A newcomer and a guitar question.

ConorF · December 2017

I can give you all the details when I see you John.

wimden · December 2017

Any chance there is such a thing in Belgium where I can test the guitars?

Chiefbigeasy · December 2017

One more thing, but I think it’s important: these guitars don’t sound like what you’re probably used to playing. Also, it takes some technique—rest stroke picking, la pompe rhythm—to get them to sound like what you may hear other players doing. It can be a little frustrating when you start. The most common complaint I hear from non-gypsy jazz players is that these guitars can sound “banjo-y.” I had a similar experience playing flamenco. To an inexperienced hand, my flamenco sounded like a thin classical, but when I heard my instructor play it, it had the right sound. It took a while for me to get that sound myself.

While I think it’s good advice to play some guitars before you buy, it would be great if you can bring a somewhat experienced player to play them for you. Additionally, I always like to hear what the instrument sounds like to the listener; it will be very different than from the player’s point of view.

All that said, because I don’t live where I can play any of these instruments, I depended on Michael's demonstrations and explanations for my first guitar. You can trust that whatever he sells you will be what it should be. When I was ready to spend more money, I was fortunate that Michael had a high quality video of what appeared to be the exact guitar he was selling as played by a master player while the actual luthier described the instrument. That was a rare treat, but it sealed the deal. By the time I was ready to buy my third guitar, I was experienced enough to know what I was looking for, and the seller was a reputable guy on this forum.

Hope this helps. Good luck.

diminishedrun · December 2017

Chiefbigeasy wrote: »

One more thing, but I think it’s important: these guitars don’t sound like what you’re probably used to playing. Also, it takes some technique—rest stroke picking, la pompe rhythm—to get them to sound like what you may hear other players doing. It can be a little frustrating when you start. The most common complaint I hear from non-gypsy jazz players is that these guitars can sound “banjo-y.” I had a similar experience playing flamenco. To an inexperienced hand, my flamenco sounded like a thin classical, but when I heard my instructor play it, it had the right sound. It took a while for me to get that sound myself.

While I think it’s good advice to play some guitars before you buy, it would be great if you can bring a somewhat experienced player to play them for you. Additionally, I always like to hear what the instrument sounds like to the listener; it will be very different than from the player’s point of view.

All that said, because I don’t live where I can play any of these instruments, I depended on Michael's demonstrations and explanations for my first guitar. You can trust that whatever he sells you will be what it should be. When I was ready to spend more money, I was fortunate that Michael had a high quality video of what appeared to be the exact guitar he was selling as played by a master player while the actual luthier described the instrument. That was a rare treat, but it sealed the deal. By the time I was ready to buy my third guitar, I was experienced enough to know what I was looking for, and the seller was a reputable guy on this forum.

Hope this helps. Good luck.

Yes it does help thanks. My teacher has a John Le Voi guitar and I’m familiar with how that sounds and plays - in fact I am considering a Le Voi at this moment.

With regards to getting the sound. I accept it might be a while until I’m able to produce the sound but hopefully I will get there. It’s actually soloing that concerns me the most but I’m prepared to give it a good go.

ConorF · January 2018

wimden wrote: »

Any chance there is such a thing in Belgium where I can test the guitars?

Not sure to be honest but Francois Charles sometimes has a JWC in stock if you fancy a trip to Paris.

Paulus Schafer alos plays a JWC so if you can get to a concert he'd let you try his I'm sure.

Buco · January 2018

On his Gypsy jazz student videos Paulus used a guitar built by Bert Peters, it sounded great in those videos.

crookedpinky · January 2018

wimden - there's the festival in Liberchies much like the one in Wales with lots of jamming going on with loads of different guitars being played. The last time I was there it was excellent.I don't know the exact dates but it's normally the second or third weekend in May.