Paoletti Guitars: Handcrafted Boutique Guitars

While others turn water into wine, the Italian Fabrizio Paoletti has concentrated on turning wine into musical instruments. To get to the point: Fabrizio produces handcrafted electric guitars and electric basses from the wood of old wine barrels. Here in the Custom Reserve you'll find a small but select range of hand-picked Paoletti guitars from Florence.

Read the full story of Paoletti Guitars here

Our selection

All instruments that are currently available for immediate delivery are listed here. If you can't find the right one for you, please get in touch with your questions and requests. We'll find out for you whether your ideas can be realised by Fabrizio Paoletti and his small team and we'll move heaven and earth so you get the perfect Paoletti guitar you've been dreaming of!

Norbert Fudalla Oliver Lohmann Simon Keller Marco Ramazzotto-Joppe

We'd love to tell you more about it!
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custom-reserve@session.de

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Paoletti Guitars Alfa Loft HSS Heavy Aged Gold Ruby #165522

Paoletti Guitars PS-LF-HSS Heavy Aged Gold Ruby

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The Whole Story of Paoletti Guitars

But let's start at the beginning. Fabrizio Paoletti founded his company Paoletti Guitars in 2005. The company is based in Tuscany, where the Paoletti family has lived since the 19th century. Amid the fascinating landscape of the Tuscan hills, tradition and innovation meet as centuries-old techniques are combined with modern precision to create instruments that embody the timeless beauty and elegance of Italy's handcrafted heritage.

Guitars from old wine barrels

Fabrizio's family have been producing Chianti wines in Tuscany for several generations. Instead of following his family's tradition and going into winemaking himself, he came up with a new idea for reusing retired wine barrels.
To pay tribute to the old family tradition and make optimal use of the available material, Fabrizio used old wine barrels from the family business. His family's barrels come from a tradition between 130 and 180 years old. After initial experiments with chestnut barrels, it quickly became clear that this gives the instruments a special sound. Since that discovery, the whole country — from the Alpine foothills in the north down to the southernmost tip of Italy's boot — has been searched for chestnut wine barrels that are no longer used for wine production.

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The factory in Tuscany

Fabrizio's discovery and vision turned chestnut wood into Paoletti Guitars' trademark, because for more than 15 years Paoletti Guitars has been giving new life to the chestnut wood of old wine barrels. In the meantime Fabrizio has moved out of his small workshop and assembled a small, well-trained team around him. His new factory and company headquarters are of course also in Tuscany, where the company and Fabrizio's family have their roots.

Wide selection of woods and colours

The Paoletti workshop offers you an unparalleled personal experience when you step into the creative process that leads you to your true dream guitar. From choosing the perfect wood for your fretboard to selecting individual hardware, designing elaborate multi-layer finishes or intricate inlays, every aspect of your guitar can be tailored to your unique preferences and style to make sure it accompanies you on stage for years to come. Every production stage is meticulously overseen by Fabrizio Paoletti and his staff, and nothing is left to chance when designing the guitars. High-quality woods like Roasted Maple, ebony or Pao Ferro are personally selected by experts and the pickups are hand-wound in-house at Paoletti.

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Visual highlights

At Paoletti Guitars every guitar and bass is unique. Here you'll find finishes and colours you won't find with any other guitar maker: Firemist Purple, Heavy Blue and Violetburst are just some of the exciting looks to discover.

Some finishes even have up to five layers, giving the instruments unique refinished and used looks. It's also worth taking a closer look at the hardware: Paoletti works with elaborately aged pickguards made from brass and other metals to give the guitars their distinctive appearance. The industrial look is rounded off by potentiometer knob caps made from old cartridge casings that are colour-matched to the pickguards.

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What makes Paoletti instruments so special?

100% handmade in Italy
chestnut bodies from 130 - 180 year old wine barrels
hand-wound Paoletti pickups
elaborate, multi-layer colourful finishes
metal pickguards and potentiometer knob caps made from old cartridge casings
large selection of woods

Well-known models in a new guise

Fabrizio Paoletti largely relies on proven body shapes: the Nancy (T-Style), Alfa (ST-Style) and the 112 (Offset) are all inspired by famous, classic models we all know and love. However, through modern design and lovingly applied details they set themselves apart from their historical originals. Fabrizio Paoletti also regularly releases special models that, due to their even higher-end appointments and luxurious appearance, are almost too nice to play.

Famous Paoletti Players

Tom Doyle

Don Broco

Lee Malia

Bring Me The Horizon

Jeff Stinco

Simple Plan