Django's Arthur Carbonelli guitar

paulmcevoy75

duly noted, thank you. Carbonel.

I'm leaning towards it might be an error then, that the early guitar was a Carbonel? It doesn't look anything like any of the Carbonels I've seen thus far?

It's interesting that it seems to have a lot of post-Selmer qualities but the pictures are made to be of a young Django? (cutaway, headstock looks like other Parisian/Selmer influenced guitars/Archtop Selmer style bridge)

scot

Carbonell was from Spain, thus you see Spanish, not Italian, influence in his guitars - ultimately he became a classical guitar maker. The guitar in those photos is by all accounts a Burgassi (Italian), fairly typical of early franco/italian guitars.

Bianchi's black Carbonell was by all accounts an excellent guitar and he suggested in an interview that Django liked it so much he used it one of the 1938 recording sessions. I certainly always wondered if the much different tone in the '38 recordings was a result of this guitar. Someone in Paris, maybe Patrick Saussois, told me that the black guitar was stolen and never seen again. Such a shame, it probably wound up burned for firewood...

paulmcevoy75

https://www.djangobooks.com/forum/discussion/comment/117834#Comment_117834

Super helpful, thank you!

I have to look closer at the pictures but this looks quite similar, minus the fretboard extension, it seems clear this is the maker, if not the same exact shape.

https://www.djangobooks.com/Item/siro-burgassi-1947

mondodave

On another note, I've owned two vintage Carbonells, and they are excellent guitars. However, as roundholes, they don't seem to be as popular with the GJ community, but I love them!