and his lovely wife Rika, Junko Shimada from Gallery SIDE2, Yamano Music for displaying the guitars, Yoshio Nomura for the demonstration of the guitars and Hiroshi Sekita for the bass playing and Minoru Tanaka from Player Corporation Music Magazine for the nice interview.

We will keep that great time in our heart forever. JAPAN RULES!

We had great reactions on the new Bowtop. Of course first on the overall design, since this is the first thing you see. Then on the new concept and sound. And when we demonstrated the pick up and the attachment... just «WOW’s».

Electric
Guitar: Pagelli Bowtop 2018
Played by: Francis Coletta
Filmed by: Matthias Moser
Recorded with 1 Neumann mic TLM193 in front of an 90' Fender Vibroluxe (2x10“) straight into computer, just added a little room.

Click here for demo 1 and 2

      Copyright: Pagelli Gitarrenbau 2018

Acoustic
Guitar: Pagelli BowTop 2018
Played by: Francis Coletta
Filmed by: Matthias Moser
Recorded with 1 Neumann mic TLM193 straight into computer, just added a little room.

Click here for demo

 Copyright: Pagelli Gitarrenbau 2018

The new «Les Petites Naives» is the number 4 out of finally 9 guitars.
All those guitars are «Art brut» inspired and will be very different.
 

The new LPN no 4 is made out of an extremely hard to find, totally black African ebony and then carved by Swiss artist Gian Häne (more info about Gian below), with lines that are often found on African masks. To support that feeling of an old mask we also scratched the ebony very roughly.

The top is made out of the highest-class Swiss alpine moon spruce, the neck is African Padauk.

Inside its very modern built, with carbon rods for stabilization and some more tricks. It is just unbelievable how such a small guitar can produce such a huge sound.
 

To make the whole package perfect, the guitar is sold together with a carved picture PIZ BERNINA from Gian Häne made especially for that project.
 

Gian Häne is a Swiss artist who is very well known for his carved objects and pictures. His work is displayed in many galleries and you find them in homes of celebrities like Joe Biden, John Kerry, Roger Federer and many more.

Guitar: «Les petites Naives » no 4 (limited series of nine totally different, art brut inspired parlor sized instruments) 
Played by: Francis Coletta
Filmed by: Matthias Moser
Recorded with 1 Neumann mic TLM193 straight into computer, just added a little room.

Click here for demo 1 and 2

      Copyright: Pagelli Gitarrenbau 2018

«mystic moss of magic stone»

Located deep in the valley, the town of Vals is far removed from the hectic pulse of the cities. Although it’s a mountain village like many others, it is made unique by the special Vals quartzite rock that has shaped the region for millions of years. Blasted out of the mountain and cut to shape, Vals quartzite patiently waits to be used for its determined purpose – or simply to inspire us...

We want to guide your attention to this beautiful MASSARI Archtop that is for sale in the USA - please check our shop

So… finally back home from our trip to Woodstock and Manhattan.
The Woodstock Invitational Guitar Show was just as good as everyone promised!Great location, farm-like with a theatre, organized with heart and professionalism, very well attended, very interested visitors, great vibe and great players.
Last but not least: there were sales. One guitar stayed in the USA, another will go to Japan… and the last one is reserved.
 

We want to thank all the guys who made that show happen, in first place Baker Rorick. Then all the players who stopped at our booth. We are very sorry that we did not had the chance to take pics from all of you - actually just from a few. It was just too crowded and always something going on. Moreover, thanks to all the great builders who showed what’s today possible in guitar building.

Of course, it made us very happy that so many of the younger (and some old ones... :-)) came to our stand and told us how important we have been for them when they started building. I still remember well when I was in that position and looked up to the «heavy guys». I hope we treated you well.

Many thanks also to Martin Keith for letting me work in his shop when I was close to a heart attack. Like that, I was able to improvise a new bridge and tailpiece for the missing one.
For your info: I had an extreme busy time to be finished with our new Bowtop guitar to the show. I removed the bridge and tailpiece for the transport and stored it in the case. Then I packed the whole thing for the transport, to realize that I had overweight. Therefore, I unpacked and changed the case with a lighter one. So far so perfect. The day before the show, already in USA, I wanted to set the guitar together… just to realize that I missed the bridge and tailpiece in the other case back home. I was sooooo angry on myself. However, shit happens. Then million calls back and forth to Switzerland. We tried to get them by overnight express… no way… too late.
I contacted Baker who told us that there is a Builder not too far from Woodstock, Martin Keith. We contacted him and he was so generous to lend his shop to us. So - the day before the show, I was working till my flesh felt from the bone to make a new bridge and tailpiece.
Not as beautiful as the original… but good enough to present the innovation at the show. Uff… So finally, we presented the guitar and we were able to breathe again. It's not really what you need before a show… :-)))
 

The presented guitar «Bowtop» is a new invention from us who combines the archtop construction with the Flattop world. It has a new sound and a new and very elegant look. We just recorded a few tracks with Francis Coletta, one of the best players we know, and we will post it in a few weeks on our site, when all is edited.

Our second instrument we presented was the new «Les Petites Naives» no 4, a collaboration with Swiss artist Gian Haene. Gian well known for his carved objects and his work is hanging in the house of people like Al Gore, Bill Clinton or Roger Federer. The guitar comes together with a small artwork by Gian. 

Finally, we showed our archtop flagship, the «Massari» no 9, Cresta Lake Nün. We are so happy that this unbelievable sounding and playing guitar found a great new home in the hands of a great player and human being. It's exactly that guitar the great George Benson played and commented on: This guitar is just perfect!

Following you will see a few pics and impressions from our trip.

Have a great time! Los Pagellis

How cool to win the Recognition Award of a city that has the balls to engage a free impro band! Pez Zumthor, Simon Ambüel and Dani Seiler... all that in front of paintings from H.R.Giger, another son of the city!

Also Recognition Award winners: the great Gaudenz Signorell and oustanding architect Raphael Zuber!
 

Thanks to all involved people, city councilor Patrik Degiacomi for his enthusiasm, Karin Punzi for her great laudatio and to all of you who have congratulated us.

Its a big honour for us! Proud to be Churer..;-)

We are proud to announce that PAGELLI will exhibit at NAMM Show in Los Angeles as part of a group of worlds most recognised luthiers! Find us under the common name LUTHIERS BEYOND LIMITS at NAMM from 25-28. January at Booth 3802.

Luthiers Beyond Limits are a new association of visionary builders who have, collectively, advanced the contemporary benchmark for design. They formed this group to exhibit together based on their mutual respect for and recognition of the innovations they have all made. In the past decade [and more] they have been at the forefront in design thinking and «breaking the mold» of guitar design. It is often said when a group like this assembles [and it is true]: collectively they hold centuries’ worth of hands-on knowledge and mastery, and thousands of years of wisdom.

Luthiers Beyond Limits has chosen the first hexagram from the I GING Book of Changes [Ch’ien with its six lines] as the image to represent their association «Beyond Limits».

CH‘IEN THE CREATIVE: «The first hexagram is made up of six unbroken lines. These unbroken lines stand for the primal power, which is light-giving, active, strong, and of the spirit… Its energy is represented as unrestricted by any fixed conditions in space…»

Text by Ed Keller
Ed Keller is a designer of space, image and sound, and professor at The New School, where he directs the Center for Transformative Media. http://ctm.parsons.edu

www.alquierguitars.com

www.beauregardguitars.com

www.matsudaguitars.com

www.kleincommunity.com

www.taoguitars.com

www.pagelli.com

Our home in the Swiss Alps is one of our greatest sources of inspiration.

Our limited «Alps and Homeland» edition of 20 special Massari archtops as a tribute to this environment. As our «top-of-the-line» archtop, the Massari model represents everything that Claudio has learned in 36 years of building instruments.

Each of the guitars will have unique features, all based on and inspired by the common theme of «Alps and Homeland». Examples include colors that represent the region, traditional motifs, use of materials sourced in the Alps, and much more. Like our lastest Massari:

 «GRISCHETTAS», Massari 10 | 20

The distinctive decorations known as SGRAFFITO go back to the 16th century. Found throughout Switzerland’s Graubünden region, the technique was first used by the courageous and the wealthy to decorate their homes. Sgraffitos tell stories of origin and status, but also of fears and trepidation. Certain symbols were thought protect from evil, but at the same time, they proudly called for attention. What would the Alpine valley of Engadin be without this splendor!

We’re very happy that these ornaments are represented so beautifully on our Massari n. 10, and that the story of these decorations are now being told in Spain!

Many thanks to Ulysses Schmid for his co-operation on this project. Ulysses is a talented goldsmith based in Chur, he's very innovative and it is worth visiting his website: www.ulysse.ch

| some more infos and pics about the edition

The Gitane Nouveaux is one of our absolute Pagelli Favourites.

We are happy that our new client and photographer with taste, Stephan Meier, has chosen that model to have built for him. txs Stephan!

After making mostly Archtops and Acoustics, it was a pleasure to make Electrics again. This «lespaulish» Guitar was made for Ueli Weber, a Swiss customer who already plays a Pagelli Acoustic since many years.
His wish was to have a guitar in that «lespaulish» direction, but light, open sounding, night blueish and elegant.

The guitar features the lightest Mahogany I ever used, a spectacular Canadian Maple Top and Häussel PUP’s. Weight is 3.2 kg and the sound is very open, clear and defined.

And yeah…that scratchplate adds the certain something…;-)

He had a dream...

A Bass with a fingerboard towards the end of the body, as we did in 1997 on our golden fretless bass. But single cut, hollow, lightweight and coloured like a 15th century painting from Caravaggio. Invisible electronic, acoustic sounding. That was the dream of our San Diego based client Scott. His dream came true.

(read more about under guitars/custom made)

What is your dream?
 

Our latest GRINGOBEAT model, with flamed maple body, spruce top, golden hardware, Fralin pups and 24k golden sides, headstock and finger rest delivered to a new happy customer from Russia.

Click on the pics to the left for slide shows.

Played for the first time ;-)

Our home in the Swiss Alps is one of our greatest sources of inspiration.

Our creativity is fueled by the mountains, the water, the clear air, the forests, the customs, the materials, the people, the language, the food, the colors, and countless other things that surround us every day.

As such, we see our limited «Alps and Homeland» edition of 20 special Massari archtops as a tribute to this environment. As our «top-of-the-line» archtop, the Massari model represents everything that Claudio has learned in 36 years of building instruments.

Each of the guitars will have unique features, all based on and inspired by the common theme of «Alps and Homeland». Examples include colors that represent the region, traditional motifs, use of materials sourced in the Alps, and much more.

We’ve already built several of the guitars, some of which are already in the hands of their happy owners, while just one is currently still available.
This  is «MYSTIC MOSS OF MAGIC STONE», Massari Super de Luxe 6 | 20 (Music Zoo, New York).

The following guitars (see photo gallery) have already been delivered:
Number 1 | ais: «LICHEN-SPLASHED ROCK»
Number 2 | zwai: «THUNDERSTORM IN THE MOUNTAIN»
Number 3 | drü: «LA STRADA ALTA»
Number 4 | viar: «LEAVING NATURE TO ITSELF»
Number 5 | füüf: «HERITAGE RED OF THE ENGADIN»
Number 7 | siba: «BLUE SUMMER SKY IN THE MOUNTIAN»
Number 8 | acht: «ONSET OF WINTER»
Number 9 | nün: «CRESTA MOUNTAIN LAKE»

Don’t miss the opportunity to own one of these wonderful one-of-a-kind and highly collectable guitars.

| some more infos and pics