Giannini AWS740

This guitar was made in 1976 in Brazil. I purchased it new in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in early 1979 when I lived there. It was my main guitar for years, although as I indicate below, it is largely retired now.

It is clearly patterned after a Martin dreadnought. The body sides and back are made of "Jacaranda da Bahia," which is known in the English-speaking world as Brazilian Rosewood. It appears to be laminated wood. The top is described as "Swedish Pine," although it looks like a darker form of cedar, also laminated. The neck appears to be mahogany, and has a knot in the wood on the back of the neck, near the head. The fingerboard, headstock veneer, and the original bridge are also Brazilian Rosewood. I have been told by a luthier that the cost of the materials used in this guitar would be at least $3,000 in the U.S. Brazilian rosewood is a beautiful wood, but is presently designated as an endangered species, and new stock is not available for guitar construction. That which is used today is culled from private, already harvested stocks in the possession of various manufacturers, I understand.

The soundboard appears to have a classic x-bracing. Overall the guitar is quite sturdy?it has been subjected to a considerable amount of abuse, travel, and insane changes in climate, and has stood up surprisingly well. The workmanship is not terribly impressive, but it was competently put together.

The finish is typical gloss finish, but was obviously applied in a less-than-climate-controlled environment, as it is milky, which detracts from the beautiful wood?s appearance. The saddle and nut appear to be carved from bone.

The tuners are of the chromed, sealed variety, but are not impressive, either. I have had some problems with them over the years.

This gets an 8. The materials are a 10, but the workmanship detracts from it.

I used this guitar for just about any acoustic style and it suited it fine. Although not particularly loud, it has a very well-defined, bright and articulate tone which fits well in with other acoustic instruments, especially if played with other acoustics. On the other hand, in certain settings, the the sound is a bit thin for an acoustic, especially if you are looking for a more traditional, full-bodied dreadnought tone.

This is a mixed bag as well. On the negative side, the workmanship also detracts a bit in this department, with the fit and finish getting relatively low marks. There are numerous small flaws in the fit and finish throughout the guitar, but almost none affect the playability. However, this guitar has always had pretty serious intonation problems, not improved with a new bridge (see below).

The action has always been fantastic. Most people who have played my guitar were impressed with the action and playability, which is often much better than most electric guitars. A wonderful fingerstyle guitar.

As I stated above, the guitar has withstood a tremendous amount of punishment over its life. One of the worst things you can subject an acoustic to is wildly varying climatic changes. This guitar was birthed in a semi-humid environment, lived for various years in a humid, sub-tropical environment, then was schlepped around an extremely dry environment with extremes of heat and cold (Texas) and then more humidity, with extremes of heat and cold (Pennsylvania and Delaware). Considering this, it has survived the years reasonably well, but...

...this is where it gets sad. About 1985, the original rosewood bridge cracked, was replaced with an ebony bridge, and since the mid-1990?s, the top has started delaminating. This has affected its playability and intonation. Although a switch to lighter strings was necessitated by this, it hasn?t reversed the decline. At this point, this guitar is approaching non-serviceable status. I am keeping it, but it can no longer be depended on regularly, and the work needed to effect all the repairs is probably not worth the cost.

I may set this guitar up for slide work by raising the bridge/saddle, but it wouldn?t survive using heavier strings, and who wants to listen to acoustic slide with spider-web strings?

I don?t believe this guitar has ever had a warranty, and I have never even approached the Giannini company.

I have already replaced this guitar as an everyday instrument by a 2001 Larrivee D-03 Mahogany Standard, and it will likely just be a ?looker? in my living room.
I have played for almost 25 years, I have a 2001 Fender American Double Fat Strat Hard Tail and the afore-mentioned Larrivee. I bought the Giannini as my first ?real? guitar, and I obviously didn?t know what I was looking for at the time. I had learned and played on nylon-string classicals, and I had wanted a ?real? steel-string acoustic, which suited the music I play (folk, blues, country, and classic rock). I lucked out on the action/playability, since I was able to avoid the beginner?s burden of bleeding fingers driving me away from playing.

If I can find a relatively cost-effective way to completely re-do this instrument, I probably would, but then true workmanship and lutherie cannot be cheaply bought, no?

Peace to all.