Comments

• TexasRed South Texas, San Antonio✭✭ Dupont Nomade

  January 2015 Posts: 22

  Im sorry i meant to post this in the gear category. Sorry if this is a bad place for this question
• Lango-Django Niagara-On-The-Lake, ONModerator

  January 2015 edited January 2015 Posts: 1,855

  Tex, I'd recommend you hold off on that purchase until you've had a bit more time with your mitts on some real live gypsy guitars and see what feels right for you.
  
  Best way to accomplish this goal would be to attend "Django in June" in Northampton MA where you can see, hear and play lots of 'em.
  
  D hole guitars are a minority taste, to be sure, but in my own experience they don't sound all that different from oval holes to the listener, although they may do to the player.
  
  In fact, I've got an F-hole gypsy guitar and even it doesn't sound very different from the other kinds!
  
  But the main thing is to purchase one that YOU are going to be happy playing, and for a thousand bucks I'd say you can certainly find one that will.
  
  Good luck!

  Paul Cezanne: "I could paint for a thousand years without stopping and I would still feel as though I knew nothing."
  
  Edgar Degas: "Only when he no longer knows what he is doing does the painter do good things.... To draw, you must close your eyes and sing."
  
  Georges Braque: "In art there is only one thing that counts: the bit that can’t be explained."
  
• pickitjohn South Texas Corpus, San Antonio, AustinVirtuoso Patenotte 260

  January 2015 Posts: 936

  @TexasRed
  pickitjohn here were neighbors I'm in Corpus I P M'd You

  Warning There was an error rendering this rich post.
• Jazzaferri Victoria B.C.Moderator Dunn Ultrafox, DuPont MDC20 Gretsch Chet Atkins CG

  January 2015 Posts: 3,707

  There you are.....and I would think that a conversation with @pickitjohn ....would get you well and truly on the right track.
  
  I have always found his thoughts and suggestions to be well considered and forthright.
  
  Welcome to our community.

  The Magic really starts to happen when you can play it with your eyes closed
• Buco NOVA, DCDeity Ivanovski maple/spruce

  January 2015 Posts: 4,735

  I've heard D holes sound from bright and focused to bass heavy and diffusive and anything in between. I just wouldn't order one based on a prevailing concept of how they should sound. Either play it in person or trust someone with good ears who can give you accurate description.
  
  One thing that maybe a misconception but I'm not sure, maybe I'm just assuming, is short scale guitars aren't as loud as ling scale.
  A friend has a short scale D hole, I think 650mm, and it's deafeningly loud and will cut and project through any noise with a snap of a hunter's bow. And sounds very balanced as well.
  
  There's a D hole for sale on a forum right now I believe.
  
  Definitely second hooking up with John.

  

  Every note wants to go somewhere-Kurt Rosenwinkel
• rgrice Pisgah Forest, NC✭✭✭✭ 1994 Dupont MD 30, 1965 Gretsch Double Anniversary, Eastman AR610, Martin D16GT, Epiphone Joe Pass Emperor II Pro

  January 2015 Posts: 477

  Welcome! Agree with others. @stuart is right about Cigano and unbeatable price. I didn't listen to Michael and others and my first GJ guitar was a Gitane, which I got for only a bit more than the Cigano. It never played or sounded quite right. A Cigano set up correctly is a good deal.
  
  Like most of the folks here, if you're serious you'll outgrow it pretty quickly. If I had to do it over again, I'd spend the extra and skip the beginner model and get the Nomade. Likely the best value for a handmade guitar that you can rely on being great, sight unseen.
  
  Hold off, save some more money, and play GJ on your other guitars...you can at least work on la pompe and learn some songs to be ready when you get the guitar. I played GJ on my Martin and Gretsch for awhile before plunging. Then you'll also be several months into knowing whether you have the bug or not. A Dupont will also be a lot easier to sell if you decide to get out of the GJ business.
  
  My 2 cents.
• Jazzaferri Victoria B.C.Moderator Dunn Ultrafox, DuPont MDC20 Gretsch Chet Atkins CG

  January 2015 Posts: 3,707

  Insightful summary from @stuart. As Buco points out, the sound hole shape and size isn't the only factor in the sound. The size of the opening relates to the body cavity volume and the desired resonant frequency if my physics memory is still working. The size, shape and location of the opening, affect the resonance of the top, which affects the resonance of the guitar...and round and round and round it goes. Which is why Lutheran is an art, science based, but an art.
  
  Tap tuning the top can only be well done by experienced luthiers who have the time to spend on the top. You really do get what you pay for.... If bought carefully. (some brands one pays a fair bit for the name)

  The Magic really starts to happen when you can play it with your eyes closed
• TexasRed South Texas, San Antonio✭✭ Dupont Nomade

  January 2015 Posts: 22

  Thanks everyone, I've talked to John and he's been a lot of help with both choosing an instrument and giving me direction with the actual learning part of things.
  
  I've got my eye on a guitar now, I'm not going to say more because I'm hoping no one buys it before I'm ready to grab it, but I'll be sure to let you know whatever I do end up with.
  
  

  
• Jazzaferri Victoria B.C.Moderator Dunn Ultrafox, DuPont MDC20 Gretsch Chet Atkins CG

  January 2015 Posts: 3,707

  Good luck with it

  The Magic really starts to happen when you can play it with your eyes closed
• TexasRed South Texas, San Antonio✭✭ Dupont Nomade

  January 2015 Posts: 22

  Just put this one on hold. A Nomade for 1500. I figure I can pass it on relatively easily if need be later, and It should take me a very long time before I outgrow it.
  
  Can't wait!
  
  http://caravanguitars.com/product/2010-dupont-nomade/