Giannini GWNC5 Savio

2002. Hardcrafted guitar featuring a solid spruce top, solid rosewood sides, ebony fingerboard with nickel/silver alloy frets, scale length 650mm, five piece cedar/rosewood neck w/ adjustable truss rod, black and gold plated Dutch tuning machine heads with pearled buttons, finely detailed inlaid rosette, dark rosewood bridge. It comes with a Giannini hard case.

The current list price (January 2006) is $2,129.90. Online discount stores such as Music123 are selling it for $1,597. I managed to get mine for about $1000 in Brazil.

This is one of Gianinni's top models and is completely different from their cheaper models. The nearest comparable model is the GWNC6 which differs from this one in that it has a cedar top instead of spruce. The spruce give it a clearer and brighter sound with a tighter yet rich bass.

Overall the guitar is not as loud as my other Guitar (Ramirez 2E) but is plenty loud. However, the sound is where this guitar really scores. It is very balanced from the bass to the treble through all strings. This makes it ideal for recording and studio work. It's almost impossible not to get a good sound. There is no muddling of notes - you can hear all the individual notes clearly separated. It's tone is definitely professional grade. It's just a beautiful guitar to hear and play.

I play classical and jazz (Byrd style) and this guitar is almost purpose built for this.

The main reason for me buying a Brazillian guitar was really that you can get a professional grade sound for almost half the cost of an equivalent Spanish guitar. And if you want a Brazillian guitar then Giannini are simply the best guitars made in Brazil. Lets face it, Toquinho plays Giannini guitars, and if it's good enough for him...

The set-up was very good. There was no buzzing or bad notes and played very evenly along the fretboard. This is guitar is definitey easier to play than the 2E. The finish was good too although not as good as the Ramirez. This is the downside of buying Brazilian. Spanish concert guitars generally have better finish (but then cost 2/3 times as much). This guitar has been used regularly since I bought it and it has required no adjustment whatsoever. It stays in tune and the finish has held up very well. I'm knocking a couple of points off here because this is supposed to be a highend model and I think highend Spanish guitars have a better finish.

So far so good. I can't see why this guitar wouldn't last with the proper care. It's much lighter than the 2E but it still feels very solid.

Never had to deal with them but I did try to contact them when I was buying the guitar and I never got an answer.

I've been playing for about 25 years and have a number of Guitars. This one has become my favorite classical for 2 simple reasons - it is possibly the easiest classical to play (you can play it for hours and not get sore hands/fingers) - and it has an amazing sound. The first point is helped by the 5 piece neck that means it can be quite thin but still be very strong. The second point is due to the lovely selection of solid woods used - spruce/rosewood/ebony.

If I found myself in Brazil again I'd certainly get another Giannini. You simply can't get a highend solid wood classical that looks, sounds and plays as good for the same price.