Gypsy Jazz guitars

Hootsmon

the Macaferris of the world ....what are the better less expensive ones ?

Hootsmon

Are they generally nylon strung?

Jalapeno

Generally lightweight steel strung.

They're great for the genre, and will do straight-up jazz with a soundhole pickup.

Better is freaking expensive. A Leo Eimers will start at circa €4k.  A Jon LeVoi £2200-2300 depending on options. Eastman do one for £1100 or so.

Less expensive you're still looking a c.£750+  Gitane used to be the go-to starter ones sub £500, but they're more expensive these days.  A Gitane John Jorgeson model used to be c£800, just seen they're over £1400 !!!!!

There are cheaper Chinese ones but I really wouldn't bother - they aren't bright enough to cut through (they are played pretty hard).

Hootsmon

thanks jay

DB1

Have a look at JWC guitars - www.jwc-guitars.com - I think they're pretty impressive. One of the kings of gypsy jazz guitar manufacture, Maurice Dupont, has a range that starts at around £1300.  www.acoustic-guitars.com

jamesoliver1234

Gitane are very good for money.. they sound and play great.

JerkMoans

DB1 said:

Have a look at JWC guitars - www.jwc-guitars.com - I think they're pretty impressive. One of the kings of gypsy jazz guitar manufacture, Maurice Dupont, has a range that starts at around £1300.  www.acoustic-guitars.com

+1 for DuPont. The one I flipped to @DB1 was extraordinarily good. Just too much for my delicate, three-chord hands.

PeachGuitarsRyan

Have you considered the Eastman DM-1 and DM-2? Both sub £1500 and finished to a really high standard.

DB1

PeachGuitarsRyan said:

Have you considered the Eastman DM-1 and DM-2? Both sub £1500 and finished to a really high standard.

Yes, I've heard good things about the Eastmans. They're pretty tempting.

Jalapeno

Yeah, hardly entry-level though.

Peruse these ....

https://hobgoblin.com/guitars/acoustic-guitar/gypsy-jazz-guitars

DB1

True - I've had a couple of the Gitanes - DG250 and DG500, and they didn't particularly inspire me to want to pick them up. That's as much down to my hopelessness as much as anything else, I'm sure.

Matt_McG

I have a super cheap Chinese made archtop which works well for gypsy jazz. It's built of some really lightweight ply/laminate with light bracing. Doesn't work at all well for big fat "jazz" strings, but it zings like a proper Selmer style guitar with light strings and has that really fast attack and top end/middle.

Which is a long winded way of saying, it's worth looking at things that don't look exactly like gypsy guitars, if you just want the sound, rather than the look. Although hard to try things out in these cv-19 times.

Personally, I found the lower priced Gitanes to be kind of dead sounding.

At a guitar festival a while ago, I tried one of luthier Steve Toon's gypsy guitars, and it was great. Very well priced, too, for what it was, although I have no idea what his usual list price is.

Jalapeno

The Gretsch New Yorker I had was great for Gypsy Jazz, and that was with Thomastik-Infeld Jazz (flatwound) 10s on.  That's a LOT cheaper than a good Selmer-Maccaferri style.

Trude

I've always had a hankering for a GJ guitar, and the aged Eastman DM2 looks lovely.  I don't want to give in to temptation though until I've learned enough of the technique to justify it...

My little Martin 0017S has a nice barky & dry midrange sound that would probably do the job pretty well, even though it has a shortish scale length.  Do flatwounds make a lot of difference?

gordiji

JerkMoans said:

DB1 said:

Have a look at JWC guitars - www.jwc-guitars.com - I think they're pretty impressive. One of the kings of gypsy jazz guitar manufacture, Maurice Dupont, has a range that starts at around £1300.  www.acoustic-guitars.com

+1 for DuPont. The one I flipped to @DB1 was extraordinarily good. Just too much for my delicate, three-chord hands.

Maurice Dupont is about 40mins up the road from me, can't comment on his jazzers but his work in general is excellent . I've had fretwork & set ups done there. He had about 15 employees last time i went which is truly incredible for the Cognac region where jobs are hard to find. Acoustics are clearly his forté.

DB1

@gordiji - you live in a lovely part of the world! I spend (or did, and hope to again) a lot of time in the Charente ( a little further north, near Ruffec)  and visited Maurice (and his charming wife, Marie-Helene) a couple of times in October. The guitar that I had from @JerkMoans was actually his BeBop model and is excellent, albeit with a slightly slim neck for my tastes. I sold it to another forum member, but would gladly have it back if he decides to sell ever.

I would like Maurice to build one for me, and that was the plan, but in the meantime daughter's wedding and this bloody virus has got in the way. You'll recognise the setting, if not the ugly bloke in it the pic. Sorry to go off topic!

Nitefly

@DB1 that is a lovely-looking guitar - very clean and uncluttered - beautiful!

DB1

It's lovely, isn't it? The flame is superb, as is the workmanship. It has a Benedetti P90 pickup - the concept of an early '50's ES-175, but a more modern sound and feel. The neck was just a touch too thin for me, and it now resides with another forum member but I'd definitely have it back. 

At some stage - assuming 'normal' life resumes at some point, I do want Maurice to make one for me. 

Tadragh1

Watch for the older Japanese made CSL or Ibanez branded gypsy guitars from 1970s. These were the first factory-made reissues, with the design supervised by Mario Maccaferri himself. Some of them are totally killer. Mine has been thoroughly refurbished by a good luthier and sounds heavenly. I had many players asking me if I'd sell it.
I was in Samois a couple of years ago, attending the Django Reinhardt festival. Many luthiers go there to sell their guitars. I find there is a lot of smoke and mirrors with new, luthier-made gypsy jazz guitars. They might look beautiful, but often do not play that great. Many beginner players with money getting them and being happy, but... it's more snobbery than tone IMHO.
Check out Guitare Village (the french store in Domont). They have a good webpage with a nice selection of new and secondhand gypsy jazz instruments. Fair prices, too.