Antonio Marchese, 2026

Every so often a brand new guitar plays and sounds so completely that it stops you in your tracks. This 2026 Antonio Marchese is one of them.

From the very first chord it sings. The voice is open and beautifully balanced, with real richness in the bass, a sweetness in the trebles, and an even sustain that blooms and stays rich in overtones long after the note is struck. It balances an intimate, sweet character with real growl when you push it, and it rewards you either way. Play it softly and it gives back nuance and color, then lean in and it opens up with power and bite. It is, quite simply, one of those instruments that is genuinely hard to put down.

This particular example is part of Marchese's Storico line, built on the historic Garcia design that he reproduces as part of his ongoing study of the Spanish guitar tradition. It is a Garcia Special edition, REG2026, finished with a higher level of decoration than his standard Garcia model, and the label itself reads special model Garcia 2026.

We made contact with Marchese directly after coming across this guitar, and spent real time with it once it arrived in our showroom. It is only a few months old, yet what impressed us most is how completely it holds its own alongside the historic masterpieces we place beside it. Sit it in a room next to a Garcia or a Simplicio built a century earlier and it does not shrink in the slightest, which is rare for a brand new guitar and says a great deal about the level Marchese is now building at.

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Specifications

Luthier: Antonio Marchese
Model: Garcia Special (REG)
Year: 2026
Top: Spruce
Back & Sides: Satinwood
Neck: Mahogany
Fingerboard: Ebony
Bridge: Rosewood
Bindings: Rosewood
Construction: 8 fan bracing
Finish: French Polish (Shellac)
Scale Length: 650 mm
Nut Width: 51.5 mm
Tuners: Alessi
Strings: D'Addario XTC45FF with normal tension nylon first string
https://ddar.io/guitar-collection
Condition: New/Mint

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Construction & Design

The spruce top is paired with a striking set of satinwood back and sides, a mahogany neck, and an ebony fingerboard, with a rosewood bridge to match. The rosette is a refined, historically minded design that appears inspired by a Patelli rosette, and the guitar carries rosewood bindings with carefully coordinated purfling across the soundboard, sides, back, and headstock. A fine ornate line runs down the center of the Garcia inspired headstock, and the color scheme is beautifully coordinated so that the sides and top complement one another. It is built on 8 fan bracing and fitted with Alessi tuning machines. Every detail, down to the smallest, is cleanly and thoughtfully executed.

As with all of Marchese's Storico instruments, this is built as a reproduction of the structural concept and tonal goals of the historic Garcia guitars rather than a strict visual copy, filtered through his own sensibility as a builder.

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Sound & Playability

This guitar has a genuinely open, singing voice with a lovely balance from top to bottom. There is real richness in the bass and a sweetness in the trebles, and the sustain is beautifully even, with notes that bloom and stay rich in overtones long after they are struck. What we keep coming back to is the way it balances an intimate, sweet character with real growl when you push it. Play it softly and it rewards you with nuance and color, then lean into it and it opens up with power and bite.

The first string is beautifully even and clear, and passes what we look for in a great treble. Structurally this is a lightly braced fan braced guitar, and it sounds every bit the traditional instrument that it is, with none of the artificial edge of a doubletop or lattice, just a natural, old world warmth carried on a modern build. It is worth noting that the satinwood back and sides look a great deal like maple, yet the voice is so deep and rich that you would never guess it blind. If anything, it recalls the character of a fine Brazilian rosewood guitar.

The body is fairly shallow, not a deep box, and yet the sound it produces is remarkably deep and full. Built on a 650 mm scale with a 51.5 mm nut, it feels comfortable and balanced in the hands, with the Alessi tuning machines adding to the sense of quality every time you sit down with it.

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About the Luthier

Antonio Marchese, born in 1992, is a young master luthier specializing in the construction of traditional classical guitars and the restoration of historical and contemporary plucked instruments. He trained for six years at the Civica Scuola di Liuteria in Milan, the first four years focused on instrument construction, organology, and the fundamentals of acoustic physics and chemistry, followed by two years specializing in restoration. During his training he worked as a builder and restorer on several notable exhibitions, including the Caravaggio e Monteverdi exhibition at the Museo del Violino in Cremona and the Le Mani Sapienti project for Expo 2016 at the Castello Sforzesco in Milan.

After his studies, Marchese apprenticed and later collaborated with luthier Enrico Bottelli in Voghera, where his interest in the Spanish guitar tradition deepened and became a lasting influence on his approach to sound and proportion. In 2019 he opened his own workshop in Montafia, in the Piedmont hills, where he builds his own models and historical replicas, and performs restoration work on antique instruments. He has taught varnishing for plucked instruments at the Civica Scuola di Liuteria in Milan, and since 2024 has taught classical guitar construction at the Accademia di Liuteria Piemontese San Filippo in Turin.

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New and mint. This guitar is only a few months old and has been carefully handled.

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