Beautiful Selmer cop

By: Robare on 04/09/2012 12:26:41 PM

Pros: Excellent Fit & Finsh

I received my guitar a couple of weeks ago. At Michael's suggestion I had his tech, Josh, do the full setup, which included replacing the bridge, filing frets, etc. I also had the stock tuners replaced with the Schallers. I considered purchasing the Dupont Nomade, but couldn't justify the additional expense, given that this is my first gypsy jazz guitar and that I'm new to the style of play. Having played the guitar for many hours now, and having listened to countless hours of the greats and not-so-greats on Youtube (playing everything from original Selmers to Gitane 250's), the sound coming out of this guitar is terrific. The fit and finish is also excellent. I gave it four stars on quality because of a minor flaw, which someone would have to look for to notice. Other than that, this guitar is a keeper. I'm extremely happy with my purchase.

Great budget guitar

By: klaatu on 03/03/2012 12:30:47 PM

Pros: Sound, playability.

Cons: Hardware, bridge fitting.

I bought one of these to use as a "beater." I have three handmade gypsy guitars, and there may be times when I don't want to take one of them. It will also serve as a travel guitar. I only give it four stars overall, because I'm not going to give any Asian guitar five, but as Asian guitars go, this is as good as they get. For the money it is an excellent value. The sound and playability are the best of any Asian guitar that I have run across, and it's actually better than a few non-Asian guitars that I have tried. Beats anything in the Saga inventory. This thing is LOUD, quite a bark, with a pretty authentic, dry sound. The main knocks are as everyone says, the hardware is cheap. The tuners are cheesy looking, although they work OK. They're the same as on the Saga DG-255. The tailpiece is pretty flimsy looking. The bridge seems OK, but if you get one of these, be sure to check the fit of the bridge to the top. There was daylight showing under mine. Fortunately, this is an easy fix you can do yourself, with Josh Hegg's instructions on bridge fitting (found in the forum). Also, the paper label inside is crooked. Certainly doesn't affect the sound, but that's just sloppy. All in all, if you're looking for a guitar without a big budget, or you need an inexpensive spare, you could do a lot worse than this one.

Great Altamira

By: spiro on 01/11/2012 03:51:12 AM

Pros: Sound, feel

Cons: Hardware, setup

Few months ago I received my new guitar which I am more than content with. It is Altamira oval hole purchased from Djangobooks. The guitar has it all, except good hardware. Fantastic sound, a lot of mids, round highs, not too dark nor too dry, just as I prefer. Here is the vid so check it out. 3rd solo... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=myBkxL-FwfM

Great guitar &price

By: Anthony on 10/20/2011 01:26:25 PM

I purchased my Alta Mira from a friend for a price comparable to what Michael is asking. All in all, I'm extremely happy ! First of all, the sound quality is light years better than my Gitane DG 300. The mids are the highlight of this guitar. They have that bell like Djsngo tone bigtime. The lows are really good, as are the highs. Keep in mind, this guitar is brand new so it's not even been "seasoned" yet. Just as advertised, it has a nice BARK rhythm wise as well. In terms of comparing it to the DG 300, you should also know that,while the neck isn't as nice and playable as say a dupont, it's WAY better than the dg 300. While it is U shaped, it's not nearly as thick as the dg300. The reason I only gave it a 4 overall is because of 1) the tuners are butt ugly and cheep looking/feeling(you're going to want to buy a set of schallers and stick them on ASAP. 2)The fret inlay dots aren't very luminescent, which according to my repair guy, means they're not made out of the typical material they usually make them out of.3)Mine has some minor fret issues that cause buzzing in a few spots on the g and d strings. When I took it to my repair guy, he quoted me a price, that when added to the cost of the Schaller tuners I plan to buy, add up to about $600 for a set up/fret leveling, installing new tuners, and adding fret inlay dots to the SIDE of the guitar neck(which it lacks and I personally need- but that also goes for it's more expensive upgraded twin the manouche latcho drom). Finally, keep in mind that this is basically a manouche latcho Drom nuages model minus the dell arte' upgrades, which would probably cost you roughly $400 - $500, and the manouche is $1500. Therefore - I think the price michael is asking makes this guitar a STEAL ! If you're thinking about getting a DG 300, get this one instead ! Plus, you pretty much will have to put new tuners on, and you can go with the schallers which look just like Django's tuners.