Giordano Semi Tributo '59 Ede's Custom

This guitar is the start of a story that has since led to Meister Ede Guitars becoming an official dealer for Giordano Guitars. It was Ede's first custom order with Nicholas Giordano, and it's the one that tipped the scales.

Nicholas Giordano builds his instruments on his own in Italy. He isn't only an exceptional craftsman with an almost alarming knowledge of vintage detail — he's also a very good guitarist himself. And you can tell: these aren't built for a display case, they're built for musicians. Sound and feel always come before looks with him, even though the looks are beyond question anyway.

This Semi Tributo '59 was made to Ede's own specification and is a one-off in this configuration. The basis is Giordano's take on the classic LP singlecut, built here as a semi-hollow with an f-hole. That changes the character fundamentally: the body moves differently, the core tone gets airier and noticeably livelier in the mids, and the instrument responds faster. Add a noticeably lower weight, which is never a disadvantage on a singlecut.

The aged goldtop is Giordano's speciality. The colour is exactly right, and it's the fine details that make the difference — the inlays made to look as though they've shrunk, the way they do on genuinely old instruments. You only spot things like that on second glance, and that's how you recognise someone who takes the craft seriously.

The Bigsby rounds it off stylistically and opens up an extra layer tonally. It's fitted with Sunbear pickups, which Nicholas specifies in detail.

A genuine one-off from Ede's Private Stock.