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Actually 13.2K for us Jamie (in sterling). We just need the Euro to crash and we might even get it cheaper than that!
Just reading it all again, it looks like they don't have 60 ready to go so in effect they will be made to order which will make it less risky for Selmer. They've put a lot of effort into the project and the video is worth watching.
Maybe if it comes off they'll create a budget line in future.
Great video. They're going through a lot of meticulous care to craft these instruments with precision. Seeing the Selmer labels and headstock logo is pretty exciting. There's a lot of people involved in this project, including the museum resources. I'm glad they have Angelo and Antoine reviewing the guitars, and hearing Angelo talk about the texture of sound being like the old recording, "that particular grain and slight creaking that follows behind. We thought is was coming from the recording but it was coming from the guitars." Very cool.
Price aside, this is a sincere project delving deep into the Selmer archives in making a modern reproduction. I don't feel the need to own this guitar personally but I'm certainly glad for the collaboration and effort, and resurrecting a Selmer is a slight glimmer of hope and excitement in our disturbing world.
Ok, they've, mostly, turned me around after reading the website page (a tube amp would've sealed the deal lol) . There's a lot of attention and dedication to this that was done. Several cool touches that make each one of these special. A lot of people spent a lot of time on this whole thing. Additionally to what's already known about these guitars. It really has been crafted to the point of obsession over details. I don't think they'll have a problem getting these out the door. Now, what I'm hoping for is these become a huge success and then they make a model stripped of all the fancy stuff and sell it for half that.
And, they actually did do a close study of the 503:
Exclusive access to the original tools carefully preserved by the MuPop - Museum of Popular Music - in Montluçon and to the legendary SELMER guitar of Django Reinhardt (guitar #503) kept at the Museum of Music (Cité de la musique-Philharmonie de Paris), allowed luthiers Gérald Alonso and Fabian Le Dosseur – technical directors of the project – to carry out meticulous reconstruction work, based on an in-depth study of historical models.
Well said and I agree 100%. This seems like a labor of love: spare no expense and just create something awesome. I don't think they are price gouging - with the attention to detail and the philosophy they have for how they are approaching it, that's probably the actual cost. Even the case is cool! I'm not the target audience for this, but I hope they sell out quickly.
One nitpick: I'm good with the Schatten pickup, but I'm not a fan of the pre-amp with the rechargeable battery. When that battery's life has ended, that thing will be difficult to remove or replace inside a petite bouche guitar. But the integrated volume knob in the tailpiece is clever.
I wonder what things ALD learned in this process that they will apply to the guitars they build under their own names?
The volume control on the tailpiece is a cool idea. I can't recall seeing that implementation with a slider before.
Speaking of these guitars having a C neck with truss rod, how does that differ from the 503 guitar? I'm aware it doesn't have a truss rod but how does the neck shape/size differ?
That's without Brexit tax. At least another 25% to go on top.
Good to finally get the straight poop. What this sounds like to me is "museum-grade reproduction" with a couple of practical/modern modifications. In fact, wasn't the guitar made for Sweet and Lowdown a faithful reproduction?
In any case, it's not that far from what post-Selmer builders have been doing for decades now, or what some post-Torres builders have done with the classical guitar formula. Or what single and small-shop builders have been doing with classic Martin and Gibson designs. It's what luthiers do--and what many players want. And inevitably we wind up with a mix of "authentic" and innovative design features. (I'm thinking particularly of Michael Dunn.)
And yes, building first-rate guitars is no way to get rich, though smart builders have figured ways of staying in business. (It helps to get "discovered" by a prominent player everybody wants to emulate.)
The video is very impressive, comes across as very sincere. But they are making changes that could potentially affect the resulting sound.
First, they didn't mention what glues they are using, compared with the glue used in the original guitars. That alone could make a big tonal difference. (Especially with two layers of glue within each sandwich of back woods and side woods!)
Changing the neck angle is also a big deal, if one wants to copy an original.
And neck thickness/truss rod changes would also affect the sound.
Maybe they hit upon a perfect combination of design decisions. Or maybe some of the specs they didn't change were the important ones.
They didn't say (or did they?) which set of Argentine strings they used, or the action and neck relief, all of which affect the sound.
And what's to keep ALD from using at least the specs, from the results of this research, in their own ALD guitars (if not the actual molds, jigs, etc.)?