La Guitare Selmer-Maccaferri

Welcome to "Le Guitare Jazz Manouche"! The online home for the practicing Gypsy Swing guitarist, collectors of Selmer-Maccaferri style guitars, and those who just enjoy the music!

LGJM! the online home for the practicing Gypsy Swing guitarist! Here, you'll find links to a large collection of Django sheet music, MP3s, Real Audio, TabEdit and BIAB files, chord charts, etc... There's also a link to an online radio station that plays nothing but original QHCF recordings 24 hours a day, 7 days a week!

Links, Links, Links! You'll also find links to dozens of other "Manouche-flavored" websites around the world about the players, past and present; where to listen to the music online; music stores, luthiers specializing in these guitars; local jam sessions; and dozens of photographs of guitars from the luthiers who carried on the tradition for the past 50 years!

Raison d'etre. This site arose out of my quest to acquire my first Selmer-Maccaferri style guitar to get that unique gypsy sound that I couldn't get out of an archtop or flatop. Along the way, I discovered many other people were same the same quest, so I put a site together to share the images, along with a list of music stores and luthiers I had collected, for players and collectors alike.

The first version of this web site was a guitar gallery. Later, I realized that I also had links to, or had downloaded, a large collection of Django sheet music, text, MP3, Real Audio, TabEdit and BIAB files, chord charts, etc...that other beginning and advanced gypsy guitar players could use.

I even discovered an online radio station that played nothing but original QHCF recordings 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and how to make my own online radio station!!

So why not share it?!

LGJM is dedicated to the magnificent Django Reinhardt, the wonderful Selmer-Maccaferri guitars, the fantastic music known as "Gypsy Swing" or "Jazz Manouche"; and to all those who have carried on the legacy.

Django's Selmer #704!
www.gypsyguitars.com

Single Lingual? Many of the sites here are in French or German. Click here to translate this page, into French, German, Spanish, Italian, or Portuguese for free! Translate any other word, phrase, or web page on the Internet from one language to the other!

Miscellaneous Stuff

Special Announcements!

The Funny Pages! Some humorous musical items I've come across on the Web, including a Gypsy Jazz rap!.

Django Screen Saver! A great way to attract fellow Djangophiles at the office!

A Bit About Myself

Learn to Play the Gypsy Way! Here, you'll find links to lessons, techniques, chord fingerings, tab, chord charts, and more!

LGJM is the proud home of the
Django Reinhardt Webring!

See Them! Here a gallery of guitars by various makers that I found on my journey. Here you will find not only Selmer/Maccaferris, but guitars from Busato, Gerome, Anastasio, DiMauro, Rondelii, Pattenotte. Many of them are still for sale!

Listen to the Music! Listen to the original recordings of Django, Stephan and QHCF, 24 hrs a day, on Swing with Django; or listen to the current generation of gypsy swing musicians on Radio DJANGO! Just click the link above, and type "Django"!

Musicians! Click here to find out how to add your group's music to the links or radio playlists!)

Coming soon! Links to sample of other groups and sites with "Jazz Manouche" in Real Audio streaming audio!

Learn more! New to the Jazz Manouche scene? Start here for the links to the best Django related sites! History! Chords! Tab! Events! Photos! CDs! Books! ... and more!.

Talk about them! Join the Gypsy Jazz Guitars online discussion group to meet, and share information, and ideas with others who share a passion for Django Reinhardt, Jazz Manouche, and guitars! Nearly 300 members worldwide!

Gypsy Swing Guitars for sale! Shopping for a Selmer-Maccaferri guitar? Start here!

Find People to Play With in Your Area!
Looking for people to jam with? Start here!

"The Bay Area Djamming Djangophiles!" If you live in, or frequent the San Francisco Area, come join our informal jam group!

It all began with Mario. A brief history. (On the Django Swing Page website.)

My Guitar! Check out the fruits of my labor! An 1983 Ibanez Maccaferri Mac-10 grande bouche! Designed and signed by Mr. M. himself!

1940s Busato

Not your everyday Django site! This site will not attempt to document the history of Django Reinhardt, his guitars, or his music. Many others have already done an excellent job of it on their websites, in print, and in other endeavors.

Come One, Come All! This site is for guitar players of all skill levels, and collectors with budgets large and small.

Although I have been collecting archtops for awhile, I was a complete novice about these guitars, and unlike "The Big Three": Gibson, Fender, and Martin guitars, very little information is available about these guitars. in the US.

Unfortunately, just like "The Big Three" The only info available is on the "Big Three " of the S/M world: original S/Ms, Duponts, and Favinos. These all carry "Big Three" price tags as well. Trying to find one that fit in my extremely modest budget made the search all that more difficult. Hopefully, this site will help those on with modest budgets as well as those with deep pockets. Eventually, I'll begin compiling a list of the luthiers past and present.

I searched over 100 websites all over the US, France, England, Germany, Sweden, collecting information. (Even Japan!) I made some new friends along the way, and even learned some new things about some old friends!

Pardon my mess! I threw this site together very quickly, because I knew that there are many people out there just beginning the journey I just completed. Rather than posting at the info to a newsgroup where it can easily be lost, I decided to build a website, making it easier to share with everyone!. I felt it was more important to share the information than making a pretty website. As time goes on, I promise to clean it up.

Credits. The pages on this web site are a compilation of photos and information I found on the Internet. Almost all of the websites on my Links page are purely labors of loves. Without their creators, and some special friends of mine, this site would not exist.

I'd like to publically thank: My good friends Archtop Eddy, and Peter and Mary Honcoop; my current guitar teachers Paul Mehling, lead guitarist of the Hot Club of San Francisco, and Ken Brown; Sylvia Herold (my 1st swing guitar teacher), Carlos Juan of America Guitars in Germany; The Django Swing Page, The Django Documentation Center, R&F Charle, GypsyGuitars.com websites; and especially the all of fantastic members of the Gypsy Jazz Guitars eGroup! Thanks!