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USA Dell'arte question

richter4208richter4208 ✭✭✭
in Welcome Posts: 518
Are the dell'arte guitars that are made in the USA made in a factory or team of luthiers, or a one man shop?

The Hommage model seems to get pretty decent praise any other models that are generally held in high regard? I played a Pigalle that seemed nice for the brief period I played it.

Just exploring some options as I ponder my next gypsy guitar.

Comments

  • Pugs47Pugs47 New
    Posts: 102
    The US Dell Artes are made by John Kinnard and a few craftsman. I've owned many US and imported Dell Artes. They're great for the bucks. The Pigalle was Asian made along with a Asian Robin Nolan and Hommage D-Hole. Nothing like the US Nolan's and Hommages.
  • Pugs47Pugs47 New
    Posts: 102
    The Aisan models were originally Alan Cola's and then distributed by an agreement with MusicLink.
  • richter4208richter4208 ✭✭✭
    Posts: 518
    Ah, very interesting thanks for the info.
  • jonpowljonpowl Hercules, CA✭✭✭ Dupont MD-100, Altamira M01F
    Posts: 705
    As I recall, some early Dell'Arte guitars were made in Mexico. From http://www.johnkinnard.com/about.html: In 1998, John met ****, who at the time, was producing Selmer/Maccaferri guitars and other instruments manufactured in Mexico under the Dell' Arte Instruments brand. From October 1998 to December 2006, Dell' Arte instruments were manufactured in Santee, California, U.S.A. with all Mexican manufacturing stopped as of May of 1999.
  • StevearenoSteveareno ✭✭✭
    Posts: 349
    I have a U.S. made Dell Arte Studio Homage, made by John Kinnard. It's Favino size without any extra bling. It does have a top quality ebony fretboard, bear claw spruce top and faux tortoiseshell binding. I like it a lot and has held up well for the last 8 years or so. I see new ones pop up from time to time at Westwood Music and McCabes in LA and occasionally used ones on Craig's List. The even did a Jimmy Rosenberg model! I reckon they're great guitars, but am no expert on SelMacs or GJ. I play different styles including Western Swing and various "standards". Just really like the tone, vibe and playablility of these boxes.
    Swang on,
  • husyhusy Seattle✭✭✭
    Posts: 58
    I own a US made (CA) Dell Arte petite bouche. I've also had the chance to try two Asian made Dell Artes that other people have.

    I absolutely love my Dell Arte. It was an upgrade from Gitane D500. After 1.5 years of owning it and trying quite a few other guitars I still think it was very good value for the money. The neck is super easy, the tone is quite nicely balanced, and it has character in its timbre. Two main downsides are: 1) It's not on the louder end, and 2) it's a bit wet compared to more popular petit bouche guitars (wetness is actually a positive for my occasional finger-style playing).

    Now about Asian made Dell Artes: They have decent sound no doubt. Way way better than the Gitane 500 - the main thing that bothered me about the Gitane was the overtones that kept ringing with dissonance, and that problem doesn't seem to exist with the Asian Dell Artes. But compared to my US made one their tone is definitely a step down. Hard to put this in words, but they just sound more boring. The necks were a bit more difficult too, perhaps even more so than the Gitane, although I'm sure one could get used to that. But they are both noticeably louder than my guitar (and have more treble). I think their build quality is better than the Gitane too.

    All this being said, there are some Gitane and Altamira models that sound much nicer than my old Gitane 500 and I'm not sure how they compare with Asian Dell Artes...

  • pickitjohnpickitjohn South Texas Corpus, San Antonio, AustinVirtuoso Patenotte 260
    Posts: 936
    @richter4208
    You may like to check this Craigslist ad… great $

    Dell Arte gypsy jazz guitar - rare prototype - $1400

    http://portland.craigslist.org/wsc/msg/4439700155.html

    Wish I was around Portland I'd be checking that baby out especially with a custom bridge made by Josh Hegg

    After two weeks of a TONERITE treatment my 2005 D A Hommage is incredible.

    Tonerite…

    http://www.amazon.com/ToneRite®-TR-GR03-ToneRite-for-Guitar/dp/B004BA83ZO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1398693231&sr=8-1&keywords=tonerite

    pick on
    pickitjohn :peace:
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