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Post by colan on Jan 18, 2015 20:51:37 GMT
I've asked my local luthier, Chris George, to build me an oval hole gypsy jazz guitar; www.chrisgeorgeguitars.com/Now, I don't yet play any gypsy jazz and it's very likely that my own take on it will be something else entirely anyway, but I'd really appreciate any input from both players and luthiers with experience in these artforms. I'm currently practicing with an SX gypsy model that I was lucky enough to pick up on eBay a few years back for £179 including case- I kid you not- and some gypsy jazz history and chord bibles arrived in my christmas stocking so I've got something to occupy me during the build to take the edge off my impatience ! ![]()  www.rondomusic.com/djg1.htmlAny info members can provide will also assist in that direction and might even influence the build itself. Ta. |
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Post by earwighoney on Jan 18, 2015 21:19:12 GMT
Excellent.
Are you going for the full 670mm scale? I've tried playing a few O-Hole Selmer type guitars and the full scales have been far too much for my fingers to take!
Also, what woods are you going for? GJ guitars might be the rare exception where for some anyway, guitars with laminate backs can be preferable to ones with solid backs.
I myself don't play GJ but I enjoy playing on those type of guitars, I personally think they are great guitars to play with a pick. Gj is a really tricky type of music to play, I remember having a look at a Django book and the amount of theory made my head hurt! I hope to pick up such a guitar myself in the next few years though when I'm a bit more proficient with flamenco (or when I give up trying to learn)...
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Post by colan on Jan 18, 2015 21:40:24 GMT
'wig, I'm undecided on the scale. I'll work through it with Chris George as I'm essentially a solo player and I'll be using the guitar fingerstyle too. No kidding  Definitely solid woods. Cedar top but back and sides yet to be decided upon. I don't think that Django gave a monkey's for theory and everything I've read confirms my view that the best gypsy ' feel ' comes from ear players. That said, the chord books are a bit of a revelation as they're mostly three-finger fast-passage variations . I could have picked that up from listening though, something I've yet to do in depth. |
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Wild Violet
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Post by Wild Violet on Jan 18, 2015 22:05:10 GMT
Not to dissuade you from using Mr George, but John Le Voi in Alford specialises in building gypsy jazz guitars, have you played any of his?
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Post by colan on Jan 18, 2015 22:23:23 GMT
Hiya Wild V, Chris is a mate and highly innovative - which is just as well as this will be an unusual gypsy guitar. John is an expert too, of course, but I didn't have the nuts to approach such a famed specialist builder with what might be considered to be blasphemous suggestions in manouche circles Thanks for the heads up, however. Martin Browne also mentioned John. |
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Post by colan on Jan 19, 2015 9:17:46 GMT
'wig- it's looking like the 25.5" scale. That's a comfortable play on the SX for hands my size. Also, I'm told that the shorter scale is ' bassier ' which will suit my other designs on what the guitar is used for. Here's the SX with my seat-warmer;  |
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Post by earwighoney on Jan 19, 2015 11:52:10 GMT
Fine cat. Seems to be giving the guitar some love!
If you are looking for something a bit bassier, have you thought about going for a D Hole? (WIth a 14 fret neck) I tried two exact GJ guitars of woods, scale one with a O and one with a D, and it was the D which had the warmer, bassier sound.
When it comes to altering the template of a GJ guitar, I think there are some variables that if altered they can turn it to a beast which is no longer a GJ guitar and is neither here nor there. IMO the ladder bracing is a key aspect of the guitar, and switching to X bracing would lose it's characteristic midrange.
With a cedar soundboard, I myself would be tempted to lean towards walnut back and sides. Cedar and Walnut is a great combination, one of my favourites.
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Post by colan on Jan 19, 2015 14:28:52 GMT
Yes, he's very fond of blues. That guitar has a blues-wailing brass saddle on it.
It's cedar with rosewood laminate, incidentally.
I agree with you on the grande bouche- but it's such an extraordinarily UGLY guitar. I'll get by nicely with the oval hole and some string experimentation, ta muchly.
We're not planning any internal deviations from the classic bracing- and walnut may indeed suit Chris George's plans.
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Post by colan on Jan 23, 2015 23:27:13 GMT
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ocarolan
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Post by ocarolan on Jan 24, 2015 0:36:33 GMT
Wow - should be easy enough to get picks out of anyway, as well as easier to drop them in! That looks like a very worthy stop-gap though colan - hope you have some good fun with it - let us know how it goes eh. Keith |
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Post by colan on Jan 24, 2015 8:23:23 GMT
Sure. I'm going to have to thin out my collection though - starting with my Spanish classical which the Gitane will replace. Ugly bugger, ain't it.  |
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Phil Taylor
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Post by Phil Taylor on Jan 24, 2015 9:27:29 GMT
Can we hear it at all? See what you mean about the looks but it's seems to me to just be the sound hole shape which reminds me of a smiley - 
The rest of it looks great
Phil
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Post by colan on Jan 24, 2015 11:02:27 GMT
There's a bloke having a bash here, phil; and there are the usual spurious Thomann sound clips; www.thomann.de/gb/gitane_dg560_maccaferri_nylon.htmI expect it will arrive with an action 1- 2.5mm too high for me but having a saddle brings it into the realms of home adjustment. I have no idea how they lower a moustache bridge. Of course, that won't be a problem with a custom Chris George. It's going to be a struggle for me to keep a straight face with those ' whacka-doos ' |
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Post by earwighoney on Jan 24, 2015 12:04:24 GMT
The Gitanes are well set up guitars out of the box from what I've seen, all the ones I've played have been great.
Also, GJ guitars are a rare exception where higher actions are preferred to lower actions by a lot of players!
I've played the DG650, nice guitar. I spend half of my time playing flamenco, so it is a bit weird to play nylon strings with a pick though!
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Post by colan on Jan 24, 2015 13:06:58 GMT
It's funny you should say that, ' wig, because I had a go at flat picking the Spanish last night and found it surprisingly accurate and fast. That's what stimulated buying the DG560 Maccaferi. Ugly bugger though. |
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Jo whoever he is.
