Buying a better guitar

bluetrain · May 2009

Hi everybody! I'm a new user in this great site and I would like to ask your opinion about couple of different guitars. I've been playing for over 15 years now and about 2-3 years ago I started to practice gypsy swing music also. I've been playing all this time with Aria MM-10 D-hole model. I have to say that for the price this guitar is amazing (after few modifications and with right picking technique & plectrum). The only thing that has started to bug me is that it takes really much effort to make it sound good. I would like to own a guitar that would sound good with less picking power. My budget for a better guitar is around 1000e. After reading reviews about different guitars in this forum and http://www.hotclub.co.uk/ forum I've been starting to think about buying maybe Saga Gitane DG-300 or some of the Dell'Arte oval hole models (Pigalle etc). What are your opinions about the quality of these guitars these days? How do you think Gitane and Dell'Arte asian made guitars compare? Should I just go for DG-300 or maybe something else? The sound I'm after is more of a Selmer sound than Favino sound.

Thanks for your reply in advance!

When I have time I'll recored some clips about how this Aria MM-10 sounds.. I think you'll be surprised

MichaelHorowitz · May 2009

I think one of the Gitane 300 series would be your best bet...if not that then a Cigano Gj-10 can sound very good. However, the neck is very thin which really bugs a lot of people. But the sound is there...

But if you can spend just a bit more these Latcho Drom models are hard to beat...the best Asian guitars around:

Manouche
Latcho Drom AM-200, Oval Hole, Solid African Mahogany back and sides,
14 Fret Guitar (Asian made for DELL'ARTE)

Manouche
Latcho Drom OR-101 Oval Hole, Laminated Indian Rosewood back and sides,
14 Fret Guitar (Asian made for DELL'ARTE)

Really dry, bright sound with out all the wetness and bassiness that the Sagas are prone to. Also, these are ready to play out of the box...not setup needed which is usually not the case with the Sagas.

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BluesBop Harry · May 2009

Gitanes are cool but for a little over 1000 Euros you can get a Dupont Nomade, A Mateos or a Castellucia. All handbuilt in Europe.

I hear great things about the Gallato RS1939 and that's under your budget.
Surely any one of these will be better than the guitar you have now
Here are some links that could be useful to you:

Gallato

Dupont Nomade

http://www.acoustic-guitars.com/guitare ... nouche.php

http://www.geronimomateos.com/

http://www.castelluccia.fr/home.php

lemanouchecbien · May 2009

I am 100% agree with the Gallato RS1939 ! They are amazing for the price ! By the way Micheal you should get some for your store !!!

Now the nomade Dupont by experience is not as good as the cigano CG-10. There hand made in France but... :?

Michael Bauer · May 2009

Harry likes the Nomade, and he has a good ear. Maurice dupont usually makes a good product. I have played a Mateos with the small D-hole and think it looks and sounds like a much more expensive guitar. I have heard Mateos will deal a little on the price, so you may be able to save a little. He makes a terrific guitar! Claude Patenotte makes inexpensive hand-built guitars. The ones I have played don't have toms of volume, but they have a neat vibe and good tone for the money. Plus tons of tradition! I especially like the bean hole models.

A good Gitane is always a safe bet, and Michael has the best prices. I am not personally a fan of Dell Artes, but they make a quality instrument, and other people seem to be able to make them sound good. Manouche guitars in England has a asian/european hybrid line that you should consider. I have three Manouches and still love them, even though I have much more expensive stuff now.

Most important is to try to play the guitars you are considering if you have access to any. Everyone likes different stuff, and you should find the one that plays and sounds the way you want. Good luck.

bluetrain · May 2009

So many good guitars to choose from! The thing is that here in Finland there aren't many gypsy style players so there's not also any gypsy style guitars that I could try. I know that in one city here I could try this Gitane DG-300 model and of course there's handmade AJL-Guitars (the luthier is finnish also) which are superb but too expensive at this moment.

That Gallato RS 1939 looks very promising with right price and so does Manouche guitars also. Does Gallato have any official internet site? Apparently Gallatos is making their guitars in Europe now if I understood right. It just feels strange that the price has come down over 500e..

Michael Bauer · May 2009

Where are you in Finland. I have an old friend who is a guitarist in Helsinki, Jari Mononen. Any chance you've met?

BluesBop Harry · May 2009

I do like my Nomade, I don't think the Gitanes or Ciganos come close.
Sagas are nice and loud and very cool for the $$ but when compared to better instruments they lack the real tone which is usually brighter and has less basses.
I hear great things about Manouche guitars, i tried a couple and wasn't crazy about them but I guess they weren't fine examples of their good instruments.

This is the Gallato site, as you can see that store in Germany has a much better price and it's just over 500 if you live outside the EU (Excluding VAT):
http://www.valleyblues.fr/

Michael Bauer · May 2009

Harry tried newer Manouches, which I haven't played, but for a while reputedly weren't as good as the early ones. The U.S. Manouche rep told me last year that they were going back to the earlier way of making them, so I'd get an early one (serial number as much under 100 as you can find...mine are 64, 65, and 72), or one made really recently. I think Harry played them during the "down" period.

I haven't played a Nomade, but I haven't ever played a terrible Dupont either. I can't say enough about the Mateos I played. Good volume, great gypsy tone, and really good looks. I love that smaller d-hole!

I approached it this way: I bought cheap guitars at first and moved up every time I could really hear the difference when I played a better one. The most important thing, no matter what you buy, is to play as many different guitars as people will let you try and buy the one that steals your heart. As Harry can tell you, it won't always be the most expensive one.

klaatu · May 2009

I've had my Gallato for a few weeks now and am really enjoying it. I plan to write a more detailed review at some point, but I think it's a great value for the money, well built, lovely crunchy sound, and very easy to play. My luthier was quite impressed with the construction. I like it a lot better than my Manouche, which I find stiff by comparison.

One oddity - it only takes loop end strings.

This seems to be as close as Gallato comes to a Web site
http://www.valleyblues.fr/15-manouches

I located another some weeks back, or maybe it was a PDF file, but I can't find it now. I bought my guitar from Norman Ort at http://www.gypsyguitar.de. He was great to deal with. Perhaps his low price is the difference between list and retail, I don't really know.

Serge Gallato actually responded to some questions in another topic on the 1939, and you could mail him with any questions you might have. He was always quick to get back to me.