Dell 'Arte Angelo Debarre vs Gitane Stephane Wrembel

bigeric · March 2010

In NYC you can try Carmine St Guitars. Rick had a few Gitanes last time I was there. I bought my Cigano at Hot Strings Guitars in Milford CT. He had a half dozen Sel Mac Gitanes. You can take a train from Grand Central and walk to his shop. Call Jamie Boss at HSG first to see whats on hand. He's pricey though, few people are discounting any Sel Mac guitars. I had a great experience with **** of Dell Arte guitars. He often has some used guitars on hand. Contact him first.
good luck

Eric

constantine · March 2010

Frater are you saying the dell arte manouche latch droms are discontinued now?

frater · March 2010

No, I mean these:

http://www.manouchenorthamerica.com/

Colicab · March 2010

Thanks for the input guys!

I am however curious about the major differences between the Dell 'Arte and the Gitane(Besides the body size)

C

BluesBop Harry · March 2010

Hi Colicab,
If you already have a Cigano I'd suggest just sticking with that until you can get a handmade guitar. Going to a Gitane or Music Link won't be much of an upgrade, they might be a bit better than what you have but not too much.
If you get a Gitane or similar it'd only be a short while before you'll want to upgrade again... If you have outgrown your Cigano I say go for a guitar you can keep for life and one that leaves no doubt in your mind you really did upgrade and you've got your moneys worth.

The real difference comes when you get to the high end instruments.
One of the least expensive handmade guitars is the Mateos "Audrey", goes for around $1500 Euro and it's great, other options are Castelluccias, Dell arte (USA) or be on the lookout for a used guitar.

Best of luck!

Stringswinger · March 2010

Enrique is quite right. Keep the Cigano until you have the money for a "keeper" Gypsy guitar.

My bandmate, Monterey Jack has a mantra that makes perfect sense to me. It goes like this:

Selmer, Busato, Favino, Dupont, Selmer, Busato, Favino, Dupont....etc.

Everything else is a compromise and life is too short to compromise on a great guitar that will inspire your playing.

Cheers,

Marc
www.hotclubpacific.com

Pugs47 · March 2010

I agree with the quieter comment. I played Stephan's personal guitar a few years back and a manufactured version in a store. Both were very reserved. If I recall, Stephan's personal had a split bone comepensated bridge. I had a Dell Arte Boulou Ferre model with this same bridge.......come to think of it, it was on the mellow/quiet side too.

www.Goldenageguitars.com in northern jersey is a Gitane dealer and last week had four guitars in stock. John , the owner is a great guy.

dennis · March 2010

this is unrelated but i see you live in norway! if you love close to Oslo, you should get in touch with my friend gildas, he's french and an amazing gypsy jazz and bebop guitarist, he can show you a lot!

http://www.myspace.com/gildaslepape

don't be fooled by his looks or what he does professionally, he learned to play jazz with some of the best in paris... namely serge krief...

Colicab · March 2010

It would be nice to have a handmade instrument, but I'm afraid my budget won't allow that for a good while. The Gallato seems nice though. The real reason I want to get a "better" guitar is because of the thin neck, which i really don't like! Also, I come from playing the electric guitar for over 11 years and the dot marker on the 10 fret is something that confuses me everytime I play in that area of the neck.

Anyone here have experience with gypsyguitar.de? Can they install a pickup for example?

Dennis, I have actually met him. It was at a party for Satyricon which I was invited to. We spoke a bit, and he really did seem to know his stuff!

C