Gitane DG-300

This guitar is the John Jorgenson signature model, a very nice copy of the post-Maccaferri, Selmer oval-hole "petite bouche" guitar that Django Reinhardt played from about 1934 on. Made in 2005 in China, it has 14 frets to the body, 21 frets total. It has a solid "select" spruce top and laminated Brazillian rosewood sides and book-matched back (yeah, I know, lamination is a dirty word to guitar purists but it's not so much a big deal here since the original Selmers were laminated too- BTW, Musician's Friend says the back and sides are solid but they're not!) Anyway, it also has a mahogany neck with a slotted head with ebony overlays front and back and an extra thick ebony fret board and bridge. Gold tuners and tailpiece provide a nice accent as well as the faux tortoise shell binding front, back and around the neck joint. An orange tint "aging" stain is applied to the spruce top, topped of by a light laquer finish. Jorgenson also apparently asked for a light laquer coat for the inside of the body just like on the Selmers. Nice. It comes with a hard case, but on the down side, for some reason the case is not specifically for this guitar (even though Saga makes one) so the guitar will slosh around in the case unless you use extra padding.

One word, BEAUTIFUL. I've read other comments here on the fact that the Gitanes come with D'Addario bronze strings that sound dead, but mine sounded great even with the bronzes. However, I played it for the first few days with the original strings just to see if I could tell the difference. But, when I put on a set of silver wound Argentins, Wow. There's that Django sound. Awesome. One thing I can second from the other reviews, they are loud, but then they were designed to be loud so that they could be heard above the other instruments in the Bal Musettes. Back and Top resonate extremely well. Even when played softly the tone remains very expressive. A very punchy, percussive, heavily mid-range sound. Harmonics are crystal clear. I love it. No fret buzz at all on mine. The intonation was dead on right out of the box.

The action was set fairly high, but not unplayably so. I've been trying to get used to a higher action so I'm going to leave it for a while and see how I like it. The frets are large and well finished. I also like how the ebony overlay on the back of the head stock covers up the head seam. The body's finish is beautiful. I read an article by Jorgenson about his model and a couple of the things he asked Saga for was a lighter finish than on the other Gitanes and a lighter internal bracing like what was on his original Selmer. I've never had a chance to examine either another Gitane or a Selmer, but I must say that the Chinese are beginning to make a damn fine guitar! Also in the article it said that the inner layers of the back and sides were made from reclaimed rosewood stumps so the environmentalists out there can breathe a little easier!
On the downside there was a very slight scratch about 2 cm long on the back but you can only see it when the light shines on it just right. Also there's a small scuff on the finish of the tailpiece and a small spot on the top neck binding that's not as well finished as the rest. Small things assuredly, but just not what I'd expect in a $900 guitar.

I plan on gigging with it so I'd say it would withstand live playing, especially since you play it sitting like a classical, hence no strap buttons. I've already talked about the finish but I've noticed that Paul Mehling of the San Franciso Hot Club has what looks like that clear film pickguard material on his DuPont guitar so I may do that as well.

Saga's website says you have to go through the seller and I've contacted Musician's Friend about the possibility of getting a new tailpiece. If they give me any problems maybe I'll post a follow up.

I've been playing for about 21 years and, besides the Gitane, I own a Gibson Les Paul Studio, a Fender Telecaster, a Zion Strat, an Ovation 6-string, a Yamaha 12-string, a Baby Taylor, an Epiphone F-style mandolin, a Fender banjo, an OLP bass.

Overall, I'd say I'm in love with this guitar! When I was debating whether or not to spend the extra $300 over the DG-255 model what swung the balance was the fact of the light inner finish. I live in an extremely dry environment and I hope that I don't have a much problems with this axe as I've had with my Yamaha. I have Damp-its for the Gitane and the mando while the Yamaha and the Taylor have to stay in the case with Ocean Waves humidifiers.
Also on the plus side, the tortoise shell binding is beautiful and gives a really unique look and the MOP dots are little ovals like the sound hole which I think is cool.

If I could change anything it'd be the case - come on Saga, I paid $900 bucks, give me a case that fits the guitar! Secondly, with so much attention paid to producing an accurate Selmer copy it would have been cool if they'd added the little piece of leather between the tailpiece and the body, like they're doing on the Lulo Reinhardt signature model that's due out shortly.

Bottomline - if you want that gypsy sound, the Gitanes are undoubtedly the best bang for the buck.