guitars in nyc?

MinorBlues

Does anyone know if there are any places that hold any type of gypsy guitars in nyc? I would like to play one to see how it feels/sounds. Thanks.

Jack

Definitely one or two on 48th(?)-sorry, it's been awhile since I left...if you're up for a trip, Mandolin Bros. on Staten Island always seems to have some in stock as well. Someone on the Yahoo gypsyjazzguitar group was asking the same thing a few months ago; this was one reply:

"You can get Saga Gitane guitars at Carmine St. Guitars down
the street from Matt Umanov's near the corner of Carmine St. and
Bleeker. They also sell Argentine strings. I also recommend Rudys on
48th St. They deal in Dell Arte's and carry some of the new low end ones
like the Pigalle. If you go upstairs to the acoustic shop on the second
floor of Rudys there's a guy there named Gordon who can help you out."

Beyond NY but close by is Acoustic Music in CT, I think their site is:
www.acousticmusic.org

Finally, you should try to make it out to Django in June in Western Mass, especially if you haven't bought an instrument before then...we'll have a lot of instruments available to play and buy...

Best,
Jack.

a

this guy's guitars look really nice. never tried one though .. :
http://www.ithacastring.com/rodrigo_shopis.php

brandoneon

this guy's guitars look really nice. never tried one though .. :
http://www.ithacastring.com/rodrigo_shopis.php

They are *extremely* nice. Although he's based out of NYC, the luthier has strong connections to musicians in Ithaca, NY. The guitarist in my swing/chanson group owns one (I think it's the guitar on the right side of the webpage) and another musician in town has a grande bouche. These guitars sound excellent and the guitarists are really happy with them. And they are very pricey.

MinorBlues

Thanks for the replies everyone. I will definitely pass by the places in the city, I've been there plenty of times but I had no clue they held these guitars. I'll update you once I play them.

just the bassplayer

Yesterday, at the Twentieth Century Guitar Show on Long Island, I had the chance to try 2 of Rodrigo Shopis' instruments. He's the guy at 98 Charlton Street NY, NY, and who is connected with Ithaca Strings, upstate. I tried his 14 fret small mouth and his 14 fret D-hole. Both were extraordinary instruments. First rate necks, fret boards, fit, finish and sound.
The D-hole has the thickest neck profile that I've played, and it was beautiful, and worth the money, if you have it.

They were in the $2,800 to $3,200 range. He's very knowledgeable about the construction, and gypsy music. If you're a serious player looking for first rate instruments, he's certainly worth checking out.

At the same show I tried some of Bernie Lehmann's instruments. Bernie , a terrific and approachable guy, takes a creative approach, using X-bracing, and fits his guitars with a sound port in the upper bout. In a noisy room, like a guitar show, I was impressed with how well I could hear myself over the din of wailing telecasters and expensive arch tops.

Also present were the guy from CT. Is it, acoustic org? He had 2 of Shelly Parks' instruments fitted with bronze strings and the action lowered to about 2 mm at the 12th fret. His set up virtually ruined these beautiful instruments. When I questioned him about this, he explained that most of his customers aren't gypsy jazz players, just (rich) people who want to finger pick nice looking guitars (!) Absolutely maddening. The strings were bouncing off the frets and the high B and E strings were misintonating as they bottomed out from the low action. Heresy, in my opinion. What a tragedy.

I finally got to try a John Jorgenson Gitane, and I must say that I was very impressed with the sound, the playability, the construction and fit and finish. It will probably be my next instrument, but, I'll buy it from this site both because of price and Michael Horowitz's great work.

MinorBlues

Great...I was going to go to that as well but I couldn't make it. $2,800 and up is a bit steep for me considering i'm just a college student and not a profesional gypsy jazz player. I don't think I want one of the cheap crap boxes either. I'm probably gonna check out the dell arte models ($1000 range) at Rudy's if he really has them. I will be trying these out most likely tomorrow.

Eaceto

Hi, This is my first time posting. Rodrigo asked me to let everyone know that we will be showing some of his guitars at the "Django In June" festival in North Hampton next month. Ithaca Stringed instruments (Rodrigo and I)will be there with several instruments and are sponsors of the violin clinics with Tim Kliphuis. It should be a great time. Hope to see you there.
best regards,
Eric Aceto

chappie

I recently played two of Rodrigo's guitars at his studio in lower Manhattan. An oval and a D-hole model. They are the nicest guitars I have played in the last couple of years... Only my Dupont MDC-50 D-hole and a really great Shelly Park oval that I played were comparable. He is very faithful to the original Selmer except they are solid wood back and sides. They are extremely loud and not at all brassy. Very balanced from bass to treble with good sustain. The finish on these guitars is gorgeous and they are very light. Comparable in price to Collins or Shelly Park. He will have these guitars at Django in June for folks to try out. His phone number is 212 675 4905. You can visit him if you make an appointment. He also does fabulous repair work, refretting and works very quickly.
Chappie

MinorBlues

I played a Dell Arte today, i'm pretty sure it was a pegalle. I definitely liked the feel of it. I played it real light because I didn't want to drive anyone crazy, I get the feeling that it can handle good volumes. Does anyone here use these for regular jazz or do you think it would be too bright for that? I'm kind of torn up between this guitar and a jazz box (epiphone joe pass or similar), and my wallet says I can only get one. Someone persuade me into the right choice! haha.

Brogan eye

Hi Minorblues,
I'm a player of just over a year and I own the Pigalle. I love it very much in many ways. I also play a guild archtop and use it for the gypsy style because I'm very munch into that classic archtop sound. My advice is that if you are really into this music, go with a selmer copy for sure. You will want that certain tone that only this style can deliver. My next advice is to try the Saga John Jorgensen or Lulo Reinhardt model as well as the Pigalle. I really love my guitar, but when the Saga is set up right, they sound great and are a little cheaper. The less expensive Sagas are good starter guitars also, but they are not set up as well as the signature models. It is worth the extra couple hundred $. If you do like the Pigalle that you played, I'd go for it. They are nice guitars and mine is well worth the money I paid. If you know anyone that has experience in the style, ask them to check it out for you. By the way, Djangobooks has great prices on the Sagas. Happy guitar hunting. Brogan eye