Mike Horan approached me about building a guitar similar to the Selmer from their transitional period played by Django in the late 30s and featured in the J’attendrai video and promotional pictures from the time. Unlike the petite bouche of the 1940s, this guitar is 640mm scale like the early Maccaferri gran bouche models, but 14 fret to the body and petite bouche like the later guitars. I’ll let Mike describe his first impressions:
Craig, I pulled myself away from playing my new guitar long enough to write to you. I finally had a chance to really play it this morning for a few hours. First, the neck shape and nut spacing is perfect—you got it exactly how I prefer it. The short scale is a lot of fun to play, it definitely makes certain chord shapes and single-note passages easier to grab. And the sound is beautiful. It is quite a bit more subtle than my Corazon, which I expected. But it is lush and fat and rewards a careful right hand—-I was overdriving it at first but got it figured out now. More so than my other guitars, it really pops when you pick it back by the bridge, but sounds as warm as butter closer to the soundhole and with a gentler attack. At the risk of sounding ridiculous, I would say this guitar wants to be played “romantically.” Which is what I hear and like so much in early Django. So I think you hit it out of the park here. Thanks again for taking on this project!
I probably would never have built this guitar on my own, it just wasn’t on my radar. So glad Mike engaged me to do it. It clearly proves to me that a short scale Selmer style has a lot to offer and can compete without apologies with it’s longer scale brethern.
Lutz spruce top with four brace pattern, birdseye maple back and sides (laminated). Butternut neck with walnut center spline, ebony fingerboard, EVO Gold frets, Miller tuners and tail. French polish finish (of course!).
Thanks Mike!
Craig Bumgarner 