1968 Pietro Gallinotti SP/CH

Although relatively unknown outside of Italy, Pietro Gallinotti is one of the great pioneers in Italian guitar making history and within Italy - he is considered a national hero and treasure in the guitar community. His guitars rarely appear outside Italy, and this is our first in over a quarter century so a very rare find indeed, and it confirms that Gallinotti's work deserves to be recognized on the international stage. Of great interest to many, Gallinotti is also the current forerunner in the "who invented the cedar top" historical quest. Our friend and colleague, Italian luthier Mario Grimaldi is arguably the largest champion of Gallinotti - he's his biographer and after befriending Pietro's son Carlo (also Pietro's only student and assistant) he was also able to obtain many of Pietro's tools and materials as well as insight into Pietro's construction method. Mario tells us that the period in which this guitar was built was one of Gallinotti's happiest. After experimenting with models by Julian Gomez Ramirez, Francisco Simplicio, and Santos Hernandez in the 1940s and 1950s, he synthesized these influences and developed his own model in the 1960s, as is the case with this guitar from 1968.

This guitar is amazing condition - no cracks or repairs and very little wear. It is simply made with a ring rosette and modest decoration - only thin maple veneers for top/back/headstock purflings. The materials are beautiful including rarely seen flamed cherry from the Piedmont region of Italy for the back and sides (of interest, this is the same wood the Guadagninis also used for their Romantic guitars). The neck and headstock are of one single piece of wood (also cherry) with a mahogany veneer on the front of the head. For sound and playability, this is very reminiscent of the lightweight cypress guitars of Torres or of the makers from early the Madrid school - boasting a full, wholesome, robust, very natural and "woody" quality of tone which jumps right out of the guitar with the slightest touch. It has all the qualities of an old Spanish guitar - great dynamics, tonal colors, responsiveness and beauty of tone. It also has suprising volume and projection - plenty to satisfy a modern player in the 21st century. Overall this is a gem and must be what we can only imagine to be a top example from this maker's output. We hope to see more of these in the future, this is really quite an impressive "introduction" (to us) of this makers work.