2014 Castelluccia Menilmontant D 2014 Castelluccia Menilmontant D Castelluccia New model from the oldest continuously running Gypsy guitar shop in Paris! Arts & Entertainment castelluccia-menilmontant-4 Menilmontant 5.0 2
5 5
I bought the 2013 Castelluccia Menilmontant D from Djangobooks in December. This is a wonderful guitar with exceptional build quality and really great sound. I honestly don't have an adjective for the way the sound "feels", but it is so satisfying. I guess this is what Michael means by "crunchy". It certainly has a bite that sounds and feels great. The rosewood, spruce, and the ebony, along with the beautiful binding all comes together to make for an amazing deal at this price. I specified...
5 5
Thanks to Michael for helping me choose this beautiful guitar. Workmanship and playability are superb. The notes sing out from the lowest E all the way up to the highest E and the intonation and fretwork is excellent. The tone is full and balanced and is excellent for rhythm and lead. John Gill
View Offer DjangoBooks.com
Location
Home / No Show / 2014 Castelluccia Menilmontant D

2014 Castelluccia Menilmontant D

2014 Castelluccia Menilmontant D

The Castelluccia family has constructed Gypsy guitars for three generations, making them the oldest continually running Gypsy guitar manufacturer in France. The shop was founded by Jean-Baptiste Castelluccia, an Italian immigrant who was one of many of the skilled Italian luthiers to arrive in Paris during the early 20th Century. The shop is now lead by Jean-Baptiste's grandson, who is also named Jean-Baptiste, and continues to build the unique Gypsy models of his grandfather as well as more conventional Selmer copies. With nearly a century of collective experience, the Castelluccia shop continues to build some of the best sounding and most affordable Gypsy guitars made in France. As the market for Castelluccias built in the 50s and 60s has heated up over the years, it's wonderful to have the option of buying a brand new Castelluccia at almost half the cost of what the vintage ones goes for.

The Menilmontant D hole model is JB Castellucia's hommage to the distinctive D hole design of his grandfather. It features a high grade European spruce top, unusually highly figured Indian rosewood back and sides (looks more like Brazilian than Indian!), and a walnut neck with a Selmer style grafted headstock. This instrument is fitted with a set of Schaller tuners and Castelluccia's own JC tailpiece. The high grade woods and hardware found on this instrument are rarely found on French made guitars under $3K, making this instrument an exceptional deal for someone looking for luxurious features at a budget price.

Notable design features include gently rounded binding which adds additional comfort by not pressing into your body like more conventional binding does as well as a four brace top (a design feature made famous by Django's own Selmer 503 which also had only four top braces.) The #1 brace is particularly wide and sturdy, a design feature found in the vintage instruments built by Jacques Castelluccia. Additionally, the bridge includes a replaceable ebony saddle, a feature rarely found on Selmer style bridges which are normally fashioned from one piece of solid wood.

The sound of this instrument is quite remarkable, especially considering the price! Castelluccia's deep experience in building Gypsy guitars is most evident in the strong voiced, traditional tone that his guitars produce. This instrument has the very dry, clear, chimey tone that is so reminiscent of the best instruments of the "Golden Age" of French luthiery. Unlike many other contemporary builders, Castelluccia cuts to the chase by giving you the classic, crisp, Gypsy tone without any unnecessary sonic fluff. Lead lines project nicely with plenty of bite and a nice bit of attitude. Chords are crunchy and powerful, just the way the Gypsies like it! Jean-Baptiste did a wonderful job of avoiding the overly bass heavy and reverby sound that plagues so many D hole guitars. This instrument does have some of the thicker bass and fuller mids you'd expect from a D hole, but is still very well balanced with excellent projection and definition.

This superb instrument is one of the rare opportunities to buy a French made Gypsy guitar from a notable luthier for under $3K. This beautiful, yet very practical instrument is a dream come true for the hardworking player who needs an exceptional instrument at an affordable price. We can all thank Jean-Baptiste for making these fabulous guitars available at good prices!



This is the CASH price...add 3% if you'd like to pay with a credit card. 4% for International orders.

Pricing Info:
Sold
Guitar Specs

Reviews and Ratings

Overall
Quality
Value

2013 Castelluccia MD

I bought the 2013 Castelluccia Menilmontant D from Djangobooks in December. This is a wonderful guitar with exceptional build quality and really great sound. I honestly don't have an adjective for the way the sound "feels", but it is so satisfying. I guess this is what Michael means by "crunchy". It certainly has a bite that sounds and feels great. The rosewood, spruce, and the ebony, along with the beautiful binding all comes together to make for an amazing deal at this price. I specified these materials on a Martin custom 000 and it came to over $16k, so yeah, this is pretty amazing. Also Michael was great with communication, packed it well, and shipped it very quickly. Overall a great guitar and a great experience.

Submitted by: Chris on 08/19/2014 06:45:19 AM

Overall
Quality
Value

Castelluccia Menilmontant D

Thanks to Michael for helping me choose this beautiful guitar. Workmanship and playability are superb. The notes sing out from the lowest E all the way up to the highest E and the intonation and fretwork is excellent. The tone is full and balanced and is excellent for rhythm and lead. John Gill

Submitted by: John on 08/11/2014 05:42:28 PM

Home  |  Forum  |  Blog  |  Contact  |  206-528-9873
The Premier Gypsy Jazz Marketplace
DjangoBooks.com
USD CAD GBP EUR AUD
Your Cart
Your Cart: Empty
USD CAD GBP EUR AUD
Banner Adverts
Sell Your Guitar
© 2024 DjangoBooks.com, all rights reserved worldwide.
Software: Kryptronic eCommerce, Copyright 1999-2024 Kryptronic, Inc. Exec Time: 0.041368 Seconds Memory Usage: 1.386223 Megabytes
Kryptronic