cigano cj10 or D-500, for a newbie

Jeff Moore

I recently bought some top notch guitars, but I still love playing my D-500 and long scale Cigano. I think the width of the 500 would be a detractor for most players.
There is a kind of rougher charm to these Asian knock-offs that I really enjoy. They don't have the refinement and if your looking for as precise a copy of "the" sound, they aren't nearly as close as their many times more expensive counterparts.
That said, the Asians are really wonderful guitars in their own right. They're "wilder" in the harmonics, loud as you'll likely need in most situations, durable, and if you aren't playing exclusively Gypsy Jazz or doing it in your own way, they're as good an option to find "your" sound as anything else.
I didn't dive into the expensive stuff until a ship came my way. I was pretty happy with my Asians (though always looking and experimenting).
I like the sound of both the D-500 and the long Cigano. I haven't played many of the others. I may just be non-judgmental. I do beleive any guitar can sound decent in soft passages and the Asians I have can also sound very agressive when hit hard. This alone may give you enough guitar to learn on, gig with, etc.....
There is no doubt to that when looking for "authentic" Django sound, spending lots of money really helps. I question the value of becoming really single minded in acheiving "the" sound. Even if your attempting to convince an audience that your Django himself, only one in 500 of them will have a clear reference sound to compare your sound with in their head and if you practice, even those may still be interested in your chops and not snooty about "the" sound.
This in no way should detract from the Dupont, Busato, Favino hegemony. These are fantastic guitars, well worth the big bucks. The refined and controlled fury of these things is another world to explore, but they will always be beyond the reach of too many players and so will carry the allure of the greener pasture.
The Asian pasture is just a different green, with a lot of variation within the guitars offered, and only lesser in reference to "the" reference sound. Maybe you can become your own reference sound through ability and persistance. Maybe the kind of swing and whatever else you want to play is a good fit with a Cigano.
Practice and be happy and keep testing whatever guitars you can get your hands on!

Jeff