Saga DG-255 Gitane

? year of manufacture.
21 frets,Spruce Top,Rosewood back/sides,mahogany neck/Ebony Fingerboard.Rosewood Moustache bridge/bent metal tailpiece that will accept ball end or loop end strings. Petite bouche' soundhole. Slotted headstock. 26'scale fingerboard,pearloid dots on frets 5,7,10,12,17 (smaller dots on 12th & 17th frets).Zero fret.
Selmer styled body w/ cutaway. Neck joins at 14th fret.

This thing is a cannon!!
Granted, this is my first Gypsy Jazz guitar, and by all acounts is an entry level instrument, but boy, does this thing ever project!!!
LOUD!!!
You really know you're not playing a dreadnaught or an Om for that matter. It has a very distinct sound. Very powerfull,with a strong fundamental tone. Very cutting and percussive. You'd swear this thing was part snare drum. As strange as this will sound, it dosent sound "Americian" at all. It has some classical/flamenco/nylon string tones in there,but there's something else. Something that's hard to put your finger on,ethnic isn't the right word. But perhaps an element of " world" instruments. Anyway, it's sounds amazing. For someone who's just starting out with Gypsy Jazz, it definitely sounds like Gypsy Jazz when you play it. when you lay into it with a 3mm pick, the sound just roars out of the Petite bouche soundhole. Hit Am6 at the third fret with a 3mm pick and a "broken wrist" hand position, and there it is!!! You'll see.

The workmanship is quite good, no obvious flaws anywhere. The finish is well done all around, no hardware missaligned, fret's are wel seated and dressed. Tuners turn smoothly and hold their tuning. The nut is well done, and the Zero Fret takes it out of the tonal equation. The action was about 1mm with no relief when I bought it. It was restrung with an unknown brand of Gypsy Jazz loop end strings, but the silver plating had begun to wear and the strings were going dead. A set of Pearse Nuages 10-44's were installed and the tone/playability improved greatly. BTW, you WILL need a longer Hex key to adjust the neck as the trussrod must be accessed through the soundhole and is quite a way, away from the hole. Don't be scared of the 0.10>0.44 guages either,with the 26' scale you can POUND these strings and they sound/feel great.

I'd love to try this guitar out on a gig!!! Mabey in a year when I've got a better handle on this style, we'll see.
I took this guitar to Fort Macmurray over Christmas, where the temp averaged between -40c up to a blamy -38c!!! The lack of humidity DID effect the guitar and it's playability. But really, what guitar WOULD'T be effected?? It held up to those freezing temps , 3 flights in a baggage hold,two 100 km bus rides in the cargo hold of a bus, with only the need for a shim under the bridge and a quick trussrod tweak to make it play perfectly!! I humidified the guitar in my room of course, but it still held up to these terrible conditions with flying colors!!! Well Done Saga!!

haven't tried.

I've been playing 25yrs give or take. Lot's of guitars over the years, and I really love how this one inspires mr to play it!! I would definately replace it if lost/stolen/damaged.

I'm reviewing my Saga "Gitane" DG-255 China-built Selmer copy.
Solid spruce top with some silky grain runout, rosewood laminate back and sides, ebony board and bridge, basic tuners, sort of Kluson-ish, a thin stamped tailpiece. Finish is pretty thin polyurethane on mine.A thin profile neck.

It sounds just like the Gypsy-jazz recordings- very bright and snappy played near the bridge, a bit of rasp on the fretboard when plucked hard, mellow when not. Chords bark out nicely, and it really projects- it can get a lot of sound out of the little oval soundhole- it seems fairly directional- loudest in front. It compares well with my other archtops in volume.

Action was good when I got it, I've done nothing but change to Argentines. The grain is nicely matched, top and back. The fret ends are a bit rough, and got significantly worse in winter, though I humidified well, I thought. As I mentioned, the finish seems on the thin side, the grain on the top sort of telegraphs through.

It's lightly built, but seems sturdy, and while the finish is thin (did I mention that?) I'm certain it won't wear off! I worry about the tailpiece, I've heard they can break. I may do a pre-emptive replacement.

No dealings with Saga, I've heard they stand behind their stuff.

I've been playing 45 years, and own a good bunch of good guitars and amps- Steel-strings and electrics by Fender, Martin, Stahl (Larson Bros.) Gibson, Eastman. Yamaha, David Caro Leonardo and Rodriguez nylon-strings, an Alhambra cheapie flamenco, a great Lyon and Healy Washburn mandolin. Two 1964 Fender amps: Deluxe Reverb and Vibroverb, and old Polytone "Mini-Teeny-Tiny BabyBrute" and a little Roland mini Cube. I bought the Gitane for the Django look and sound, and it was relatively affordable.