Maple Selmers

Ahab

Hi there,

I remember seeing in a copy of R.F.Charle's book on the history of Selmer Maccaferri guitars photos of a petit bouche with bird's eye maple back and sides and flat headstock. I know that this is what the Gitane 250m is based upon but does anyone know how many of these Selmers were built? Who played them? How much they've sold for, and, if builders out there make a good replica. I know that they were part of the 5XX series but I'd love to see one one day.

Thanks in advance,

Ahab

klaatu

According to the book, there were perhaps around twenty of these guitars made. The serial numbers start before 500 and are interspersed among other models, with a small series from 540 to 547. I would guess that their prices today might be similar to other Selmers, but it's hard to say without having actually seen any for sale. The rarity could make them special. On the other hand, they might be considered less desirable because they don't conform to the "standard' Selmer in people's minds.

I've never seen another replica besides the Saga.

frater

I think I remember I saw a John Le Voi replica once.

Toohey

I own the barault #62 maple and it is by far my favorite guitar I've ever played...along with fapys 500 something selmer...n I've played many nice guitars!

Ahab

Was that the maple Barault that was on sale here a while back, with the fingerboard extension?

That was a great looking guitar.

Sven

A mate played an original maple one years ago and said it was one of best projecting he's ever heard. Wishes he had opted to buy.

Gouch

Does anyone know if the elusive maple Selmers discussed above had laminated back/sides? (I assume yes but don’t know)

pdg

I think John Jorgenson owns or owned one, which is why he asked Gitane to make a copy.

DeuxDoigts_Tonnerre

I had a Saga Gitane 250M and it was a beautiful guitar but I sold it. The neck profile was way too thin for me and not comfortable at all for playing gypsy chords. My hand would be in pain after playing 2 songs with it. The guitar was loud, and the tone was fine (although a bit wet) so it could handle lead playing. A better bridge would have improved the tone possibly. The setup was fine as well, no dead notes and playability was decent.

Again, the guitar was very pretty and sounded fine. But all I could play on it comfortably was cowboy chords. It was practically unusable to me for serious gypsy rhythm playing.

My others guitars are Altamira M30D and Stringphonic 503 Basic which have a more traditional Selmer neck profile and I love those. In fact, I love the deep neck profile so much that if I could, I would convert all my archtops and electrics over to Selmer style necks.

scot

That guitar was not owned by JJ but by a northern Ca guitarist/fiddle player and was used as the model for the Saga.

pdg

Oh, was it Paul Shelasky?