Choosing the guitar

galvanometr

Hello to all good people here.
I'm looking for a new guitar. (currently 'playing' Furch GiE 52-SR)

I can immediately tell if I really like the sound, when I hear one.
I'm not good in describing sound by words, but: I like loud and clear/bright sound.
Price range would be ~4000-5000$.

I was just about to buy that new 2013 Lebreton modele 2 plus here in few days, but it's on hold now (is there still any chance that taker will change his mind or is it more of a done deal?).
That guitar really clicked to my ears.

Another that clicked is this 2008 Dupont Busato Royale Maple or this 2009 Dupont Busato Luxe. Interestingly the other 2008 Dupont Busato Royale Maple doesn't sound good to me.

I have to choose through videos, I know it can be tricky, but there's no better option for me.
I'd like to have 70' or 80' Favino, but that's a bit out of range and I'm not very patient.

I'm way too picky... :roll: (but I have to be )

Thank you in forward for any insight, tip or advice.
Adam.

klaatu

PM sent.

Charles Meadows

Very happy with the new ALD I bought. Sounds very "alive". Very loud. Maybe a bit more harmonic richness than some of the other GJ guitars. The tone you hear on Angelo Debarre's newer albums is exactly what I've got with this guitar.

Michael Bauer

One of those two maple Busatos belongs to a friend of mine on this forum, and was formerly owned by the great Hank Marvin (How's that for provenance?). I've played it several times, and it is a really nice guitar in excellent condition. I can't tell the two maple Busato's you mention apart, based on the pictures (or even the videos), but I'd bet both are good. I have three Busatos, and have owned two others, and I think Maurice did a nice job of capturing the essence of the Busato sound. They lack 60-80 years of aging, but the fundamentals of the sound are right. I like the looks of the maple ones a lot.

klaatu

Michael, mine would be the one he said he didn't like so well, but since the two are twins (actually built together) I can't imagine that mine actually sounds worse than the other (although everyone has his/her own preferences). Michael H is playing two very different pieces in the two videos, so that could account for a difference.

I do think that mine is the better looking of the two. Dupont finished it in a lovely smoky finish that I've never seen on another guitar. It is simply gorgeous to look at, and I agree, I think Maurice did as good a job of capturing the Busato sound as one can do in a new guitar.

noodlenot

my opinion FWIW - quite irrelevant and no one asked for it, granted - is that rosewood guitars with white bindings are just horrible to look at. sorry for the dryness, but it´s just a pet peeve of mine. now, OTOH, those maple ones look just terrific.

Michael Bauer

Benny, I remember that cool finish on yours!!! Michael has the pictures of the backs at an angle, and I couldn't really tell which was which from the photos. I have no idea how the other one is finished, but I do remember how much I liked yours.

Adam, I can't give you a comparison, because I have only played Klaatu's, but I have played several of the Dupont Busatos, and they all sounded very close in tone to me, closer, in fact, than the dozen or so real Busatos I have played (which is to be expected given the different lives the Busatos have led.). I described the sound of them as being as though you averaged out the sound of every Busato I have ever played, with the biggest difference being looks. I can say that Klaatu's was the best looking of the Duponts to my eyes, but tone is so personal, I can't really help you there.

Noodlenot, I am with you regarding the white binding. I played one of those at Jacques Mazzoleni's house, and liked the sound and playability, but kept wondering what Maurice was thinking with that binding.

MichaelHorowitz

noodlenot wrote:

my opinion FWIW - quite irrelevant and no one asked for it, granted - is that rosewood guitars with white bindings are just horrible to look at. sorry for the dryness, but it´s just a pet peeve of mine. now, OTOH, those maple ones look just terrific.

I always ordered that model with ebony binding, see:

http://shoppingcart.djangobooks.com/Ite ... -luxe-2011

However, it's worth noting that Maurice was just trying to be authentic as the original Busatos often had ivoriod binding:

http://www.djangobooks.com/favinoarchiv ... 930s_1.htm

Bohemian

"my opinion FWIW ..... is that rosewood guitars with white bindings are just horrible to look at..... but it´s just a pet peeve of mine."

You are not alone, I think white binding is nothing short of hideous and the very reason I don't own any of the Martin rosewood guitars such as any of the D-28 series. I also shy away from archtops with white binding.

Another deterrent to purchase is gold hardware. Cheezy in my opinion.

Michael's got it right with ebony bindng, a touch of class.

I understand sticking to the details of originals, but that does not mean they were universally accepted.

galvanometr

Thank you all.

That's right, choosing via videos is not ideal, but it's the only option for me.
Between those two Royals - I realise these are two different songs and playing styles, but the second one is missing that bright ringing tone, which the first one wouldn't be missing if played on the video presentation of the first one - it is probably recording specific or there could be difference in strings age (as fresh strings sound always good to me).

After all now, when guitar I really wanted is gone, I don't have to rush and should pick carefully.
So many options in front of me.

Blond bindin isn't a deal breaker for me, can't say I don't like it. But there are other things I couldn't accept on my guitar.

noodlenot

hmmm... so i´m not alone. i´ll have to say i have nothing against non-dark bindings, it´s just the white, plastic-looking ones against darker wood guitars i find offensive. i love cypress bindings on a flamenco blanca guitar, instead of the more usual rosewood ones. and, even on a rosewood guitar, blonde binding can work well (depending on the purfling scheme), check out this one by my friend Alex: http://www.classicalguitardelcamp.com/d ... &mode=view
ebony does make very classy looking bindings (and guitars!), but it´s a bit of a pain to bend properly (IME).

i agree with Stuart, if you can wait (but we seldom can...), you could give your specs to a luthier and have your dream guitar built. i bet you´ll get good of advise here. personally, i´d try to give O. Marin a call, but maybe his waiting list is too big... or closed... but you don´t know if you don´t try!

miguel.