GITANE nylon string.

andre

Does anybody have/use the Gitane nylon-string model?
I have seen the review of it here, and appreciate it is a perfectly good guitar for gypsy jazz.
I would be interested in anyone's opinion of it, viewed as a nylon-string.
Any good for classical? Flamenco? Other styles typically played on nylon strung guitars?
In a nutshell, how versatile is it?

Michael Bauer

I do not have a Gitane, but I have three nylon string guitars, a 1924 Maccaferri, a 1991 J.P. Favino, and a 2011 Rodrigo Shopis.

The Favino Jazz N is the odd duck, with a floating bridge, cedar (I think) back and sides, and I built-in pickup that I have never once plugged in. It is really designed to be played with a pick, and is every bit as loud as steel string guitars. You can play classical on it, but it sounds strange. Try to imagine that Favino honk in a nylon string guitar. It would work well for flamenco, I think. In fact, I think of it a a cross between a gypsy jazz and a flamenco guitar. There is video of Jeff Raidich playing it at Django in June somewhere on this site.

The Maccaferri has only been here a week, but it has a very small body, a split bridge saddle a la later Selmer-Maccaferri nylons, and is as loud as a good classical, with really rich, nice tone. A typical innovative Maccaferri product... I would never play it with a pick, out of respect for what it is...and its age.

The Shopis would be most like a Gitane, except much better, and it doubles for me as a classical, and I use it for Django's Improvisations, because I think the two I play (#s 2 and 3) sound much better on nylon instead of steel strings. It also gets played alot with a pick, especially late a night when I am trying to let my better half sleep.

I heard Lulo Reinhardt last fall playing a whole concert on a nylon string Gitane, and it sounded really good.

The German GJ guitarist, Ottorino Galli plays a 14-fret, oval hole Selmer copy with nylon strings, and it sounds great!

The best budget nylon string I ever had was a prototype made by Manouche Guitars in England. It sounded really great for the money, and lives with a friend of mine in Canada these days.

I wish I could help you with the Gitane specifically, but I haven't played one. I'm sure it would be fine, though.

Archtop Eddy

Hi Michael. Here's the YouTube vid of Jeff Radaich playing the nylon string Favino at Django in June 2011. Very hip guitar; surprisingly loud, and Jeff does some tasty licks on it too! AE