Comments

• rgrice Pisgah Forest, NC✭✭✭✭ 1994 Dupont MD 30, 1965 Gretsch Double Anniversary, Eastman AR610, Martin D16GT, Epiphone Joe Pass Emperor II Pro

  November 2014 Posts: 477

  I was in same the same boat but with a Gitane 250 M, which compared to playing GJ on my Martin was great sounding. I played the 250 for a couple of years and was never totally satisfied with sound or action, though I finally had it as good as it could get without spending to upgrade everything.
  I had the same budget and problem with accessiblity as you and spent much time researching and talking with Michael and others, concluding that Dupont was the way to go. I initially searched for used ones, which is tough! Check out the one @pickitjohn suggested, tho I also preferred the petite bouche.
  Months later without any luck, I narrowed it down to the Nomade and the MD 100. I was actually poised to get the 100, when an old friend needed money and was trying to sell his 1994 MD 30, which I had forgotten he had. I was just lucky on this one and have more guitar than I could ever afford. In my opinion, which isn't based on lots of experience, I'd spend the $3k and get the Dupont MD 100 or spend a bit more for the better woods and go up the ladder. I just don't think you could go wrong with Dupont, especially like me, coming from an Asian guitar.
  Good luck! Keep us posted!
  
• pickitjohn South Texas Corpus, San Antonio, AustinVirtuoso Patenotte 260

  November 2014 Posts: 936

  @rgrice
  

  I was actually poised to get the 100, when an old friend needed money and was trying to sell his 1994 MD 30, which I had forgotten he had.

  
  Great story, good for you, I believe Maurice Dupont was still building the guitars then.
  
  Any more friends with Dupont's they want to sell, "LET ME KNOW"
  
  
  :peace:

  Warning There was an error rendering this rich post.
• Russig Anchorage✭ Dupont MD-60

  November 2014 Posts: 11

  Nobody sells GJ style guitars in my area but I was lucky to play with a couple of friends who had taken the plunge on Dupont Nomades. After playing each of them, both oval hole & D-hole, I ordered a new oval hole Nomade which played and sounded great to me.
  
  Then last year one of the Nomade-owner friends got robbed and lost all his guitar gear. He's in a band, so had to come up with a decent guitar quickly. He talked with Michael at Djangobooks, and decided to order a Dupont MD60. We got together to check it out during his evaluation period and thought it sounded amazing but he couldn't get over the increased chunkiness of the neck. I, however, was in looove and told him to notify me if he wanted to return it. End result: he got my Nomade and some cash, and I got his MD60. I had even just sold another guitar so didn't have to raid my savings, but just sort of leveraged into this guitar.
  
  So thanks to lucky timing, my wife's baffling encouragement of this expensive hobby that I began too late in life to be good at, and the misfortune of others, I have a great guitar.
  
  

  
• rgrice Pisgah Forest, NC✭✭✭✭ 1994 Dupont MD 30, 1965 Gretsch Double Anniversary, Eastman AR610, Martin D16GT, Epiphone Joe Pass Emperor II Pro

  November 2014 Posts: 477

  @pickitjohn Thanks. Wish I could help you out with a Dupont! Yes, Maurice was building them then and his handwritten signature is on inside label!
  @russig great deal for you! I think the Nomade is likely the best deal out there for a "real" GJ guitarguitar.
• Chiefbigeasy New Orleans, LA✭✭✭ Dupont MDC 50; The Loar LH6, AJL Silent Guitar

  November 2014 Posts: 339

  Thanks for all the advice, guys. Please keep it coming.
  
  Here is the crux of the matter: I figured that I did the right thing picking up the Altamira, skipping over some other less expensive versions of supposed gypsy jazz guitars. I think that the next leap in quality should be more than the Nomad. I'm thinking at least an MD100 or something along this vein, but I'm trying to keep the whole enterprise somewhere around $3000 or less. I could kick myself for letting that MD 60 that was on the site for sale get out of my hands.
  
  Also, although I said in the beginning that the guitar doesn't make the player, I've always felt that a quality instrument made it easier to be a better player. Have you guys found this to be the case? I have experienced fighting a lesser quality guitar trying to get the sound that you want. What have you guys experienced in this realm?
  
  Michael currently has an Alves de Puga in the shop. I've researched the luthier's site and the quality seems good, and Michael has good things to say about the guitar. Now, it's a matter of how the guitar sounds.I guess the question is, can a non-brand-name luthier do as good a job as some of the established builders? I would think so.
  
  Although I've been playing guitar since I was in the sixth grade, I too started gypsy jazz late in life. Now, it seems, it's part of my mid/late life crisis. Oh well. My wife is probably happy that it doesn't involve sports cars or other young women. Guitar collecting is much safer.

  
• rgrice Pisgah Forest, NC✭✭✭✭ 1994 Dupont MD 30, 1965 Gretsch Double Anniversary, Eastman AR610, Martin D16GT, Epiphone Joe Pass Emperor II Pro

  November 2014 edited November 2014 Posts: 477

  I've always gotten the best guitar I can afford. While I'm still a novice at GJ, I've grown leaps and bounds since getting a great guitar. If I had to do it over again without my great fortune of gettingbthe Dupont, I'd spend more and get a real handmade guitar over anything else. It's likely going to be harder selling our Asian models, and it seems you like I did, already have plans to graduate. Cut out the middle man and go with the MD 100. You'll like the Altamira about as long as I liked my Gitane, a couple of years.
• Jazzaferri Victoria B.C.Moderator Dunn Ultrafox, DuPont MDC20 Gretsch Chet Atkins CG

  November 2014 Posts: 3,707

  I got a chance to play @stuart s guitar earlier this month. It's a really sweet axe and at what he paid one of the better GJ guitar buys I have seen.

  The Magic really starts to happen when you can play it with your eyes closed
• rgrice Pisgah Forest, NC✭✭✭✭ 1994 Dupont MD 30, 1965 Gretsch Double Anniversary, Eastman AR610, Martin D16GT, Epiphone Joe Pass Emperor II Pro

  November 2014 edited November 2014 Posts: 477

  @Chiefbigeasy. You'll love the Dupont! I can't understand all the Dupont haters. Keep us posted!
• Jazzaferri Victoria B.C.Moderator Dunn Ultrafox, DuPont MDC20 Gretsch Chet Atkins CG

  November 2014 Posts: 3,707

  A really good guitar is really reonsive. It will tell you very clearly when you aren't or are doing it right. Lol

  The Magic really starts to happen when you can play it with your eyes closed
• Chiefbigeasy New Orleans, LA✭✭✭ Dupont MDC 50; The Loar LH6, AJL Silent Guitar

  December 2014 Posts: 339

  Okay, here goes. I pulled the trigger and shelled out the big bucks for the Alves de Puga petite bouche guitar Michael has. It's not a Dupont, but it looks like a pretty well-made guitar and quite a step up from my Altamira. Interestingly, the second video of the guitar being played in France along with the conversation with the luthier helped persuade me. That, and Michael's always helpful and extensive knowledge of these instruments. I hope to take shipment of it next week.
  
  It's the most money I've ever spent for a guitar. Heck, it's the most money I've ever spent on anything that wasn't a car or a house. But, like I said, if I'm going to have a mid/late life crisis, it's a lot safer than fast cars and young women.