I’ve always loved Gypsy jazz, and I’ve been making “fringe” jazz guitars for quite some time, but this time I went the whole hog. Watching Remi Harris play at Ullapool gave me the boost I needed, and here we are.

It’s a very close replica of an original Selmer guitar, with plywood back and sides- a very thin outside veneer of Indian Rosewood, central core of poplar I think, and an inside veneer of Sapele, just like the originals, made this way for stiffness and low weight.

Remi is very happy with this guitar, and I do want to be making instruments for this style of music, so I’ve decided to remove the “ Egyptian” and “Caliban” models from the standard list, and to offer this one guitar instead. I needed a suitable name, “Egyptian” would have worked, but I’ve been using that for the earlier designs, so I decided to use Remi’s name instead. He is happy, I am happy.

The soundboard is German Spruce, although we have also made one for Remi using Cedar. It is “creased“ and heavily arched to support the downward pressure of the strings. I followed Remi’s suggestions about the neck, slim and adjustable, made from English Walnut, laminated with Rosewood. The fingerboard is 44 mm wide, made from Ebony. The body finish is French polish, which I really enjoyed doing - something about the alcohol I expect. We can use lacquer instead to get a more durable finish.