For some, hearing mention of the Australian island state of Tasmania evokes thoughts of the home of a particular Looney Tunes character—not necessarily a place to find a guitar builder producing a wide range of high-end instruments. But Tasmania does offer just that. For more than 30 years, luthier Gary Rizzolo has been handcrafting instruments out of his shop for players around the globe.
Rizzolo remembers the exact day he fell in love with the guitar. He was just 10 when his uncle showed up on his regular Sunday visit to Rizzolo’s family, but on this particular day, his uncle had an “amazing looking, shiny greenish archtop” in tow. Rizzolo was hooked.
Luthier Jean-Yves Alquier’s interest in building guitars was sparked the moment he first held an instrument more than 20 years ago. He didn’t just want to play it—he had to know how it worked. Today, that same curiosity—and a passion for woodworking, drawing, and sculpture—continue to drive Alquier to create a variety of stunning instruments from his workshop in Le Soler, France.
Although Alquier’s background in guitar playing and listening to all types of music—from Bach to Zappa, B.B. King, and John Scofield—is hugely influential on his work, he’s equally inspired by automobile design. In fact, he says cars were the most creative design medium of the 20th century. And he aims to emulate that vibe with his guitars.
Finnish luthiers Tomi Korkalainen and Sampo Leppävuori met in 1997 at the Ikaalinen College of Crafts and Design where they were both students in the guitar-making department. And though they came from different parts of the country—along with completely different personalities and tastes in music—they quickly found they had a lot in common and became close friends. One of those commonalities was a huge respect and love for nature and the “North.” Another was a shared belief that music is more than just sound—there’s something deeply emotional and personal about it. “These are things that we have always applied to our guitar building,” says Korkalainen.
After finishing their initial studies in 2001, the two founded Amfisound Guitars in 2002 and decided to base their shop in Oulu, in Northern Finland, “because our Northern roots and attitude are very important for us. A lot of things about Finland are pretty extreme: the climate, the nature, the history, the people, the music, etc. But there is also a deep sense of tradition and that deep love for nature. Our guitars often impart these feelings,” shares Korkalainen. “In fact, the name for each of our models refers to something Finnish or Northern that is deeply meaningful to us.”
