The prince of Milanese jazz guitar (an avid cyclist, among other things) is another regular at our workshop. His visits are always exciting and we “exploit” them in every way possible: with chats and jokes, but also by stealing harmony lessons and getting advice on arrangements. Gigi is certainly not one to hold back, and if he decides to pick up a guitar, no matter what we’re doing, you can be sure it’s time to stop and listen!
As a true jazz musician, Cifarelli plays primarily semi-acoustic guitars: Gibsons and the like. We have happened to work on many of these—even the most prestigious ones—sometimes with “open-heart” surgery: we still remember the job we did ungluing the fingerboard on a noble lady with a wide body.
Gigi is actually very fond of the way we work on necks, and we now know perfectly how to interpret his needs. We have been talking for some time about building a semi-acoustic guitar for him, and sooner or later it will happen…
In reality, a guitar built for him already exists, but it is not an electric; it is a semi-acoustic with nylon strings, amplified with a piezo. Also used on the live album he recorded recently, it is the guitar he still uses alongside his electrics.