Galanti Grand Prix

Back when Galanti was king, I was growing up in Italy, suddenly being into guitars in the early days of The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, etc. All I could afford at the time was the cheapest 1-pick-up Eko copy of a Strat! A Galanti was expensive, for professionals and widely used in orchestras and night-club bands in those days. It was intended to played through a squeaky-clean amp, with the occasional use of a Binson or Meazzi echo / delay machine.

Like other weird guitars, a Galanti can certainly sound interesting - providing a sound way different from the usual Fender / Gibson or supercharged guitar mould. It doesn't replace a Strat or a Les Paul by any means, but could well fit experimental bands

As I haven't had one, it's hard to comment... Suffice to say that Galanti guitars were meant to last forever, so bits & pieces should hold up to abuse

Galanti guitars were for pro players

Overall, it's a pro guitar with a weird sound - back then, pick-up / EQ buttons were seemingly all the rage in Italy, witness several Eko guitars designed along those lines. A Galanti was the #1 guitar brand choice for professional musicians (from night clubs all the way to radio / TV orchestras).

everything youll ever need. totally cool pushbuttons, two very bizarre metal-top pickups, vol/tone.

tremolo that probably works just fine, but the arm is long gone and i dont need it anyways... but looks totally cool, kinda hagstrom-looking.

redburst all over, even up the neck and on the (awesome) headstock.

well first of all, dont EVEN try to take this thing seriously until you take care of that awful tone-sucking circuit. just dont even try. rip that fucker out and pitch it in the trash where it belongs.

i found it in my buddy's garage and trying to play it with that doofus tone circuit was fucking impossible. it was either moaning and thudding around in the mud or screaming and squealing away like a demonic piglet. luckily i read about the circuit on here, stayed persistent and corrected it...

seriously folks, take the time to wire the pickups direct to the switches and youre in for a real treat.

ive owned a pretty wide spectrum of international guitars (american, english, italian, japanese, russian, swedish, etc) and somehow this thing manages to put the whoop-ass on every single one of them.

think of the twangle-jangle of a old jag with more meat on it's bones, only nowhere near as mass-produced sounding, with a sonic personality all it's own.

i plug this through distortion, fuzz, delay, and sometimes chorus. it reacts beautifully to all of them. no hum or feedback, just singing jangle and even-keel tone across the board.

undoubtedly the best neck ive ever played. substantial without being a log, good radius to the fretboard, and straight as a die despite it's age.

the finish isnt perfect, one or two hairline cracks, but its like 40 years old and is holding up WAY better than most finishes of the same age.

a breeze to adjust everything, good tuners (as skeptical as i was of the plastic buttons), nice roller bridge.

it has been the main guitar in my live setup since i found it wedged against the wall behind an amp in my buddy's garage 8 or 9 months ago. according to him it'd been sitting there for many months, maybe a year...

only gripe here is the brittle plastic used to make the switch buttons, one of them broke apart in it's socket - luckily it was only the mute button which is worthless anyway. pickguard sames to be made of similar plastic, the end near the output jack has cracked a couple times and had to be glued together... so i might end up making a new pickguard with a 3-way switch some years in the future.

the buttons are wicked cool, but they arent going to last another 10 years and im going to have this thing the rest of my life.

wouldnt need to even if i could.

for the love of god, if you find one, buy it, and love it madly.

its got two pick ups which hopefuuly can be fixed to get louder sounds. the guitar weighs a ton.

it sounds real bassy in one postion & tinny sounding on another.. how does one bypass the circuitry ?

action was high getting that fixed. the guitar was rough but feels nice to play.

have'nt tried it in a live setting yet. got to get it set up right first.

i'd give this a six right now but we'll see .

The features of this guitar have been well described by the other reviewers. Mine is a beautiful redburst, nicely finish-checked. It's the two pickup model, made in 1964. It's a lovely thing- aside from a bit of a hump where the neck meets the body, it's quality is evident in every aspect of it's construction.
Inspired by the pickup filter-bypass modification mentioned by several other reviewers, I had my guitar guy install a push/pull pot (in the tone knob) that switches between the original and the "bypassed" settings. He did a great job, and the guitar's appearance remains unchanged.
Docked a point for the not-perfect neck (on mine).

I use an old Twin, an old Ibanez 405 multi-effects unit, and a newish Danelectro Fabtone (a truly sick fuzztone). My band plays a blend of over-the-top melodic psychedelia and bad-trip noise, with occasional dips into 50's guitar styles.
The Galanti is inspiring for lots of deviant sounds. If I had to pick an adjective, I'd say...swampy. So far, I've prefered the "bypassed" pickup sounds when playing straight (w/out effects), which are rich and BIG- quite unique, in no way sparkly (ala a Fender), nor Gibson-ish, but a sound all it's own. Loud...Thick...Full... somewhat of a slight natural distortion or breakup... Clean, I don't use the original PU settings nearly as much- the "AM radio" bridge sound & fairly muddy neck sound- though the sounds are radically different, and certainly have their place. However, the original PU tones are amazing (and very musical) through fuzz- I prefer them over the richer, bypassed PU tones for grungier, crazed sounds. Truly frightening! The single tone control has a far larger eq range (really hifi!) than the old Fender I also use, and the pickups are absloutely noiseless (though microphonic at high volume with fuzz). Overall, a unique, personalty-filled sound. I can't use this guitar for everthing, but no other guitar can do what it can.

As described above, a beautiful, high quality guitar. It stays in tune, even after abusing the whammy bar, and is intonated perfectly. Action is good, set slightly high due to the neck joint hump- it's fun to twang and dig in. Again docked a point for the hump, which I can live with.

Solid. It's over forty years old, and parts, construction and the gorgeous finish are holding up beautifully. My only concern is- it's in such excellent shape I'd hate to see it get road worn! Docked a few points for "unqualified damage paranoia"!
Would and will use it live for songs that only it can do.

Galanti's guitar division is long gone (0). I have a great repair person (10)!

I've been playing for twenty-plus years, mostly bass, guitar for about the last eight. I have an Eko hollowbody bass, a Vox hollowbody bass, and use a Sunn 190b head and Avatar Neo 2x10 for bass and guitar amplification. I use a '65 Fender Musicmaster II, a Danelectro dc 12 string reissue (great sounding and inexpensive, btw), and a 1970's Epiphone FT 130 acoustic with a Lawrence p.u., with an early 70's Fender twin for guitar amplification. I like old things.

I love the look, feel and sound of the Galanti. I love that it in no way resembles the F/G sound. It has inspired unique tunes... if it were stolen... sigh, what a negative thought. I would hope the thief would write a few rockers...

The hardware on it very good as it all functins properly and well. The tremelo system is very cool, probably my favorite feature on the instrument. The push button selectors are interesting and work, althou in a quick switch they take a little time. I like the single volume and tone knobs. Not sure of the body constuction, other than its solid wood. The neck is maple with rosewood fretboard. The pickguard is a lightning bold like shape. The finish is a dark to redish orange color. The dots are quite large on the fretboard. Its definately a sixties intrument with some degree of creative darings.

The Galanti I possess has the two pickup configuration with the original split between bass and treble. It has a cool sound with the treble pickup, while the sound from the bass pickup can be considered a bit muddy, although interesting. I suppose this is not disimilar to that of the original Fenders that had this split configuration. I do like the sound from the treble pickup which is bright and clear, but isn't overpowering, which is ok as I use the guitar for home playing. My friend used it for one of the live performances and it sounded fine, but perhaps could have beused with a more powerful amp for greater projection. I feel in the right application the guitar's sound can be used as an asset.

I have no idea how the factory set this guitar up. My example was found on a curb on rubbish nite missing the bridge piece from the tremelo. I was able to locate one through an ebay buyer and when it was placed on and given a proper professional set up by Chris at The american Guitar museum it became an excellent player. Extremely comfortable and very very playable. When it was set up a set of heavy tens was put on it( heavier low strings than a normal set of tens) I had my american tele set up to play amazing, and I think that this guitar plays even better. The neck is narrow and easy to play. The overall construction quality of this instument is very solid with ateention to finishing seen on quality instruments.

I never played it live, but I had my friend play it live and it performed well. It stays in tune with most normal playing. If you play aggresively, it might be prone to come outa little, but many guitars will do that eventually. It seems to hold tune with use of the tremelo through moderate use(not that the remelo bar should be used to any great extent anyway). The finish on mine is in tact, with some cracking which is expected to some degree on a guitar that is probably forty years old or older. The overall quality of the parts is very good and would have no doubts in it holding up.

I have a very good luthier/repair shop in my area, so repairs are not an issue. Warrenty? Service? I believe they might still make accordians, don't think they have made guitars since the 60's. Really not an issue on a 40 yr old instrument. The only thing that is tough is finding specific parts as it is a rarity.

I like this guitar very much. I had never even heard of it(Galanti Guitars) before it was given to me by my uncle who found it in the trash without a bridge piece. It looked as if it was wall art for someone as it had a wire between the strap holders. It went from being something of an oddity to a part of my collection of "toys". I had thought of selling it after I realized it actually had some value, but those thoughts have passed since. If I played guitar in the live setting(I am a professional bass player first, guitar player second) I would use this for some certain sounds, esp in the studio. Overall its a great player and a curious instrument that is very cool and fun.

This seems to be a mid 60's Italian made Galanti Grand Prix. While it only has one volume and one tone knob, the Buttons are brilliant, and much easier to hit on the fly than something like jaguar style pickups.
The body is very high quality, and the bridge is extremely well made. Mine came with the original tremelo and it holds its tuning during heavy play far better than my jags. The neck is splendid. I have no idea what the guy below me is talking about...the neck is slimmer than a Gibson LP or SG easily. The finish on this is a sunburst and it's just flat out beautiful. Almost flawless, impressive for a guitar this age.
It has two pickups. The tuners are very high quality, they definately compare favorably to a fender of the same era. I'm knocking off a few points because it only has one volume and tone knob, but the buttons really are nice. I've never had any problems with hitting them while playing, and I play pretty hard and dramatic.

When I first got the guitar, I agree with the people on this site who say that the pickups are rather....odd. The circuit does indeed suck all of the high from the neck pickup and all of the low from the bridge pickup. This makes the neck pickup rather dull, and the bridge pickup rather overly twangy. It was also rather microphonic. However, I bypassed the circuit and wow...what a change. The pickups came alive with a very unique sound all their own. Like a firebird only with even more bite. Full and interesting tones, very versatile with pedals, and shockingly quiet as well. Much more quiet than a vintage fender! With the circuit I give this guitar a 4 for sound. With the circuit bypassed I give this guitar a solid 9 for its depth of sound and character.

After a quick setup this guitar was marvelous. very sweet action. Very easy to play. I found the guitar to be very well made, with quite meticulous attention to detail

As another user said...this guitar really is every bit as well made as a Gibson. I can tell you from experience that this guitar is extremely reliable in a live situation. I've still not broken a single string on this guitar. I shit you not. And as I said..I play really hard.

I paid top dollar for a mint specimen and it paid off. I knew I had to have it the second I picked it up. These are hard to find, but they are beautiful guitars that really set you apart from the crowd. I love this guitar. It's one of my all time favorites, and i've been playing going on 20 years.

Really standard set up....would be a one, but the buttons are a unique set up so i'll bump it up to 3 even though it's easy to bump your hand on the button and switch it inadvertantly. ANNOYING! The bridge is horrible. Goes out of tune really easy and the intonation is almost unfixable (and it will be out if this guitar is any example)
the body looks pretty cool which was why I bought it, but it's a pretty cheap feeling guitar. The tuners are horrible and should be replaced. the neck is really fat like an acoustic....ugh...

ok...the sound is totally...and completely...horrible. I play rock and I swear it's impossible to get a tone out of this thing that's not pure muddy garbage or absolute shrill metallic treble. bypass the circuit my ass...I tried that and it just got worse. Replace the pickups or forget about it.

horrible action with a thick neck. tuning pegs and saddles are horrible. buttons sometimes just pop out on their own muting the whole guitar.

There is no way this guitar should ever be played live.

Hopefully I can find some emo dude like the guy who posted below me to pawn this piece of crap on.

Early 60's, made in Italy. BEST features of any guitar i've ever owned, if not the most. The tone and volume pots aren't nearly as versatile as, say, my vintage Gibson SG, but as far as total sonic diversity, this thing blows away any other guitar i've ever heard if you have the right set up. This is a classy, high-end guitar, make no mistake. Way higher quality than a 60's fender, strait up. The tuning keys are brilliant and even after 50 years still work like new. Really nice looking as well, with heart shaped backs and mother pearl keys. The finish on mine is a dark sunburst that's absolutely beautiful. The most classy looking sunburst i've ever seen, and I normally don't like sunburst. Body looks great, like a better looking jaguar. The neck had a slight twist in it when I got it, I fixed that up and now it plays like a dream. The bridge and tremelo flat out blow a fender away. I mean not even close. Neck is comparable to an SG, only slightly shorter.

If you want to play AC/DC riffs or be the second comming of Stevie Ray Vaughn you're probably not going to be too impressed with the neck pickup, like these meatheads below me. But the bridge pickup sounds amazing, period. If you are into experimental music or punk (brainaic, melt banana, youth, etc) this thing is the mother fuckin holy grail. I don't know what else to say, the most unique tone of any guitar i've ever heard. Sqrew those old Japanese piece of shit guitars, i've had top of the line Teisco's like the spectrum and K-3L and they are just toys. This galanti is a real guitar, and if you are lucky enough to find one, you are in for a real treat. I am running the Galanti into a Zvex fuzz factory - 4ms tremelo - 4ms noise swash - effector 13 improbability drive - Fender Rivera Era Concert II, and the variety is endless. This is the best guitar i've ever owned hands down. Sold my gibsons and fenders the second I heard it so I could get some kapas. I'll buy every one of these I see, but I understand they're extremely rare.

Supreme craftsmanship, better than a 60's fender, hands down.

been playing 13 years. this is my main guitar now. I don't know how I would replace it. If I lost it I would probably go into a depression until I found another one. Best guitar i've ever owned. If you play metal, blues, emo, etc do not buy this guitar you will hate it. It sucks for all of those things. If Melt Banana and Brainiac are two of your favorite bands, get one of these as fast as possible.

Imported from Italy to the USA during the mid-sixties, this was a good-quality Strat take-off with its own ideas.

The body is heavy, deep and substantial and the neck slim with a well-finished, cambered fingerboard of what appears to be quality rose-wood. The pickups are humbuckers but the electronics comprise a little circuit board consisting of a couple of capacitors and a resistor that has the effect of sucking all the low end out of the bridge pickup, so it's very bright, and taking all the high-end out of the neck pickup, so it's very dull. Why did they do this? You'll notice other reviews of this guitar mentioning the weird, contrasting sounds of the pickups, to the point of someone saying they were planning on changing them. No need! Just bypass the crazy circuit board and the pickups sound great! The bridge one, especially, has quite a unique sound. Pickup selection is via a bank of spring-loaded switches, which had initially completely seized up on my 'forty-years-in-the-attic' example. The switching unit had to be completely dismantled and freed-up before operating properly again.

The bridge is a heavy-duty style of tune-a-matic, very well-made and with a high degree of potential adjustment. It has roller saddles. The trem is similar to that found on a Jazzmaster, but the outside strings tend to hit the bridge at quite an angle and some 'sitaring' is noticeable on the B and high E strings. The effect of this on the sound could be considered either good or bad, depending upon one's point of view. A bonus is that the trem spring has a tension adjuster to cope with different string gauges, which is thoughtful.

The tuners are high quality units with attractive, heart-shaped rear covers. They appear to be identical to those on a '60's Burns Vibra-Artist I have.

The guitar came with a good, fitted case of a standard equal to that of a Fender, for example.

As previously mentioned, the sound of this guitar as supplied was somewhat compromised by some strange circuitry that didn't do its pickups any favours. Eliminating this circuitry presented a full, loud and rich tone, fairly unique in tonal quality, especially on the bridge pickup. An approximate comparison might be made with P90s, DeArmond Dynasonics or mini-humbuckers. The guitar may look like Strat-clone but it sure-as-hell doesn't sound like it! It's big!

This guitar was obviously made with care and attention and with a quality remit in evidence. It's no European cheapie, by any means. Everything about The Galanti is solid, well-built and made to last. Having had a little TLC, I think my Grand-Prix is as good, performance-wise as it was forty years ago - probably even better now the pickups can to their thing unhindered. The pickup-selector switching needed considerable attention but things do tend to fall foul of decades of nothing-happening so I think that's forgivable. This guitar has, for me, that indefinable something that makes you love it!

The Galanti looks to be as durable as a Strat - it's built to last. The finish on mine is excellent but about as age-chequered as it's possible to get, which is nice. I would say (without actual experience so far) that it would be highly reliable in a gigging situation.

They're long gone, sadly!

I've been playing since I was a kid and I'm now an old fart! I probably should be a far better player than I am considering the time scale involved. I have a collection of nearly sixty guitars, some valuable, some not. But I know what I like!

I've been looking for a Galanti Grand Prix for some time and I'm very happy that one finally came up. It lived up to all expectations, especially once it had been given a couple of small tweaks. As I mentioned earlier, it has that indefinable, lovable quality. You just want to pick it up - you know what I mean!

I would estimate my 3 p/u Grand Prix to be one of the later models. There was a brief article in Vintage Guitar (Feb. '03) about Galanti, but still there isn't much to be said about the history. If you're reading this, then you know about the style, shape, feel and crazy good looks of this axe. The frets are quick and the action was built for both powerchord jamming and intricate jazz licks.The whammy bar is nifty, but tends to through the tuning for a loop.

The sound is what got me sold though, it has this dynamic semi-hollow sound when shifted into 2nd and a light drive when in 1st. This guitar deserves to be played loud and with a nice amount of fuzz to give it that Dinosaur Jr vibe.

When I purchased the Grand Prix from a out of the way pawn shop, there wasn't a scratch or dent in it. I took it right home, cleaned off the pricetag sticker residue and gave the dust and grime a new shine. My exgirlfriend accidentally knocked it off a stand one night and my heart broke more than when we broke up. A little dent is all it suffered. As for the finish and aging, theres not much to be found. It even came with one of those vintage leather thin straps.

Right now, with a couple of telecasters being my primary guitars, I don't take the Galanti out for fear of another accident occurring. I would feel confident breaking this out for a song or two at a gig though, but gotta watch that tuning now and again...

Where the hell can people find more information about Galanti???

If you know anything about this axe or want to know more, feel free to email me. Does anyone have a case that would fit this weird thing?