John Le Voi

John Le Voi is a UK luthier most well known for his amazing Selmer Maccaferri style acoustics - most Django Reinhardt festivals will feature Mr Le Voi and several of his guitars. No grande or Selmer style petite bouche on this model - he will produce a more traditional style of acoustic guitar when asked. This guitar was part of a larger Le Voi collection - gypsy jazz was not the only style playing style the owner enjoyed, and this guitar was commissioned out of loyalty to a great luthier.

The Maccaferri hints are still there with this model - the wide hips and substantial neck feel very familiar. With 14 frets to the body and a substantial and unusually styled cutaway, all styles of playing are accommodated nicely - a proper high quality all-rounder. Acoustically, this guitar has a big but well balanced sound - a set of Manouche-Tone or Savarez Argentine strings may set your inner Django free, but this is a supposed to be a standard flat-top with no way to fit a resonator. This guitar has a very nice rounded bass response but retains that trebly tone as you venture up the neck. The nut measures just short of 47mm, so a lot of fretboard, and the familiar Le Voi neck profile - more D then C, but manageable and easy to familiarize with.

The guitar features the normal Big-Tone pick-up under the saddle, and this does an adequate job of transmitting the character of the guitar into the PA, and any tone adjustments or colouring needs to be done externally as we have a simple plug and play, no need for batteries, system which suits the guitar perfectly.

Le Voi guitars are already rare and hard to separate from their owners, but a standard flat top is even rarer and this is an opportunity to have some Le Voi quality without nailing your colours to the Gyspy Jazz mast.

It is in very good condition - it has seen a lot of playing, but the wear and tear is limited to lower frets which you can see, but not feel or hear; some strum marks where you expect to see a scratch-guard, and the occasional parking knock. No splits, no wear to the wood, binding and hardware all perfect and functional.

It comes with its hard case, and following a thorough service. It is part of a deceased estate, the only circumstance apparently that the owner would have parted with it.