Giannini

Giannini is a Brazilian musical-instrument manufacturing company whose principal identity is associated with guitars and other string instruments. The company was founded in 1900 by Tranquillo Giannini, an Italian immigrant and luthier. Its early industrial plant was located on Avenida São João in São Paulo, where the business developed from a craft-based instrument tradition into a larger manufacturing operation. The company’s portfolio includes electric guitars, steel-string acoustic guitars, nylon-string classical guitars, and bass guitars. It also produces instruments connected with Brazilian and Latin American musical traditions, including craviolas, cavaquinhos, viola caipiras, and mandolins. Its broader string-instrument range includes violins, cellos, and double basses, along with strings and selected accessories such as tuners. Reference material also identifies recorder models in the company’s catalog. Giannini’s most distinctive instrument is the craviola, a guitar form developed with Brazilian musician Paulinho Nogueira. The instrument is recognized for its unusual body shape and characteristic tonal profile. Its international visibility increased when Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page used a 12-string Giannini craviola during performances in the early 1970s, especially in connection with “Tangerine.” Giannini reportedly presented Page with six-string and 12-string instruments, with the latter made at his request. This association gave the company a notable place in popular-music instrument history, although Giannini’s product range extends well beyond the craviola. The company later developed an electric craviola fitted with Wilkinson pickups. Its switching arrangement was designed to provide several pickup and coil configurations, giving the instrument a broader range of electric tones than a purely acoustic model. Giannini’s electric-guitar catalog has also included lines such as G-100, G-101, G-102, SuperSonic, Stratosonic, Telesonic, Diamond, Gemini, and Craviola variants. Bass offerings have included GB-series models. Giannini’s present manufacturing base is in Salto, in the state of São Paulo, not far from the city of São Paulo. The company continues to combine conventional guitar categories with instruments rooted in Brazilian musical culture and with bowed-string production. Its positioning is therefore broader than that of a specialist electric-guitar brand: it is a Brazilian instrument maker spanning mass-market and culturally distinctive stringed instruments, accessories, and replacement strings. Public reference material does not establish a current corporate parent, ownership structure, executive roster, listing status, or detailed geographic sales footprint.

Giannini was established in 1900 by Tranquillo Giannini, an Italian immigrant whose luthier skills formed the foundation of the business. The company’s first industrial plant stood on Avenida São João in São Paulo. This early location reflects the company’s development within Brazil’s principal urban and commercial center, while its products retained a strong connection to hand-built string-instrument traditions. Over time, Giannini expanded beyond a narrow guitar-making role. Its catalog came to include electric, steel-string acoustic, and nylon-string guitars, as well as basses. The company also produced instruments associated with Brazilian musical practice, including cavaquinhos, viola caipiras, mandolins, and craviolas. In addition, the range extended to bowed instruments such as violins, cellos, and double basses, together with strings for those instruments and selected accessories. The craviola became the company’s clearest distinctive contribution. Developed with Brazilian musician Paulinho Nogueira, it used an unusual body design intended to create a recognizable visual and sonic identity. The instrument’s reputation grew beyond Brazil after Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page used a 12-string Giannini craviola during the band’s performances from September 1971 to June 1972. It was particularly associated with performances of “Tangerine,” which had also been recorded using the instrument. Giannini reportedly gave Page two craviolas, one six-string and one 12-string made at his request, during a visit in Rio de Janeiro. The association connected the Brazilian manufacturer with one of the most visible guitarists of the period. Giannini subsequently produced an electric form of the craviola using Wilkinson pickups. The model’s controls allowed multiple pickup and coil combinations, including single-coil and humbucker-style configurations, alongside conventional pickup selection. This adaptation demonstrated the company’s effort to apply its distinctive acoustic design to amplified music. The company’s later catalog included a range of electric-guitar families, including SuperSonic, Stratosonic, Telesonic, Diamond, Gemini, and numbered G-series models. Its bass catalog included GB-series instruments. Giannini also continued offering traditional and regional instruments, such as cavaquinhos, viola caipiras, mandolins, and craviolas, rather than becoming solely an electric-guitar producer. Giannini’s current plant is located in Salto, in São Paulo state, near the metropolitan area of São Paulo. Reference material describes ongoing production of nylon- and steel-string guitars, craviolas, viola caipiras, cavaquinhos, mandolins, violins, electric guitars, basses, strings, and accessories. The available material does not document a current owner, parent group, named executive team, financial results, public listing, or detailed international distribution structure.

• 1972

  End of the documented Led Zeppelin craviola period

  [1]Giannini (guitar company)en.wikipedia.org

  The reference account identifies June 1972 as the end of the period in which Page used the 12-string craviola prominently in Led Zeppelin performances.

• 1971

  Jimmy Page begins using a Giannini craviola

  [1]Giannini (guitar company)en.wikipedia.org

  From September 1971, Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page used a 12-string Giannini craviola in performances, helping bring the distinctive Brazilian instrument to a wider international audience.

• 1900

  Company founded

  [1]Giannini (guitar company)en.wikipedia.org

  Tranquillo Giannini founded the instrument company in Brazil. Its first industrial plant was located on Avenida São João in São Paulo.

• Manufacturing base moves to Salto

  [1]Giannini (guitar company)en.wikipedia.org

  Giannini’s plant is currently located in Salto, São Paulo state, where the company manufactures guitars, regional Brazilian instruments, bowed instruments, strings, and accessories.

A Brazilian musical-instrument manufacturer combining mainstream guitar and bass categories with Brazilian string instruments, bowed instruments, accessories, and strings. Its most distinctive brand association is the craviola, whose profile gained international recognition through Jimmy Page’s use of a 12-string model.

• Acoustic string instrument

  Craviola

  The craviola is Giannini’s signature instrument, developed with Brazilian musician Paulinho Nogueira. Its distinctive body shape and sound separate it from conventional guitar designs. Six-string and 12-string versions are associated with the company, and the instrument gained international recognition after Jimmy Page used a 12-string model with Led Zeppelin. Giannini also produced an electric craviola variant with Wilkinson pickups and extensive switching options.

• Electric guitars

  Electric guitars

  Giannini’s electric-guitar range includes numbered G-series models and families identified in catalog material as SuperSonic, Stratosonic, Telesonic, Diamond, and Gemini. These lines cover different body styles and configurations within the company’s broader guitar portfolio. The reference material does not provide complete specifications, pricing, or production dates for each model.

• Acoustic guitars

  Acoustic and classical guitars

  Giannini manufactures both steel-string acoustic guitars and nylon-string guitars. These products represent the company’s core conventional guitar offering and sit alongside its more regionally distinctive instruments. Available reference material does not specify the complete current model range or individual launch dates.

• Bass guitars

  Bass guitars

  The company produces electric basses, including models identified in reference material as GB-100, GB-200 A, and GB-205 A. They extend Giannini’s amplified-instrument range beyond six-string guitars. Detailed specifications and current availability for individual models are not established by the supplied sources.

• Traditional string instruments

  Brazilian and other string instruments

  Giannini’s catalog includes cavaquinhos, viola caipiras, mandolins, and other instruments connected with Brazilian and regional musical traditions. This part of the portfolio is important to the company’s identity because it complements its standard acoustic, electric, and bass guitars with instruments serving distinct local performance practices.

• Bowed string instruments

  Bowed instruments

  The company also manufactures violins, cellos, and double basses. These instruments broaden Giannini’s activities from plucked and amplified guitars into orchestral and ensemble string instruments. The supplied material does not identify specific current models or production volumes.

• Instrument accessories

  Strings and accessories

  Giannini produces strings for guitars and other string instruments and offers selected accessories, including guitar tuners. These products support the company’s instrument business and provide consumable or ancillary items for musicians.

1. 1Giannini (guitar company)en.wikipedia.org
2. 2Giannini official websitegiannini.it