Gitane DG-255 STYLE JAZZ GUITAR - PETITE BOUCH

GITANE - SELMER STYLE JAZZ GUITAR - PETITE BOUCH

Body style : Horizontal cutaway, Characteristic "Oval" soundhole, surrounded with a delicate multi-ply rosette

Top : Solid spruce top

Sides : Rosewood

Back : Rosewood

Number of frets : 21

Unique features : Body is bound in solid ebony with maple/walnut/maple purfling on top and back, Bound Mahogany neck with a 21-fret fingerboard of genuine ebony, marked with pearl position dots, Slotted peghead, Genuine bone nut with traditional "zero" fret, Dovetail neck/body joint, Moustache bridge with, a compensated, movable center, Geared 14:1 ratio, gold-plated, slotted peghead tuning machines, Adjustable truss rod, Trapeze tailpiece

Sure to be popular with any Gypsy Jazz guitar player. The Gitane DG-255 is a faithful recreation of the Selmer-style jazz guitar that replaced the original Maccaferri design of the early 1930's. Easy recognizable in early photos of Django! With it's longer scale length is a breeze to play and the smaller soundhole gives the guitar it's characteristic snap, percussive and focused sound required by aficionados. There is nothing else on the market that even comes close. Let Gitane Put the Gypsy in Your Soul!

"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.