DELL’ARTE DG-H2 HOMMAGE (FAVINO STYLE) GUITAR OVAL HOLE

MichaelHorowitz

DELL’ARTE
DG-H2 HOMMAGE (FAVINO STYLE) GUITAR OVAL HOLE

TravisGuitars

Hello all, I'm new to the forum and thought I would post a quick first impression of the Dell'arte dg-h2 I just bought. I bought the guitar used but in great condition for $400 bucks. After removing the guitar from the box I looked it over thoroughly. It has the typical asian made shortcomings I'd expect. Very poor fretwork, glue left around the neck joint and the fretboard, and not so smooth ridges from the lamination on the back of the neck. The body and binding look pretty good though. Not sure what strings it was strung with but I tuned up and decided to see how it sounded. My first impression was so so. The string gauge was too high and it wasn't as loud as I had hoped. There was also buzzing above the 12th fret in more than a few positions. I decided I would restring, tweak the neck and level and polish the frets to see if I could get a quick fix. .......Hours later and restrung with 10-45 argentines.....awesome!!! This thing came alive with the lighter strings. Loud and booming , with sweet sustaining trebles. The bass end still needs some work yet cleans up when played closer to the bridge. I wasn't able to remove all the buzzing although I was able to clear a few positions. I'll work on it some more over the weekend and am sure it will totally clean up. All in all, a decent little guitar. With a little work and some patience, this thing will sing and has plenty of volume. Chords were clean when played gently and still clear and powerful when dug in. I'm very pleased with this guitar and hope this was somewhat helpful for someone looking into one of these asian made dell'arte's. There's not too many reviews out there, believe me I've checked. Cheers

MichaelHorowitz

Thanks for the review, however this model has been discontinued.

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Jack

Hey Michael!

I have a student who was interested in these, did they basically get replaced by the Manouche line? At under $1000 do you have a usual recommendation from what's in stock?

thanks,
Jack.

MichaelHorowitz

Hi Jack,

The Manouche Latcho Drom and Music Link Dell Arte's coexisted for a time and are made in totally shops. The Music Link Dell Arte's were discontinued due to poor sales but we do get a small # of the Manouche Latcho Drom guitars from time time. Best Asian guitar IMO.

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jovation

Some time ago I picked up the DG-H1 D-hole model on an eBay closeout.
My other Mac-style guitar is John Kinnard's first Dark Eyes model, so
I decided to get the Asian DG-H1 for an everyday gigging guitar.
Between installing a Schatten pickup, getting a decent case, and fret-leveling
work, I spent more on it after-purchase than the closeout price.

Overall, I'm quite happy with the guitar, even with the shortcomings that
Michael has discussed with the Music Link guitars.
At home I tend to pick it up first, even with the Kinnard model and a Collings dreadnaught
available to play.

I am thinking of a few options, and would welcome your input.

First, it could use a better bridge. From other posts, it seems like the bridge does
make a difference in tone. Anyone have experience with bridge replacements on
these guitars, (perhaps the Dupont bridges Michael is selling)?

Second, I struggle with the tailpiece a bit. I found the Galli folk silk and steels work
very well on this guitar, as the sound a bit less "barky" on this budget guitar. They
are ball ends, and I sometimes struggle to thread the low E on the lower end tailpiece.
As stated, the bridge quality seems to make a tonal difference, what about the tailpiece..
would a new tailpiece offer any benefit other that maybe making the guitar a bit easier
to restring?

Jimmy

constantine

Not really, the bridge is the biggest factor.

Jeff Moore

The tail piece that won't take an E string can be drilled. I just drill the E and A lugs on it. Just the slightest enlargement is all you need.
Easy, and fixed forever.