Saga Gitane DG-340 - MODELE STEPHANE WREMBEL

MichaelHorowitz

Saga
Gitane DG-340 SELMER STYLE JAZZ GUITAR - MODELE STEPHANE WREMBEL

Fopa

How does it differ from the 320, (which is what my son plays and swears by)

MichaelHorowitz

Well, first off it's an oval hole. It has a compensated bridge, no position markers, and walnut binding. The new DG-320s sound better IMO. But it's still a cool guitar.

constantine

Can you comment on the sound of this new gitane? Is it any closer to a "gypsy" sounding guitar?

MichaelHorowitz

It's mellower and more full bodied then your average Gypsy guitar. Not really that loud either. It'd make a nice rhythm guitar or a good amplified giging guitar. But lacks chutzpah for acoustic lead playing.

MichaelHorowitz

I've got another DG-340 here now and it sounds a lot better then the first one I tried. I think I'll at least partially retract some of previous comments, as I think this guitar has some nice qualities to it.

First off, the one I have now is a lot louder then the first one I tried. The improved neck angle and top arch really eliminated the excessive bassiness that was common with most of the other Gitane models. This guitar, along with the DG-320 and DG-330, is much brighter and snappier then previous models.

The clearing up of the bass register is really an improvement. However, some of the things that bothered me about the previous models are still there. The two things I notice are an excessive amount of sympathetic ringing and very, very high partial overtones. It clouds up the sound a lot and can be annoying at times. I think a better bridge and some additional set up work will get rid of some of that, but it'll probably never totally disappear.

Like the other Gitanes, this guitar is also fairly wet (reverby) sounding. That also takes a little zing out of the leads, but isn't terrible.

I think this is hands down the best looking Gitane...I like the dotless fretboard (there are dots on the side, but not the top), the natural finish, and tasteful inlays are nice.

All in all, a great guitar for the $. Has some issues that a fine hand made guitar won't have, but an incredible buy for the $. Can easily serve as a professional performing guitar but some of the overtone/wetness issues would make it tricky to record.

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EmmettRay

I have played Stephane's personal guitar and agree with Michael, its a real beauty but has just a few flaws. I love the blank neck look. I think its the best of the petit bouche Gitanes I have played though. I am partial to the D-holes, the DG-500 and DG-320 are the best of the brand.

Anyone who does buy this guitar should not be disappointed, a few small upgrades can make it that much better.

djangology

the blank neck is cool, but if you are a teacher and you teach to students, I would recommend getting a guitar that has dots.