| The life of a custom luthier is fairly solitary.
It not only takes great skill & knowledge, but an incredible
amount of dedication & perseverance to reach the level where a living
can be made and a reputation earned. In the words of Fabrizio Alberico
"I am, by choice and by nature, a man who works best alone. I view the
process of making instruments as a peculiar combination of art, science,
and alchemy, and my yearly production is extremely limited. I tune each
top to achieve a desired result, and all other components are selected
and shaped to fit in with the original vision for the instrument. My total
involvement in every step of the process, other than being personally gratifying,
ensures that consistently excellent instruments are created, not just guitars."
This deep commitment to excellence is quite evident
in "Nuala", the latest tour de force of Fabrizio Alberico ... featuring
a Venetian cutaway body outline, a stunning set of Nicaraguan Cocobolo
back & sides, a very rare Bearclaw figured European spruce top
and an exquisitely detailed multi-layered voice. Fabrizio is one
of a handful of builders who seems to be able to infuse his instruments
with more. Not more treble at the expense of the bass register or
more note fundamental at the expense of the overtone series ... just more
... of everything! The attack is strong & precise, the
note fundamental solid & thick, followed by an extremely animated
set of note partials that totally engages the listener's interest.
This one simply has it all! |
