Need opinion on Saga Gitane Selmer-style guitars

[Rick Homan]

On a recent trip to L. A., I stopped in at McCabe's in Santa Monica
(thanks to RMMGA which I googled for "guitar store Los Angeles") and
tried a Saga Gitane D500, a Selmer-clone, gypsy-style jazz acoustic. I
was mightily impressed by the fit, finish, set up and sound of the
guitar. At street prices well under $600 it would seem to be quite a
bargain.

This group always says "Trust your ears!" when shopping for a guitar,
and my ears told me it has a good sound; but since I had no recognized
gypsy guitars to compare it to, I didn't know if it was the right
sound for gypsy jazz. Then I saw on the Saga website a rave review by
John Jorgenson himself in which he specifically mentions the tone of
the Gitane D250M. Saga also offers a positive review from Guitar
Player magazine.

Others here have raved about Blueridge guitars -- qualty for price --
which are also on the Saga website (www.sagamusic.com) along with
Regal resonators, Kentucky mandolins, and other guitars, banjos and
violins. If I am not mistaken, these are all factory-made in China.

So, I liked it, Jorgenson liked it, GP liked it. And yet . . . if it
seems too good to be true . . . . Something in me says, "Save up and
buy a REAL gypsy guitar by DuPont, Dunn or Park." But something else
in me says, "Why spend more (three to five times as much!) when this
will get me started in this style and perhaps carry me quite a ways?"

Any experience with the Gitanes? Philosophizing on the art of shopping
also welcome.

Rick Homan

[John Sorell]

Post by Rick Homan
On a recent trip to L. A., I stopped in at McCabe's in Santa Monica
(thanks to RMMGA which I googled for "guitar store Los Angeles") and
tried a Saga Gitane D500, a Selmer-clone, gypsy-style jazz acoustic. I
was mightily impressed by the fit, finish, set up and sound of the
guitar. At street prices well under $600 it would seem to be quite a
bargain.
This group always says "Trust your ears!" when shopping for a guitar,
and my ears told me it has a good sound; but since I had no recognized
gypsy guitars to compare it to, I didn't know if it was the right
sound for gypsy jazz. Then I saw on the Saga website a rave review by
John Jorgenson himself in which he specifically mentions the tone of
the Gitane D250M. Saga also offers a positive review from Guitar
Player magazine.
Others here have raved about Blueridge guitars -- qualty for price --
which are also on the Saga website (www.sagamusic.com) along with
Regal resonators, Kentucky mandolins, and other guitars, banjos and
violins. If I am not mistaken, these are all factory-made in China.
So, I liked it, Jorgenson liked it, GP liked it. And yet . . . if it
seems too good to be true . . . . Something in me says, "Save up and
buy a REAL gypsy guitar by DuPont, Dunn or Park." But something else
in me says, "Why spend more (three to five times as much!) when this
will get me started in this style and perhaps carry me quite a ways?"
Any experience with the Gitanes? Philosophizing on the art of shopping
also welcome.
Rick Homan

Rick,

I lurk on the gypsyguitar email list. The general consensus over there is
the Gitane is a great guitar for the price. The sound it produces for the
Gypsy style is quite acceptable. I had a Dell'Arte Dark Eyes model. It
was great for lead but I didn't care for it when playing rhythm. I traded
it off plus mucho cash for a standard flattop (McCollum GA.

I'm still jonseing for a sel/mac and am considering a Gitane.

John

[Rick Homan]

Post by John Sorell
Rick,
I lurk on the gypsyguitar email list. The general consensus over there is
the Gitane is a great guitar for the price. The sound it produces for the
Gypsy style is quite acceptable.

Thanks for the info. Would that be the group on Yahoo.com? If not, how
might I gain access?

Thanks again, John,

Rick Homan

[John Sorell]

Post by Rick Homan

Post by John Sorell
Rick,
I lurk on the gypsyguitar email list. The general consensus over
there is the Gitane is a great guitar for the price. The sound it
produces for the Gypsy style is quite acceptable.

Thanks for the info. Would that be the group on Yahoo.com? If not, how
might I gain access?
Thanks again, John,
Rick Homan

Rick,

Yes. Here is the url
<http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/gypsyjazzguitar/>

You will find a lot if info on the Saga guitars.

John

[Wade Hampton Miller]

Rick -

I am a Saga dealer, but I'm also a player with an insatiable curiosity about
all styles of steel string guitars. I've played a number of the Gitanes, as
well as several other Selmer-style guitars built by noted handbuilders like
Shelley Park, Michael Dunn and the Dell'Arte crew.

Everyone I've talked to who plays that style has told me that the Gitanes are
an excellent way to test the waters, so to speak. They're as authentic as Saga
can make them, and as you've already noted, the price is right.

That whole Selmer-style guitar and music realm is considerably different than
what most of us are used to in North America. Once you get past the initial
flush of excitement, the "wow, this is really DIFFERENT" impulse, it's not
necessarily a sound and a style everyone can use.

So the Saga Gitane is a relatively inexpensive and painless way to explore that
initial curiosity. For a lot of us, perhaps most of us, it's as much Django
guitar as we'll ever need. But if you decide to take it further, it'll give
you an introduction, and also, perhaps, a more concrete idea of what features
you could use and wouldn't use on a high dollar custom Selmer-style guitar.

Hope that makes sense.



Wade Hampton Miller
Chugiak, Alaska

Remove the "Howdy" to reply...

[Roy McAlister]

I saw John Jorgenson just yesterday playing his Gitane and it sounded
fantastic.



-Roy McAlister
www.mcalisterguitars.com

[Rick Homan]

Post by Wade Hampton Miller
So the Saga Gitane is a relatively inexpensive and painless way to explore that
initial curiosity. For a lot of us, perhaps most of us, it's as much Django
guitar as we'll ever need. But if you decide to take it further, it'll give
you an introduction, and also, perhaps, a more concrete idea of what features
you could use and wouldn't use on a high dollar custom Selmer-style guitar.

Sound reasoning, Wade! Thanks!

Rick Homan

[Mouser9999]

Shameless plug: if anybody *is* looking for a high-end gypsy guitar, I am
selling my Bernie Lehmann Eclipse. E-mail me if you're interested. We now
return you to your regularly scheduled thread.

[Mouser9999]

I started my gypsy jazz life on a Gitane, and they are very nice guitars for
the money (in fact, if you google mouser9999+gitane, you'll pop up a review I
wrote in the newsgroup a couple years back).I bought one of the first few
D-500s, and it was very good-- and I've noticed that the more recent ones are
much better on fit and finish.

They are very playable with a very accurate Django tone. I have owned several
gypsy guitars since them (Dell Arte, Dunn, Lehmann). While I won't lie and say
the Gitane stands up to these wonderful handmade guitars, I certainly wouldn't
be ashamed to be playing a Gitane alongside them.

Bottom line: you've answered your own question already. If you liked the way it
played, sounded, and looked, why not buy it? If you find yourself enchanted by
gypsy jazz like I did, you may well want to invest in a higher end guitar down
the road (I longed for a Dunn for a long time, and now that I have one, I
couldn't be happier).

The toughest choice may be whether to go for the Maccaferri-style grande bouche
(500) or the Selmer-style petit bouche (250 and 250M). I love the tone of the
D-500, but found the 12 fret neck a bit limiting when it came to soloing (the
250 models have 14-fret necks). The models are of equal quality, just somewhat
different in terms of appointments and tone.

Of all the styles I've played, gypsy jazz is really the most fun. go for it!

[Rick Homan]

Post by Mouser9999
I started my gypsy jazz life on a Gitane, and they are very nice guitars for
the money (in fact, if you google mouser9999+gitane, you'll pop up a review I
wrote in the newsgroup a couple years back).

Thanks, Mouser! Good review back there in 2002. And I scored some good
URL's from the threads.

Post by Mouser9999
They are very playable with a very accurate Django tone. I have owned several
gypsy guitars since them (Dell Arte, Dunn, Lehmann). While I won't lie and say
the Gitane stands up to these wonderful handmade guitars, I certainly wouldn't
be ashamed to be playing a Gitane alongside them.

This really answers my question. It doesn't have to be "the best" or
even "as good as," just credible. And, hey, if Jorgenson plays one in
public, as Roy says above, that's good enough for me.

Post by Mouser9999
The toughest choice may be whether to go for the Maccaferri-style grande bouche
(500) or the Selmer-style petit bouche (250 and 250M).

I think I'll start with the Gitane grande bouche, which I understand
is favored for rhythm-playing. Once I've worked though Mehling's
tapes (I notice you also used them), I'll decide whether to go upscale
on a petite bouche.

Post by Mouser9999
Of all the styles I've played, gypsy jazz is really the most fun. go for it!

Thanks! I've enjoyed listening for years; it's time to dive in.

Rick Homan

[misifus]

The guitar player in a new band here in North Texas just acquired
a Saga Gitane Petit Bouche. It sounded very nice tonight.

-Raf

[Rick Homan]

Post by misifus
The guitar player in a new band here in North Texas just acquired
a Saga Gitane Petit Bouche. It sounded very nice tonight.
-Raf

Glad to hear it! What sort of music were the playing? I hear
occasionally of these instruments being used for styles other than
gypsy jazz.

Rick Homan

[misifus]

Post by Rick Homan

Post by misifus
The guitar player in a new band here in North Texas just acquired
a Saga Gitane Petit Bouche. It sounded very nice tonight.
-Raf

Glad to hear it! What sort of music were the playing? I hear
occasionally of these instruments being used for styles other than
gypsy jazz.
Rick Homan

Well, it was a new band and they were doing a mix of styles, some
bluegrass, some straight country, some gypsy jazz. The Selmer
did pretty well on bluegrass guitar tunes like Blackberry
Blossom. (did it get that title right, it's the one Jeff Sherman
has done)

-Raf