Gitane Fret Concerns

rgrice

Hello all.

I'm new to gypsy playing and bought a used Gitane 250M recently. I would appreciate any help and advice that anyone might give.
As many warned, the frets are very high. They are smooth and playable, but strings (especially G) are wearing out external wrapping at fret and revealing inner core.
Questions:
1) How high are the actual frets themselves supposed to be on a gypsy guitar?
2) Will a fret level take care of issue?
3) How complicated is it for a regular luthier, with no gypsy guitar experience, to do the job?
4) What is typical height from fret to string?

Thanks in advance for any assistance you can give! There are no gypsy qualified luthiers in my area.

crookedpinky

Hi there, I don't think the the frets on a 250m are excessively high unless yours has had a refret. The reason for the G string wearing through is all down to the way the strings are made and is a well known problem particularly for Argentine G strings. It will also to a certain extent depend on your playing style.

I've been playing a 250m as my main guitar for over a year and think it's one of the fastest necks on a gypsy guitar - at first I hated it's thin profile - but have gotten used to it. While I don't think the frets are high I do think they're wide and I wonder if the thin neck profile and the slightly wider frets are giving the impression that the frets are high ? In any case the G string problem lies primarily in the string windings.

All my gypsy guitars have different fret sizes so I don't know that there's an accepted standard size but I'm sure some of the guys who build them will add in their thoughts on that question.

A

rgrice

Crookedpinky, I appreciate your reply, and I'm glad its not just me
I agree that the action is speedy and maybe it is more the width than height. I've gotten used to the neck and the feel of the frets.
And, yes, I'm using Argentines and may be pressing down harder than on my other guitars.
I'm getting tired of buying strings, tho and may just get a bunch of replacement Gs!
Have you noticed any difference between 10s and 11s? I've been playing 10s.
Love the guitar! Sound is great and its beautiful. I put a K & K Definity on- using a Baggs Para Acoustic DI- to play with my band and it sounds very natural through PA.

crookedpinky

Hi there, I haven't noticed much difference between 10s and 11s but I suspect there may be differences between batches of Argentines made at different times. I know that people sometimes report that the new Argentines they've restrung their guitar with didn't last as long as the previous set so there is a suspicion that the production process is variable - you'll find this mentioned loads of times here on this forum.

For a while I switched to - and recommended - strings by Philippe Bosset. I found that they lasted twice or three times as long as Argentines. They were slightly more expensive here in the UK but the longer life made them attractive and they sounded pretty much like Argentines - maybe that's an option if you can find them.

I've been stringing my guitar from a batch of 20 Argentines I bought a year ago or so it maybe that I got a well made batch and that's why I'm not suffering the cut winding G string problem and when I replace them with a new batch it may return. OR it may be as a result of changing my fretting technique which now releases tension more on the fretted strings between pick strokes - I did this to try and tighten up my rhythm playing and make it more crisp and percussive. I no longer grip the neck as tightly as I used to and this helps mobility as well.

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rgrice

Thanks, I may try a set of the Philippe Bossets...same price I'm paying in town for Argentines.
I put D'addarios on while searching for Argentines and they didn't wear as poorly, tho they weren't on very long. Neither did they play as well or sound quite as good. They were stiff to play and deeper in tone than what I wanted, tho with pickup that could be managed better with eq.
I honestly think it's my playing technique, as you alluded to, and as a bandmate suggested! I'm rough and even after 40+ years still aggressively attack in my playing.
I need to work on that!
Again, thanks for suggestions!

crookedpinky

Yeah I think if you come into this style after playing other styles where you're used to literally holding down a chord shape and coupled with the very different shapes used in Gypsy jazz there's a tendency to tense up your grip. All that does is give you a sore arm/wrist and slows you down. I still do it - gripping the fretboard like I'm ckoking a chicken - and that doesn't help.

I wish I could help more - one thing I would say about the Bossets is that I think they feel slightly stiffer than Argies for the first couple of days but then they "relax" slightly but in my experience they definitely last longer and have a sound that's closer to Argies than some others. I use them on my 250m sometimes and recently I've been using 10s whatever the make as they give me just as much volume. I used to think along the lines of heavier string slightly more volume but I think that's a marginal gain which is cancelled out by feeling that I have to resort to a stronger grip and harder picking- if that makes sense.

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rgrice

I know exactly what you mean and it makes sense, tho I do play gypsy rhythm the way you describe. And since I've been using the 250M in my band for everything else we play, which is mainly Rockabilly and Country- I love the guitar and sound so much I've put my Gretsch, Tele, and Martin on hold, I'm sure I still exert too much pressure on the strings playing that stuff.
I'm gonna try to calm down.