@guitarshark -
There has been a good deal of feedback in this thread that should help you considerably in making a decision.
After it had been established that a Cigano would be great way to go, you still posted a request for a used guitar. I got ahold of you and offered a Gitane 250M for a very reasonable price (about the same as a new Cigano). You were very interested for about 4 hours and then continued your search which now includes an Ibanez Ragtime (?!?!?).
As @richter4208 stated, you need to figure out what it is you want. There are many audio and video examples out there. Let your ears help you make a decision.
If you could let go of the cyber monday deal and commit to buying from djangobooks, a phone call to Michael would be well worth it. No one knows these guitars as well as he does and I'm sure he could make sure you get "a good one."
Good luck. I hope you find a guitar you really enjoy playing.
Many among the best of the best have used a D hole models for lead: Bireli, Joscho, Angelo... It's more about the particular guitar construction than a basic design. Although one of the best luthiers in the genre, Rodrigo Shopis once said "a D hole guitar is kinda like a room without a furniture" but he built some amazingly good D hole guitars himself.
And a few more things,
if you really get a gypsy jazz bug you will sooner or later buy a luthier instrument. Everyone that showed up and stayed on the forum did eventually.
So don't sweat your first guitar. Beating Cigano in this price range is impossible unless you find a used guitar that you can play first.
Why don't you call Michael and ask if and how close can he get to MF price? He can yes or no, it's gonna take you a couple of minutes. He immediately picked up a phone every time I called him. And he routinely had the best prices on the Internet for many things.
Call him...
Comments
Any better than the cigano???
There has been a good deal of feedback in this thread that should help you considerably in making a decision.
After it had been established that a Cigano would be great way to go, you still posted a request for a used guitar. I got ahold of you and offered a Gitane 250M for a very reasonable price (about the same as a new Cigano). You were very interested for about 4 hours and then continued your search which now includes an Ibanez Ragtime (?!?!?).
As @richter4208 stated, you need to figure out what it is you want. There are many audio and video examples out there. Let your ears help you make a decision.
If you could let go of the cyber monday deal and commit to buying from djangobooks, a phone call to Michael would be well worth it. No one knows these guitars as well as he does and I'm sure he could make sure you get "a good one."
Good luck. I hope you find a guitar you really enjoy playing.
https://reverb.com/item/3342792-cigano-gj-15-gypsie-jazz-guitar
if you really get a gypsy jazz bug you will sooner or later buy a luthier instrument. Everyone that showed up and stayed on the forum did eventually.
So don't sweat your first guitar. Beating Cigano in this price range is impossible unless you find a used guitar that you can play first.
Why don't you call Michael and ask if and how close can he get to MF price? He can yes or no, it's gonna take you a couple of minutes. He immediately picked up a phone every time I called him. And he routinely had the best prices on the Internet for many things.
Call him...