Recommend a Gipsy guitar

Michael Bauer

I would guess a Manouche Moreno would sell from $900 to $1,300 in the US depending on sound and condition. Not sure what that translates to, but I'd guess 750 to 1,000 euros.

BluesBop Harry

You can get a used guitar here:
http://www.guitare-village.com/occasion/jazz/jazz.php

They also have new instruments. A dupont Nomade is less than 1300 euros... That would be my choice.
You can go and visit Castellucia's atelier, I believe he also makes entry (less than 1500) models.
Good luck and don't forget to come back here and let us know what you get in the end!

blindjimmy

Well ,slightly off opic here, but since Manouche guitars were mentioned, i have a 14 fret orchestra d hole # 103 that says Moreno on the label, not on the headstock . When i bought it , someone else there at the Albuquerque Djangofest had one with Moreno on the headstock, and it was a better guitar, but not for sale. The one i bought is much richer and less banjo-y than the gitane jj 300 i had at the time.

flip-guitar

Tony, please correct me if I am wrong but with a budget of up to 1500 Euros the OP would be in the ball park for one of your superb JWC guitars?

Paulius Volkovas

A little update. I got a lovely 007 Manouche Moreno model . Really happy with it.
Only thing that bothers me is these fret markers which are in 5,7 and 10 frets that really makes my head spin. I am used to playing guitars that has fret markers on 5, 7 and 9 frets. Probably need some time to adapt my brain to that, still its odd

vince

I put some black electrical tape over the 9th fret marker. This doesn't decrease the value and I've found I can pinpoint the 10th fret without a maker (the 9th marker was really confusing me too). I don't want to retrain my brain — if I ever upgrade to a Dupont, Eimers, or something else, I want to still have the 10th fret position in my head.

I think Bob recommended black nail polish too, but I'm not sure how removable this is.

The 007 Moreno Model? Does it like Vesper martinis?

Edit: I misread your comment and agree with Klaatu. But I'll keep my comment here if you want to black out the 10th fret marker.

klaatu

pauliusmm wrote:

am used to playing guitars that has fret markers on 5, 7 and 9 frets. Probably need some time to adapt my brain to that, still its odd

You can get over it, it just takes time. Once you do, you'll never want to go back.

Paulius Volkovas

Is it more common for gipsy guitars to have a marker at 10th fret instead of 9th? I wonder what most people that comes from a 9th fret camp do?
I feel a bit confused since i will still play my other guitars and they all have a fret marker at 9 so it will not be easy to retrain.
Maybe i could just mask this fret marker and maybe buy a fret marker decal from ebay, they are cheap.

klaatu

Yes, the 10th fret marker is common in gypsy guitars. The Selmer steel strung jazz models had them, possibly to make them attractive to the many jazz banjo players who were making the transition to guitar in the 30s. Most European-built GJ guitars have 10th fret markers, some North American ones (e.g., US-built Dell'Artes) may have it at 9, Asian guitars can go either way.

If you plan to spend most of your time playing gypsy jazz, making the switch to 10 might be a good idea. You may want a better guitar down the road, and it is likely to have a 10. Once you get used to it, 10 actually makes a lot more sense. If you primarily play other types of guitar, then sticking to 9 might be preferable. I wouldn't relocate the marker on your guitar, though, just black it out. It could reduce the resale value if you ever want to unload it.

Paulius Volkovas

Its just a sticker i was talking about, so it would not hurt a guitar. I will probably go this way, i also have a D'Angelico semi hollow, and a 79 Strat. I gig with these pretty often so it would be pretty difficult to try to relearn.

Thanks for your input guys.