Gitane DG-340 (Stephane Wrembel model) videos and reviews?

Nathan Sist

Finally got the guitar last Saturday! The guitar is really good and it's in top-notch condition. The guitar looks and sounds beautiful, plus the hardcase with green velvet/plush interior. Surprisingly, it came with an internal pickup installed in the guitar but I don't know the brand or model of the pickup as I can't see it through the soundhole. I think the pickup is microphonic (is it the right term?) because it feedbacks when I plugged it into my electric guitar amp and in order for it not to do so, you must be a little bit far away from the amp. I had a good use out of it when I plugged the guitar into my Zoom G3X (a multieffect pedal, more commonly used for electric guitars), then I plugged in my headphones which served as an output for the guitar. With that connection, I was able to create loops for myself to jam with. It's the only good thing I can make out of the pickup right now as I have no knowledge about taming that feedback it produces when plugged straight into an amp, but nonetheless, it's great to have the pickup given the price I paid for the guitar. I took some pictures of the guitar and it's already there in the guitar archive section of the forum. Here's the link: http://www.djangobooks.com/gallery/gitane-dg-340-modele-stephane-wrembel/

Buco

Yay good for you!
It's more likely that you have a piezzo contact pick up, they're more resistant to feedback than microphones but still will feedback if turned up loud.
Whatever the case, things like this do a good job of getting rid of feedback, I have LR Baggs now and that's what I use but in the past I had the Fishman and I think they're equally good:
http://www.djangobooks.com/Item/l-r-baggs-para-acoustic-di
http://www.djangobooks.com/Item/fishman-pro-eq-platinum-sale

Nathan Sist

Thanks, Buco! Having a gypsy jazz guitar really opened a whole new dimension for me. Yes, I think that's the right term for the pickup. I just have a question about those D.I./preamps you've mentioned. Is it assured that if I buy one of those two (or other of the same kind), the pickup will not feedback anymore no matter how close I am from the amp? And out of the two, which one would you really recommend? Thanks again!

Buco

The feedback issue and a DI/preamp pedal is not a black and white one. I sometimes have to tinker for a while before I find a sweet spot where the guitar doesn't feedback. I use a clip on mic though which is more feedback prone than piezo. Also my amp is always close to me because it's always a pretty confined space for the band where we play. All that said I was always able to get the LR Baggs to do it's job with slightly different settings for different rooms. It's handy to have it as a DI for the occasion where we go directly to the house sound because I can eq the sound how i like it before it goes to the mix board, versus the DI pedal that the house can offer which is just that, a DI.

I'd say you can't go wrong with either of those. I used the Fishman at first with a piezo but then I traded it with a friend for his Krivo pickup. Then I decided to try the mic again and needed a pedal again and a used LR Baggs came up first. I still use Krivo pickups as well, sometimes because I wanna have that sound and sometimes I just don't wanna deal with feedback.
Maybe I'd give a slight advantage to LR in the eq section, i think they are equally good at feedback job and Fishman is built like a tank but LR is not far behind. If I was buying new and had the money for either, I'd probably get the LR Baggs.

Nathan Sist

Thanks for the insight about the feedback issue and the DI/preamp pedal. I think I'd go with the LR Baggs, so I must start saving money for this one and for other gypsy jazz related items.

Oh by the way, I think I would save up money for a floating pickup too, like the Krivo you've mentioned. I kinda like the sound/tone of a magnetic pickup.