Tell me about Gypsy Jazz guitars
 

I've been having some hand issues and wondered if they are easier on the hands, ie, if they have lower tension? Also, other other personal experience and info on them would be helpful. Not able to try before i buy. Are there good sound comparisons on Youtube between Gypsy guitar and regular archtop? or vs regular acoustic? I found one but it was short. Thanks.

Traditionally, just the opposite. Original Gypsy guitars tend to be very long scale like 26" or more. They tend to be used with lighter string to offset that.

For ease of play, might think more like a short scale conventional guitar with an aggressive set up.

A Godin 5th Avenue all-acoustic with the factory 12's and a StewMac bridge should work IME...

Check djangobooks online. Michael Horowitz has a great website with a forum, store where you can order anything from picks to amps to guitars and more. My Altamira M20D is the loudest acoustic guitar I've ever played (except for some metal-bodied resonators). Louder than any archtop, way louder than any bluegrass "canon" or "banjo killer." I've played the Godins and they sound nothing like a Sel-Mac to me. Very quiet, at least unplugged.

Check this cat playing both archtop and selmer guitar. Differences are obvious. Understand that if you intend to play any of these guitars acoustically it will be comparably harder to play if you re used to playing flat tops only. I believe that is because those tops are driven much easier so you can afford to go real low with your string action and have somewhat okay sound. Nothing a human body could not adapt to tho.

Generally, gypsy jazz guitars are NOT easy on the hands...if you want to go this route, you might try a shorter scale D hole (short scale on a gypsy jazz guitar is around 25") and Argentine Violets (.010's) as strings, but generally folks still play gypsy jazz guitars pretty hard, so that's not necessarily easy on the hands either...

What are you playing now? I ask, because one thing that might seem counter-intuitive, but might actually work, is to use heavier treble strings on an archtop so you can set the action even lower...In the past year, I've started using the E and B from a set of .014's on one guitar, and it's actually easier to play, because the strings' vibration pattern is smaller, I can set the action very low and get no buzzing. This is for an archtop guitar with a magnetic pickup, though, where amplification makes up for the loss of volume...

I have an Eastman 810 non cutaway all acoustic. I've got mediums on it, and it does play fairly well for me. I also have a Taylor 314ce and Mossman dreadnaught and various others things I don't actually play much (except lately I've been playing my Walden Baritone, but I have to watch that, it can aggravate things). My issue is having what is called intrinsic muscle strain around the knuckles, primarily on the middle finger. I have seen a hand specialist and occupational therapist both recommending various stretching techniques, which help some but doesn't get me back where I was 8 months ago. I had this condition a few years back and it took a good 6 to 8 months to get over it then I was fine for a couple of years but it has come back. Usually some pulling strain on my fingers sets it off. anyway, very frustrating. I did visit a local guitar store and they had a Taylor Deluxe braced 12 fret 8 or 9 series model that played pretty nicely, and I didn't notice too much bother after that, but it was over 4 grand, way too much for my budget. Not sure if it was short scale or not, seemed like it could have been.

I'm a gypsy-jazz guitarist, and frankly I think archtops are much harder to play than my gypsy-jazz (Selmer-style) guitar. For every archtop I've played, the tension is crazy tight and difficult...!

One time I borrowed an archtop from a luthier friend, and I needed to put gypsy-jazz strings (Argentines) on it to make it playable for me. Even then, it was way more difficult than what I'm used to.

Maybe this just goes to show that people get used to things.

At any rate, to answer the original question, the best bet may be to play a particular gypsy-jazz guitar and find out for yourself.

Adrian