New Guitars: Dell'Arte and Geronimo Mateos

MichaelHorowitz

DELLARTE
HOMAGE GUITAR

Geronimo
Mateos - MODEL 452

sockeye

Cool!

Michael: it seems to me the set-up options that are listed (e.g. professional bridge,dress frets, leather under tailpiece) are more for the Gitane/Gallato than for these premium guitars.

John

frater

That's the Mateos of Cola, right? (the Dell'Arte has to!). Fine instruments! I only wish Mateos had followed the original Gallato 452 philosophy more closely as for the tuning machines (although these are probably better working) and the neck... But then Gallato would have sent him a Ninja squad!

MichaelHorowitz

sockeye wrote:

Cool!

Michael: it seems to me the set-up options that are listed (e.g. professional bridge,dress frets, leather under tailpiece) are more for the Gitane/Gallato than for these premium guitars.

John

Yeah, that's a generic list. But some people still might want the pickguard or more set up work. They both play well out of the box, but still have lower action then what most pros would use. If I was going to play these I'd definitely raise it.

'm

MichaelHorowitz

frater wrote:

That's the Mateos of Cola, right? (the Dell'Arte has to!). Fine instruments! I only wish Mateos had followed the original Gallato 452 philosophy more closely as for the tuning machines (although these are probably better working) and the neck... But then Gallato would have sent him a Ninja squad!

Yes, this is the same Mateos model that Alain has. I always liked the Gallatos...very traditional sounding and great for the price. I wasn't sure what to expect with the Mateos guitars...my understanding is that he built the Gallatos so I thought they'd be similar.

My first reaction is Wow!...the Mateos has everything the old Gallatos had and more. The old Gallatos were very, very brash. No bass response...all treble. Makes them very loud....and very Selmer like. The Mateos has much of that same quality, but more balanced. The Mateos has a sweeter, more pleasant high end and a little more low end then the Gallato. And it's still super loud! Louder then my Favino....

I would definitely put the Mateos in my top 5 list of the MOST traditional Selmer sounding guitars. When I play Django's Unaccompanied pieces on it it sounds just like the recording!

'm

frater

Mateos was in charge of the "452 project" for Gallato (although some less famous luthiers like Marco Buitano also were working on it...). I think, economical reasons apart, probably one of the reasons why Mateos and Gallato split was that, being a traditional and Flamenco luthier, Mateos had his vision of what a good guitar is and didn't want to be a mere Selmerclone. I'm glad he has proved to be right!

Josh Hegg

Just got the two guitars from Michael today to take a look at in the shop.

The Homage:
In short... Nice. Has a Favino air about it but is set up WAY too low. Almost not playable in a jam. Every note craps out at this point. But I can hear "That" tone in there and with a set up the thing will scream! The bridge that came on it is not bad but the compensation is too extreme and the intonation is off. I would urge any one to have a bridge made for that particular guitar. The guitar looks great and feels nice. There is a fret marker on the 9th fret and that can be changed should there be the want for the 10th marker. Over all a great guitar and has a distinct tone. With some shop love she will make some one very happy.

Mateos - MODEL 452:
One word... WOW. I'm blown away. This is the next gem guitar. Get one while you can. There is no question that this guitar is at the top. The tone is sweet and has a great Selmer vibe. I'm very happy that these guitars turned out great. In one of my earlier posts I had concerns and said that I hope they are great. After playing this one today I'm very happy to say they are just that.... Great. The one odd thing is the bridge. (any of you getting sick of me going off on every bridge!?) This is a bridge that has been mad for the guitar. So the intonation is spot on. It is just an odd design but works well. I would be interested to hear it with a more Selmer style bridge but the one that is has is just fine. The set up is nice but some might find it just on the low side. There are no fret markers but as with any that can be changed if need be.

Michael and I jammed a couple of tunes today in the warm Seattle sun (I'm not kidding. It was like summer today). We each played both guitars and they are bother great. The Homage needs a little love but that is easy. If you are looking to step up from your Gitane the Homage is a good step. If you are looking to take a major leap up or ad another high end instrument to your arsenal the Mateos is an amazing instrument. I can see them going way up in price as they catch on.

Cheers,
Josh

sockeye

This is the same Favino-style Homage that Dell'Arte has been making for a few years, right? Not the new Chinese-made ones?

Edit: I just read Michael's description more carefully, and see that these are the American ones. For some reason, from Josh's post I got the idea that this was a new model...