Collins gypsy guitar plan drawings

[murrayatuptown]

Hi:

I have a set of Collins gypsy guitar plans ordered (petite bouche, 14 frets to body).

I have the Alan Carruth open plate tuning DVD, and I'm curious if anyone has comments on any type of top 'tuning ' for a variant on the Selmer-Macaferri style guitar. I've read the 'preferred' sound found in vintage instruments is 'dry', and that 'modern' builds sound 'too wet'. I need to read more what the heck that means...not sure if they are referring to overtones, decay time, or what.

I do not yet know if the Collins top has any arch, crease or other deviation from 'flat' under the bridge. It looks flat in online pictorials, but they are too small to be sure, or read. http://elderly.com/images/books/611/727-4.jpg

I'm also interested in the Busato-Favino variant...from what I've read, it is usually a flat top, but with 'ladder' bracing, but gotta start somewhere.

Wow, short post, coming from me!

Thank you

[mr. beaumont]

Very interesting!

A good gypsy jazz guitar is practically devoid of overtones...that's "dry," as they call it...that and, if you kill a note, it's dead...no natural reverb.

If that sounds odd, they only sound like strange qualities in an acoustic until you hear somebody with good technique play gypsy jazz on one...then it's all understood

ideally, a gypsy jazz guitar has a "pliage"...A very slight arch in the top, caused by pressure, not carving...those babies project the most...and when a gypsy guitar projects...lol...people think a Martin dred is loud.

Collins makes excellent instruments...my guess is these plans are worth their weight in gold...If not more.

[dgimcmillan]

I've got Collins' plans, along with his book on building a Selmer-Macaferri.

In chapter nine of the book, he talks about forming the pliage on the top, so it's safe to say the plans are meant to show that, too.

[murrayatuptown]

I should have purchased the book, but I'm not sure how serious I am about this yet...the plans move me one step closer to taking action, and the plans were only about $25, the book is $69+ $20 shipping which seems odd (but $89 with free shipping doesn't seem odd ;O)...

Those instruments certainly do have a distinct sound, and conversely, to hear a gypsy player playing in the same style on a different guitar like an archtop with humbucker is another side of the genre.

I've heard people say a gypsy guitar is not very useful for other styles, but the converse example above suggests maybe dryness isn't essential to me as I like manouche style on an electric archtop (examples: Wawau Adler or Romane). I like the visual design of the instrument and for my purposes it just shouldn't sound horrible. I'm not going to burn it in the backyard if its sound is dripping wet instead of parched dry ;O). I don't have to worry about playing in a big band acoustically and being heard. I'm still not even accustomed to hearing myself on an acoustic...it sounds really loud to me.

On a side note, I just recently discovered Wawau and bought his new album Expressions...I like it alot.

[murrayatuptown]

Jeff Matz -

Is David Bloom (Bloom School of Jazz) still active in Chicago?

I took some courses there in the 80's and gave 'Bloom' as he was called, a set of Andreas Morelli (bogus Italian marketing name from a German company Karl Hermann in Markneukirchen...interestingly, that is where Framus is now headquartered.) Made in Germany-US territory (vintage 1945-ish) fat flatwound chromesteel strings. I never did find out how he liked them, and figured out I had given away the only set that had the historical labels :O(...the others say W. Germany on most of the individual string sleeves. It's just intriguing whether they were great strings or krappy ones...I suspect if they were marketed under a bogus marketing ploy to appeal to another country's cultural loyalty that suggests they couldn't rely on reputation alone...

I've never been able to find any info on that company's guitar market, but they made violin through contrabass instruments that achieved some respect as decent copies of Italian instruments.