The Giannini Sevilha is an amazing study in functional asymmetry.

"The Giannini Sevilha is made in Brazil where, believe it or not, the 7-string guitar is the norm; that must be taken into account. One would assume that luthiers there are aware of their clientele's preferences."

Materials and Craft
The Giannini Sevilha 7-String Classic Guitar is an economic entry-level guitar with some very attractive features. Any negative comments in this review must be tempered by the fact that this guitar is priced at under $300.00. At that price, it's frankly amazing to see a solid red cedar top and strikingly beautiful pau-ferro/morado back and sides. The neck is made of cedar with a rosewood fretboard. The nut width is 60 mm (2 3/8") and the scale length is 25 9/16". The string centers are slightly closer together at the nut than on a standard 6-string classic guitar, bringing a 7-string barré within the realm of possibility.

Close-grained cedar is used for the soundboard. Notice how the sides join the neck unevenly at the 12th fret.

While the materials and finish of the Giannini Sevilha are first rate, the craftsmanship gets a B+ with wood filler clearly visible at the neck joint and a sheet of paper easily slips beneath one edge of the bridge saddle. I didn't realize how asymmetrical my Giannini is until I began to photograph it. Setting it on end for a full-length shot, the guitar would not stand vertically, so I propped it upright using a gum eraser. The center line on the back does not line up with the heel cap, nor do the sides align evenly at the twelfth fret.

Most importantly, while the instrument's tone and volume are fairly balanced throughout the fretboard, I would rate them just average with generally inferior projection. Without amplification, this guitar would barely serve for a house concert in a larger than normal living room. A new set of quality strings may be helpful in this regard, but I'm not expecting any miracles. Those who anticipate playing with an ensemble of any size whatever may want to upgrade to the electric/acoustic 7-string Giannini at $367.99.

The centerline of the back does not coincide with the center of the heel cap.	Wood filler is clearly evident at the neck joint.

About Strings
While La Bella offers a 7-string set for the archtop electric guitar, to my knowledge, no string company is manufacturing a 7-string classic guitar set. The best one can do is to purchase a set of D'Addario Pro-Arté hard-tension strings with a separate D'Addario NYLO56 (.056 gauge) 7th string as recommended by Matthew Grasso in this month's "Classic/Flamenco Guitar" column. Strings by Mail [1-800-513-8271] can supply quality nylon strings with the extra bass for your seven-string classic guitar.

The Sevillha’s headstock is attractive, functional and necessarily asymmetrical!

Frets and Playability
The Giannini Sevilha's nickel-silver frets appear to be more brass than nickel and are not as polished as I would like. The intonation of the fretboard is acceptable but might be improved by a good setup and bridge adjustment. The thickness of the cedar neck and taper of the fretboard vary more than I would like from first to the 9th or 10th fret, but that is a matter of personal taste.

I'm told that one of the ideas behind the graduation of the neck and fretboard is to give the player a distinct sense of where the left hand is positioned according to the feel generated by that thicknessing. The Giannini Sevilha is made in Brazil where, believe it or not, the 7-string guitar is the norm; that must be taken into account. One would assume that luthiers there are aware of their clientele's preferences.

Special Features
The most unusual feature of the Giannini Sevilha is simply its seventh string. For the first time, I was able to use classic guitar technique on a 7-string guitar with nylon strings. This guitar is one of the few nylon-string guitars to feature a neck reinforced with an adjustable truss rod. Gold-plated tuning machine plates complete the ensemble. The guitar also comes with a Giannini gig bag at no extra charge.

Accessories
While the Giannini Sevilha 7-string comes with a nice gig bag, it is worthy of a hard case. I ordered a Gator [GC-classic] guitar case from Music123 at the same time I ordered the guitar but received them separately. Wouldn't you know, with the longer 7-string headstock, the Sevilha model would not fit in the Gator classic guitar case. Fortunately the case for my old made-in-Spain Taurus guitar fits the Giannini to a T, and the Taurus fits the Gator. I was on the verge of returning the Gator case to Music123 when I made this discovery. If I were allowed a do-over I would order a case made by Giannini ($99.99) and expect a perfect fit.

Beautiful solid woods are used throughout.

Bottom Line
Cool: Despite minor shortcomings in craftsmanship, the Giannini Sevilha 7-string classic guitar is surprisingly playable. As an entry-level instrument the Giannini Sevilha model will serve just fine. You can always upgrade to a better instrument if you really get hooked on playing and arranging for seven strings. It's been great fun and well worth its $285.00 price tag just to explore the added low-end and arranging possibilities. Overall, it would be hard to find another instrument of equal value and playability at twice the price.

Not so Cool: Beautiful raw materials are treated with less than perfect craftsmanship. The basic sound of this guitar is simple rather than complex and the instrument does not project well. Nonetheless, playability and intonation are acceptable.

Rating: 3 out of 5