Years ago, Gianluca introduced me to the idea of Greek tragedy as a way of listening to life — not as drama, but as balance.
Apollo and Dionysus: reason and instinct, control and surrender. A lens through which to understand joyful and painful moments alike, and a permission to embrace opposing sides of one’s character. Even if that realization arrives late.
The Thinline “La Salvia” is, for me, a direct consequence of that approach.
We were at a guitar fair in Rome, at the EUR district. I was there with my usual planning, caution, and unhealthy belief that you should know whether something is right before doing it. Influenced by the sounds of Julian Lage and Ed Bickert, I was looking for a full-sounding electric guitar, circling around Telecasters for months — but never committing, mainly because of their weight and a chronic neck issue.
Gianluca suggested a Thinline. I didn’t even know they existed, and they were almost impossible to find in local shops.
Then I saw it: a crowded booth, a very young luthier from south Rome — Enrico La Salvia — and a Thinline that looked like a Tele. I picked it up instinctively and was stunned by how light it was.
“Of course,” Gianluca said. “It’s hollow.”
As I played it, the guitar felt like it wanted to go on its own. The bridge pickup was a bit weak — which I didn’t mind at all — but the neck pickup was powerful, round, with a tonal range that seemed endless.
The price felt high to me, mostly because I had no real understanding of what a handcrafted guitar meant.
Apollo told me to walk away: too many unknowns, an unplanned expense, you don’t deserve it.
But as we left, I realized that this caution wasn’t saving me from a mistake — it was depriving me of an experience.
So, for once, I let Dionysus lead.
I went back, skipped the sales talk, and trusted instinct and hands alone. I bought that Thinline not because I had checked every parameter, but because in a few seconds it answered a stylistic and physical need. I’ve never regretted it.
For a first instrument of its kind, it’s remarkable — and every time I play it, it feels worth more than its price.
Which, in the end, is what guitarists are really looking for.
Beyond sound.
Thank you, Gianluca, for the insight.
And thank you, Enrico, for the instrument.
