Shelley D. Park Gypsy Jazz Guitars :: Guitar Luthier in the Style of Selmer Maccaferri

Djangofest NW 2009 Update

shelley — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 14:16:08 +0000

Djangofest NW celebrated its ninth appearance in Langley, WA with a an excellent lineup of musicians from North America and Europe. The shows were exciting and well attended, and there was a great blend of music represented. Mother Nature also put on a spectacular show, and the glittering fall sun was a delightful back drop for jamming.

Congratulations to Greg Gunter of Nebraska. He was the lucky raffle winner at Djangofest NW 2009 taking home a brand new Park Guitar. The prize couldn’t have gone to a more deserving recipient – Greg has been attending and supporting the festival since the begining, he is a fine guitar player and a swell guy. Have fun, Greg!

Maple Encore for Sale

shelley — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 13:58:20 +0000

This handsome guitar is available for sale. The specifications for the instrument are as follows:

Big Leaf Maple Back and Sides
European Spruce Soundboard
Five Piece Big Leaf Maple Neck
Players Side Soundport
Deluxe Maple Black/Maple/Black Binding
24 Fret Fingerboard Extension
Modern Neck – 43mm at nut, 55mm at body join
Gold Schaller Tuners
Brass DR Tailpiece
Arched Top Hardshell Guitar Case

The pricing for this instrument is as follows:
Base Price $3990.00
European Spruce Soundboard add $200
Soundport add $200.00
Five Piece Neck add $300.00

Total $4690.00 USD plus shipping.

For more information please e-mail Park Guitars.

DjangoFest Northwest 2009 Gypsy Jazz Guitar Raffle

shelley — Thu, 21 May 2009 03:14:24 +0000

Park Guitars is pleased to announce their participation in the 2009 fundraising raffle at DjangoFest Northwest 2009. Check out the videos of this guitar being made below.

The Festival Model being built for the event is based on an instrument which was on display in 2008 and received tremendous positive feedback.

The features of this custom guitar will be as follows:

Modele Encore Petite bouche
670mm scale length, 14 fret neck join
Sitka Spruce soundboard
Big Leaf Maple back, sides and neck
Player’s side soundport
Gold Schaller tuners, brass tailpiece
Fitted Hardshell guitar case

For information on raffle ticket sales please visit the DjangoFest Northwest website.

Check back regularly to see more videos of the Festival Model being built.

Episode 1: Making the Back

Guitar for Sale – Indian Rosewood Elan 14

shelley — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 02:26:17 +0000

Specifications:

Indian Rosewood back and sides
Sitka Spruce soundboard
14 fret neck join, 640mm scale length
Modern neck dimensions – 43mm wide at nut, 55mm wide at body join
5 piece Big Leaf Maple neck
Deluxe Maple binding
Eddie Freeman style black and white rosette
Gold Schaller tuners, brass DR tailpiece

This guitar was used in performance by Nous’che Rossenberg at Djangofest NW 2008. You can see and hear this instrument here.

Pricing:

Base price $4000.00
5 piece Big Leaf Maple neck add $300
Deluxe maple binding add $50

Total $4350 USD plus shipping

Fresh Sheet – Jazz Nylon

shelley — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 18:35:39 +0000

This handsome instrument is the first nylon string guitar built in some time. The chocolate brown Western Red Cedar soundboard gives it a rich, breathy tone. The spectacular back and sides are made of cocobolo, framed by Indian rosewood binding. The headplate and the tie block are accented by amboyna burl veneer, and the Waverly tuners with snakewood buttons tie in beautifully with the gold and red theme of the guitar.

Fresh Sheet – Custom Tenor Guitar

shelley — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 02:32:11 +0000

Historically, tenor guitars built in the Selmer tradition have used the grande bouche D-shaped soundhole. In this case, the client admitted he liked the look of the grande bouche, but preferred the sound of the petite bouche. After exchanging information on tuning and string guages (tuning and string guages vary widely in the tenor guitar world) it was determined that a 640mm scale length with a 14 fret neck in combination with the oval soundhole would be the basis for a compelling new intrument.

This guitar features Indian Rosewood back and sides with a Sitka spruce soundboard framed by deluxe Koa binding. The tuners are made by Grover, and the tailpiece is a replica of the original Selmer tenor hardware, handmade in Switzerland. There is a Big Tone pick-up embedded in the bridge, and the soundport provides the player with a wonderful ear full of sound.

Custom Electric/Acoustic Guitar

shelley — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 03:55:23 +0000

In late August, I was corresponding with my friend Troy Chapman, talking about music, guitars and life in general. Very innocently, he started spitballing about a mythic guitar he had been thinking about:

"A guitar made only to be plugged in. Selmer body size. No Oval hole on top. Just a sound port. Electric pick up. Thinner body (just thick enough for the sound port). Maple back and sides. Flame maple top. Short Scale?"

I was excited about the idea of building a guitar which was essentially the same as what I normally do, but with a number of significant modifications. I began to assault Troy with e-mails regarding the specs for this guitar, and suddenly, I was routing pickup cavities and ordering electric guitar hardware. Before he knew what was happening, I had started drawing up plans and selecting materials.

Over the course of the next few months, I worked on this custom instrument when time allowed with plenty of input from Troy.

I finally put strings on the guitar last week and sent it to Whidbey Island. It is a handsome instrument and that sounds great. I am excited for the rest of the world to see and hear it.

I asked Troy to contribute a few thoughts on the process and the end product. Here is what he wrote:

"How did we get here? Let’s see…

I started with the idea “what would be an ideal instrument for players like me?” Players who have come to gypsy jazz from the straight ahead jazz world or players migrating the opposite direction. I would play some gigs with a Park Montmartre and others with a jazz archtop, but never with both. The different guitars are too far apart in texture and tone. For decades the work around has been to attach a pickup, usually a Stimer, to the top of the guitar and plug into an amp. While this gives an “authentic Django sound” it doesn’t take into consideration that it’s the “Django sound” because he had very few, if any, other choices. Django didn’t chose that sound among all others, he just needed more volume and that was the only option available. There were no humbucking pickups in 1950’s France and very few guitar amps. Django also loved the tone and feel of his Selmer and refused to give it up for a different type of guitar.

I feel the same way.

So instead of doing things the way they were done in 1952 simply because “that’s how it was done in 1952,” Shelley and I began conversations about re-designing a Selmer for 2008. It was an instrument designed to be played through an amp in clubs and for concerts. We wanted an instrument that retained all the qualities of a Selmer guitar – arched top, laddered bracing, floating bridge with moustaches, slotted headstock, tailpiece, scale length, and other details- yet the guitar would be an Electric Jazz Guitar.

Inspiration came from a few different quarters. One inspiration was Steven Andersen’s Little Archie, a small body archtop designed for regular gigging. We also looked at a D’Aquisto Centura CRE, a carved spruce top electric about the size of a Les Paul. And, most importantly, we looked at Shelley’s past work including her use of sound ports.

What we ended up with is a guitar that I think epitomizes the needs and desires of a modern gypsy jazz guitarist. It sounds just as good playing “Naima” through a tube amp with a horn quintet as it does playing “Swing Gitane” through an acoustic guitar amp with a gypsy jazz trio."

Here are the specs for the new guitar:

Selmer body shape with narrower sides (2 1/4? at heel)
Big Leaf Figured Maple back, sides and top
3 piece Big Leaf Maple neck
640mm scale length, 14 fret neck join
Modern Neck dimensions (43mm at nut, 55 mm at body)
Humbucking neck position pick-up with volume and tone pot
Big Tone pick-up
players side Soundport
dyed maple burl on headstock, tailpiece and access cover
Schaller tuners with ebony buttons
24 frets total

I enjoyed the process of building this guitar and I’m proud of the final product. I hope you like it too!

Road Trip – Fraser Valley Wood Adventure

shelley — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 23:20:16 +0000

I jumped in the car yesterday and headed east from Vancouver to the Fraser Valley city of Chilliwack. Tucked away between nurseries and dairies on the bank of the mighty Fraser River is Bow River Specialty Woods.

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Bow River is well known as a supplier of BC softwoods for musical instruments, and are widely recognized as one of the finest providers of Big Leaf Western Maple. They have also started stocking exotic hardwood sets from around the world, which is a wonderful opportunity for me as normally I have to order these materials site unseen.

I spent a few hours digging through piles of wood and came home with some treasures that will eventually become beautiful guitars.

New CD from Billet Deux

shelley — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 23:54:26 +0000

Whidbey Island’s own Billet Deux has released its second album, appropriately titled “Deux”. It is a lovely CD drawing from a range of sources, from gypsy jazz to Bebop. The band’s unique configuration of bass, drums, cello and two guitars offers the listener a pleasing twist on traditional gypsy jazz. Their rhythm section lays down a solid, tasty, understated groove that gives the cello and lead guitar room to shine.

My favourite piece is Be-Bop by Dizzy Gillespie. Pick up your guitar and try to play that outro. Once you’ve got that under your fingers, try playing it with someone else – in unison or harmony!

Fresh Sheet – Quilted Bubinga Modele Avance

shelley — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 03:13:05 +0000

This beautiful guitar will soon be headed south for the winter (take me with you!) to its new owner in sunny Phoenix, AZ. The spectacular wood on the back and sides is a material called Bubinga, with a stunning quilt figure running through it. The top is Bearclaw Sitka spruce that is practically dripping with figure. It has a five piece Big Leaf Maple neck, which matches beautifully with the deluxe Maple binding on the body of the instrument. The final handsome element is the understated Waverly tuners with Snakewood buttons – they match the colour and the figure of the Bubinga brilliantly!