The guitar used by Andy Page was made in 1984 by the well-known Paris luthier Jean-Pierre Favino. This is his standard model. It is easy to play and has an excellent sound, with a dark tone and plenty of volume. Played acoustically it has a characteristic Favino sound, excellent for solo and good for rhythm, too. By adding the Stimer pickup, the sound made famous by Django in 1947, and by Maurice Ferre in the 60s and 70s can be obtained. Andy plays both with and without the pickup, depending on the tune.
The guitar used by Scot Wise was made by Maurice Dupont of Cognac France in 1993. This guitar is a replica of the famous Maccaferri guitar used by many gypsy guitarists. This model is less popular today – many guitarists feel that it is good only for rhythm. It is an excellent rhythm guitar, with a huge fat sound and a lot of volume. But as Francis Moerman has demonstrated for years, the guitarist who is willing to work with this type guitar will be rewarded with a strong solo voice.
The combination of Stimer pickup and Fender amplifier produce a sound that cannot be duplicated any other way. For the guitarist who wants a tone similar to that of Maurice Ferre, or Django during the late 40's to early 50's, there is no substitute for this combination. It is an important part of our sound. The final elements are the Saverez Argentine strings, which are traditionally used on this type of guitar. Again, for these there is no substitute. We also use a McIntyre transducer, an Evans amplifier, various microphones from Shure and Audio-Technica, and these funny picks made of some weird translucent material…
Zack Page plays a bass from the Juzek atelier in Prague. It is a solid wood bass, and has the orange color characteristic of instruments from the Juzek workshops. This bass is awesome!