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.
Time-periods
Generally one has to distinguish two basic time periods in Favino-Guitars:
the Gypsyjazz-Models of the father Jacques Favino which were built between 1956 until 1983/84 and the Gypsyjazz-Models of his son Jean-Pierre Favino, built from 1983/84 until today. Additionally there is a short transition-period between 1980 and 1983/84 when both father and son, were building guitars together in the fathers workshop, until Jean-Pierre officially took over the business from his father.
Here you can see the main differences: two Favinos built 1960 (image 1 left), a D-hole Model from 1980 (image middle), and respectively one model built by Jean-Pierre Favino as of 1996 (image 3 right).
Both time periods and instruments generally vary amongst each other. The guitars built from around 1956 by Jacques Favino show slightly bigger bodies than the original Selmer-Guitars. Additionally the have completely other bracings, especially developed by Jacques Favino inside their bodies (see images below).
All Models were exsitent as O-hole and also as D-hole-Models (see also Features of original Selmer-Guitars), whilst the O-hole models by far are in majority with both father and son.
In contrast to the orginal Selmer-guitars designed by Mario Macafferri, Jacques Favino built his first acoustic Jazz-Guitars (named Model No. 10) with 5 bracings (image 4 left below), against the normally used 4 bracings of the Selmer-Guitars (image 5 below).
This results in a completely other oscillation behaviour of the top, which primarily is responsible for the sound of an acoustic guitar.
Nevertheless there was also a kind of transition-period with Selmer-guitars according to bracings when Mario Macafferri had left Selmer in 1939, as the luthiers at Selmer then were experimenting with different variations of the basic-models originally constructed from Macafferri.
This also explains why there are even different Selmer-Models with different bracings, as there are ones with 4, 5 or even only 3 bracings.
The kind of special bracings developed and invented by Jacques Favino around early 1950ies for his own guitar-models, are responsable for the "typical Favino-Sound" which supplies a round, balanced bass, crisp highs and a very assertive mid with a touch of the typical "growl" or "bark". At the right is a copy of the orginal contruction-plan for the old Model10-series (image right).
You can distinguish this typical Favino-sound resulting from his way of making on many records of famous Gypsyjazz-Guitarrists like Tschan-Tschou Vidal, Bireli Lagrene or Hännsch´che Weiss, Moreno Winterstein or Tschavolo Schmitt (and many many other more) which all were typical Favino-players in the beginning.
The Necks
Commonly Jacques Favino installed three-piece maple-necks with a fretboard made out of ebony on all of his guitar-models (image 6 left). So this is a really typical feature of these guitars, which today is beeing blueprinted by other guitarmakers.
One of his first series, the model Macias (originally introduced for Jaques Brel), additionally had wonderful inlays of real mother-of-pearl (image 7 right).
The neckjoint of Favino-guitars have been worked out very fine (see image 8 right), so that the higher registers of the guitar are accessed easily even despite of their bigger bodies. This also is a very typical feature in comparison to Gypsyjazz-Guitars and Selmer-copies of other makers, which often have clearly more roughly made neckjoints.
One more specialty of old Favino-Guitars (1960 - 1984) made by Jacques Favino are their headplates, which are different in the making compared to original Selmers: smaller at the top, therefore slightly bigger at the bottom (image 9 left).
The headstock of the later made guitarmodels made by Jean-Pierre Favino (starting from early around 1990) instead have been changed away from the original sizes of his fathers guitars to a form a little broader generally (see image 10 right).
Between the years 1984 and 1990 Jean-Pierre Favino experimented with different forms, so there is a transition-period with different sizes of headstocks going on.
Since around 1990 Jean-Pierre Favino additionally added his initals at the top of the headstocks of his guitars, stating: "JPFavino". The headstock on the guitars of his father between 1956 and 1983 never showed any initials instead.
Read more -> Features of original Favino-Guitars (Part 2/3)
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Time-periods
Generally one has to distinguish two basic time periods in Favino-Guitars:
the Gypsyjazz-Models of the father Jacques Favino which were built between 1956 until 1983/84 and the Gypsyjazz-Models of his son Jean-Pierre Favino, built from 1983/84 until today. Additionally there is a short transition-period between 1980 and 1983/84 when both father and son, were building guitars together in the fathers workshop, until Jean-Pierre officially took over the business from his father.
Here you can see the main differences: two Favinos built 1960 (image 1 left), a D-hole Model from 1980 (image middle), and respectively one model built by Jean-Pierre Favino as of 1996 (image 3 right).
Period 1: Jacques Favino
Both time periods and instruments generally vary amongst each other. The guitars built from around 1956 by Jacques Favino show slightly bigger bodies than the original Selmer-Guitars. Additionally the have completely other bracings, especially developed by Jacques Favino inside their bodies (see images below).
All Models were exsitent as O-hole and also as D-hole-Models (see also Features of original Selmer-Guitars), whilst the O-hole models by far are in majority with both father and son.
The bracings
In contrast to the orginal Selmer-guitars designed by Mario Macafferri, Jacques Favino built his first acoustic Jazz-Guitars (named Model No. 10) with 5 bracings (image 4 left below), against the normally used 4 bracings of the Selmer-Guitars (image 5 below).
This results in a completely other oscillation behaviour of the top, which primarily is responsible for the sound of an acoustic guitar.
Nevertheless there was also a kind of transition-period with Selmer-guitars according to bracings when Mario Macafferri had left Selmer in 1939, as the luthiers at Selmer then were experimenting with different variations of the basic-models originally constructed from Macafferri.
This also explains why there are even different Selmer-Models with different bracings, as there are ones with 4, 5 or even only 3 bracings.
The kind of special bracings developed and invented by Jacques Favino around early 1950ies for his own guitar-models, are responsable for the "typical Favino-Sound" which supplies a round, balanced bass, crisp highs and a very assertive mid with a touch of the typical "growl" or "bark". At the right is a copy of the orginal contruction-plan for the old Model10-series (image right).You can distinguish this typical Favino-sound resulting from his way of making on many records of famous Gypsyjazz-Guitarrists like Tschan-Tschou Vidal, Bireli Lagrene or Hännsch´che Weiss, Moreno Winterstein or Tschavolo Schmitt (and many many other more) which all were typical Favino-players in the beginning.
The Necks
Commonly Jacques Favino installed three-piece maple-necks with a fretboard made out of ebony on all of his guitar-models (image 6 left). So this is a really typical feature of these guitars, which today is beeing blueprinted by other guitarmakers.
One of his first series, the model Macias (originally introduced for Jaques Brel), additionally had wonderful inlays of real mother-of-pearl (image 7 right).
The neckjoint
The neckjoint of Favino-guitars have been worked out very fine (see image 8 right), so that the higher registers of the guitar are accessed easily even despite of their bigger bodies. This also is a very typical feature in comparison to Gypsyjazz-Guitars and Selmer-copies of other makers, which often have clearly more roughly made neckjoints.
The Headstock
One more specialty of old Favino-Guitars (1960 - 1984) made by Jacques Favino are their headplates, which are different in the making compared to original Selmers: smaller at the top, therefore slightly bigger at the bottom (image 9 left).
The headstock of the later made guitarmodels made by Jean-Pierre Favino (starting from early around 1990) instead have been changed away from the original sizes of his fathers guitars to a form a little broader generally (see image 10 right).
Between the years 1984 and 1990 Jean-Pierre Favino experimented with different forms, so there is a transition-period with different sizes of headstocks going on.
Since around 1990 Jean-Pierre Favino additionally added his initals at the top of the headstocks of his guitars, stating: "JPFavino". The headstock on the guitars of his father between 1956 and 1983 never showed any initials instead.
Read more -> Features of original Favino-Guitars (Part 2/3)
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