Gaetano Costanzo Neapolitan luthier
Written on 15 December 2025 - 1265 views
In his Naples workshop, Gaetano Costanzo shapes unique instruments where craftsmanship, precision, and innovation meet. Between artisanal tradition and sound research, he creates basses, guitars, and special models for demanding musicians. An immersion into the world of a luthier who places the musician at the heart of every creation.
In Naples, precision has a name: Gaetano Costanzo
In the Neapolitan metropolitan area, at number 58 via Gabriele Cirillo, a small workshop vibrates to the steady rhythm of planes, magnets, and copper coils. This is where Gaetano Costanzo works—an artisan whose reputation is growing away from the spotlight but at the heart of Italian music scenes. A luthier by late vocation but long-standing passion, he has built his expertise through experience, trial, accepted mistakes, and an obsession: creating instruments that breathe elegance, lightness, and musicality.
A journey born from love at first sight with the bass
Nothing truly destined Costanzo for lutherie, except the irresistible call of the bass. He began playing guitar at nine, then turned to the low-register instrument to follow in the footsteps of Paul McCartney. At eighteen, the idea came to him almost instinctively: to build his own instrument. The first attempts were rough, but the desire became a driving force. Specialized books piled up, as did nights of experimentation.
The turning point came when he met Carlo Mazzaccara, a key figure in traditional lutherie. For two years, this mentor passed on artisanal methods, mandolin-making secrets, and old-school meticulousness. A demanding training that raised his level, while helping him draw from his roots to develop his own sonic identity.
Instruments shaped down to the smallest detail
Today, his workshop produces a wide range of basses, electric and acoustic guitars, baritones, not to mention a few electric mandolins. Each instrument is built with a coherent, almost architectural logic.
- Bodies: alder predominates, chosen for its lightness, ease of work, and sonic signature.
- Necks: maple, unrivaled in his view, for its stability and tonal clarity.
- Fingerboards: maple or rosewood, depending on the desired aesthetics and playing feel.
For hardware, he favors Gotoh tuners, but readily adapts to Schaller or Hipshot preferences. Bass bridges are entirely made in-house, from raw brass, then gold-plated, chromed, or powder-coated.
Electronics are a chapter of their own: Costanzo winds his own pickups, using exclusively Alnico V magnets and double-insulated enamelled copper wire, AWG 42 to 44 depending on the desired voicing. Active circuits are custom-made by a technician friend, ensuring perfect coherence between the acoustics, mechanics, and the electrical heart of the instrument.
A philosophy centered on the musician
For him, a successful instrument rests on three fundamentals: lightness, playability, aesthetics. Nothing superfluous, nothing ornamental without function. His work is a continuous conversation with each musician. Some arrive with a precise sonic vision, others with a rough sketch. In all cases, luthier and client define together the woods, electronics, and shape. Once the 1:1 scale plans are completed, templates take shape and construction begins.
Lead times range from two to four months depending on complexity, and the workshop also handles setups, repairs, and adjustments. His clientele ranges from demanding amateurs to seasoned professionals, but everyone receives the same attentive listening.
His advice to musicians is clear: play until you feel whether the instrument adapts to you. “Good lutherie must liberate, never constrain”
The Piccolo Contra project, an ambitious idea
His most recent work bears witness to his inventive spirit: the Piccolo Contra, a semi-acoustic bass designed to offer the depth of the double bass… without its imposing silhouette. The project was born through exchanges with maestro Dario Deidda and Rosaire Riccobono, a leading figure in musical experimentation. The result: a hybrid, singular instrument, conceived for bassists seeking a new sonic dimension and greater mobility.
Naples as an anchor point, experimentation as a horizon
For Costanzo, the future is anything but fixed. New tools, new solutions, perhaps new instrument formats: everything remains open as long as artisanal rigor remains intact.
Those who wish to meet him can step into his Neapolitan laboratory or contact him via his social pages. Behind the wood, metal, and copper, one discovers an artisan who defends a generous vision: that of an instrument as a natural extension of the musician, shaped with patience, listening, and precision.
Photos: Pascal Vicart
See you soon, here or elsewhere !
Chrys
