Corrado Carpinteri

My story…

Since I was a child I was always keen on graphic arts, creative arts and music, so, when I first became interested in the art of lutherie in the summer of 2005, after having completed my studies in Informatic Science, I thought it was the perfect job which could enclose all my passions.

At that time I was inspired by my guitar hero Brian May, the guitarist of Queen.

Like him I wanted to build from scratch a guitar and learning to play it, so I decided to build the legendary “Red Special”, the guitar he built with his father in 1963 and that he still plays during his tours .

To make a long story short, after many attempts I completed my first guitar in September 2008, just some days before to go in Milan to see my first Queen gig with paul Rodgers as lead singer.

That was the beginning of my love for luthiery and how it became my job after some years of experience and practice.

“I always wanted to be a guitar builder.”

From CQuadro to Carpinteri…

I founded the CQuadro Guitar Works in February 2012, when I felt ready to put the experience I gained in the previous years at the service of real customers.

At that time I put a lot of passion on the building processes and research of the right materials to make a faithful replica of the Red Special, I really loved it and it became soon my workhorse and the guitar that made me known worldwide.

Anyway, I never wanted to be a RS builder, I always wanted to be a guitar builder.

I like to draw my models, I enjoy experimenting with new materials and I love bringing the ideas I have in my mind to life.

Therefore, in October 2016, after a long meditation, I decided to change my company name from “CQuadro Guitar Works” to “Carpinteri Guitars”, the first step to start a new vision of my job and a new look for my future customers.

The philosophy…

After many years of guitar building I understood what is worthy and what is not for the idea of luthiery I have in my mind.

I think the guitar is a tool, it’s the working tool of the guitarist, therefore it must be mainly easy to use, comfortable and reliable.

The common factor that connects these three features is simplicity.

A simple guitar is easy to use in live situations, it’s comfortable because every superfluous detail is omitted, and it is more reliable because if less factors are involved, less issues the guitar could have in the future.

Good tone and sustain are automatically reached if the whole construction is made flawlessly, and, to obtain this, I use modern technology.

Electric guitars are precision tools, therefore I think precision tools are almost necessary to build them.

I’m convinced technology is not an enemy for a creative job like this, on the contrary, it could be a great way to expanse the creativity of the luthier.

“technology is a great way to expanse the creativity of the luthier”

The Blonde Special…

In December 2012 I sent an email to Brian May saying it would be an honor for me to build a guitar for him.

I also attached to the email a picture of the guitar of how it was once finished.

The guitar was a mix between his Red Special and a Telecaster, I thought it should be nice to play songs like “Crazy little thing called love” on it.

With great amazement, he replied after three days saying he liked my guitar and, as a real gentleman, he wanted to pay for it.

I refused because the guitar was a gift from me to show him my gratitude for the person who was the main inspiration of my job.

Brian received the guitar in August 2013 and sent me a picture of him with the guitar in his arms.

That was one of the most beautiful days in my life.

Corrado Carpinteri is a member of the European Guitar Builders since 2017