Matthew John Bascetta has been making stringed instruments since 1999.  Originally from the USA, he learned to make  dulcimers while working for Folkcraft Instruments in his home town of Winsted, Connecticut.  He then studied acoustic guitar making with Ivon Schmukler, master guitar maker and repairer in Northampton, Massachusetts  He came the UK to study classical guitar and violin construction at the Leeds College of Music, where he learned from Bill Dinsdale and Kevin Wilkes.  After completing college he has moved to the Wirral and now makes and repairs stringed instruments from his shop in Spital.  He specialises in steel-string guitars, dulcimers, and the mandolin family of instruments.