Opinions of Cigano GJ15?

David F.

Want to know--it seems like one of these with some enhancement by Josh Hegg might be just what I want. Anybody play one?

sockeye

I have one, which I bought from Michael w/o any mods & I think it's pretty great. It's almost unmatchable in terms of sheer volume. I did remove a little bit of wood from the bridge -- hollowed out the inside a bit more and modified the feet a bit so they only make contact over the braces.

Like I said, it's loud as anything and it's surprisingly versatile -- it's really good for stuff like fingerpicked country blues, which is another thing I play.

For the money I think it's absolutely untouchable. I think it sounds a lot better than most of the Gitanes I've played, including a couple JJs I owned. But it still has a little something that all these Saga guitars seem to have -- a little bit of a weird reverby sound and a tendency to emit weird, loud harmonics that can be a little distracting. Don't know how to describe that exactly, but sometimes these high harmonics jump out when you're playing hard and it can be a little hard to control them.

There was a video of Jochso Stephan on Youtube -- may still be there -- where he was absolutely tearing it up on one of these.

Simonius

I have a GJ-10 (oval hole version) and it rocks. It's the perfect guitar for jams. It has a lot of volume, and it's cheap so you don't really care about getting a scratch or a dent. If you're just going to sit in your bedroom playing, you may wanna consider a Gitane. But a DG-255 in my opinion sounds pretty weak between a few rhythm players, while this one can really keep up. And again, at its price it's unbeatable.

I played the GJ-15 in the shop and it was very nice too. BUT the wood looks absolutely horrible.. a lot worse than on the 10.

lmntry

Hi:

I bought a GJ-10 AND A GJ-15.......I just found I had too many guitars so I sold them both....then pestered the guy to buy back my GJ-15 ! :P
So , I have it back....they are really really good and at an amazing price.

It won't replace my handbuilt Hommage , but I won't be selling it again...I gigged for 2 months with it right out of the box...no modifications needed or desired....it's fine just the way she sits.(I did shim it to get it to 3mm @ the 12th fret however)



David

harlemjoys

I used to own the GJ-15 and now I own the GJ-10 and I think both are great guitars for the money...just make sure Josh sets up your bridge, they tend to have low action or at least too low for me...

I sold the GJ-15 and got the GJ-10 for the increased string tension (due to it being 14 frets to the body), I can do a lot more with the guitar with that increased tension and I although I like the look of the D-hole more I'm really happy with the oval because of this reason...I also like how the GJ-10 has more of an arch under the bridge than the GJ-15...

The Los

Hey man, I have the 15 (d-hole) and have a great time with it. The sound is, of course, not as detailed as any of the higher end models you can buy. This isn't that big of a deal at jam sessions but the lack of tonal detail keeps me from using it for amplified performances. Really, for the price it's a great guitar and lots of fun to pick up and play. I wouldn't consider it for a serious musician to use at gigs, maybe small cafe kind of deals. It certainly sounds better than the budget Del Artes.

Tele295

What's the neck like on these?

goregantuan

I've got one and I love it!!! I've played it nearly every day for a year and half, and it's really opening up well. In december I had a kent armstrong humbucker put in, and it sounds excellent, acoustic or electric. The neck is really comfortable, a little thin for some maybe, but it's similar to the neck on my Yamaha flamenco guitar. If you get your hands on one of these, chances are you won't be disappointed.

Tele295

Well, I took the plunge, and bought one sight-unseen from Michael as a gift to my girlfriend. We couldn't be more thrilled. This is an amazing instrument at 3x the price. Michael had it drop-shipped to me right from the warehouse. It needed very little set up, just a little trussrod tweaking. No tailpiece buzz or need for the leather shim as of yet. Brilliant, loud, full tone, loud, easy action, loud.........and did I say loud?

She loves it more than her Taylor 814!!!

Thanks, Michael!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!