bridge in dg370 dorado schmitt?

harrye

Hi all,

I've just put a deposit on a gitane dg370 dorado schmitt. Wonderful guitar; definately the pick of the sagas ive played.

I was told on this forum some months ago that it would be a good idea to replace the bridge with a dupont. I was wondering if someone could clarify for me the benefit of doing so? Obviously there must be a difference in quality, but i have seen no errors with the original bridge.

Also, if anyone else has any experience/suggestions regarding this model,please post.

I played it for hours and loved it. The john jorgenson, on the other hand, i did not, not at all

cheers

Harry

HCQ

Harry,

Congrats on the new axe. Though I don't really have an answer for you, I am curious as to to your opinions between the the 2 guitars compared to each other.

Thanks,

harrye

Hi there,

- The JJ has quite a fat neck; the dorado on the other hand has a very slim, modern, fast neck.

- The JJ is a petite bouche, wheras the dorado is a grand bouche; I much prefer the tone of the grand, and in this case the JJ seems very harsh, and a little too wet for my liking...the dorado has a very nice bark.

- The maple top on the dorado sets it apart from the other sagas, nice and bright, but not too bright.

- I played a black JJ, which I found terribly ugly ha.

That said, I cant wait to get this guitar (in april), and put a new set of strings on it!

cheers

Bob Holo

Play it first and see what you think.

Saga's bridges are much better than they once were. The ones people complained so much about were those original bridges that were darned near solid and weighed upwards of 18 grams... which is absurdly heavy... I think Josh and I measured one at 21 grams... seriously. Gallato did the same thing at first too... not sure why some companies had a thing for big heavy Ebony bridges, but most companies seem to have figured it out to one degree or another. The last few Sagas I've seen had bridges that were equivalent to the quality of the rest of the guitar - which is to say that they were good for the money and likely didn't impede the guitar's tone much if any. Unless the bridge is horrible, your best "tone" investment is probably in a good pick and some hand-technique instruction. (Horowitz' Gypsy picking book or one of Dennis Chang's DVDs or... there are a few other good ones - these come to mind as being good and widely available)

harrye

hi bob,

thanks for the advice,

yeah, i've got myself a wegen, 'unaccompanied django', and dennis' dvd's, all have helped me quite a lot.


love those thick pics

gitpicker

Congratulations on the guitar! BTW it's not a Maple top. It's still a Spruce top although it's stained the same color as the Maple back and sides and yes you're right, the Maple does give it a distinct sound. I always liked this model. Let us know how it sounds as it opens up!

Doug

harrye

Hi doug,

thanks very much for the congrats; you're right i stuffed up there ha it is spruce; certainly the maple sides and back make it very unique as you say.

By the way, I have the live lulo dvd of his australian tour a few years back with you as guest guitarist. Great work man, love your playing. What guitar do you play, if u dont mind me asking?

Will let you know how the guitar sounds as it matures,

cheers

harry

Josh Hegg

The neck on the 370 is not thin. It's very nice and sort of a cross between a Selmer neck and a Dupont. Not as square as a Selmer but close. It's great to play. As for a bridge... Good luck finding one unless you make it or have it made. I have a 370 in the shop now that has a 25.75mm tall bridge. As far as I know there is not a bridge that can be ordered in stock form that is that high. If you need a bridge or a bigtone contact me and we can talk about getting you what you need.

Cheers,
Josh

klaatu

Bob Holo wrote:

Unless the bridge is horrible, your best "tone" investment is probably in a good pick and some hand-technique instruction.

... plus facial hair and tone shorts