RE: Further OT: Selmer Clones (was RE: Joscho Stephan)

["David Rolling" <david_rolling@sympatico.ca>]

Hey Warren,

I'm up in Canada, so I had to buy online, and I started with a Gitane 
(Saga) 
250M, which is the long scale (27") "lead" guitar w/small oval hole. Cost 
me 
around $600 US from Elderly's.. VERY brash loud guitar. fast attack, quick 
decay.. definitely in the ballpark soundwise- but you gotta use those 
light 
silver coated 'manouche' style strings, and the guitar was shipping 
w/generic bronzes. Guys like Bireli Lagrene can use a 25 cent dunlop pick, 
but I also NEED a fat (2-3mm!!) gypsyjazz pick.. I like Wegens (at 15 
bucks 
a pop! I've only got one!!).

The big problem w/the 250M was the neck profile - skinnier than an 
electric 
'shredder', I just couldn't get used to it, so I traded up for a John 
Jorgenson signature Gitane (DG300) which cost around a grand. Warmer tone 
(rosewood & spruce as opposed to maple) BUT BEST OF ALL, a real chunky 
selmeroid neck- highly recommended.

Michael Horowitz @djangobooks.com has started selling a whole slew of GJ 
guitars, and this one's almost $200 cheaper than I paid - plus he's got a 
guy who'll do a setup, so the guitar'll be good to go right out the box 
(I've had to do some work on more than one Korean made guitar).

I've bought some books, DVDs & CDs from Michael, and I wouldn't hesitate 
to 
buy a guitar from him. If I ever decide to get really serious about this 
style, I'd probably get something a bit more upscale (Deii'Arte, maybe?) 
from Michael, but the DG300 is actually a pretty fine guitar.. Angelo 
DeBarre was playing one last time I saw him, and it sounded just as good 
as 
any Dupont, Favino, etc.. and Joscho himself was playing a Hofner!?! if 
memory serves, but cats like him can make anything sound good..


Hope this helps!

david

>From: Warren Sirota <wsirota@wsdesigns.com>
>Reply-To: Loopers-Delight@loopers-delight.com
>To: Loopers-Delight@loopers-delight.com
>Subject: Further OT: Selmer Clones (was RE: Joscho Stephan)
>Date: Wed, 03 May 2006 11:44:42 -0400
>
>
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: David Rolling [mailto:david_rolling@sympatico.ca]
>  any of them could pull off 1 1/10 of what this guy does.
> >
> > I'm a long-time looper myself, but as a guitarist as well,
> > Django's always
> > been an inspiration to me. I recently got a Chinese-made Selmer clone
> > (something else the snobs turn their noses up at - everybody
> > knows you've
> > got to have a $2500 guitar to play Django) but if I sat in a
> > room practicing
> > for 100 years, I'd still be unable to play like Joscho..
> >
>
>
>Me neither... But what kind of guitar did you get, what'd you pay for it,
>how do you like it? (if you don't mind...)