Saga Guitars now at DjangoBooks.com

frater

sockeye wrote:

By the way -- a reminder to beware of low humidity. I've been cavalier with my Gitane and I noticed this weekend that there are hairline cracks in the ebony fingerboard and a hairline crack in the top parallel to the fingerboard extension.

John

I've got 3 Gitanes and each year have experienced the same problem (thanks God no cracks, yet). Now I got an ultrasonic humidifier and this seems pretty much to have solved the problem...

Josh Hegg

Also if you store your instruments on an inside wall of your house that will help too. I normally keep my guitars in the case when I'm not playing because I have small children but that seems to help a but too.

blindjimmy

hi, theres a luthier here in scottsdale,az. Walter , Gypsy Guitars, who was in the process of building a guitar at his store while i was there. he trained in south america, and his guitars have the bent arch top. he demonstrated the effect by hitting a tuning fork and holding the fork on the top of a couple of flat top luthier guitars he had for sale, then on the top of a del atre ( the only one i've ever seen in person) the fork did ring noticeably louder on top of the del arte. then he did it again with his guitar, and it had to be another 20% louder than the DA, wow. i played his guitar, and another teardrop shaped instrument he had made with a normal guitar neck, and they played great, very loud with lots of overtones. said he could build a selmer copy if i liked!

MichaelHorowitz

blindjimmy wrote:

hi michael, the one gitane I've seen appeared to have no arch in the top.
do these gitane guitars have arched tops, does it vary between models.
thanks for all you've done here.

I just compared my Favino to the Saga DG-310 that just came in. The arch looks pretty similar. The most glaring difference is that the top of my Favino has definitely sunk. Right around where the bridge is. I guess that's inevitable. Otherwise the tops look fairly similar.

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Tom Landman

Michael Horowitz wrote:

Yeah...it's basically the same guitar. The only differences are aesthetics...

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Well, according to JJ himself, the DG-320 has a narrower neck profile and different bracing and top then the DG-300.
(See http://members2.boardhost.com/JohnJorge ... 14299.html)

Any user reviews on the DG-320 yet?

MichaelHorowitz

Sorry...my fault. I meant that the 310 is basicly the same guitar as the 300. However, the 310 also has a slimmer neck then the 300.

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Bohemian

So now that you have (presumably) gotten the Gitanes

Have you compared the D-500 to the Cordoba D-5 and what is your opinion ?

Also curious about your observations on the 320

I see that there will also be a JJ short scale Big D 12 fret....

Now all we need is a short scale 14 fret Big D
and a short scall oval hole..

Thanks

MichaelHorowitz

Bohemian wrote:

Have you compared the D-500 to the Cordoba D-5 and what is your opinion ?

I'd say the Gitane D-500 slightly edges out the Cordoba D-5. But the D-5 is significantly cheaper, and if you take that into account the D-5 is a damn good deal. The D-500 is a bit louder, although that might change if I raised the action on the D-5. Although the D-5 is a bit quieter, I'd say it sounds closer to a real Maccaferri then the D-500 (i've actually played Nous'che Rosenberg's Mac on a number of occasions.) The problem with the D-500, and all the Gitanes in general, is that they are very bass heavy. You really don't want too much bass on these guitars. Most of the vintage Selmers, Busatos, and Favinos are so bright they're practically banjos. The Gitane has this flat top characteristic in the low end that differentiates it from the traditional Selmer sound. But they still sound pretty damn good for what you pay.

Also curious about your observations on the 320

I'm supposed to get a few next month....

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Mac Hack

Michael Horowitz wrote:

I'd say the Gitane D-500 slightly edges out the Cordoba D-5. But the D-5 is significantly cheaper, and if you take that into account the D-5 is a damn good deal. The D-500 is a bit louder, although that might change if I raised the action on the D-5. Although the D-5 is a bit quieter, I'd say it sounds closer to a real Maccaferri then the D-500 (i've actually played Nous'che Rosenberg's Mac on a number of occasions.) The problem with the D-500, and all the Gitanes in general, is that they are very bass heavy. You really don't want too much bass on these guitars. Most of the vintage Selmers, Busatos, and Favinos are so bright they're practically banjos. The Gitane has this flat top characteristic in the low end that differentiates it from the traditional Selmer sound. But they still sound pretty damn good for what you pay.

When reading these threads I try to remind myself how few of us have actually played a real Selmer or Maccaferri, let alone multiple Selmer/Maccaferri models of various types, or even multiple examples of the same model over the years as they change physically and sonically with age. My experience with vintage acoustic guitars is that identical models can vary a great deal in sound from one to the other. And there are so many other variables like string choice, set-up, and playing style that can factor into the sonic results that are ultimately produced (not to mention the effects of mic placement, changing recording technologies, and the effects of remastering found on many of todays vintage recordings). It will be interesting to see how these newer guitars change sonically with age.

Incidentally, I chose the D-500 grand bouche over several other makes and models PARTLY because I really liked the extra bass response especially on some of the slower ballads like "Manoir De Mes Reves," "Tears," "Nuages," and "Autumn Leaves." I also liked it over the other makes and models for playing fingerstyle pieces and bossa nova.

Michael Horowitz wrote:

I just compared my Favino to the Saga DG-310 that just came in. The arch looks pretty similar. The most glaring difference is that the top of my Favino has definitely sunk. Right around where the bridge is. I guess that's inevitable. Otherwise the tops look fairly similar.

Yikes, I'm sorry to hear this considering what Favino's are costing these days! Anyway, thanks for posting your comments and for being able to offer these guitars for sale through this website. I'm interested in the new Gitane 320 as well and am tempted to order one from you.

MichaelHorowitz

Mac Hack wrote:

Yikes, I'm sorry to hear this considering what Favino's are costing these days! Anyway, thanks for posting your comments and for being able to offer these guitars for sale through this website. I'm interested in the new Gitane 320 as well and am tempted to order one from you.

It's totally normal sinkage...(is that a word?). The tops on these guitars are so thin and lightly braced that it happens with all of them. My guitar tech, who works on 90% of the vintage Selmer type guitars in Seattle said it's totally normal. They will sink a bit around the bridge and then settle in and stay that way. It's funny, he works on all sorts of guitars and loathes doing repair work on Selmers. They take 10 times the work of an archtop or flat top. He always says that Selmers "live on the razors edge." Pretty true, they're like Flamenco guitars...ultra light construction. When they go South it's often better to just get a new one then try to repair it...ha ha. I don't think folks who have $25K vintage Selmers like the idea that they own a "disposable" guitar...

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