Cigano GJ-15

Body style : Short scale, D-hole design with traditional soundhole rosette, Deep horizontal cutaway

Top : Solid Sitka spruce top

Back : Beautiful asian Rosewood

Sides : Beautiful asian Rosewood

Neck : Nato

Fingerboard : Rosewood

Body binding : Black plastic

Unique features : Traditional “zero” fret, with bone string guide, Mahogany peghead overlay with Cigano logo, Ebony moustache bridge with movable center, Traditional brass tailpiece with plastic insert, Accurate gold-plated tuners with 14:1 ratio, Shop-adjusted

From the complicated playing techniques, to the limited availability of truly affordable instruments necessary to capture that proper Gypsy tone, the obstacles to learning how to play Gypsy Jazz music can easily discourage the seasoned guitarist, let alone a beginner. To make it even easier to begin this exciting musical journey, Saga Musical Instruments and Gitane guitars introduce the new GJ-15 Cigano Student Gypsy Jazz guitar! Its short-scale, D-hole design gives it that characteristic deep bass response and incredible volume making it the perfect rhythm instrument. Value, tone, playability and workmanship will meet or exceed any players expectations.

"Selmer-type” guitars were favourited by Django Reinhardt for a big part of his career and became a symbol of Jazz-Manush also called Gypsy Jazz (Gypsy Jazz, Jazz Manouche). Such guitars were made by Selmer from 1932 to 1952.



Early models had a D-shaped sound hole «grande bouche». This form has been specifically designed for the use of internal resonator to increase the volume of the instrument. Mario Maccaferri was the inventor of this guitar.



Selmer type guitars have a number of distinctive features that affect the sound.



An obvious feature that catches your eye is the irregular shape of the sound hole. The most common form of the hole is an oval. Its small size affects the guitar sound - it becomes more muted and slightly "nasal". However, the main influence on the sound is the design of the body. The lower deck is slightly convex, and the length of the strings is longer than in usual acoustic guitars.



These features are designed to provide the highest volume of the guitar even without micing or amplification. This is a very bright sounding instrument that is difficult to mistake with something else.

Among the traditional features that distinguish Selmer guitars from other acoustics is a non-standard string arrangement. Strings are attached not to the lower nut but to the tailpiece, and instead of the traditional ball in the end, the strings have a loop.



Historically the headstock has a narrower shape, not typical for an ordinary acoustic guitar. However, it doesn’t have any influence on the sound. This feature was developed during the creation of the very first Selmer guitar.



Interestingly, the lower nut of the guitar is movable and is located between the strings and the upper deck, same design as used in construction of violins.



Number of distinctive features of the Selmer guitar ensured its popularity with musicians playing in jazz-Manush/Gypsy jazz style.