Giuseppe Galliano tenor guitar

[Martin Jonas]

Has anybody come across new tenor guitars with a label by Giuseppe Galliano, supposedly in Cremona? There is a 2008-built tenor guitar on Ebay UK here and I'm thinking of throwing a bid at it. I'm a bit puzzled, though: this does look like a Chinese-made instrument and the seller says he bought it new from the US for $279, which again would point very strongly towards a factory-made instrument rather than an Italian luthier. However, I have found absolutely nothing on the web for that maker's name or the "TGR. SG. Special" headstock (which presumably simply stands for "tenor guitar"). Stella/Harmony used to make classical guitars under the name "Galiano" or "Angelico Galiano" with a misleading all-Italian label, but they used a different spelling of the surname as well as a different first name.

Any thoughts? Factory throwaway or worth a punt?

Martin

[delsbrother]

I believe Mike Soares made some guitars specifically for the Tenor Guitar Registry (TGR) awhile back. This looks like one of those. I wasn't aware there were any funky labels applied - I always thought they were marketed under the Soares'y name.

[Jim Garber]

IMHO, factory throwaway. Save your money for a real one.

[MikeEdgerton]

Galiano was a brand name used by Oscar Schmidt in the 30's as well as the name of a luthier in NYC in the same time period. In some book someplace I have a story related to "The italians" that worked at Schmidt during that period. The guitars weren't classical, they were parlor guitars as well as auditorium sized guitars.

[Jim Garber]

I think Delsbrother hit is on the nose. Here is another tenor sold by Soares. And it has the TGR on the headstock.

Mike... no relation to the Oscar Schmidt Galliano. I wonder about the label tho.

[delsbrother]

Searched the TGR - the "SG" stands for "Soares'y Guitars". Technically, the "TGR" was supposed to be for "Tenor Guitar, Right handed" - though it was meant to be a nod to the Registry.

[MikeEdgerton]

Mike... no relation to the Oscar Schmidt Galliano. I wonder about the label tho.

I knew that Jim, just expanding on the information on the original post.

[Martin Jonas]

Thanks for the replies. The Soares'y link posted by Jim is conclusive: that's the same instrument with a different finish. As for the Galliano label, it looks to me that a very similar label is visible on the Soares'y auction. No idea why Mike Soares would want to use that label -- his own name probably has more weight and credibility in informed circles than a fantasy Italian.

Anyway, the Soares description says its all-ply all of the time, so I'll stay well away from it.

Thanks again to all!

Martin

[barney 59]

I read once that Galliano was more or less a consortium of Schmidt luthiers that were basically moonlighting. That there actually was no Galliano. I've never confirmed that but it's possible that underpaid workers would attempt to do their own work and set up their own shop but keep the day job..Galliano guitars are really similar to Schmidt guitars from that period. Some of their concert sized guitars with the long scale necks were pretty good.
It seems that a lot of those old names that were abandoned are being recycled and if they are truly abandoned they are probably free .JB Player and Recording King have come out pretty recently. Some like Washburn try to pretend and advertise that there is some continuity and connection between them and the original company. We are in a "retro" craze. Some kind of a nostalgia thing.Modern stuff with an old look. Maybe Soares thinks that old names sell.--maybe they do!

[MikeEdgerton]

They weren't moonlighting, it was a Schmidt brand name.

[MattAL]

I got that same model off ebay. They are handmade guitars in Italy. here's his website: http://www.soaresyguitars.com/ I having some trouble with mine right now though. The strings are hitting the frets real bad. Mike said I should put heavy gauge strings on to bend the neck back. Anybody got any Ideas?