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Di Mauro, any generalizations about them regarding tone and playability?
VicBulbon
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So I know they made a lot of guitars spanning two generations. Some of them look pretty cool and the prices are much more accessible than Selmers, Busatos, Favinos etc. So having said that, what can you guys say about them? Do they sound closer to a Selmer or a big body guitar like Favino or Busato? Whats their playability like?
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There are a lot of different kinds of Dimauros and a lot of different quality levels (I think so, anyway, I haven't played a ton). I had one that was on the more production side and it sounded pretty ok but it was a cheapish instrument that was made for a lower price level.
TBH if you are starting out, I would suggest maybe not looking for a vintage instrument but a solid import instrument at a lower price and investing the difference in in-person lessons. A modern instrument is probably going to be easier to setup and maintain than a vintage instrument but you said money is limited so I'd suggest getting some lessons if you can.
TBH if you are starting out, I would suggest maybe not looking for a vintage instrument but a solid import instrument at a lower price and investing the difference in in-person lessons. A modern instrument is probably going to be easier to setup and maintain than a vintage instrument but you said money is limited so I'd suggest getting some lessons if you can.
100% this
I have a Di Mauro Boogie Woogie. The body is big, the back is braceless, the tone is vintage and wholesome. The BIG problem I have is the short scale - 11.5 fret join and a very short but fat neck. It just makes it tough to stick with when I enjoy playing my other guitars more. However, It does look cool and it sounds great!
Someone on one of the Facebook Django groups put up pictures of his Boogie Woogie which had had a new longer neck fitted with a 13 fret join. He got a bit of angst off some for meddling with a vintage guitar (always the way on Facebook, which is why I love this forum!), but I reckon it would have been a huge improvement in playability!!!! Also, these old Di Mauros were low end affordable guitars, so perhaps I'll put a new neck on mine as well!!!!!!
There aren't any long scale, 14 (or 13) fret to the body DiMauro's?
I played only one or two in my life so this is more philosophical answer, but DiMauro guitars sound like themselves. And within that world there is a lot of variation I'm sure. Just to say I wouldn't go compare them to any other make from the same period. They didn't try to copy, they did their own thing.
FWIW as a former collector I had a few Di Mauros down the years and found generally they were well enough made, very light and sounded good (depending of course on the player's technique).
My main concern, a caveat for anyone thinking of buying one, was that for myself (others may disagree) I could not get comfortable with the neck profile. They all had narrow but quite deep, a thick C section, neck. Maybe coming to them from years of Telecasters did not help but as much as tried to like them I eventually moved them all on. Probably the shorter scale Boogie Woogie was the nearest I got to being comfortable, it did have a nice tone and decent volume, and to answer Buco's question, yes the St Louis Blues had a 14th fret join.
I even had a few of the small' Poema' parlor size models and they also had the same sound, but with the same neck profile. The Hawaiian and mandolin were of course not relevant to a GJ player but both decent instruments.
I was initially interested based as much on their look as anything else, quite a few years ago there was not so much discussion online as there is now and maybe reading what has since been added here might have been helpful then, and I was particularly looking for the Chorus style model. More than ten years ago these were quite rare and there were not the copies around that have since been marketed by the likes of Altamira and JWC so I commissioned Tony Petrarca in France to make one to my specs with a wider flatter neck which I still have and is still my #1.
Interestingly Antoine Di Mauro's son Joseph Jr carried on the business later and while some of his earlier output carried on using necks already in stock (with the marque au fer on the headstock) I had a later one, model J102, which was similar to the St Louis Blues which was probably the best of the lot, at least for me.
Anyway, still struggling as a relative learner in the GJ style due mainly to my right hand picking technique (or lack of) rather than any left hand fretting problems, I eventually moved them all on but that is not to put off anyone looking for one, just try before you buy in case you have the same problem with the feel of the neck.
Anyone else had that problem with a Di Mauro?
And here is my Petrarca 'Chorus' with another Petrarca 'Petite Bouche'.
@ChrisMartin Beautiful collection, thx for posting
mandolin of course not relevant to a GJ player
oh dear me ...
I just had a jam this week with a mando player. And Don Stiernberg will be at Django in June this year playing and teaching. Also had Harmonious Wail play at my wedding (Sims is as good as they come!). So I think mandolin can be very relevant to this style! Looks like Bill & his 9 mandolins would agree with me 😁
@ChrisMartin Nice lineup!
Thanks Chris for the great pictures, including the mandolin that I was sorry not to be able to buy from you due to import regulations. Hope it went to a good home.
And on the subject of mandolins, the Lisbon Jazz Manouche Collective has been known to feature one on occasion:
Hi all, I own a Special Chorus from 1955. It has the 3 cleated but nevertheless typical cracks on the soundboard. Apart from that, it is in perfect condition, the finish is magnificent. As Chris said, the neck is thick but narrow, also, the radius of the fret board is curved. For me, the palyability is perfect; I don't like wide flat necks. The sound is very dry and full of medums and the guitar is surprisingly, because of the F holes, very loud. It has a lot of harmonics, the sound is very 'tight' or textured. It looks like a good point, but it may be a little too much for GJ style, depending on what the player expects. This guitar shows a kind of paradox: dryness and complex frequency spectrum. Aniway, the sound is well balanced, globally focused on mids, with throatiness in the low ends and sparkly highs. After getting out of denial, I put 11s argies: 10s were lacking of clarity, harmonics were already there en masse. I also tried 10s Bosset, it scooped the mids in a good way, but maybe lasted less and decreased the projection. The 11s would deserve to be tested. There seems to be no risk to adopt 11s, as several luthiers said to me: the soundboard is thick and the neck reinforced with three steel rods absolutely don't move, when you pass from 10s to 11s and reversely.