Comments

• voutoreenie "the good land"New

  August 23 Posts: 452

  It's could be tough to find one with string spacing that's less wide, all of these guitars are more closer to classical guitar string spacing than flat tops from Martin/Gibson/Taylor/etc. The Gitane DG-250M has a much more noticeably thinner "shredder" neck than most but even then, the string spacing is still fairly wide, although less than an Altamira (I own a M10). I also have a Cholet that has a very "modern" profile neck w/string spacing that's less wide than say a Dupont, Barault, Holo, etc. In fact, a luthier could probably build one more to your preferences and as discussed in other threads, a lot of them do 660 now in addition 670.

  Also, and although you might still not like the string spacing, but 12 fret models "feel" more like traditional flat tops, or at least to me due to the similar scale length vs. 14 fret models.

  But if looking for an inexpensive model, I'd say it might be worth trying out a Gitane DG-250M to see if you like it more. I actually have one for sale and they're also fairly common on Reverb but I do believe they've been discontinued so might be tough finding a brand new one.

  Last, you can easily play this style on a non-Selmac guitar. You won't get the same tone but it really doesn't matter so long as you're enjoying it! Tommy Emmanuel for one plays swing on the same guitar he plays everything else and while the projection might slightly lacking compared to Selmac, it sure sounds fantastic.

  
• Russell Letson Prodigy

  August 23 Posts: 458

  A "comfortable" neck involves a bunch of variables, and one person's comfort might be another's discomfort.

  The variables include: width at nut; neck profile (shape and depth); flat or radiused fingerboard; string spacing at nut and bridge. Then there are scale length and string height, though the latter is adjustable.

  As my left hand has aged, I find that a deeper profile and a radiused fingerboard matter more than width-at-nut. I have both 1-3/4" and 1-7/8" flat fingerboards, and in both cases, it's profile depth that determines comfort.

  
• littlemark New

  August 23 Posts: 556

  My Dimauro chorus has closer string spacing than most gypsy guitars I've played. Similar to my Gibson. Shorter scale too.

  But a deep flat boat neck. No adjustable truss rod.

  
• DeuxDoigts_Tonnerre Lawrenceville GA USANew Stringphonic #503 Basic, Altamira M30D, Eastman AR810CE, Samick HJ650, GR Eddie Durham 100th

  August 25 edited August 26 Posts: 66

  I have an Altamira M30D from around 2012. It took me years and installing a different bridge to warm up to the Altamira guitar (sound/feel/etc). I liked the neck profile of the Altamira just fine, and with time I found that I no longer liked the American flat-top necks anymore. I do still love archtops and even semi-hollow electrics.

  Around 2022 I got a Stringphonic 503 Basic. The action was set up impeccably. It plays like butter and is my wife's favorite guitar because it plays easier than anything else I have. It felt amazing right from the start and it took me no time to warm up to the Stringphonic.

  Now both of these Altamira and Stringphonic have standard 1-3/4" nut width. I've had a Gitane D500 that had 1-7/8" and a DG250M that had a thinner neck like a Stratocaster of which I liked neither.

  
• DeuxDoigts_Tonnerre Lawrenceville GA USANew Stringphonic #503 Basic, Altamira M30D, Eastman AR810CE, Samick HJ650, GR Eddie Durham 100th

  August 26 edited August 26 Posts: 66

  If you don't mind plugging in then I would suggest a Samick HJ650 or similar 17" Archtop with 2 humbuckers in the style of an L5. These will have a more standard electric guitar neck and will be very comfortable to play. Of course you have to adjust your le-pompe and rest-stroke a little bit when if you are used to standard gypsy neck. But to me at least my Samick HJ650 feels nice and smooth when I do some gypsy rhythm on it and I find I don't have to re-adjust my strokes or strums too much from what I am used to on my traditional gypsy acoustic guitars. Out of my other archtops, I would choose this one for feel and sound if I was going to play amplified with an acoustic ensemble and we wanted to keep it as "non-electric" sounding as possible. The Samick has a 17" bout and almost 4" deep so it even feels like a full acoustic guitar against my body when I play it.

  Also, suggest trying some budget archtop guitars for manouche jazz. You will probably find a greater variety of neck shapes and sizes than the manouche guitar neck parameters. If you can find a decent archtop that you love the feel of and sounds great acoustically (or plugged in) it may be a good alternative.