Has anyone played a DELL ARTE PIGALLE ?

constantine

Any thoughts on playability and tone?

Bob Holo

I've played two - one was fantastic and one was horrible.

Note.... this is just one data point - and a subjective one at that. Find out more before you make any decisions. My experience with these may be unusual. (In fact, I would bet that it is because I haven't played very many horrible Dell Artes though the samples they brought to NAMM were pretty rough - even for prototypes - they must have been under time pressure to get to the show)

I simply remember playing one purchased by a friend here in Portland and thinking: "Man, this is absolutely positively THE new killer budget guitar." I was even thinking of getting one to have a guitar I could take to jams/gigs where there was more than average risk of dinging up the instrument. But then I played another one a very short time later (I can't even remember where or how I played it - maybe at the NAMM show) and thinking "Holy cow this doesn't even look/feel/sound like the same instrument."

BluesBop Harry

I played one that was great!

It's owned by a guy in Laguna beach and I was very impressed with it, would have traded my Gitane 250 in a heartbeat for that Pigalle!! And I like my Gitane!... But the guy wouldn't let it go... and I don't blame him.


BUT... it was not a Music link Pigalle but rather one of the old ones.

I've heard those were DG-250s with Dell arte necks but that one didn't sound like a Gitane to me, It had a lot more treble and a drier sound than all the Gitanes I've played or heard.

I have no idea how the "new" ones compare...they seem to be much cheaper than the originals tough that can be deceptive and every maker has it's gems and it's lemons.

MichaelHorowitz

BluesBop Harry wrote:

BUT... it was not a Music link Pigalle but rather one of the old ones.

I've heard those were DG-255s with Dell arte necks but that one didn't sound like a Gitane to me, It had a lot more treble and a drier sound than all the Gitanes I've played or heard.

Exactly...it's important to be clear about which Pigalle you're talking about. The old ones were DG-255s that had a Dell Arte neck and logo on them. A lot of people liked them, but Elios Ferre was given one to perform on. He didn't like it so he traded it for a regular Saga G-255. Funny, since it's essentially them same guitar!

The new ones are made by Music Link and are not the same as the ones made by Saga.

'm

lmntry

I played one of the original dell arte pigalles at djangofest 2005.

it was a great guitar...very loud with a nice dry tone.....there was no 255 neck on this one.....more like a minor swing or dark eyes neck.

i played the musiclink version the next year (2006)and was unimpressed by what i saw and heard......but these also were setup under rush conditions to be ready for the festival.

V-dub

I have one, and I've never been too pleased with it. It can be uneven and often harsh with the upper register tone, and fret buzz that I have never been able to correct. It's probably just one good professional setup away from being a decent guitar, but I haven't gotten around to it.

I have played a couple that were excellent, though, so really it's all about playing them first, as everyone else will tell you.

constantine

yes, I was referring to the music link pigalle's. Didnt even know about the older ones

McQ

Michael Horowitz wrote:

BluesBop Harry wrote:

BUT... it was not a Music link Pigalle but rather one of the old ones.

I've heard those were DG-255s with Dell arte necks but that one didn't sound like a Gitane to me, It had a lot more treble and a drier sound than all the Gitanes I've played or heard.

Exactly...it's important to be clear about which Pigalle you're talking about. The old ones were DG-255s that had a Dell Arte neck and logo on them. A lot of people liked them, but Elios Ferre was given one to perform on. He didn't like it so he traded it for a regular Saga G-255. Funny, since it's essentially them same guitar!

The new ones are made by Music Link and are not the same as the ones made by Saga.

'm

What serial numbers are the newer ones? Or how does one tell the difference?

I'm considering a used one as a budget entry level gypsy guitar (also considering the Cigano GJ-10 and DG-300...)

HCQ

Mine is a newer one, serial 0000032. I also got to play serial 0000056. both are essentially the same in sound. It has what I call an old school sound. Somewhat similar to the old Django recordings' sound. That means hardly any bass so wound strings are tight and focused and lots of mid range.

I was looking for another guitar recently, but after attending Django in June, I realized how good my guitar actually sounded in terms of tone and volume. Very few guitars noticeably outclassed it. The most killer axe there, IMO, was Mike B's Busato played by Romane V. So when I am ready for another Sel/Mac type of guitar I will probably be very discriminating,

Some folks may disagree with me but oddly enough, of the guitars that Micheal Horowitz made Youtube videos of here, the Dupont with Santos Rosewood is the one that sounds most like my Pigalle through computer speakers.

Keep in mind that I did fretwork on mine and got some custom made bridges for it. I mostly use two different bridges that get me the same action. One is rosewood which I like best. The other is ebony. It seems to me that overall, rosewood is a bit louder and brighter for the wound strings. Ebony seems to sound a little bit richer with a slightly broader bass sound.

I had the two bridges made by the Dell Arte folks. I also have a rosewood bridge made by Josh Hegg which makes my guitar sound brightest as compared to the other two. To me the bridge really makes a big difference in my Selmer copy's tone and perceived projection as well as how the notes sing. To be able to choose between these three bridges allows to change the "color" of my guitar and its perceivable dynamics to suit different situations if I want to. My experience with other guitar types like flat tops and archtops, lead me to believe that Sel/Mac guitars are more sensitive to this type of thing in concert with how one physically plays these instruments.

Just my $0.02

Bob Holo

HCQ wrote:

The most killer axe there, IMO, was Mik B's Busato played by Romane V. So when I am ready for another Sel/Mac type of guitar I will probably be very discriminating

Romain V. and I were chatting after DJiJ09 (email) and he specifically mentioned that old Busato guitar - he really liked it - he said (if I remember correctly)
"It's a beast, man"

HCQ

Bob,

That Busato is really great, especially in Romane's hands. He's a great playe, not just in the Gypsy genre, and a great person. When he jammed with our little circle, it was an honor to have my head ripped off by him playing Lady Be Good on that Busato.

BTW, the environment at DjIJ was really great not only from my guitar playing perspective, but on a human one as well. Just hanging and chatting with some of this genre's greatest players and NOT talking about gear, Django and other such stuff. Many thanks to Andrew who shoulders the lion's share of this event.

To the O.P.,

I guess I can only echo what others recommend here about guitars per se. I'll add that if you can get to a Django type of get together, the ability to get into the gear assessment thing will enable you to gain more clarity in what you might like.

That said and with the couple of the Music Link Pigalles I have heard and played, its a decent guitar. There's a lot to be said for not toting an hierloom around and it still sounding decent.

What I really don't like about my Pigalle is how easily and how quickly the frets get chewed out. I have never played the so-called Gitane grafted ones mentioned here. I would just like to say that sound also has a lot to do with what a player puts into it.

Best,