“In 1983, with customary Italian flair and intensity, Benedetto threw himself into the study of violin lutherie. He even studied the Italian language so as to understand his source material more thoroughly. During the next four years, Benedetto devoted himself almost exclusively to violinmaking, the only archtop guitarmaker ever to do so. Following this period, his archtop guitars took on a new lease on life. They were equal, and some might say superior, to the very best examples of archtop thus far produced. The period of intense scrutiny and searching which resulted from Benedetto’s foray into violinmaking had, as intuitively suspected, elevated his archtops to a peak of achievement which has yet to be surpassed by any other maker.”

Photo caption: Stephane Grappelli with his 1987 Benedetto violin #140 at his home in Paris, France, 1993

Violin Virtuoso Michele Ramo with his Benedetto Violin, New York, Oct. 22, 2011. Photo by Jeffrey Hertzlich.