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  • PhilPhil Portland, ORModerator Anastasio
    Posts: 765
    At $ 9,875.00 is this a guitar for a player or for a collector?
  • MichaelHorowitzMichaelHorowitz SeattleAdministrator
    Posts: 6,152
    Hi Phil,

    It's pretty rare Gypsy guitars go to true "collectors" of the Scott Chinnery/Akira Tsumura variety with glass cases and photo books. Most go to players who fall in the range from amateur to full professional. They almost always get played, performed with, and shared among the community which is quite a bit different than the flatop/archtop world which has a lot more collecting going on.

    Jacques Favinos, especially pre-1975 ones, have been selling in the $8K-11K range for many years now. As this one is so pristine it falls into the higher end of the spectrum.

    It's really a fantastic piece....my personal favorite of all! The only one that can match it is Michael Bauer's 1964 Favino which has equal power but has a dark velvety tone whereas this one is ultra crunchy with singing highs.

    Michael
  • Michael BauerMichael Bauer Chicago, ILProdigy Selmers, Busatos and more…oh my!
    Posts: 1,002
    Phil, it's pretty rare that I hear Michael rave this much about a guitar, but he called me last night to tell me about it. When Michael actually calls up to talk about a guitar, I can be pretty certain it's a great one. If this guitar is as good as the one I was lucky enough to get, somebody is going to be pretty happy. Besides, mine has 16 cracks on the top (which I like, but which would scare the shit out of most people), and this one is absolutely pristine. Favinos are prone to cracks, so finding one that's not from that era is not the norm. Given that Selmers are $30-40K these days (sometimes more), and pretty much all Busatos have passed beyond the $10K mark, a Favino in this condition that sounds great is a good deal.

    The rising interest in gypsy jazz comes with a price: the more people looking for quality guitars, the higher the prices are going to go. Favinos, being one of the Holy Three, have passed into the collector's realm. There are bargains out there. The Castelluccia that Michael just had was a steal! A Joseph di Mauro (the elder) can be a great guitar for a comparatively low price. I have played some good Antoine di Mauros that were really good. Patenottes are a real bargain. There are others. But even with those, the best ones are going to cost more than a used Dupont in most cases. The oddity is that the guitar market is depressed right now except for gypsy jazz guitars, which are still going up. They were underpriced for years, just as vintage Strats were overpriced. Compare a vintage gypsy guitar to a vintage Martin, and see what a bargain a GJ guitar still is.
    I've never been a guitar player, but I've played one on stage.
  • fraterfrater Prodigy
    Posts: 763
    Rising interest in GJ apart, I still can't force myself to put Favino in the same league of Selmer and Busato...
  • MichaelHorowitzMichaelHorowitz SeattleAdministrator
    Posts: 6,152
    frater wrote:
    Rising interest in GJ apart, I still can't force myself to put Favino in the same league of Selmer and Busato...

    I have a similar problem...I can't force myself to put Selmer in the same league as Busato :D
  • djangologydjangology Portland, OregonModerator
    Posts: 1,018
    Beautiful guitar. Fun to look at. :-)
  • PhilPhil Portland, ORModerator Anastasio
    Posts: 765
    thanks for the interesting replies; amazing to see how Favinos have shot up in value. Wish I could afford one, but unfortunately, unless I win the lotto :roll: , they've gone way out of my price range.
    Glad to hear it will likely end up in the hands of a player.
    cheers
    Phil
  • MichaelHorowitzMichaelHorowitz SeattleAdministrator
    Posts: 6,152
    Phil, if you're looking for a bargain than the late 70s early 80s Favinos are worth checking out. They don't have the Jacques "name" but they are basically the same guitar but go for $1000s less. And JP used more expensive highly figured Brazilian! The Jacques usually have regular Indian.

    I have two here right now which are really nice:








    Jean-Pierre 1982 Favino 14 Fret D Hole Guitar (Brazilian Back and Sides) with HSC

    Jean-Pierre
    1982 Favino 14 Fret D Hole Guitar (Brazilian Back and Sides) with HSC




    Jean-Pierre 1984 Favino 14 Fret Oval Hole Guitar (Brazilian Back and Sides) with HSC

    Jean-Pierre
    1984 Favino 14 Fret Oval Hole Guitar (Brazilian Back and Sides) with HSC






    The D hole is particularly special....monster loud and crisp. Bob Holo came up an studied to find out what makes it tick. Probably the best 14 fret Favino D hole I've seen....and for a lot less than a Jacques.

    'm
  • fraterfrater Prodigy
    Posts: 763
    frater wrote:
    Rising interest in GJ apart, I still can't force myself to put Favino in the same league of Selmer and Busato...

    I have a similar problem...I can't force myself to put Selmer in the same league as Busato :D

    Now, that makes sense!
  • Michael BauerMichael Bauer Chicago, ILProdigy Selmers, Busatos and more…oh my!
    Posts: 1,002
    Busatos can be loud, but so can a Strat through a Marshall stack. Loud doesn't necessarily spell good (I know, we've had this debate before.) I have played nine Busatos ranging from the 30's through the 50's. Exactly two of them were really good, and I now own them both. There was one more (a Grand Modele) that I liked, but it had no volume at all, just fabulous tone. One, a Grand Modele, hummed the whole time I played it (acoustic feedback!), and the rest were mediocre to bad. I like Busatos, but to my ear they are tonally the least interesting of the GJ triumverate. Bell-like, clear, but without alot of complexity (I can hear Michael's keyboard clicking into action in rebuttal!) My two are a bit off the standard Busato path, and are more interesting to me for it. I haven't been lucky enought to play a really great Grand Modele, but one day I'll invade Michael's house and have a go at his. I hear it's very nice.

    The Favinos I've played ( a dozen or more) are really varied. I have a Jacques and a modern J.P., and both are great guitars...better, IMHO, than the Busatos I've tried, but I recognise that I have two exceptional Favinos. Favinos seem to vary tonally more than the others, and a few are really weak. I wanted that classic Favino honk and I got it in spades with the '64.

    Selmers (I've played four...all good) are still the most complex. Not the loudest, but loud enough, but with all sorts of tonal complexity that Busatos can't muster. The real eye opener is a d-hole with resonator! If you come across a good one, you can hear just about every tone everyone else has ever come up with, including oval hole Selmers, Favinos, Busatos, and the rest. It really is the Ur-guitar of this music. And most people miss that because they play d-holes without a resonator, which, unless you are lucky enough to have a good one, sound like rooms with no furniture in them. That boomyness isn't present in a Sel-Mac with a resonator at all. In fact, the small sound hole on the ovals was a way to get close to the sound of the Sel-Mac without adding a resonator.

    It's all taste. By the time guitars get as old as Selmers and Busatos are, it really comes down to the individual guitar. They all bring someting to the table, and are all a pleasure to play, even the not-so-good ones. If you like a clean, clear, loud sound, a Busato is probably your thing. If you like a more campfire sound, a Favino or even a di Mauro are great/ If you like alot of complexity in your sound, a Selmer has it. We can talk Favinos and Busatos all day, but in the end the sound and guitar most copied (by far) is the Selmer. There must be a reason for that, don't you think?
    I've never been a guitar player, but I've played one on stage.
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