Wich cheap GJ guitar to get

Passacaglia

W.B., it's obvious you're going to get a lot of different opinions. I can only tell you that a lot of experienced people, pro players, bandleaders, etc., have without exaggeration kind of done a WTF? on my DG-300, been blown away by it, esp. when I told them the price I paid. Maybe I was just lucky, or I would be floored by other makes, if playing them, etc. I suspect everyone has a favorite, and ultimately, if you could find a way to play out several makes, that would be ideal.

Steveareno

I had an Aria MM-20 (my first GJ guitar). Sounded pretty good, but had a slight hump in the fretboard around the 14th fret. This may be fairly common. I've been more impressed with the Cigano's I've played, if you can get one with a solid top.
Swang on,

klaatu

I happen to agree with those favoring the DG300. The Cigano is a surprisingly good guitar for the price and better sounding than the midrange Sagas (DG255 and the like), but IMHO the DG300 is much better built and better sounding. With a proper setup, it can hold its own quite nicely.

A friend had a Cigano solid top oval, and it was incredibly sensitive to humidity changes, even for a gypsy guitar. Even with a humidifier in the case, the top went up and down like a yo-yo.

Passacaglia

Ben, your post flags me, I should mention that I have on board not the factory bridge, but a Dupont #3, and a couple of luthiers (one in Chicago, one in Madison), did tweak the setup. Memory fails, but I do seem to recall a substantial difference before and after these mods.

Going to DIJ. Can't tell you how keyed I am. 20 years ago, I trained there...as a Shakespearean actor, before becoming part of a Troupe out of the Berkshires. And, I, was, uh, younger. :shock:

klaatu

I have no doubt that there was a big difference after the setup and replacement bridge. A friend of mine who has DG300 did some mods to the factory bridge, taking away some of the mass and beveling the ends a bit, and the difference was pronounced. A Dupont bridge would no doubt be an even bigger improvement.

Hope to meet up with you at DiJ!

tarantoga

Buy an Altamira here, if you from Europe, its 600 Euro and the case is included.
gypsyguitar.de

W.B

thanks for all the reply's

diffrent toughts and opinions !
guess i need to try the gitane dg 300 and cigano gj 10 in a store , cant try out the altamira but will check that on youtube and sound clips.

still got some time to decide

thanks all for the great help.

Michael Bauer

In my personal experience, the d-hole Ciganos have been excellent for the money, and the ovals have been, shall we say, less than impressive. But I know guys whose opinions I really respect that have heard Cigano ovals that were quite good. My guess is that Ciganos are more hit or miss that higher end Sagas.

I think the DG-300's are much more consistent. I have played and listened to a couple dozen of them and have never come across a bad one. The only better factory guitars I have ever played are the early Manouche "Moreno" models.

In the end, try to play as many guitars as you can first, and trust your ear. But I think in your price range, a Used DG-300 is as good as you can do.

klaatu

Michael makes a good point about the early Manouche Moreno guitars. They might be more easily findable in Europe. If you can get your hands on one of those at a decent price, grab it!

W.B

Great great great guys !
i really like your kindness on this forum. that said !

im busy with searching and listening to videos of gypsy guitars all over the net.
i saw djangobooks had allot of videos about diffrent guitars and one guy is playing them.
i dual opened the youtube channel 1 video playing the Gitane DG-300 and 1 video playing the cigano gj 10, i paused the one and listened to the other and vice versa to just listen and hear the sound of these guitars and i have to say , in those videos the cigano sound is brighter and the snapping attack what in my opinion makes it gypsy jazz sounding is more present than it is on the gitane DG-300.
but it can be the video , it can be my ears but this is what ive heard.

checking ebay all the time but the shipping cost for a guitar are $120 dollar and then when it arrives i need to pay customs import tax. so on a guitar of like $1000 including shipping cost i need to pay $200 customs tax its so horrible that i quited looking for a guitar from the U.S.
and you guys with the $600 ~ $800 Gitane DG-300 from ebay you must have been very lucky cause the cheapest i can find is $1000 and shipping cost will be $120 = $1120 and when it arrives i need to pay like 25% of $1120 lets say i got it for $1200 shipped , then im better off buy 1 second hand for arround 800 euro from a second hand site here. or buy a 400 euro cigano with some options from djangobook.com shop.

ohhh its really difficult