Joe Yanuziello’s Gold Paisley Washi Paper Deluxenotches a win for both performance and looks.
BY DAVE HUNTER
COMBINE RARE ARTISTRY with the three-pronged homage intended by Joe Yanuziello’s Gold Paisley Washi Paper Deluxe guitar and the result is something not only breathtakingly beautiful but also strikingly different from just about everything that has come before.
All guitar makers inevitably borrow from those who have preceded them. But many fans of high-end luthiery find the strongest emotional and aesthetic connection made by instruments that turn these inspirations into something that’s nevertheless startlingly original. The Atomic Blue Electric One that this skilled Toronto-based maker sent me to check out nearly four years ago [see GP September 2020] was an acknowledged twist on the Silvertone/Harmony Stratotone designs of the ’50s and ’60s, rendered as a refined instrument with a broad and original sonic palette. The eclecticism goes even deeper with Yanuziello’s new Gold Paisley Washi Paper Deluxe, which presents a striking figure with its mashup of Telecaster, Les Paul, Guyatone and Harmony aesthetics.
Once in hand, however, this guitar sent my thoughts far from the pawnshop prizes that formed so much of its inspiration. It’s worth noting that Joe Yanuziello is an art college graduate who worked in custom cabinetry before segueing into guitar-making full-time in 1998. Prior to venturing into electric guitars, the Canadian luthier earned a stellar reputation for his handmade acoustic flattops and archtops, resonators, Hawaiian guitars and mandolins, and he spared not one iota of his finely honed chops when he started bolting pickups to his creations.
The Gold Paisley Washi Paper Deluxe deserves detailed examination, but the skin-deep beauty imbued by the striking top — Yanuziello’s take on the paisley wallpaper finish often seen on the Telecaster — will obviously catch most people’s attention first. The design comes courtesy of the Japanese washi paper that gives this model its name. Available in a range of colors, and often with elaborate decorations, washi is made by adding fibers from the inner bark and wood of a range of alternative trees and shrubs. This results in a material that’s tougher than conventional wood-pulp paper, making it ideal for many traditional Japanese crafts.
“A couple of years ago, I had the idea to find some paisley wallpaper and app
