Chartwell Guitar

2011 Gioachino Giussani csa rosewood and cedar

Woods: straight grained Brazilian rosewood with sapwood highlights back and sides and western red cedar top. Mahogany neck. Polyurethane finish throughout.

Specs: 650mm scale, 53mm nut, 43mm string spacing at nut and 57mm at saddle.  4mm string height at 12th fret bass string. Lots of saddle available for future adjustment. Raised fingerboard, unique string tie bridge, ornate rosette and purfling. Hiscox case.

Condition: excellent. Due to the poly finish the guitar is largely free of nail marks. There is one tiny dent on the top bout, treble side, and a few minor nail marks beside the neck on the treble side. Otherwise clean. No structural issues…seemingly the original setup.

Comment: this being the first Giussani guitar in the shop, I had high expectations based on testimony and sound clips of other guitars of his. I am more than impressed by the amount of energy this instrument possesses. Just tuning up the trebles let me know they are bright, loud, and distinctive. They nearly pop when pressed. I am reminded of Ian Kneipp’s lattice guitars, in the Smallman style, and the unusually heavy set of timbers here is the link. Gioachino uses seven light fan braces, running not in a radial pattern but with the grain, with a transverse brace in the area of the bridge. Anyone liking a naturally round, wet intonation will love this guitar, which also resembles the Aussies Price, Lissarrague, and Moyes. So, though it is not a lattice guitar, it has the power and sustain of a lattice without the nasal quality some possess.

The woods used are remarkable. Of course, the red cedar set is unlike any I’ve seen–perhaps a sinker log gives the coloration unlike conventional cedar. His set of Brazilian on the back is lovely, with a slightly bowed grain pattern that swells outwards in the middle and works back at the butt. Such sets are just not available today and I’d venture this one is well aged. In examining the rosette, I cannot tell what the rectangular inlays that stand out so dramatically are made of.

Overall a concert level guitar in its prime. And very easy to play. To quote an Edgar Allen Poe story regarding a celestial lyre, “touch it and it resounds.”