Features Favino-Guitars (3/3)

: Favino Guitars - More Infos - (en)

As already done in our article-series about Features of original Selmer-Guitars, Features of original Busato-Guitars and Features of original DiMauro-Guitars, in these article-series we briefly describe the most important features of original Favino-Guitars.

The Tailpiece

Jacques Favino used different types of tailpieces on his guitars. On his older instruments starting from about 1959 until 1980 he mostly used tailpieces from silverplated-brass. (Image 1, left), like to see on the picture the tailpiece of a Favino built in 1964. To the right (image 2, middle) there is the tailiece of a Favino built in 1982. Form around end of 1970 Jacques Favino used a silverplated barss-tailpiece with an inlayed stripe of ebony in the middle, unlike the original Selmer-guitars were equipped with.

Silver-plated brass-tailpiece
Favino built in 1964

Silver-plated brass-tailpice with
inlayed ebony, Favino built in 1982

Carved ebony-tailpiece with
brass-bracket, Favino built in 1991

Nevertheless his son Jean-Pierre Favino also used the typical silver-plated brass-tailpiece also on his later built guitars until around end of 1990 (Image 1 left above), which had become something like a trademark for original Favino-guitars.

It was just about end of the 1990ies when Jean-Pierre Favino began to go his own way in building guitars. Her started to used carved ebony-tailpieces with brackets made out of brass (Image 3 above right).
Although there were a couple of guitars out of Jean-Pierre´s workshop been made after 1990 still using the old silverplated-brass-tailpieces later on, supposedly on demand by customers or just by nostalgic reasons.

Period 2: Jean-Pierre Favino

Changed construction and shapes

But not only the tailpieces have been changed over time. Did Jean-Pierre Favino still built his guitars according to the exact construction-plans of his father Jacques Favino, looking absolutely close as if they had been made by his famous father (mostly the Model No.10, see also the original Favino-catalog on page 1 of our series), from then on it was a new era coming up.

Jean-Pierre Favino started to experiment more and as well as using the older construction-plans of the original Selmer-measurements. Here is an example of a Favino built in (Image 4 right).

The sides of the guitars started to be made slightly smaller as well as the body-shape was formed a little smaller as well. (Image 5 left).

The new Headstock

There were more and more experiments going on by Jean-Pierre, thus the headstock was widened slightly bigger, changing the measurements over the years. The new headstock now looked bigger in all and from 1990 the initials "JPFavino" were attached in golden writing, variated by brass inlays or engraved laquered writing. Later on the initials were reduced to only "Favino".
Here are examples of Favino-headstocks from 1991 (Image 6 left below), from 1998 (Image 7 middle) and 2004 (Image 8 right).

Headstock, Favino built 1991

Headstock, Favino built 1998

Headstock, Favino built 2004

The Necks

Another big change of the newly developed models by Jean-Pierre Favino after 1990 were the necks. Until then even Jean-Pierre had also always installed the three-piece maple-necks of his father, which had become a real brandmark for original Favino-guitars. From 1990 on Jean-Pierre Favino changed as well the form of the necks in different sizes and widening as well as changing from three-piece maple to two-piece maple-necks with only one(!) stripe of rosewood-inlay. Newly he also used two-piece Indian Rosewood-necks on some of his guitars.

Summarized meanwhile the since 1990 newly invented two-piece-necks have become another typical characteristic of guitars made from Jean-Pierre Favino (see Image 9 left and 10 middle below). Also from then on he was experimenting more with the neckjoint of the fretboards, also according to old construction-plans of Selmer (see Image 11 below right).

2-piece maple-neck
Jean-Pierre Favino Bj. 1991

2-piece Rosewood-neck
Jean-Pierre Favino Bj. 1998

New neckjoint (Selmerstyle)
Jean-Pierre Favino Bj. 1991

The Tuners (machine heads)

But not only the body-shapes had been changed. Since there very beginning his father Jacques and also Jean-Pierre himself had been using the very reliable SB-tuners, from 1990 he also changed his tuners to the newly invented Schaller-tuners (Image 20, right).

The so called "Open Schallers" were more "up-to-date" at that time.

But the real mainproblem and one reason why he finally changed tuners was the availablity of the SBs, as Salavattore Billardi had retired in 1978 finishing out his production. So no more of the original SBs were to organize on the market no more... Until around 1990 Jean-Pierre Favino could use the SBs remained in stock that he had left over from the workshop of his father.

Nevertheless the new "Open Schallers" are a good substitute according to a similar quality as the SBs. Thats why Jean-Pierre Favino today solely uses "Open Schaller"-tuners on all of his guitar-models.

Generaly the Favino-Family has always been open-minded in guitarmaking, thus experimenting with lots of different types of instruments: they also built classical guitars (especially in 1960/70ies), electrical Jazz- and Rockguitars, 12-strings and electric basses (1970ies) and even other strange kind of instrument-models (Image 16 below right, Mod. "Tres Rosas" built in) from the Favino-workshops.

More on the history of the Family Favino also in our articles about "Favino-History" and on the Homepage of J.P. Favino.