Basic body dimensions for a Selmer?

[slowlearner]

Hi guys, looking for the basic body dimensions for a Maccaferri Selmer. Basic width and length of the top is what I need specifically. Everything else is going to be scaled up and adjusted, so not much point in buying plans. Cheers.

[blackalex1952]

There are several variations among the Selmer Maccaferri style of guitars. The big three as far as afficionados go are the Selmer, the Favino and the Busato. The Busato and the Favino had larger soundboards and produced, usually, a richer bass. The Favinos are often characteristically described as more "nasal" or "honky' in the mid range, and the Busatos described as having a less complex sound in the higher registers- more flute like. Busatos have the reputation of being some of the loudest Gypsy Jazz guitars ever made. Selmer tone is described as richer in harmonic content. From the net somewhere

The Busato has three tonal elements which really make it cut in acoustic settings. 1) It is extremely dry. It has little or no natural wetness (reverb.) This makes the guitar much more focused and is therefore much easier to hear in a loud jam setting. 2) The tone is very pure with very simple overtones. The fundamental pitch of single notes are very strong while the overtones are extremely clean and even. Very flute like in character. A Selmer sounds more complex, but is also somewhat "messier" sounding which dampens projection. 3) It responds to the slightest touch. Just barely strike the strings and you get a lightening fast bolt of sound. I really like this because you don't have to play these guitars hard to be loud.Busatos yield an exceedingly wide frequency response. They have a crisp, bright high end which gives your leads some sparkle and adds ambiance and clarity to rhythm work. There's not much mids, except for a slight upper midrange nasalness. But nothing like a Favino in that regard. Like a Favino, there is far more low end then a Selmer, and it's an incredibly tight, clear low end. Not mushy or ill defined in anyway. The tight low end of a Busato mixed with it's dry character really make it excel for rhythm playing.

Selmer: Length 18 3/8" Upper Bout Lower Bout 11 3/8" 15 3/4" Waist 10 1/8"
Busato: Lower bout width 16 1/4" I don't have any other Busato dimensions.
Favino: Length 18 1/2" Lower Bout 16 1/2" Upper Bout 11 3/4" Waist 101/2" cheers! Ross

[slowlearner]

Cheers.

[Mark McLean]

Hi Pete
I have plans for two different Selmer Maccaferri models - the Petit Bouche (small oval hole) and the Modele Orchestre (bigger body, large D-shaped soundhole). The plans are published by RF Charle and I got them at his shop in Paris. Anyway - I am not using them at the moment so you are welcome to borrow. We are both in Sydney - PM me a contact number and we can meet up.
cheers
Mark

[slowlearner]

Hi Mark, that would be great. I'll PM you.

[blackalex1952]

If you end up making a Selmer Petite Bouche from the Charle plans,you will find that the neck angle and arching of the first and second braces is not correct and results in a 5mm action at the 12th fret if you want to keep the bridge height and break angle where they should be. If the bridge height is lowered, the guitar's performance is compromised, so the way to correct this is to get the 2 braces radii and the neck angle sorted out before you close the box and glue these braces to the soundboard. I have seen people build these guitars from the plan and end up changing the neck angle and placing a wedge between the fingerboard and the table to keep the fingerboard straight. Far better to sort the neck angle and soundboard out earlier in the build.-Ross

[dsgoen]

I like the book Building a Selmer Maccaferri Guitar by Michael Collins. It seems fairly complete although I haven't built anything from it.

David

[Mark McLean]

Ross
Thanks for the tip about the neck angle problem with the Charle plans. I haven't built anything from them yet, but I am glad that I didn't find that out the hard way.
cheers
Mark

[Nick]

removed double post

[Nick]

I like the book Building a Selmer Maccaferri Guitar by Michael Collins. It seems fairly complete although I haven't built anything from it.

David

It's missing a couple of 'lesser' dimensions (soundhole centre is one I can think of) but other than that and with a bit of working out those dimensions, it's a great reference for building a Selmer Mac, couldn't have built my first one without it. The DVD set is well worth it too if you plan on building more than one. The book is great and you can build a good copy of the original from it but being very much a 3D shaped guitar, it's a little hard to visualize some of the steps in the text unless you've actually had a Selmer or Maccaferri in your hands before. The DVD's fill in the blanks and make it easy if your an idiot like me basically .

[blackalex1952]

Further to the info I provided on Selmer type guitars, here are some Busato dimensions

[slowlearner]

Ah ya champion blackalex. Thanks heaps. Mark, I'll text you soon and borrow those plans. I've won't be building a strict copy, so those neck issues won't effect me in the slightest.

[blackalex1952]

Just to clarify your reason for posting this topic, is this information for your idea of an acoustic bass?

[slowlearner]

Yes, not strictly acoustic, but yes.

[blackalex1952]

I thought that was where you were heading. So are you wanting to try to build an electric bass with an acoustic flavour to its sound? Airy without the initial long sustain and attack on the notes?

[slowlearner]

Yeah, that's the idea. I've built a number of highly chambered electrics thus far. I'm just taking that to it's logical conclusion I guess.