Climbolele is a vegan-friendly soprano ukulele designed for climbers and outdoor lovers. It is handmade in the Italian Alps using locally grown wood by Martino Quintavalla, an experienced climber. Although made with traditional materials, it is designed for maximum robustness and ease of use with a bridge guard and a Kevlar cord loop to hang it with a carabiner.
Length 16 cm
Width 6 cm
Height 54 cm
©Christopher Wilton-Steer
©Marco Bermejo
©Marco Bermejo
©Marco Bermejo
Martino Quintavalla
- Luthier
- Bianzone, Italy
- Rising Star
Contact
Italian, English, Spanish
Hours:
By appointment only
By appointment only
Phone:
+39 3408905646
+39 3408905646
©Marco Bermejo
The scientist of sound
- • Martino handcrafts mandolins, ukuleles and guitars
- • He is an innovator with a PhD in materials engineering
- • He is the first luthier use carbon fibres on classical mandolins
"I am the only luthier in Valtellina, therefore I am the best one,” says Martino Quintavalla, commenting on his choice to open a luthier workshop in his native region among the mountains, where there is no such tradition at all. Ironic, smart and humble, Martino is a materials engineer with a PhD and experience working for the largest public research institution in Italy. He inherited his passion for crafts and music from his father, a mechanic. He repaired his first mandolin as an autodidact during his university years in Milan and discovered that he could do that quite easily. So, he focused all his efforts into establishing his own luthier workshop, where he puts his knowledge into practice, experimenting with new designs and materials, in order to push the boundaries of performance without compromising the quality of sound.
Read the full interviewWorks
Photo: ©All rights reserved
Climbolele: a ukulele for climbers
Photo: ©All rights reserved
Barocco Incongruente Ukulele
Barocco Incongruente is a soprano ukulele inspired by baroque guitars from which it takes the peculiar bowl back form, made with cypress and pear ribs. Beneath the baroque aspect, with fine aesthetic details recalling guitars from the 1600s, the ukulele conceals a contemporary instrument built with advanced composite materials, providing a very intense sound.
Length 17.6 cm
Width 8 cm
Height 53 cm
Photo: ©All rights reserved
Mandolino Padellone
Padellone (big frying pan) is a bluegrass archtop mandolin born from an experimental idea to use design to obtain the most powerful and rich sound. This instrument features several innovative elements such as the falcate composite bracing and the straight string pull headstock.
Length 26 cm
Width 10 cm
Height 71 cm
Photo: ©All rights reserved
DF mandolin
This mandolin was developed together with luthier Federico Gabrielli during a research project funded by the World Wood Day Foundation in 2019. This instrument has a classic Italian mandolin look with a particular bowl back shape, providing comfort to the player. It is designed to obtain a classic mandolin sound with high efficiency by selecting wood according to its acoustical properties.
Length 22 cm
Width 14 cm
Height 65 cm
Photo: ©Martino Quintavalla
DF Carbon Mandolin
This contemporary mandolin was developed together with luthier Federico Gabrielli during a research project funded by the World Wood Day Foundation in 2019. This instrument has a modern look with a particular bowl back shape, providing comfort to players. Exceptional sound intensity and sustain are achieved with a very thin soundboard and composite materials bracing, an advanced technology allowing to improve the radiation efficiency and guarantee the long time reliability.
Length 22 cm
Width 14 cm
Height 68 cm
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