Describe the guitars you own, the nicest ones you've played

Heretic

I own a humble DG-300 Gitane John Jorgenson, which still surpasses my abilities.

The nicest guitars that I've played (not owned) are:

1) Rodrigo Shopis 14 fret oval hole.

2) Rodrigo Shopis American Jazz oval hole - sunburst finish with pick guard, and Stimer. Rodrigo described this to me as his " 1957 Chevy", with all the iconic touches.

3) Shelley D. Park 14 fret Model Encore.

These three guitars were alive, and beautifully crafted and finished. Ah, the stuff that dreams are made of.

MichaelHorowitz

dennis wrote:

Chriss Campion's favino D hole which was basically my dell'arte anouman x 10

Someone told me that Chriss' guitar was actually a Dell Arte Hommage with a Favino label stuck in there...is that true?

blindjimmy

i have an early 70's harmony dread , awsome guitar. between the high bridge and the bowed neck, the action is nice and high, at least between the third and ninth frets, and there is no fret buzz whatsoever between the first and third and the tenth to sixteenth frets. while the lack of low end bassiness makes for a nice soloing guitar, the lack of treble provides for a nice unobtrusive rhythm instrument.
one of the absolutely coolest guitars i ever played was a handmade nylon string , just across the border in nogales. old men built them right out in the open air shops. after trying half a doen junkers, i picked one up that just rang, loud, lots of harmonics, effortless to play. it also had that wood rope type of binding that must have been about an inch thick, alternating between white and red. unfortunately, and this was in the early eighties, i had already spent too much on fireworks, donkeys--t cigarrettes, tequila with the worm, tecate and mexican hookers to afford the guitar. those guys were all gone last time i went back.

Stringswinger

Best Gypsy guitars I have played:

Robin Nolan's Favino
Teddy G's Favino

(JP Makes great guitars)

Paul Mehling's Dupont MD 50
Paul Mehling's Dupont MD20 (used to belong to Paul Hostetter)
My Dupont MD 20 (If Doug Martin killed me for it, all he would have to do is play it for the jury and they would let him off finding that it was justifiable homicide )

(Maurice makes some great guitars)

George Cole's Selmer D hole
John Jorgenson's Selmer D hole (used to belong to Tony Marcus)
Soren (of Palm guitars) Selmer Round hole (not oval)

(Selmer made some great guitars)

I have a Shelly Park D hole. Not in the same class as a Selmer, Dupont or Favino, but as good as anything else, and has a neck that is more comfortable than any other Gypsy guitar IMHO.

I have a maple Gitane that was hand picked by John Jorgenson that sounds great and makes a great travel/outdoor guitar. It has a Dupont bridge on it that improved it from an OK guitar to a very good guitar.

Don't get me started on Archtops, semi hollows, flat tops, classicals and solid bodies. Guitars are like women. The problem with being true to one is that you have to be untrue to all the rest!

Cheers,

Marc

www.hotclubpacific.com

Mr. Busato

The guitars I own are a 1940 Busato that I am working in and really enjoying... like any gypsy guitar it takes a little while to figure out how to make that particular instrument play and sound its best, but once you do they are so fun to play or even just to look at!
I also own Selmer # 103... I purchased it 3 years ago from the Chinery collection. I feel that I am more the caretaker of this instrument rather than its owner... we can only guess at the stories this guitar could tell. One day my son will own this guitar or maybe Vic Wong or Tom ****... if I sold it or gave it away I would still want to know it was in good hands.
My other guitars are a Mateos and a black Favino style Dell Arte... they are both for sale! The search continues for a road guitar, One of my students brought in a new Saga yesterday... not to shabby.

The best guitars I have ever played are easy to recall... One of Dan Alexander's Larson guitars comes to mind, this guitar was so rich and robust sounding that It was unreal. If you ever have a chance to play a Larson do it!
The John Mello "Jazz" guitar that I used on Sheila's waltz overture was wonderful... kind of like a cross between a folk guitar and an arch top.
The one that got away is the Selmer oval hole from the Chinery collection that I did not buy because it is wrong to purchase 2 Selmers in one day... sometimes I still think about that guitar, all it needed was a setup from Chris Berkov to take its rightful place among the greatest guitars ever!

Jack

Hi George,

Good to see you here-I'm sure Vic and Tom agree! What are the details of the Selmer that got away? For the record, if I don't think it's wrong to buy two in a day if you can get away with it...

best,
Jack.

Mr. Busato

Mr. Jack,
As one of my top people and top guitarists I would be happy to Share any info on "The one that got away".
The Selmer I regret not purchasing was the one we all want.
1951, serial#848... one of the last hundred made!
If I would have known more at the time... I would have came home with 2 that day, a day that would have gone down in infamy as "Ridin' to the Poorhouse with my Selmers" day.

M. Busato

Bob Holo

(some of the) Guitars I Own:

40's Busato
Park Encore
1938 Epiphone
1919 Gibson L1

What I Play:

A Cedar topped Selmer style I made with which I became enamored because its sound reminds me of that youtube clip of Lollo Meier playing China Boy. (If you've never heard of Lollo Meier - check his work out - he focuses on the traditional QHCF style and his playing is so tasteful - and if you know what guitar he's playing - please tell me. I'm guessing it's a Joseph DiMauro Sr. based on the body outline, neck construction & headstock, but I thought Joseph Sr.'s petit bouches had those slightly triangular soundholes. Can anyone solve this mystery?

Best sounding guitar I've played:

Neil's Busato is definitely up there - a friend Jason's Busato is too - I've never heard them side by side.

jmaszle

One of the nicest guitars I've ever played was Rodrigo Shopis' Favino style guitar. I believe that Samson played it at Birdland. This guitar is awesome and has real mojo.

I played a gorgeous Favino owned by Colin Cosimini which I loved.

Also I played a Dupont Vielle Reserve which was a monster.


Jimmy

dennis

gitpicker wrote:

Hi Dennis, just out of curiosity, what was it about Chriss Campion's Favino in particular that moved you so much? Any one thing or just all around superior to the guitars you played?

Nice website you have by the way.

Thanks!

thanks!!! well it was probably one of the loudest guitars i've ever played, and the sound was very even and very old school...

Michael, i don't think it's a dellarte, all the labels are there, and the guitar is pretty beat up, isn't the hommage fairly recent?