Manouche Modele Jazz(UK) or Dupont Nomade????

frater

I suspect Mazzoleni's statement could be slighty biased...

BluesBop Harry

The Nomade is cool! European spruce top handmade in Dupont's shop in Cognac, very good guitar. But... if you can't get past the bolt-on neck try these other handmade european guitars:

Mateos are really good handmade instruments with a great sound, sometimes the setup /hardware is not perfect but they have TONE!
I believe his starting model goes for around $1500 US
Geronimo Mateos was the luthier behind the early (the good) Gallatos. The new Mateos have trussrods.

http://guitare-village.com/neuf/mateos.php
http://www.geronimomateos.com/

The new Castelluccias are also affordable handmade guitars, with great sound and woods. A brazilian rosewood model with all the trimmings and the tone for 1200 Euros new!
http://www.castelluccia.fr/home.php?pg= ... &id_prod=8

Both of these luthiers are very nice guys and they make really good artisanal instruments for musicians. For under $2000 I don't think you'll find a better deal.

frater

I agree, particularly about Castelluccia (but if Swing 69 is looking for an easy action and a fast neck, maybe this isn't the best choice, same for the Mateos) . Alves De Puga 's guitars also have a good price/quality ratio.

Michael Bauer

Like frater, I have one of the early Moreno Manouches, #064, and I have heard that these may sound better than the newer ones. Barry Warhaftig told me recently that Manouche is going to go back to making the new ones more like the earlier ones. I have the greatest respect for Harry, and I agree Maurice makes great guitars, but a number of people on this forum have commented that not all Duponts are so good. When you buy, I think you should buy the individual guitar, not the brand, when possible. I recognize that I got lucky with my Manouche. Almost everyone who plays it seems to think it is exceptional, and as I said earlier, Samson Schmitt was trying hard to buy it, and he and his brother used it for the entire Djangofest. So I figure it doesn't sound all that "Asian", whatever that means. It's all about money and taste. A good Manouche, especially an early one, will give you a first-rate sound for much less money than an MD-50, but it isn't an MD-50 in terms of panache. My philosophy has been to move up to better guitars when my ear could hear and define the differences in sound. I love my Favino, and nothing sounds like it, but I still play both of my Manouches alot, and still want that sound some days. I'd buy a Manouche, Harry would buy a Nomade. Whatever you buy, it will sound good if you make it. Stephane Wrembel plays his Gitane at gigs alot, and when he playes it, it sounds phenominal. When I play it, it sounds like a Gitane. So in the end, the guitar will sound as good as you make it. I hope you find a great one and love it. Good luck.

frater

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uRbDbLVI ... re=related

Samson playing what seems to me to be a Manouche...

BluesBop Harry

Michael Bauer wrote:

I think you should buy the individual guitar, not the brand, when possible.

Michael's totally right, that's the truth in the end.

Klezmorim

Michael, I'm finally back on the forum after a couple months absence. So you have #064? I have #066 and play it almost exclusively. My AJL sits in its case, as does my Martin D-28. Even having to repair a couple of finish cracks in the Manouche (thanks to the previous "owner's" dry climate), this box is phenomenal in tone and volume.

I played it at a gig a month ago and the band-mates just stopped playing and stared when I ripped into my solo. The Manouche is THAT loud.

It brings back the fun of playing.

Need I say more?

-K

PS: I fondly recall the single-malts at DIJ!

Michael Bauer

Klez--

Great to hear from you! When did you get the Manouche? I not only have #064, the oval hole, but I have #065 as well, which is a d-hole. Got them both used from 2 different people in two different states. When I started playing #065, loved it and saw the number was sequential, I just knew it was meant to be. How bizarre that you ended up with #066!

I can't say the Favino sits in the case, but I do play the Manouches alot and travel with them exclusively. I particularly like the sound of the 12-fret D, oddly not as a rhythm guitar, but for soloing. It has such a sweet sound that is so much different than the longer scale models.

Hope to see you at D in J in 2009.

Michael

Klezmorim

Michael Bauer wrote:

Klez--
When did you get the Manouche? I not only have #064, the oval hole, but I have #065 as well, which is a d-hole. How bizarre that you ended up with #066!

Hope to see you at D in J in 2009.

Michael

Yeah, the story of how I got #066 (12-fret D-hole, "Moreno" modele) has its moments of intrigue. I first saw it on Ebay in November '07. It was offered by A Dealer in The Southwestern U.S. (I will obscure his identity to protect the guilty. He and his daughter post here on occasion). A couple of us bid on it, but never met the Reserve. The seller would re-list and the same game was played for several innings until I finally bit the bullet and hit the Reserve in February '08.

I immediately paid through Paypal and waited for my newly-adopted "child" to arrive. And waited. And waited. Long story short, after nearly two months I filed a claim with Paypal and they eventually refunded only $200 of the purchase from the Seller's account. *He* got pi$$ed and wanted to know what the problem was! 'Dude, send me the guitar or we go to court!' As a matter of fact, I insisted he send it 2nd-day air to be sure there would be no more "delays."

Finally, the Manouche arrived. My review is elsewhere on this forum. The tuners have yet to loosen up on the problem strings. I've repaired two finish cracks that emanated from the poor (or non) fitting of the bridge, no doubt also due to the length of time this guitar sat in 15% relative humidity in Seller's shop.

Oh, and I had Josh Hegg build me a better bridge (you da man, Josh!), which really balanced the tone nicely.

So, yeah, it'd be great to have a family reunion next D-I-J. I'll probably be hanging out a good bit at our buddy Barry's table "singing" the praises of these Manouche. Heh-heh, that would be fun to have three consecutive "brothers" together again.

-K

PS: A couple months ago, I was invited to join a class-action suit against Paypal, regarding their failure to fully refund purchase price on disputed sales. Sweeeet!

Swing 69

he new Castelluccias are also affordable handmade guitars, with great sound and woods. A brazilian rosewood model with all the trimmings and the tone for 1200 Euros new!

...I like the look of these and not a guitar i've considered yet.

Geronimo Mateos was the luthier behind the early (the good) Gallatos.

That's funny I'm sure I've played a gallato 14 fret oval hole and, well it wasn't so good!!, must be the later.

(but if Swing 69 is looking for an easy action and a fast neck, maybe this isn't the best choice, same for the Mateos)

No, I do like a fairly high action.Always played with high action due to adjusting a truss rod (hmm what does this do????) on my first steel strung at the age of 11 and ending up with a ridiculously high action but knowing no better played on through the years with it and just got used to it:oops: .I find the more you come down the more you sacrifice tone I don't mind a fattish neck at all. I'm just playing 48mm wide at the nut just now with a pure flat fingerboard and it can make some things a bit tricky.

I'm wondering what the 14 fret d hole is like??
http://www.castelluccia.fr/home.php?pg= ... &id_prod=8

Guys, thanks for your input here again. I'm seriously considering taking a trip to France, maybe in the new year and getting my hands on these guitars, trying 14fret d holes, oval holes, maple back and sides, favino size etc etc, just to get a clear idea of what i like. I'll do a bit more research on some guitars mentioned here too. The Manouche isn't out either. At least that way i get to look listen and feel. Even if it means then, keeping check on ebay for something i know that i like.

Thanks guys, i take on board everything posted and appreciate your response.