1973 Jacques Favino CUSTOM 14 Fret Oval Hole Guitar with Bigtone Pickup (Modele #10 - Serial #277 -

This is it!! The classic Jacques Favino sound that is so loved by Gypsy jazz musicians world wide. This guitar has all the Favino characteristics: A prominent upper mid range which gives a "nasal" sound. Deeper bass notes then a Selmer, a "grinding" lower mid-range, and that famous Favino bark. Best of all, this guitar has the qualities that only age can bring: a sparkley, shimmering high end and a "tight", defined low end. This guitar has the "crisp" sound you only hear with aged instruments. It has a nice dry tone with a very strong fundamental, no strange overtones, or sympathetic ringing. A new Favino copy like a Dell Arte Hommage will sound similar, but because they're new they sound muddier, murkier, and duller and also have a lot of overtone ringing. The vintage Favino is much clearer...and has just loads of mojo and character.

If you like the classic Favino sound on the early Boulou Ferre recordings like Gypsy Dreams and Pour Django, Bireli's early recordings (Swing '81 and Routes to Django), or Han'sche Weiss/Lulu Reinhardt (Lulu Swing) then this is the guitar for you!

This very guitar was owned by the illustrious Gypsy virtuoso Hans'che Weiss for 20 odd years...what a Gypsy life it's had! And it has the sound to prove it.

This guitar currently has medium action and is strung with Argentine light gauge 1610 strings. It plays very easily and is not buzzy.

The guitar has a bigtone installed which has been tested and sounds surprisingly good. Unlike most contemporary installations, the bigtone jack is a separate piece of hardware below the tailpiece (see photos below).

There are two cracks in the top which have been repaired. Other then that, the guitar only has minor cosmetic wear.

This guitar has been fitted with a DR tailpiece and Schaller tuners.

The woods are mahogany back and sides (rare for a Favino), spruce top, and a three piece maple neck. This Favino also has deluxe ebony binding around the body....very cool looking! I've never seen a Favino with this extra fancy binding before.

Another interesting thing about this unique instrument is that it has a shorter then normal scale. Most Favinos have a 675mm scale. This instrument has a shorter 670mm scale which is normally found on Selmers. Makes the guitar a little easier to play and a bit less nasal then other Favinos. Seems like this guitar may have been a custom model made to Hans'che's specs....although I've seen other older Favinos with a 670mm scale before. But it's rare.

There is also an original Favino wooden pick guard on this guitar. It is worn but has done it's job well. After over 30 years of hard playing the top remains mostly unscathed.

Jacques Favinos are becoming increasingly rare these days....it seems that Busatos are even easier to find to then Jacques Favinos.

Here are a couple of MP3s of Hans'che playing this very guitar which he used on his CDs Erinnerungen and Vis-a-Vis.

MP3: Valse Trianon

MP3: Dark Eyes


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