~ Delm Guitars ~

Resourcefulness is what Michael De Luca's father taught him throughout his life. Almost every tool he used in every day life was made with his hands. Those hands had done a lot of work.

By the age of nine, Michael's curiosity for how things work and for creating was already a big part of his life. Valve radios and televisions, electricity, drawing, plasticine, wood, science and chemistry were like a magnet to him as he was growing up.

A typical day for Michael involved finding old radios and televisions and trying to fix them, making simple electrical circuits, making toys from wood, drawing, moulding figures from plasticine and experimenting with chemistry. As the years went by, his love for making things grew and grew. During his high school years he learned to play the guitar, studied art, science, metal-craft and woodwork and had made amplifiers, radios, a motorised mini-bike, jewellery, portrait sketches, paintings and restored vintage radios that he gave away to his friends.

By the time he was at an age to work for a living, Michael's interest in guitars, hands-on crafts and artwork was still a major aspect in his day-to-day life. He played guitar in a band for a few years with his homemade 100W amp, which helped pay the bills until he took up electronics engineering studies at a mature age. This prepared him for a long career in a specialised electronics environment filled with creative people and for Michael it was like a dream come true. And yet, his desire to create was still not satisfied.

Michael took on making replica models of old ships in his spare time, all built from plans using exotic timbers. He also made occasional furniture but never imagined that years later he would find the ultimate satisfaction of combining all his experiences and craft into one: design, art, woodwork, jewellery, electronics and the guitar. If it hadn’t been for his eldest daughter buying him a book on making guitars for a birthday gift years ago, his youngest daughter enrolling him in the Guild of American Luthiers and the continuing support of his wife, Michael would never have discovered the immense passion and satisfaction that creating musical instruments would bring into his life.

Today, when Michael De Luca of Delm Guitars crafts an instrument it is with devotion and purpose. For Michael, it is a personal experience that can only be described as passion. Each guitar has a history, a personality and a soul that unites with the player’s soul and passion and is expressed as a musical voice.

The devotion to create a unique character in each instrument comes from Michael's family. That’s why the DELM logo is made up of the first initials of Michael's wife and daughters' names and each of the models are named after those that have great meaning in his life.

"To create a guitar that inspires people - to do that is my inspiration. A guitar that is you, hand made for you that inspires you to perfection." - Michael De Luca