Phil Petillo

Phillip J. Petillo (September 4, 1945 – August 13, 2010) was an American luthier. In the 1970s he built prototypes for Travis Bean and Gary Kramer for what would become Kramer Guitars.

Education

Petillo's educational training included a BS in Industrial Engineering from Columbia University (1967), a Master's in Industrial Science from LaSalle University (1969). He later received an honorary BS from Eastern Virginia Graduate School of Medicine (1984) and a PhD in Engineering Technology from LaSalle University (1990). he was an apprentice of John D'Angelico and also of D'Angelico's, Jimmy DiSerio.

Career

Aside from his guitar making, he was also the former Director of Engineering at Millenium Cell Inc. and designed and invented hydrogen fuel cells known as Hydrogen On Demand, hydrogen from sodium borohydride generators for DaimlerChrysler. Even after the developing company Millenium Cell closed in 2008, Petillo continued with the product.

Patent

In the guitar circle, Petillo is most famous as the inventor of the "Petillo Precision Fret." In a patent filed on June 22, 1976, the new fret was described as "a substantially T-shaped fret for a stringed instrument which has an elongated stem topped by a triangularly shaped cap." Petillo's triangular frets result in more precise intonation; however, not all guitarists are comfortable with their rigid feel. The Revolutionary Drumstick Patent of Petillo was sold to Ambico at the NAMM Convention in GA, 1977