Django's Guitars on the Rome Sessions

Jeff Moore · January 2014

Its nice to see others obsess on the Rome guitar.
Really enjoyed the interplay between Bauer and Teddy (though unresolved I guess).
Would you both say that it wasn't 503 in Rome on those sessions?
Teddy, you show the Mogar picture (thanks that is a new one for me) but seem to remain unresolved about what he used.
Anybody no what a Mogar sounds like. Is that Rome sound found in this kind of guitar?
Thanks anyway for putting so much of what is known out here for us all!!!!!!

Teddy Dupont · January 2014

Based on logic, I think it is probably the 503 on the Rome Grappelli recordings. However, logic and Django don't really fit well together so I could well be wrong. I say it is the 503 because that is the guitar we see him with over that period except for the Mogar.

The Mogar was played on a later trip to Rome with Ekyan and was amplified so I'm pretty certain that is not on the Grappelli sessions.

Here he is with Ekyan at Le Touquet in 1949 with the 503 amplified so who knows??

Teddy Dupont · January 2014

......here is a close-up of the Ekyan, Le Touquet guitar and you can see Django inscribed on the headstock indicating it is almost 100% certain to be 503.

Teddy Dupont · January 2014

......and in Rome with the Ekyan recording session rhythm guys playing something that is obviously not the Mogar. 8-| Difficult to be sure exactly what the guitar is but Django was certainly losing his hair. [-X

Buco · January 2014

Teddy Dupont wrote: »

......but Django was certainly losing his hair. [-X

Finally something I certainly have in common with Django.

pickitjohn · January 2014

@Buco

Thanks man, you make me laugh.
Wanna go shoot some rats?

Pick on

Pickitjohn

Buco · January 2014

Yeah, Emmet Ray, the best that's ever been, 'cept there's this Gypsy...

spatzo · January 2014

The 1949 sound of Django in Rome is fantastic and is very probably played on a Selmer.

We must remember Franco Cerri's Milan photo playing a normal oval hole Selmer and it was the guitar Django had that year.

Was this guitar the Selmer 503? maybe but even if Django had another Selmer on that tournée I do believe the harmonic table of the so told "Django's Selmer with the round hole" had certainly been changed very recently when the guitar was to be sold. Probably a work done by a classical luthier in Italy with little knowledge of Selmers.

In 1950 Django borrowed the Mogar to an Italian guitarist that played Napolitans songs in the restaurant upstairs the Club where Django played.

The amplified sound on the 1950 records is a little bit heavy for me. The guitar was probably a very basic instrument compared to Selmers but at least it was amplified and that's what Django needed.