Based in the Motor Valley region of Northern Italy, 29-year-old Nicolas Giordano has been building guitars professionally for five years, although he made his first instrument when he was 15.
“I’m surrounded by car manufacturers – Ferrari, Lamborghini and so on. It’s been like that since the ’30s, so there’s a big history of manufacturing here. It’s where I’m from as well.
“I’ve always been passionate and at times obsessed by vintage guitars,” he continues. “I wanted to be able to replicate all the details and the feel of vintage guitars. I did start by building replicas. I think that’s quite common for people building vintage-inspired guitars because, at first; you really have to understand the history behind you.
“There is no point in changing a formula unless you’ve found what’s not working. Les Pauls are, of course, perfect guitars – there is no need to change anything because they made history that way. But from my own perspective and point of view, I wanted to make a few changes, but those are based on aesthetics. Basically, a Tributo is a vintage Les Paul with a different shape. I wanted to have my own recipe, you know?
“Of the Tributo you have there, which I built in 2023, all the specs have been taken from a ’59 – the neck shape, the thickness of the body, the carve of the maple top, the scale length. So let’s say it’s based on a ’57 to 1960 Les Paul.”
Shape aside, the illusion of age is remarkable and it’s not just the worn and cracked nitrocellulose finish.
“I mix my own unplasticised lacquer – a component of the lacquer that keeps it elastic and can follow the wood movement without actually cracking – and you get, in my opinion, those beautiful lines.
“That’s what I wanted to recreate. It took a lot of research, a lot of trial and error, and I’m still trying new things in order to get the result I’m looking for. It is a learning process.”
With one assistant, Nicolas builds around 50 instruments a year, in numerous styles including his latest Veloce, with a wait time of around eight to 10 months.
“The good thing about not building replicas is that I’m free to use any kind of wood I want to,” says Nicolas. “Obviously being inspired by Gibsons from the ’50s, I stick to mahogany. But for the bodies of my guitars, instead of South American mahogany, which was used in the ’50s, I use African mahogany – which is not actually a mahogany.
“It tends to be lighter and there is more choice because it’s more abundant than South American mahogany, which I do use for my necks. Also, it tends to be more mid-pronounced, sound-wise, which helps it stand out in a mix.”
Nicolas uses Stuart Robson’s Sunbear pickups exclusively. The 58 Archive SB-PAF humbucker set graces this Tributo, inspired by “friend and Guitarist magazine contributor Bob Wootton’s own wonderful ’Burst! [The bridge pickup] is one of the best I’ve played,” says Stuart.
Its replica is spec’d with an Alnico II magnet and has a DCR of approximately 8.1kohms: “Turns per layer, coil build/shape, internal coil start lengths, coil offsets, low-carbon steel parts and so on are all taken into account,” he adds. The neck pickup uses Alnico III with a DCR closer to 7.4k
At 3.67kg (8.1lbs), this Tributo is a beautiful weight with not only a big neck but a big rich voice, too, that instantly recalls the guitars it’s based on.
The bridge pickup sounds almost underwound and seems the better for it, while the neck humbucker is very well matched, output-wise, with that typical tonal contrast that’s so much a part of the classic recipe. Vintage values with a unique style? Here’s a maker on the rise.
- Find out more at Giordano Custom Guitars
- This article first appeared in Guitarist. Subscribe and save.
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