Thorell Gianina

Now lets talk about my archtop nylon string guitar made by master builder Ryan Thorell out of Logan, Utah. Yes, you heard right an archtop nylon string guitar made out of sitka spruce carved top with a carved maple back and sides and a maple neck. 1 7/8" wide at the nut and 25 1/2" scale. 16" lower bout with a wonderful cutaway. Pick up the world pickup under saddle. I can switch between a bone saddle or ebony, the bone is a little brighter. The saddle is adjustable. Neck is narrower than most at 1 7/8" and the neck is very thin thickness wise. The neck was made out of an 100 year old pinball machine from his grandfather. Another pure creation of love and tone woods all put together in a beautiful box that makes music that sings to the Gods. This guitar was made in 06 and was my first of 4 guitars bought from Ryan Thorell. Ebony fretboard with maple binding, maple side markers. Custom Ebony tailpiece to accomodate tying for classical strings. Lafronconi tailpiece design with a custom adjustable bridge.

If you want a real mellow sound with just a little bit when you want to dig in this is it. Perfect for a solo jazz gig. The sound fills the room and I seem to have this grin that just won't go away. This guitar has alot of soul and has a very unique voice over many others. A real joy to play and listen. Words can't describe it, you gotta hear it...

Action is spot on, very low for a classical. Smooth, but yet you can really dig in if needed. The woods are perfectly bookmatched with flamed maple back and sides. The finish is just gorgeous, I prefer natural finishes especially when the wood selection is this good. WOW is all I can say.

Now that this guitar is 2 years old I can say in all honesty that this is a player. Deosn't matter if your gigging or in a studio this guitar will perform flawlessly every time. I haven't traveled with this one much, this is my home guitar and had it out only a few times but she is as good as the first day I got her. The oval soundhole really makes this nylon string archtop a unique instrument with no brothers or sisters to even compare. I have a S25J Lowden nylon string guitar but this one is so different and unique, very clear jazz tone with no competition. Absolutely amazing...

All of Ryan Thorell's guitars have a lifetime warranty except for abusive habits. This particular guitar since it was a prototype developed a very small crack in the custom tailpiece which incorporated a unique and never been done design that had a solid ebony knuckle attached to the guitar end pine which then came up and into the tailpiece. The crack was at that knuckle joint and I actually played it for a few months that way and the crack never got any bigger. Ryan asked me to send it back for a repair and I said no because I didn't want to be without her. I finally gave in and in 2 weeks I had her back and just made a brand new beefier design tailpiece. This tailpiece is a work of art all on it's own. I was featured in Just Jazz Guitar magazine or you can see it on Ryans website at www.thorellguitars.com. His customer service is impeccable and he takes it personally, but because he is so innovative on his new guitar designs, he really stands by his instruments and he fixes them and out they go. He builds alot of guitars that are his mainstay and these guitars are perfect but when you make a new instrument with unique designs you are bound to have something that needs a little tweeking.

Player and instructor for over 30 years. Mostly solo jazz guitar. I have 3 other Thorell guitars. See my write up on the Legato model he made for me as a prototype which is an steel string archtop. Ryan's guitars are simply amazing and I compare them to Benedetto's, Guild, Buscarino, Sadowsky and others. All of these guitars are very nice but if you want something that is unique in both design and sound, well this is where I go. Please visit Ryan's site at www.thorellguitars.com and see for yourself or email me and I'll tell you the rest of the story.