2013 Lagane Petite Bouche

Christophe Lagane is a protege of the legendary French luthiers Maurice Dupont, Pierre Anastasio, and Serge Dornel. Based in Auvers-sur-Oise, France, Christophe has dedicated to himself to constructing accurate, easy playing Selmer copies that look as good as they sound. Christophe is both a luithier and performer, playing regularly with his cousin, the French virtuoso Sebastien Giniaux, as well as other top French artists such as Tchavolo Schmidt, Angelo Debarre, Romane and Django's grandson David Reinhardt. Immersed in the world of jazz manouche, Christophe posses a keen sense of the sound and feel that the world's best players demand, and achieves those goals through his excellent command of woodworking and luthiery.

This outstanding Selmer copy features stunning curly maple back and sides, a cedar top, and a maple neck. This instrument is fitted with a Dupont DR tailpiece (with stylish snakeskin replacing the usual leather) and a set of Schaller three on a plate tuners. The dimensions are typically Selmer, with a 15 3/4" body and a 670mm scale.

The sound is spot on traditional Selmer, with crisp highs, complex mids, and a present but not overbearing bass register. It is very clear, with the sort of dry, direct tone one usually only hears in well aged vintage instruments. The mature tone of this guitar can at least be partially attributed to the cedar top which characteristically sounds vintage even when new, whereas spruce tends to take many years to achieve the same sort of openness.

Lest we not forget, probably the most outstanding feature of this guitar is the price! Rarely do I have any French handmade instruments in the under $4K range, but even the ones I do get never have the high end features that this guitar posses. A French made guitar with maple back and sides and a cedar top would normally be in the $5K and over range. Premium features such as these for only $3550 represent one of the best deals in the shop!

The conidtion of this guitar is excellent. There is a small ding on the binding at the point of the cutaway. Otherwise, it's completely clean.

This is the CASH price...add 3% (4% for International orders) if you'd like to pay with a credit card