Acoustic or Classical?

Yehoshua

This question might rightly belong to the guitar,strings, etc., section, but its so basic I'm putting it here:
Are GJ guitars classical or acoustic? I always see them referred to as acoustic, but the tuning keys look like those on a classical guitar, and I understand that the neck is usually wide like a classical, and apparently they are played wth nylon srtrings. So what makes them acoustic?

On a practicle level, if I don't have a GJ guitar (Selmer,etc.) what should I use, a classical or acoustic?

Another question, did Django use nylon or metal strings? And what is used by GJ musicians today?

Thanks!
Yehoshua

WColsher

The quick answer - Most GJ players from around Django's time on have played steel strings though you will see guitars set up for nylon. The neck shape, style of headstock & tuners, etc. of the instruments are simply part of the heritage of Italian and Spanish luthiers from "back in the day" - the Sel-Mac guitars sit more or less right on the point in history when steel stringed guitars (in Europe at least) diverged from the "classical" type.

There's no problem starting out on a non GJ guitar - my personal preference would be steel strings simply because the style is so vigorous and normally is played with a rather heavy pick. It won't have the "gypsy sound" of course...

There are a number of much more highly qualified folks here who will no doubt fill in the details.

JazzDawg

Are GJ guitars classical or acoustic?

While some of the design elements were drawn from Classical guitar construction, most of the Gypsy Jazz guitars being produced are indeed acoustic. Most have steel strings, though there are exceptions. Luthier Mario Maccaferr came from a classical guitar world, and teamed up with the Selmer company for a bit. His 'D' hole guitar was the result, and underwent a few design changes along the way. You can google on 'Mario Maccaferri' and find a lot of interesting info on him and his partnership with Selmer. Here's just one:
http://www.jazzeddie.f2s.com/selmermaccaferri_guitars.htm

On a practicle level, if I don't have a GJ guitar (Selmer,etc.) what should I use, a classical or acoustic?

I wondered the same thing when I began. There was only 1 GJ type of guitar in my area, and it was out of my price range. I was lucky enough to have a great acoustic, Gibson J-200, classical, and resonator guitars. At first, learning the style was a bit hard and caused me some hand fatigue. I mistakenly thought that the problem was due to using these guitars instead of a GJ guitar. Actually, all that was needed was more playing time to build up my hand strength. The action on my resonator guitar was fairly high, but gave me a sound similar to a GJ guitar. The J-200 is a short scale length the same as a 'D' Hole GJ model but has a somewhat thinner neck. It joins at the 14th fret, rather than the typical 12th fret that most of those models do. I, also, used my classical, as it has always been my choice to play due to being so small and personal. The classical has a wide 2" neck at the nut, and is a bit wider.

Now, the truth is - you can practice with any guitar to learn the style. In fact, check out my blog for more on this part, but I found the advice given by Mike Hardaker on the Hot Club U.K. web site especially worthwhile:
http://www.hotclub.co.uk/html/experience.html

I did wind up getting a GJ guitar after about 6 months into my learning curve. I was completely amazed by the ease at which my 'D' hole, Gitane D-500 played. Now, here's the interesting bit. After playing it almost non-stop for about 3 weeks, I went back to using my J-200, and classical to actually play other types of music - the good news, all of my practicing has paid off. My hand strength has improved so much, that I can play any of my guitars without losing much, except maybe the tonal qualities.

Bottom line, use what you have but follow a good practice plan to include gypsy picking, rhythm, chords, and arpeggios. A plan of study will give you the hand strength, technique, and fretboard knowledge that you need for playing the style.

...did Django use nylon or metal strings?

As to the other questions, probably Django played whatever guitar was handy in his early days, strung with whatever strings it had. As he became more famous, of course, he played steel strings, moving from the SelMac 'D' hole, to a an 'O' oval hole version, and eventually to Jazz style electrics.

what is used by GJ musicians today?

That's a trick question, because a 'GJ musician' will play whatever is handy. Most of the folks that I follow on YouTube, or on records use some variation of the SelMac 'D' hole or 'O' hole guitar, with steel strings. However, you will always find exceptions, and don't forget that a lot of GJ players, don't make a lot of money, so having a custom built GJ is not exactly what the 'common' player will be playing.

If you want to learn the style, just play what you have to begin, but learn the gypsy picking style, either by taking some lessons from a GJ guitar player, watching 'live' GJ musicians, using Michaels great book, or watching a ton of YouTube vids.

Though, I haven't been able to attend one of the many GJ festivals, a few of my friends have gone, and they report that most attending players had regular old flat-top acoustics, the instructors and featured performers used GJ models of various styles and makes. While I play my Gitane D-500 most of the time because it's so much fun to play, the others get played. The D-500 fits my hands perfectly, and is small enough to be so very comfortable to use.

I've had a great time exploring and learning GJ. I hope you do too!

MichaelHorowitz

- the Sel-Mac guitars sit more or less right on the point in history when steel stringed guitars (in Europe at least) diverged from the "classical" type.

Actually, steel string guitars had developed in Italy for many centuries. The Chitarra Batente dates back to the 17th century. Although it uses a different tuning than the Spanish guitar....but it did set a precedent for the use of the steel strings on guitars. And it also has a pliage like Sel/Macs.

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