Giannini MPB 6 string

[Grimula]

was Given this classical Guitar from my grandfather

No clue when he purchased it but I assume a long time ago

any clue what a guitar like this would sell for ?

[Grimula]

anyone know what type of wood they used for the Back of the guitar ? looks very nice love the look of the Grains

[brucefulton]

It's probably Brazilian rosewood laminate back and sides, if you can establish made in Brazil. You should be able to tell easily whether the back pattern is duplicated on the inside, indicating solids. But laminated B&S would be typical for these guitars. Many, but not all, were solid top. They are often good players but do not have much collector value, sorry to say. Check ebay sold listings (not current acutions) to help establish an asking price for individual models. Otherwise, enjoy it. Quite a few of these were fun guitars with decent tone and setup.

[Coastman]

I have a Giannini steel string acoustic that I purchased new in the early 70's. There is a label inside that suggests it is from 1974, but I'm pretty sure I purchased it early than that. Then again, my brain was a bit fuzzy back in those days!

As Brucefulton described in a previous post, it is Brazilian Rosewood laminate b/s, and I think a solid spruce top (not sure what kind of spruce). Other than mine being really scuffed & scratched up, the Brazilian laminate is really nice looking. While it is not a well built guitar in terms of fit & finish, it has a really nice sound to it, and it plays pretty well too. Mine has been severely abused over the past 40+ years, but has held up quite well.

I believe Giannini is still in business. A quick Google search turned up several new Giannini's on Amazon.com (thru 3rd party sellers), ranging in price from a couple hundred to $2500 (the later being all solid wood cedar top, rosewood b/s). They were somewhat well known for their Craviola, which is an interesting shaped guitar/lute kind of instrument. Here's a link to a YouTube demo of someone doing a nice rendition of Anitra's Dance on a Giannini Craviola:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FRVn1RQeObg

And here's a web blog on the Giannini 12 string:

http://uniqueguitar.blogspot.com/200...12-string.html

The old, laminate Giannini's like mine are not valuable, despite the "Brazilian Rosewood laminate b/s". I'd guess mine is worth, at most, $200-400, and then only to someone looking for a good beater guitar. It sounds great and plays easy (not for finger style though. The strings are too close at the nut and saddle, at least on mine).