which size bridge for cigano?

wim

hello, i am planning on ordering 2 dupont bigtones, one for each of a cigano GJ-10 and GJ-15. i measured the bridge heights but none seem to match the available heights exactly, but surely this combination has been done many times before, can anyone recommend the right ones to order? thanks

wim

no one has put a bigtone on a GJ-10 or GJ-15 before ?

Tele295

You may be running across a prejudice against Ciganos. Some people may balk at putting a $300 pickup on a $330 guitar.

I find such prejudices to be completely unwarranted. My girlfriend's Cigano GJ15 is a fabulous instrument, with a sound that is much drier than my DG300 (everybody complains the DG's are too "wet"). I wouldn't think twice about putting a pickup system on a Cigano, except Jill won't let me modify it! She says it's just perfect the way it is.

Jack

I'd guess that if one is a bit short and one a bit tall, I'd go with the shorter? You can always shim it; it'll be a lot harder to make it shorter.

best,
Jack

MaxwellGarces

my recommendation is not to put in a big tone, but to instead use the audio technica pro-70. such a difference in sound and tone and the mic captures the essence of the guitar in a way that no big tone can.

wim

i was looking for almost a year for a gypsy jazz guitar , and in that time played many that weren't sounding great.. when i found the GJ-15 i was amazed , it feels good under the hands, looks nice with the matte finish and in my opinion even sound better than some $2000 guitars that i'd tried. i play them before looking at the price tag.
i also thought it was funny to put a $300 pickup on a guitar costing about the same, but really the price is irrelevant for me it's a great guitar

i will investigate the audio technica pro 70 that was recommended , but it's unlikely i will be using a mic because thats what i've been doing already for ages and am sick of mucking around with feedback troubles

Elliot

"Feels good under the hands..."

Yeah, if it doesn't feel right when you grab it, it doesn't matter what guitar it is, it isn't yours.

wim

well since nobody was able to answer my question , and since the distance i measured (15mm) was actually smaller even than the smallest dupont (17.5mm) i chickened out and orded the K&K system instead of the bigtone. it's less than a third the price, and doesn't require drilling through the top, and several people have recommended the sound as nicer than the bigtone anyway.

Dr. Hall

Great decision! Big Tone bridges (unless they're made properly) alter the acoustic sound of the instrument. With the K&K, your guitar will still sound great acoustically because you're just sticking a couple of small discs under the soundboard, and the K&K sounds very nice through either a p.a. or acoustic amp. I love the K&K sound. Get yourself an eqalizer pedal (Boss or MXR) or an inexpensive pre-amp (Baggs or K&K) that has controls for the high-mid-low frequencies, and you will have great natural acoustic sound and won't have any feedback worries. For lower-volume gigs with an acoustic amp (like an AER), you probably won't even need the eq pedal or pre-amp.
-Stefan

pinkgary

Hi Wim,

do you have two Ciganos now then?

Jeff Moore

The height of the bridge you choose will determine the amount of string slap. Low bridge = lots of slap.
Each player has their own tolerance for string slap, so there's no answer. I have tools and usually make my own bridges for this reason.
Get the tall bridge and carefully alter the saddle (the points where the strings touch) or the bottom (while being careful to match the arc of the top of the guitar with the feet of the bridge). It's not easy, but its the only way I know to find out what bridge height is right for you.
Its unlikely that the bridge you buy will nicely fit anyway because each guitar has a different arch on the top.
People just buy new bridges and put em on, and hey! it may work. I've noticed that poorly fitting bridges (where the feet touch either on the inside or outside but not smoothly everywhere) dramatically alter the sound, especially if the feet touch on their ends (next to the mustache) only, it'll sound like a bango (nasal). If only the inside portion of the feet touch it'll sound ok but weak.
I'm not a real guitar tech, but have screwed around with my own ideas of how to do things and discovered this at least is true for me about bridges. In the process of fitting the bridge the guitar changes sound.

I'm guessing that no one answered the question you asked because each person may have a personal answer, but no "one size fits all" answer.