On Jerry Thrunk’s Gibson Acoustic guitar, there was a bad crack on the lower bout, and I designed a piece of Nigerian Ebony to follow the outside perimeter edge of the guitar to cover the crack. The inlay is of mother nature about to touch the earth and moon above her finger. The inlay consists […]
Happy Anniversary to my good friends Mary DeSoucey and Dan Desoucey! Mary asked me to make this pick container on my lathe for Dan. The base of the container is Austrian figured maple dyed farm/forest colors of rusty red, blue, green and yellow for their love of the outdoors. The lid top is Amazon mahogany […]
I wanted to share this story about Carrie Fisher since we very sadly just lost her. She was a lovely person who I admired. I had a chance to meet Carrie this October 2016 at Comic Con. I made her a box out of German quilted/flamed maple and rare East-Indian rosewood. When Carrie saw the […]
This was a long repair job for Guitar Maker and fellow Marquetry artist Jim Macdonald. Jim created two marquetry guitar designs for the Gibson Custom Shop in the early 2000’s as part of their “Visual Artist Program.” Both guitars were priced at $14,000. In 2013, Jim began making his own guitars featuring beautiful marquetry work. […]
HAPPY EARTH DAY with a ocean/sea theme PETILLO Tele! We should all make the effort to keep our oceans clean. Enjoy this beautiful day!PETILLO SHORECASTER Tele (custom made for singer/songwriter/producer/musician Brian Mackewich) pecs:1) German quilted maple book matched top with natural binding edge to frame the top2) American alder two piece book matched back3) German […]
Check out the custom handmade PETILLO POINT body shape WAVE archtop guitar for my friend singer/songwriter Bob Snyder! Hand carved book matched quilted African bubinga top, back and sides. South American padauk outside perimeter binding and neck heel cap. 327 piece Paua abalone inlaid top purfling. South American blood wood fingerboard with Paua abalone and […]
This project took a long time based on materials. Over the years my Mother (Lucille Petillo) and Father (Dr. Phil Petillo) have accumulated many exotic one-of-a-kind materials to use on stringed instruments. This guitar has many of those exotic accents. The heart of the construction is the bracing pattern and its precision location for the […]
This was a long project because I have never used Sterling Silver foil in such large pieces. The reason Sterling Silver foil was used is because I wanted to give the guitar a feminine, passionate look, but not too girly cute. In the ever-changing world we live in, getting sea shells and scarce exotic materials […]
Had a chance to give Brian Wilson at the Count Basie Theater show – September 21, 2016 in Red Bank New Jersey this copper engraved birdseye/flame maple box. The copper stamping/engraving circle motif has symbolism to his life. The shield stands for courage, the heart means love, the W crown on top of the heart […]
Steve Forbert’s 1949 SJ Gibson restoration. Steve has been a longtime dear friend of my Father (Dr. Phil Petillo). This guitar has been through hell in a good way. So many shows and also travelled the world. The frets needed some attention. A lot of repair guys/techs would recommend a refret in its present state […]
This guitar took a year and a half of work, love and long nights. The fingerboard consists of 13 layers of mother of pearl, clam shell, abalone, 24k gold dust, stone and glass. The body is made of German quilted maple, Spanish cedar, Nigerian ebony and French walnut. The 11 piece neck laminations are layered […]
