Altamira M01

BillDaCostaWilliams

 I bought the two I have now without trying them and am quite happy.

Me too with my M01f (2nd hand, good price).

MikeK

Welcome to the forum, jrag. I own an Altamira M-01D (laminate, bought new from Michael at this site) as well as an Altamira M-10 (solid wood, I bought it used) & I can tell you I've never had a single concern about that difference between the 2 guitars. They're both a joy to play (unplugged & through an amp) and exceptional instruments, especially for the price. They also seem to hold their value. I've been gigging weekly for several years on my Altamiras & they hold their own on any bandstand. My suggestion would be to buy one, have a luthier in your hometown set it up just the way you want it, and start having fun learning/playing this music on it. I dont think you'll be disappointed.

stuology

The original Selmer’s that Django played had laminated back and sides - so you shouldn’t be worried about that, if anything they are more authentic. A lot of players will only play laminates. My two gypsy guitars are laminated.

I tend to find that guitars built this way are more responsive. Solid wood guitars can be harder to drive, but when you dig in the tone can have more character. I don’t know whether there is any science behind this or whether it is just my perception. I suspect that in a blind test most people wouldn’t be able to tell the difference.

jrag

Thanks everyone! These comments are extremely helpful! I’m just counting down the days now until I place my order—Jan 20!

I’ve got to say the folks on this forum are much nicer and more helpful than the folks on the piano forum I used to hang out in!

vanmalmsteen

https://www.djangobooks.com/forum/discussion/comment/104497#Comment_104497

Try hanging out at the lead singer forum!