I have a question

Salieri

Hello guys, i'm gypsy jazz beginner, I have 14 years old and i have a question...what guitar you recommend to me ? I want a guitar with maximum 400 $. And, what pick it's good ? How much mm ? What strings ?

Sorry for my bad english, i'm romanian...

And last question: What is the difference between guitar with D hole, and oval hole ?

TimmyHawken

With your budget, I think your options are either a Cigano or Gitane. You may end up having to pay a little more than $400, but you might find a used guitar in the classified section for less. I started with a Gitane, it was fine. For the money, it was an great guitar to learn on. I have not tried a Cigano.

I recommend a wegen pick, they may not be the absolute best pick, but I like mine a lot. as far as MM on the pick, I have several diffent sizes, and still can't figure out which one I like the best. My rhythem sounds better with the Fatone wegen, but it is easy to play lead with a thinner pick. I would start in the middle and go from there.

Since you a beginer, I wouldnt worry about strings to much, but the Argentine strings sold on Djangobooks seem to be the standard, and they are what I use.

I will let someone else better explain the d-hole from oval hole.

Good luck!

BluesBop Harry

Good that your starting young!

With $400 I'd get a Cigano oval hole, some Argentine strings 10s rather than 11s to start, but you can get one set of each and see which one you like best, Wegen gypsy jazz pick 3.5mm is a good to place to start and won't let you do anything wrong while learning gypsy picking ( Get the book if you haven't already), a 2.5 mm will work too.

So:
Cigano $330 with gigbag= $380
Wegen= $15
2 sets of Argentines (1 -10s, 1 -11s)= $18
Gypsy picking book= $35

That's about $450 and a really good way to start. Amazing value for the $$ i think!

If you save a little more I'd get this:
Dennis chang "the art of accompaniment" DVD =$50
That will get you playing good rhythm which is very important.


As far as D-hole VS oval... this has been discussed A LOT around here... if you dig around you can find out everyone's opinions.

I recomended the Cigano Oval because I heard they sound better and are much closer to a traditional sound.

If you really like D-holes i'd bet the Cigano D's are not bad at all. A D-hole will probably work better with 11s strings due to the shorter scale and the neck will feel more comfortable if you have small hands because the frets are closer together, but... cheap asian D-holes can be really bass heavy and very wet sounding, which is not the "best" sound for gypsy jazz, it's a cool sound anyway though.

If you have any questions ask Michael Horowitz he knows a lot about this! and he's really honest.

Good luck!

Salieri

Eh...i started music at 7 years old, on piano at school...I start to practice guitar at 12 years old, classic guitar...and it's very easy because i know very much music theory...thanks very much guys for this info !

Manoucheries

Salut,

Ti-am trimis un PM...daca vrei sa vorbim ti-am lasat un ID si un nr de tel.
Mult noroc cu chitara...sper sa reusestio sa cumperi una...

Numai bine!!!