This is Maurice Duponts top of the line Selmer copy. No detail is overlooked with both the materials and workmanship being of the highest caliber. The track record of this instrument speaks for itself, as so many of todays top players use the Vieille Reserve model. Bireli Lagrene recorded the first two Gypsy Project CDs with this model. Patrick Saussois, of Alma Sinti fame, also plays a Dupont VRB. This very guitar was owned by Neil Andersson of Pearl Django and was also my own personal guitar for several years. Neil used this guitar on several of his recent CDs.

This very guitar was used by Wawau Adler for his 2007 concert at Django in June. he was very pleased with it and sounded great at the show!

This guitar includes:

-A 40 year old aged Spruce top
-Brazillian back and sides
-Deluxe, encased tuners
-The top has a real pliage (i.e. the wood was bent over a hot iron like the old Selmers. Almost all other Selmer copies have forced tops which arent as punchy).

The sound and playability of this instrument are the best I’ve ever seen for a new guitar. The only thing better is an actual vintage Selmer or Busato in good condition which is impossible to find and would cost twice as much or more. The Dupont VR is a guitar that plays and feels like a new guitar, but has the clarity, punch, and tone of an old seasoned instrument. I know of no other luthier that builds a guitar with these qualities.

Like the old Selmers, the Dupont VR is extremely bright with much of the sound concentrated in the extreme high frequencies. The midrange is almost nonexistent, and the low end has the traditional “hollow” sound to it. In the wrong hands a guitar like this can be very harsh…but when played with the Gypsy Picking technique, the guitar will yield single note lines that sing like no other. Each note is rounded and bell like with a smoky complexity only found in the best of instruments. This guitar also cuts like a knife and requires very little force to do so. Players with a light touch will be surprised at the volume this guitar can generate.

Chord punches, tremolos, and other comping techniques sound great on this guitar because they cut so well.

This guitar had extensive setup work done by Josh Hegg and John Saba (a local guitar repair legend.) As a result, this guitar plays better anything I’ve ever owned. It has a very low action…usually a Dupont #1 or (in the winter) a #2 bridge with 1510MF strings. There are no buzzes and every note is clear as a bell. If you like to play fast, this guitar is for you….

The guitar is in very good condition. It has several, one under the pickguard and the other by the tailpiece, several othes on the bouts. A few other minor signs of being played, some scrathces on the top and on the back, but other then that the guitar is in top shape.

There is a strap pin mounted in the heel.