Welcome to Pagelli's world of finest handmade guitars

Here are some pics and sound samples of our GRINGOBEAT with Lollar Goldfoils,

  Played by Francis Coletta over a 1961 Vox AC 30 and recorded directly into logic with a Sennheiser Dynamic microphone. No effects added.

The wish was a Les Paul-like sound, simple, no edges, hand flattering and not looking like Les Paul, but with a lot of pressure... et voilà!

This is the second guitar we were allowed to make to the customer after 10 years. In the meantime, he traveled a lot, was following in the footsteps of the blues in the USA, and so his requirements for a guitar have changed.

Thank you for the renewed confidence!

Body and neck made of old Honduras mahogany, quilted maple blanket, ebony fretboard and headboard. Pick ups Harry Häussel, Steg Schaller, Mechanics Planet Waves.

We are happy to present another custom made instrument: a 5-string bass that we were allowed to build for Patric Seglias.

Having owned a Pagelli bass for many years, it was time to meet his new requirements. Neck dimensions have been meticulously taken over from the old bass so that it does not have to change when the bass is changed. This time passive electronics as a supplement to the active one from the 90s. And we also tried to incorporate his two other hobbies into the design of the bass ... Porsche and Harley Davidson! You can recognize the Porsche in the silhouette of the pickguard and Harley in the color of the back of the neck. What is still missing in the pictures is the electronics cover with a stylized skull.

The bass sounds incredibly powerful, also because of the extra length of the strings of 90cm, but totally defined in all positions.

Body: Mahogany

Top and neck: flamed Swiss maple

Fingerboard: Ebony

Mechanics: Hipshot light

Pick ups: Harry Häussel D

We are happy to announce that 3 of those GRINGOBEAT models will be painted by the great Conrad Jon Godly!

Conrad is a world know painter and former photograph with high celebrity clients. A documentation of him, together with his Japanese wife Kazuyo Okushiba, also a great artist, will be on Swiss, German and Austrian TV called 3sat.
 You may follow the link 

Conrad will paint a GRINGOBEAT bass for a client of us and also a bass and a guitar as a pair for us. It's a honour to work with Godly and a great introduction of our new GRINGOBEAT bass and the new GRINGOserie that will be a collaboration with outstanding artists!

With delay, but no less proud, we would like to present our cooperation with Peter Zumthor.

Peter Zumthor is one of the world's most famous architects and recipients of the Pritzker Prize. To introduce him may seem superfluous, Wikipedia is recommended for «non-architectural» people.

As part of the Zumthor individual exhibition DEAR TO ME at the Kunsthaus Bregenz, also a highly praised Zumthor building, we were able to implement his idea of a music box.

The Austrian composer Olga Neuwirth was asked by Peter Conradin Zumthor to compose a new work for a musical clock conceived by Peter Zumthor. The punch card tape extends through the entire hall to the ceiling and is driven by hand. The whole thing is amplified by a spruce wooden corpus... where we came into the game.

Of course, it had to be built with Zumthorpenibleprecision, which was a requirement and, to the delight of us, was implemented by me in this way.

And of course, it was a great success... like the whole exhibition.

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

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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

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

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

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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

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…;-)

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. (see photo gallery)
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»
Numbr 10 | zehn: «GRISCHETTAS»

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

| some more infos and pics