The Art Guitars of Enrico Bottelli:

La Direcciòn

The name of this instrument that I built for the Conservatory of Vicenza is La Direcciòn - it is based on the Torres project and represents the completion of the journey that began in 2006. Not only that: La Direcciòn also represents the beginning of a new direction, in fact, aimed at the creation of a contemporary instrument, based on the principles that come to us from the guitar of Antonio de Torres. The guitar is not a copy of any specific instrument by Torres; the decorative part only partly takes up some of the maker's elements.

The main aesthetic idea of the instrument is a multi-coloured herringbone decoration, made of 4 wood essences with very contrasting colour gradations: pear, paduk, amaranth and eucalyptus. The herringbone, with its maple arrows, symbolises the direction of a tradition that is handed down, evolves but is never interrupted: this is why the herringbone on the board continues through the rosette and beside the keyboard without ever stopping, as a sign of continuity in the change that takes place through the changing colours.

The wood of the ribs and back (the latter composed of three separate pieces) is a Central American mahogany, with golden-brown highlights, and was chosen at Maestro Grondona's suggestion to obtain a neutral, unobtrusive, pure timbre, not veiled or covered by a timbre inflection that is too markedly recognisable and preponderant. The sonic objective was to open up an additional room in the lower register, which would expand the instrument's depth and expressive possibilities. The instrument has a Helmoltz resonance of 84 Hz, and a fundamental resonance of the soundboard (monopole) of 174 Hz.