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manouche guitars question

hi all , would someone please answer about when the maouuche guitars began their decline in quality or desireability , possibly in terms of guitar numbers. i have a 14 fret orchestra moreno with number 103 on the label , just wondering where it fits in the heierarchy . thank you.
shut up and play your guitar

Comments

  • pickitjohnpickitjohn South Texas Corpus, San Antonio, AustinVirtuoso Patenotte 260
    Posts: 936
    @blindjimmy

    A good place to start getting some info is the bottom right hand coner of this page
    RELATED DISCUSSIONS...

    It may be good to post a picture of the label…

    my memory may be off I think the difference may be in Model Jazz being the older more wanted guitar, it usually came in a fiberglass case,and the Model Orchestra a newer not as highly favorable.

    I may be corrected at any moment.

    pick on

    pickitjohn :peace:
  • Michael BauerMichael Bauer Chicago, ILProdigy Selmers, Busatos and more…oh my!
    edited June 2014 Posts: 1,002
    If we're talking about the brand Manouche, which later morphed into JWC (which are very different guitars), then the Jazz and the Orchestre were made simultaneously, and by at least number 72, they even made six prototype Concert models with nylon strings. I owned one of each Jazz #64, Orchestre #65, and Concert #72 (or maybe 63 and 64…I forget). My Concert, being a prototype, did not have a label, but Manouche sent me a blank one later. I kept it with the guitar and passed it on to the next owner, but I never put it in.

    I never played any numbers higher than mine, but I heard from friends later that they tried Manouches they didn't like. Maybe all that happened is that more good guitars were becoming available, and the Manouches seemed less great by comparison. I think the perceived "decline" began somewhere between numbers 100 and 150. The truth is, I never played one I didn't like far better than Gitanes and even Dell Artes at the time. They were pretty good sounding, especially for the money. Two of mine are still being gigged, one pretty regularly, and the third, I'm told, did a movie soundtrack, so they have stood the test of time.

    If Manouche #103 has that orange finish, it's probably still a pretty good one. People made fun of that finish at the time, but by coincidence I own Selmer #103, and that orange finish is spot on. Tony (one of the owners of Manouche) owned an Selmer d-hole as well, and I think that's where he got the idea for the Manouche finish.

    In the meantime, don't fret the hierarchy. It's either a guitar you like or it isn't. Manouche's are unlikely to become huge collector guitars, but they have held their value well.

    To me Manouche Guitars are the Austin Healy of gypsy guitars. Better than triumph or MG (Gitanes), but not as good as Duponts (Jaguars). They were reviewed as quite comparable to Duponts at the time on this very forum. That may have been overstating it, but only slightly. They were really good guitars. Not great, but very good, especially for the money). Part factory made, part hand finished with better than average hardware.
    I've never been a guitar player, but I've played one on stage.
  • rimmrimm Ireland✭✭✭✭ Paul doyle D hole, washburn washington
    Posts: 605
    They were very righteous guitars, I played a lot of gigs with mine over the years, but a neck warp ( that has been straightened by heating the truss rod by the new owner) forced me into buying a new guitar. Don't know of a decline in standards, I always fancied the d hole though as to me it sounded incredibly authentic , but either style would be a great purchase. And you are right about the colour, I wasn't that keen on it but it is spot on.
    I got a fever and the only prescription is more cowbell
  • fraterfrater Prodigy
    Posts: 763
    If I remember well the first batch with the green leather felt used a better top (AAA grade, bearclawed). Manouche guitars in those days were very loud, not particularly bright or piercing but with a "rounded" vintage sound that's really hard to find in new guitars... definitely not a campfire item though!
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