An Australian Luthier in Paris

[Bob Connor]

I was in Paris today. The missus wanted to go to a shoe shop so we piled into a taxi and headed off to the hideously priced accessory emporium. Herself and daughter 1 joined a queue to get into the shop. Daughter 2 (who has as much interest in shoes as me) and meself wandered down an arcade next to the expensive shoe shop and lo, found a luthier shop. Unfortunately it was closed but I knew Nick Oliver would be interested as there were half a dozen Maccas (grande and petit Bouche) in there as well as what looked like a 1920's National steel and several ancient Gibson Mandolins as well as some very old Martins.

The arcade is next to the Christian Leboutin shoe shop in Rue Jean-Jaques Rouseau and doesn't open until 2pm.

I was spewing I had to leave before he opened but I reckon it'd be great for anyone interested on vintage instruments. (of any persuasion)

[DarwinStrings]

Nice facade for a Luthier.

[Mark McLean]

Wow Bob - that place looks like a top spot. I can imagine that you would have been inventing any excuse just to hang around for a few hours longer, but it might have cost you a lot in shoes.

I will definitely write that address down as a high priority for my next visit to Paris - but God knows when that might be.

We should start a list of best lutherie places to visit, in various parts of the world, while the partner is shoe shopping. It is an opportune time, as she might be feeling a bit guilty about spending $ thousands on frivolous footwear, giving you a bit of lattitude as you explain why you really needed to make an impulse buy of a pre-war Martin (which will have a lot better resale value when you get home than her shoes).

I would nominate:
1. Frank Ford's shop, Gryphon Stringed Instruments; a high priority for anyone visiting the San Francisco Bay area. At Palo Alto, near Stanford University, about a 40 minute drive out of downtown SF on a good day.
2. Mandolin Brothers (for everything, not just mandolins) - Staten Island, New York. A short taxi ride from the ferry terminal after you have taken the free trip from downtown Manhatten, which you are going to do anyway for the great views of the Statue of Liberty.
3. When in London take the time for a visit to Denmark Street (WC2, nearest tube = Tottenham Court Road). I think it is past its heyday, but there are half a dozen establishments worth a look, all in the same street.

mm

[Bob Connor]

There is a new shop in London called the Vintage Guitar Boutique in Bethnall Green Road. Has loads of vintage Fender, Gibson, Martin and Gretsch. As well as a huge collection of new instruments.

An it's about 50 metres from where I'm staying. hehe. Nice people to deal with as well None of the crap you sometimes get from staff in expensive guitar shops.

I bought a Gretsch Resonator a few days ago. Looks like it's based on a 1920's National steel. It's made in China, no bindings but it looks reasonably well put together (watch this space for a similar Mainwaring and Connor)

I had originally wanted to buy a Dobro (Chinese built by Epiphone) but it was as dead as a doornail sound wise (compared to the Gretsch) and it had a dirty great big finish run on the underside of the neck heel which I couldn't get past.

This Strat is an L series with a price tag of 13,000 pounds ($26,000)

[rocket]

Starting to salivate just now Bob, you must be having trouble sleeping knowing all that lutherie is out there for you to get amongst.
Rod.

[ozwood]

Enjoy !

[kiwigeo]

$26,000 for a Strat??? &^^% off!!!

Cant believe you didnt change your flight bookings to allow more time at that shop in Paris......how can you call yourself a serious Luthier?????

[Nick]

All I can say is.....................................








You lucky bastard!



I have A book about Maccaferri guitars and there's a grainy old black & white shot of a French luthier standing outside a very similar looking premises, hmmmmmm I wonder. The book's in storage at the moment but I'll have to dig it out and check, mind you I suspect a lot of the older type shops in Paris have similar facades? Hope You're enjoying your trip Bob.

[PeterF]

The acoustic music company in Brighton is definitely the place to go if you're in the UK. Just an hours drive south of London and crammed full of all the best handmade guitars around!

[Mike Thomas]

Bob, it looks like you were outside Francois Charle's shop in the Galerie Vero-Dodat. His book, " The Story of Selmer Maccaferri Guitars" is to date the definitive treatment of the history of these guitars, and gives a real insight into the detail of their construction.

http://www.rfcharle.com/HTML/La_boutiqueangl.html

[Bob Connor]

One and the same Mike. Well spotted.

[Nick]

Bob, it looks like you were outside Francois Charle's shop in the Galerie Vero-Dodat. His book, " The Story of Selmer Maccaferri Guitars" is to date the definitive treatment of the history of these guitars, and gives a real insight into the detail of their construction.

http://www.rfcharle.com/HTML/La_boutiqueangl.html

That was the Geezer I was thinking of! Thanks Mike, I knew the shop looked familiar.

[charangohabsburg]

found a luthier shop. Unfortunately it was closed but I knew Nick Oliver would be interested as there were half a dozen Maccas (grande and petit Bouche) in there as well as what looked like a 1920's National steel and several ancient Gibson Mandolins as well as some very old Martins.

It looks like you have been here (view from the inside).

I found the link to the website by accident (the same or a very similar one like the one Mike Thomas posted above), and when accidentally clicking somewhere on that website I immediately knew where I had seen before some pictures of that store from the outside.

[Kev3]

It looks like you have been here (view from the inside).

Now that makes a nice screen saver

[simso]

I like the simplicity of the shop, in the early days, if you went to a butcher, it would have butcher written on rather than freds meats, or lenards chickens, same with things like Bunnings,Masters,Mitre 10 and so forth.

Its good to see the simplicity of a trade name being utilised. Luthier.

Steve

[Mark McLean]

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I was in Paris last week and sought out the Charle shop after this tip from Bob. It is a tiny, but quite wonderful shop, on the right bank, just a couple of blocks from the Louvre. Very dominated by acoustic instruments - guitars, mandolins, violins (I don't think there were any electrics on sale, although I did notice a Les Paul on the workbench out the back). The proprietor, Francois Charle, was not there on the day I visited, but I met his colleague Arnaud Legrand, who seems a very nice bloke. As Mike pointed out, Francois Charle is a real expert on Selmer-Maccaferri guitars, and wrote the definitive book on their history, as well as publishing some excellent plans of the defining instruments of that style. Arnaud is also quite an expert on jazz guitars and has an article about to come out in the next edition of Fretboard Journal.

The shop has a dozen or more Selmer-style guitars and a good selection of vintage American instruments. I bought a copy of "the book" and also plans for the "petite bouche" 14 fret oval hole and the "Orchestre model" 12 fret D-hole, which I would like to have a go at building one day. Also a nice brass plated tailpiece.

A really nice spot to visit, which I commend to all who have an hour or two to kill in Paris!
Here is me and Arnaud

[blackalex1952]

Mark McLean! If you make a "Selmac" using the Charle plans, you will have to fiddle around a bit with the neck angle to get the string height at the twelfth fret to be less than the 5mm that the plan gives, while still maintaining the correct bridge height which is critical to the projection and tone of these instruments. Some people simply follow the plan and place a wedge between the guitar top and the fingerboard extension. IMHO it is better to modify the curvature of the first top brace and the height of the side at the heel block to get the neck angle where it needs to be. Perhaps Craig Bumgarner, Nick Oliver,Mike Thomas and other Selmer builders could chime in here? I have also learned a trick for bending the pliage quickly and accurately and am prepared to discuss that also, when you want to proceed with the build.

[Mark McLean]

Alex (or is it Ross?)
Thanks for the tip about the neck angle in those plans. I haven't made an archtop or Sel-Mac type of guitar before so I hadn't yet thought through how the geometry is different from a standard flat-top. I guess that the style of bridge and the absence of a saddle means that the fiddling around that you can normally do with bridge and saddle height on a Martin/Gibson style guitar are not options in this setup?
I don't think I am going to get around to this build for a while but I will keep it in mind as an issue to be resolved when I get there. And yes, I had read a bit about "bending the pliage" but still feel a bit mystified by that process - so all help will be gratefully received.

Reading the history of Selmer-Maccaferri guitars was interesting. They are so iconic that I was shocked to find that fewer than 1000 of them were ever made, and there was such variation in the production that very few of them are exactly alike. Not all have the pliage fold. Apparently all sorts of variation in timbers, methods and construction according to available materials (problematic in France between 1932 and 1952) and who happened to be on the production line that day.

Mark

[kiwigeo]

Mark's a dead ringer for Robbie O'Brien

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[blackalex1952]

Mark.My name is Ross. I just spent an hour constructing a detailed post regarding my Selmer knowledge. When I went to post it my login had expired, I logged in again and the post had been lost to wherever. So I dont have the time or energy to do it all again.Sorry! So when you go to build one, contact me and maybe I'll talk on the phone....that was a hassle. It was a very good post summarising so much I have learned!

[Mark McLean]

Ross
That is a bugger! All that wisdom, lost to posterity.
I have had that experience also on this or other forums. The composition window is not a stable place to compose a long document. If I am wanting to write a longish post I will do it in a Word document and then copy/paste it to the forum when it is ready to go. When you have a minute please record all that knowledge. Someone will appreciate it.

Martin - I hadn't picked that before, but there might be a passing resemblance. I think Robbie is probably a real blonde while my hair has just gone grey.

Mark

[Jehu]

Ross, if you ever do get the time and inclination and retype your post, it would be much appreciated. I'm currently on my second archtop build, and I feel a strong pull to take a crack at a Selmer at some point. Any info is good info!

[blackalex1952]

I also want to build archtops, so would love a chat sometime, and have found that there are not so many archtop posts on this forum...maybe when you are up for a chat private message me and we'll set a time.

[Jehu]

Sorry for the slow reply, missed this. I'd be happy to have a chat, but I'm probably the last person you should be taking archtop advice from! (I'm on my second archtop, but it's also my second instrument!)

There are others on the forum, like Nick and Rocket, who would definitely put you in the right direction.