AtamiraM30-Big disappointment

Jon

In defence of Altamiras, I've got an M30D, and it's fine. I don't use it much (it's a backup guitar) but when I do, I'd much rather be playing it than a Gitane or any of the other cheapies on offer. It's got a bit of a prominent low B that can stick out a little too, sounds a bit tight on the treble strings, doesn't have the bouncy string response of a top notch guitar, and the frets are higher than I normally like, but the neck is decent, and if my setup guy takes a bit longer on my #1 guitar, then this one has my back, and it's fine. I've played plenty of guitars over $4k with some or all of the problems I've listed here too - there's a lot of average out there I think.

kungfumonk007

I have a Gitane DG-250, and I have to say after set up, proper hydration (the thing dehydrates like no guitar I've ever had), and getting a dupont bridge put in, that guitar sounds dang great for its price level! People seem to dog on Gitanes but they have made a good guitar accessible, I would have never become a gypsy jazz guitarist except for the fact that I randomly happened on a clearance DG-250 for $250 on Guitar Center when they moved their warehouse.

Jazzaferri

Hmmmm...

jscook777

DragonPL,

I'm sorry to read about your disappointment! I'm not an expert but looking at the picture makes me think that the fret ends in that area have popped out a little and took some of the glue and poly finish off with it. Sort of makes me think that the wood was, or is adjusting to its new location and the frets are being stubborn to a change. I live in Florida and this sort of thing happens every once in a while with the change of seasons (even on my very expensive luthier guitars). I have a good luthier in town who takes a look at the guitars and tells me how to humidify or touches up the frets. I had a real problem last winter with "fret sprout" on most of my guitars. This sort of looks similar....

You're post strikes a chord with me. I recommended an Altamira to a mutual friend who after purchasing it was really doubting the guitar, not because of workmanship but because this was his first Selmer purchase. He was unsure of the guitar because the tone was far away from what he was used to (which is a pile of nice guitars). He's an excellent guitarist but this was his first real time spent with a Selmer. I got to meet him last weekend and played his Altamira, it was an awesome guitar! After he jammed with our band and heard his guitar played against our guitars he sort of got a feel of how the dry, upper midrange heavy Selmer guitars should sound. He's happy now and I bet he's really going to excel in this style with that great guitar!

I don't know how much experience you have playing Selmers but if this is your first purchase you may want to take it to some other Django style players and have them give it a whirl to get there opinion before you switch over to a Gitane...

Also, if Michael is offering to exchange or give you advice I would really recommend talking with him. I bought my Altamira on his recommendation and subsequently three of my students bought Altamiras from him after hearing mine. They are all great guitars and I would be thrilled to own any of them. Michael is hands down the most forth right and knowledgable guy I know of working in this style. I've been buying my stuff and following his posts since I got into this style. He always runs an excellent business and goes way far out of his way to give me advice on gear and help me out. I've bought a few guitars and also sold an expensive one through him. Once, I bought an expensive guitar through him that didn't fit for me and he sorted me out lickity split and pointed me in the right direction. You're in the right place for this stuff!

I hope you get this guitar situated for you or find a good solution. Either way, keep the Django flame alive!

All the best,
Jason

And, hey Bopster!

Bones

JS that is a really good point. It is not uncommon for fret ends to pop out due to climate changes. Could have happened during shipping for instance. Really though, fret ends popping out is far from unheard of even in high end instruments and really not a big deal.

MichaelHorowitz

jscook777 wrote: »

I'm not an expert but looking at the picture makes me think that the fret ends in that area have popped out a little and took some of the glue and poly finish off with it. Sort of makes me think that the wood was, or is adjusting to its new location and the frets are being stubborn to a change. I live in Florida and this sort of thing happens every once in a while with the change of seasons (even on my very expensive luthier guitars).

That was my theory as well. This happens quite a lot as Seattle has the world's most perfect guitar climate (almost always 50% humidity year round.) Often we setup a guitar perfectly here and then ship it to a much drier climate (this Altamira went to the East Coast where it's very dry in the winter) and the wood shrinks causing issues like this.

Thanks for the kind words!

Bones

Who knows what the temp/humidity was during shipment as well.

gitpicker

Keep in mind, these guitars are also built in Canton province, China where the humidity is very very high all year round. I remember when Altamira first started coming to namm show, the guitars all had super low action that was near unplayable due to the drastic difference in humidity in Anaheim from Southern China's climate. These things happen from time to time.

I've played some fantastic Altamira's, including my own, as well as a couple that were ok but not great (for my taste). In short, I believe the good ones far outweigh any duds. I wouldn't give up on them yet.

If it were me I'd maybe try another guitar of theirs.

*On a side note to put things in perspective, in 2006 I ordered a Dupont guitar from "a reputable online dealer", not Djangobooks, and it had some issues including a crooked neck! Naturally I was upset that I had forked over what for me was a substantial amount of money for a new guitar that clearly had issues. Of course I sent it back even though the dealer told me there was "nothing wrong with it". We all know Duponts are some of the most consistent gypsy guitars being made. The point is even with a high end brand, things like that can happen.

Years later I'm still playing this music and I still like Duponts. You're right a new instrument shouldn't have any issues like that. However, when I used to work for Saga, we would often have instruments returned to us for things like that, which were almost always the result from shipping and or climate acclimation.

Jazzaferri

Perfection, in anything human is a very rare occurrence in my experience.

Chiefbigeasy

I purchased my first Selmer style guitar, the Altamira M10D, from Michael a few months ago. I had a couple of issues myself when the guitar first arrived. Michael put me in touch with Josh, his luthier, who explained to me that during the setup of my guitar, it had been a particularly cold day in Seattle. Consequently, shipping down to New Orleans had altered the action of the guitar.

My conversations with Josh taught me to have confidence and making adjustments myself with this living instrument. He explained how to properly sand the bridge down to another level by attaching sandpaper to the top of the guitar to make sure that the resulting angle and contact with the bridge would be correct, for instance. I was able to improve the playability and gained a better understanding of my guitar.

Nevertheless, I found a local luthier familiar with Selmer style guitars who examined the instrument and recommended a fret job and truss rod adjustment to further fine-tune the guitar. He found one fret, for example, that was set much too low as compared to the others. In the end, his work on the guitar really made all the difference.

This brings me to my next point about the Altamira guitar. Michael offers a set up special which includes fret dressing, a special bridge, restringing, tail leather, and other close examination and set up, a process that he feels he does not need to offer on the more high-end European made guitars. I believe by suggesting this set up special, Michael is revealing the fact that he has spent a lot of time examining these guitars and is attempting to improve them to the best of his ability before selling them. Honestly, I don't think I've ever run into an instrument retailer who's has put this amount of research into his product.

My take on this situation is that the Altamira guitar is an imperfect yet affordable solution to the problem of getting authentic sounding Selmer style guitars into the hands of more people. I don't know that I would be enjoying playing a Selmer style guitar right now if it weren't for my Altamira or without the help of Michael and Josh.