First Impressions and String Tensions

Elliot

To expand the point, one has to ask whether given the same production model guitar if there is a distinction between luthier reproduction and reproduction by 2 or 5 or however many more people in the same shop - after all they have hands as well, just more of them. Plus they are probably using modern computer controlled cutters accurate to .0001" tolerances. One normally expects a single luthier to personally select nice wood, but if the wood selection is standardized, then what you are paying for is reputation plus the personal idiosyncrasies that each luthier brings toward their particular take on the basic Selmer standard, such as the increased bout on a Favino or a particular bracing structure that makes a Park or a Dunn sound like a Park or a Dunn. But if the people at Manouche Guitars stick to their original humble intentions in reproducing a Selmer, maintain high standards and don't try to blow them out the door at 2500 per year like Saga does, I think that demand will increase and they will indeed be going for $2000 a year or two from now, which I agree, is not a hell of a lot of money for an excellent guitar, however it is made, assuming they achieve their objective.

ultra_novice

I'm not sure if this helps but I recently got a D-500 and put some .10 Argintine strings on it. The sound was nice but a bit to mellow. I replaced those strings with the .11s and shimmied up the bridge just a bit and now the sound is noticeably more punchy without being too shrill or brassy on the B and E strings. In fact I find that many of the modern players get to shrill or thin of a sound compared with Django and find that the setup I have gets a bit more of the warmth of Django's sound.

Josh Hegg

Ultra,

Your are correct! It is a bit of a give and take however. If you set up your action lower the guitar is easier to play but you pay for it in volume and tone. If you set up higher you get volume and tone but it is harder to play. So you have to find that balance for you, the individual player. I like my action on the high side. I play hard however due to learning this way and have a harder time play supper fast like some of the speed freaks out there. I'm more of a Django nut then a Jimmy nut. I like the fast stuff some times but not all the time. All that to say you need to find what you want to do and set up your instrument to allow you to do that. You will find that as you progress there will be a need for more then one guitar set up for different instances. When you start giging you find this out. Some places don't want amps. So you have to have a guitar that is set up to play louder. But then you have to choose your set list not using the supper fast tunes! There will be other places that don't care if you use amps. So you have a guitar set up for that. Then you start listening to late Django and end up with an Archtop! Then you have the Vintage sounding guitar and the Modern sounding guitar. It goes on and on! The real trick is getting the new guitars past your wife. This is one good reason to have all the same cases. Harder to keep track of but way better for the DL!

Cheers

Elliot

Plus, you can upgrade and they never catch on. Then, when you decide to trade everything in for an original Selmer she'll think you gave up the chase and decided to settle for an old beat up guitar.

Ah, the Gypsy Life....!


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