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From the late 1970's, when Saga Musical Instruments introduced its first Maccaferri guitar reproductions, Saga has led the industry in providing authentic yet affordable Django-style guitars to musicians and collectors the world over. Those early models are now sought-after collector's items in Japan and everywhere else that Djangophiles congregate at their local Hot Club, but we believe our latest models are the finest guitars of this type produced since the PreWar era.
Two original Selmer guitars were used as a basis for our current Gitane models - a 1932 Maccaferri-style #97 and a rare 1941 Selmer serial #497 with birdseye maple body and solid peghead - an extremely unusual model of which only about 20 examples were ever built. The Gitane D-500 features the large D-shaped soundhole and the neck joins the body at the 12th fret. The wide, flat neck and slotted peghead are precise copies of the originals. The top is solid spruce and the back and sides laminated rosewood, as per the original Maccaferri specifications.
The DG-250 uses the identical tonewoods but the top features the small, oval soundhole design known as the "petite-bouche". The slim mahogany neck, with 26 5/8 scale, joins at the 14th fret, with rosewood overlay and 'butterbean' style individual tuners. The DG-255 is the same guitar except that the peghead is the slotted-head style like the D-500.
The DG-250M is just like the DG-250 but with natural blonde maple neck, peghead overlay and body, just as described earlier - it is essentially a reproduction of Selmer #497. Musicians and collectors have universally praised these new Saga guitars, and many have told us that they actually sound and play BETTER than many vintage originals. This is because most originals had thick, cumbersome necks and the bodies were quite heavily braced. Our necks have a slim, modern profile and our tops have bracing just heavy enough to provide both stability and the optimum tone - our guitars have notably better bass response that most others of this type - while retaining that wonderful mid-range and treble so dear to the heart of every Djangophile.
Many famous jazz artists play our guitars, including Nashville producer and session man, John Jorgenson. John has this to say about his DG-250M:
"All in all this is a great value, and I am really glad that there is an affordable guitar of this type out there that is really a high quality instrument, well made with great tone." - Flatpicking Guitar, September 2003
Saga has a commitment to quality and authenticity that can be seen throughout our entire product line. Whether it is a perfect reproduction of a particular vintage instrument, case or accessory or a brand-new design or custom art-model showpiece, the same care and quality goes into every product we sell.
Saga is proud to be a sponsor of the 2004 DjangoFest San Francisco, and we invite you to visit our booth and see all of our wonderful Gitane Django-style guitars!
Visit us at www.sagamusic.com!
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