Knock-Offs, Rip-Offs, and Just Plain UGLY!

jingle_jangle · Post by **jingle_jangle** » Wed Dec 28, 2005 8:44 pm

Item #2 is a classic Selmer Macaferri Gypsy guitar. As played by Django Reinhardt in Le Hot Club Paris...

These have amazing sound and projection and a unique, patented interior construction with a sort of "folded horn" to provide acoustic amplification without electronic help.

Item # 5 is pretty imaginative as heavy stuff goes. The problem is that it promises unique sound and prolly sounds like a LP.

And of course, #7 is the old Vinnie Bell/Jerry Jones Coral Sitar. Talk about an instrument with limited utility value...

Odd. I detest green guitars, and I'm not a Fly fan, but that one looks pretty cool.

sowhat · Post by **sowhat** » Wed Dec 28, 2005 10:02 pm

Oh pleeeaze... Aitch, please say the first two items and "hearts" are Photoshop... uhm, really something...

Liked the green "Epi", though - just for the color itself... and for $.99

ozover50 · Post by **ozover50** » Wed Dec 28, 2005 11:43 pm

Sorry to disappoint, Sheena.... no Photoshop here!

sowhat · Post by **sowhat** » Thu Dec 29, 2005 12:35 am

OMG... but #1 really looks like a teenage kid's Photoshop work...
...and i'd like to see the face of the one who's done THAT to an acoustic...
Does anybody really PLAY them?! In this case, i'll have to say - sorry, it's only my opinion...

scott_s · Post by **scott_s** » Thu Dec 29, 2005 1:06 am

I think Steve Vai plays (or has played) the Ibanezes shown.

(I sure as hell wouldn't!)

jingle_jangle · Post by **jingle_jangle** » Thu Dec 29, 2005 6:25 am

Sheena--that acoustic that repels you so much, is a very well-regarded masterpiece of acoustic design. Nobody has "done" anything to it. It stands on its own as a terrific guitar, whether or not you like the appearance.

It really doesn't belong in this category, alongside all the awful junk we've been laughing at.

For enlightenment on the Selmer-Macaferri, try

http://www.lutherie.net/

These are historic designs, play well, and are quite collectible.

sowhat · Post by **sowhat** » Thu Dec 29, 2005 6:46 am

Paul, i'm really sorry, but it was only my opinion... to my taste, it looks pretty odd... and i didn't mean to hurt anyone, that's true... i do believe it has a unique sound, that's just it looks so strange... and it might just have been, should it have stood on its own, i'd like it, but "in the company of beasts, even a beauty may look like a beast" - this might have been the story. I'm sorry.
PS: the link doesn't work on my PC... 8-(

randyz · Post by **randyz** » Thu Dec 29, 2005 7:43 am

In my opinion, neither the Selmer-Macaferri or the Jerry Jones Sitar deserve derision. The first is an absolute classic and the second is a modern update to a unique design from the sixties. While the sitar isn't as aesthetically pleasing as the Selmer-Macaferri, it has a limited but nevertheless unique sound. I plan to buy one of these sitars soon, as I understand the sound and playability are much improved over the original Corals. My traditionalist tendencies will probably mean getting a red crackle finish, even though it would probably look best in black.

ozover50 · Post by **ozover50** » Thu Dec 29, 2005 8:42 am

The pictures were posted simply because I felt they were ugly or at the least, odd-looking. There may well be a couple of classics in there and if I have offended anybody then I apologise.

However, never were truer words spoken than "beauty is in the eye of the beholder". I'm with Sheena - I find the appearance of the Selmer somewhat akin to a wide-mouthed frog. Hence its inclusion......

As in automobiles, the "classics" aren't necessarily pleasing to the eye of everybody.

jingle_jangle · Post by **jingle_jangle** » Thu Dec 29, 2005 9:02 am

Hey. We're here to educate as well as share a laff. Sheena--please google "selmer macaferri" and see what you come up with. That's where the link came from, and oddly it doesn't work for me either, although this morning I was viewing it!

Aitch, no apologies necessary--no offense taken. Although if somebody came to me and quoted mvpgretsch's work as classic, I think I'd pass out!

And I agree with you on the "wide-mouthed frog" comment. It does take some getting used to.

I have a friend who bought a Gitane (Macaferri replica), and the guitar was so sweet and amazing, I decided that someday I'd own one. To think that Django got such greatness out of one, with only two fingers of his left hand functional, well, it's humbling...

admin · Post by **admin** » Thu Dec 29, 2005 9:07 am

Try the link now. At least it will get you to the site. You can fine tune it from there.

randyz · Post by **randyz** » Thu Dec 29, 2005 9:09 am

Howard: No offense taken. This thread started with those grotesque Gretsch-looking Eagle monstrosities and I don't think that a Maccaferri (pardon past misspelling) belongs in the same company. I agree that some "classics" aren't particularly pretty, but they deserve our respect. Someone needed to stand up for Django!

jingle_jangle · Post by **jingle_jangle** » Thu Dec 29, 2005 9:12 am

I've seen Macaferri spelled no less than four different ways, and according to my own limited knowledge of Italian, Randy's got it right.

randyz · Post by **randyz** » Thu Dec 29, 2005 9:41 am

Paul: I happened to be looking at a book that had my spelling. By the way, the most difficult name to spell is the top dog in Libya. It's either Khaddafi, Ghaddafi, Quadafi, Qhadafi, Gaddafi, or a million other variations. Kinda like Osama or Usama bin Ladin. I guess something gets lost in translation!

sowhat · Post by **sowhat** » Thu Dec 29, 2005 9:46 am

Paul: the "broken" link advised me how to get to the main site, so i've cruised through it - thanks a lot!