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WTB: My first Gypsy Jazz/Manouche guitar (JWC/Dupont Nomade/Stringphonic/Altamira)

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Comments

  • jonpowljonpowl Hercules, CA✭✭✭ Dupont MD-100, Altamira M01F
    Posts: 705
    From the JWC web site:
    Announcement: Our Master Luther Jeongwoo Cho has returned to his home in S Korea for Personal / Family reasons and is continuing to exclusively hand build our full range of guitars. There will be no change to our range of guitars, processes, and materials utilized nor the quality of the materials and guitar manufacture.
    Perhaps there have been changes at JWC and it appears that the guitars are being made in South Korea.
  • geese_comgeese_com Madison, WINew 503
    Posts: 459
    Thanks for the heads up on the JWC. They were not on my radar but they are now.

    It would be awesome to get a Modele Jazz with a cocobolo back but I think I might have to be patient and see if a used one shows up.
    Was in your boat last year. Wanted to spend under $2k. Did a ton of research and settled on a brand new JWC and couldn’t be happier. Have played a few Ciganos and Gitanes as well as an Altamira and a Holo. Obviously that runs the full spectrum of price outside of rare vintage. Clearly the Holo was on another level, but for the price my JWC is amazing. I’ve had friends play it and be blown away at how great it feels. My only wish is that it was a little louder. When playing the Holo I couldn’t believe how much sound that thing could produce. The Altamira sounded great but I didn’t like the neck at all. It was super thin and more like a shallow D than a C or U than I prefer. The JWC I ended up with was the Modele Jazz and after shipping and import tax and bank wire fees I came in right at $2k

  • Brad HermanBrad Herman San Francisco, CANew JWC Modele Jazz, Stankevicius Alena, Alexander Polyakov Selmer #6
    Posts: 116
    geese_com wrote: »
    Thanks for the heads up on the JWC. They were not on my radar but they are now.

    It would be awesome to get a Modele Jazz with a cocobolo back but I think I might have to be patient and see if a used one shows up.
    Was in your boat last year. Wanted to spend under $2k. Did a ton of research and settled on a brand new JWC and couldn’t be happier. Have played a few Ciganos and Gitanes as well as an Altamira and a Holo. Obviously that runs the full spectrum of price outside of rare vintage. Clearly the Holo was on another level, but for the price my JWC is amazing. I’ve had friends play it and be blown away at how great it feels. My only wish is that it was a little louder. When playing the Holo I couldn’t believe how much sound that thing could produce. The Altamira sounded great but I didn’t like the neck at all. It was super thin and more like a shallow D than a C or U than I prefer. The JWC I ended up with was the Modele Jazz and after shipping and import tax and bank wire fees I came in right at $2k

    Not sure where you’re located but if you’re ever in the Bay Area and want to try one out you’re more than welcome to come play mine for a bit
  • As Brad is suggesting, putting a few guitars across the spectrum in your hands is probably the best thing, as it will give you a sense of how they feel and what your preferences are. That being said, I think you'd do perfectly well with an AltaMira or something on the lower end of the price range. It's very easy to get caught up in personal opinions of guitars which people state as facts. The reality is that certain companies are reliable because they put out consistent guitars. Think about these things:
    -what is your interest level? Are you new to the style or have you been around it before and are ready to dive in?
    -what is your experience level? Have you been playing a while and are you aware of what your preferences are with guitars?
    -how much are you willing to spend?
    Buco
  • AndrewUlleAndrewUlle Cleveland, OH✭✭✭ Cigano GJ-15
    Posts: 541
    Are you interested more in rhythm or lead playing? Definitely try to audition as many as you can - there are night and day differences in sound, responsiveness, volume, and very importantly, feel. If you've only played modern guitars with thin necks and truss rods (which of course help stabilize the neck but also weigh it down and affect the sustain & resonance overall), don't be afraid to try one with a big old baseball-bat sized neck & no truss rod. It's a different feeling, but you may like it. I do, but I'm into rhythm, not lead, so if you're a speed demon in the style of Bireli, you may not appreciate the extra girth.
  • BonesBones Moderator
    Posts: 3,319
    Geese, what is your budget?
  • geese_comgeese_com Madison, WINew 503
    edited October 2017 Posts: 459
    Bones wrote: »
    Geese, what is your budget?

    I have a pretty flexible budget but I am hoping to spend less than $2,500.

  • geese_comgeese_com Madison, WINew 503
    edited October 2017 Posts: 459
    As Brad is suggesting, putting a few guitars across the spectrum in your hands is probably the best thing, as it will give you a sense of how they feel and what your preferences are. That being said, I think you'd do perfectly well with an AltaMira or something on the lower end of the price range. It's very easy to get caught up in personal opinions of guitars which people state as facts. The reality is that certain companies are reliable because they put out consistent guitars. Think about these things:
    -what is your interest level? Are you new to the style or have you been around it before and are ready to dive in?
    -what is your experience level? Have you been playing a while and are you aware of what your preferences are with guitars?
    -how much are you willing to spend?

    I have been playing guitar for almost 20 years and listening and (not seriously) messing around with gypsy jazz guitar music for the last 10.

    Budget is less than $2,500.

    I am new when it comes to gypsy jazz guitars but I would like to buy a better (but not super expensive) one as my first GJ guitar instead of having to keep buying and selling guitars to find one I like.
  • geese_comgeese_com Madison, WINew 503
    Posts: 459
    Are you interested more in rhythm or lead playing? Definitely try to audition as many as you can - there are night and day differences in sound, responsiveness, volume, and very importantly, feel. If you've only played modern guitars with thin necks and truss rods (which of course help stabilize the neck but also weigh it down and affect the sustain & resonance overall), don't be afraid to try one with a big old baseball-bat sized neck & no truss rod. It's a different feeling, but you may like it. I do, but I'm into rhythm, not lead, so if you're a speed demon in the style of Bireli, you may not appreciate the extra girth.

    I am interested in both rhythm and lead. I really just like playing and making music so if I can find an instrument that plays well and inspires me to do that would be great.

    I am located in Madison, WI. If anyone has recommendations of places that I can check out GJ guitars in my area that would be great.

    I played some at a Gypsy Jazz fest here recently but they were way out of my budget. I forgot what brand they were. It was before I rea

  • MichaelHorowitzMichaelHorowitz SeattleAdministrator
    Posts: 6,152
    geese_com wrote: »
    [

    I have been playing guitar for almost 20 years and listening and (not seriously) messing around with gypsy jazz guitar music for the last 10.

    Budget is less than $2,500.

    If you can spend $2,500, then there's no need to consider any of the Asian models are there are a few excellent handmade options in that price range. These two models are the most popular in the $2K range:

    http://www.djangobooks.com/Item/dupont-nomade-2017-d-2

    http://www.djangobooks.com/Item/geronimo-mateos-jazz-b-7

    Both are constructed from properly aged woods so you won't have to deal with the setup headaches and the tonal harshness that is inherent in lower quality models.


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