Mamera Guitars, between Valle Scrivia and the heart of Genoa

The story of Mamera Guitars is a narrative of dedication and manufacturing precision that unfolds along a dual territorial path. The project, founded and managed by artisans Francesco and Barbara, has its structural workshop in the woods of Valle Scrivia—an ideal location for the natural acclimation and seasoning of wood—and its welcoming atelier in the historic heart of Genoa. Coming from backgrounds where a passion for wood merged with a deep guitar culture, Francesco and Barbara have structured a construction approach based on the demystification of serial production.

For Mamera, the guitar must be a natural anatomical and emotional extension of the artist’s hand. While respecting the classic geometries of tradition, but with a marked propensity for modern innovation, Mamera places sound above all else, ensuring that every guitar is a unique piece designed to bring out the maximum potential of the talent who plays it.

The collection

Mamera Guitars production is distinguished by the use of original proprietary designs and a rigorous selection of raw materials sourced from around the world. The collection is primarily centered around the Ago series, available in both refined acoustic formats and modern electric configurations:

• Ago OM Series, Orchestra Model: Acoustic instruments with 14 clear frets outside the body, featuring a fretboard radius of 16° and a 41 mm nut width. Elite models include the Ago OM #09 (mahogany with Engelmann top) and the Ago OM #08 with Indian rosewood sides and spruce top.
• Ago D Dreadnought Series: Represented by the Ago D #07 model, this is a monumental 14-fret body designed to maximize projection and acoustic pressure on the bass registers, featuring a wider neck—43 mm at the bridge—to facilitate flatpicking and fingerstyle techniques.
• Ago Electric Series: Represented by the Ago E Special #03 model, this is a solid-body with an ergonomic alder body and flamed maple top, designed to offer perfect balance and superior executive comfort.

Construction philosophy, techniques, and materials

Mamera Guitars calibrates and customizes the instrument’s architecture according to the musician and what they play, combining historical lutherie techniques with modern components:

• Scalloped X-Bracing: In the Ago OM and Dreadnought acoustic lines, structural stability and soundboard response are regulated by a process called scalloped X-bracing. This technique involves manually carving the spruce reinforcement strips, reducing their mass at the center and tapering their profiles toward the edges. Physically, this geometric decomposition decreases the stiffness of the soundboard without compromising its resistance to string tension, allowing the top to oscillate with greater amplitude and unleash extraordinary harmonic richness, full of sustain, attack, and dynamics.
• Top Selection: Tops are selected by evaluating longitudinal stiffness and cell density. Mamera employs Val di Fiemme Spruce (used in the OM #08, famous for its high sound wave propagation speed), Engelmann Spruce (in the OM #09, known for its soft and complex response to intermediate dynamics), and the highly prized Adirondack Bearclaw Spruce (in the D #07).
• Organic Shellac and Nitrocellulose Finishes: Models like the D #07 use a traditional French-polished shellac finish. This extremely thin organic film seals the pores without stiffening the wood, leaving the instrument free to ‘breathe’ and vibrate. Other models adopt a gloss nitrocellulose finish, which ensures excellent mechanical protection without dampening the box’s native acoustic frequencies.
• Active Electronics: In the Ago E Special #03, acoustic lutherie merges with electric. The alder body with flamed maple top is coupled with a maple neck featuring a 9° radius and a gold wraparound fixed bridge. The signal is managed by a set of EMG active pickups—low-impedance transducers equipped with internal preamplification that eliminate background noise and offer a linear, compressed, and sharp output, excellent for live performances.

Recognition and direct experience

The prestige of Mamera Guitars has been consolidated in just a few years thanks to rigorous stylistic and identity coherence. The Genoese atelier welcomes clients by appointment and views the co-creation process as the only way to translate a musician’s tonal and dynamic needs into an instrument that can be a durable companion for life.