Tag Archives: Stimer amps

Happy Birthday Django!

January 23rd is Django’s birthday. As one of the most influential guitarists in the world of jazz and beyond (artists as diverse as Willie Nelson and Jeff Garcia have cited his influence) we thought we would honour this unique artist by running a profile.

On the 23rd of January 1910, Jean Reinhardt was born in Liberchies, Belgium, into a rambling gypsy lifestyle. By the age of eight his mother’s tribe had settled near the fortifications of the Choisy gate, Paris. The Manouche, French Gypsies, lived in a world of their own being mediæval in their beliefs and distrustful of modern science. The name we most associate with Reinhardt is Django which is a Romani nickname meaning ‘I awake’.

Django was attracted to music from an early age; starting with the violin before moving to banjo, and finally guitar. He learned to play by mimicking other musicians, quickly impressed adults with his ability, and was playing professionally by the age of twelve. Almost as soon as he had his own instrument he started playing at a dance hall on the Rue Monge with accordionist Guerino. From there he went on to play with numerous other bands before making his first recording with Ideal Company. Coming from a Gypsy background, Django had not learned to read or write so his name appears on these early records as Jiango Renard.

The infamous life-changing event occurred in the early hours of November 2nd 1928 when Django returned from a night’s playing to the caravan where he was living with his wife. The caravan caught alight from a candle; some say Django knocked it over on the way to bed, others that he was trying to find a mouse and a burning ember dropped from the wick – we shall never know what really happened. Because the place was filled with cellophane flowers, made by his wife to sell at the local markets, it went up rapidly. Django got himself and his wife out but, in doing so, his right side, from knee to waist, and his left hand were badly burned. Doctors recommended amputation which Django refused; choosing instead to convalesce in a nursing home for eighteen months. During this time Django worked on a new fingering system built around the two fingers with full mobility. His ring and little fingers could not be extended as the heat had shrunk the tendons and left them permanently curled. Whilst the curled fingers could be used on the first two strings for chords and octaves soloing was done with the index and middle fingers only.

The next landmark in Django’s life came in 1934 with the birth of the Hot Club of France’s Quintet. The Quintet came about through a chance meeting with Stephane Grappelli at the Hotel Cambridge. During this time Django played a Selmer Maccaferri, the first commercially available guitar with a cutaway. Ultraphone recorded their early music; Dinah, Tiger Rag, Oh Lady be Good, and I Saw Stars. Over the years the Quintet went on to record hundreds of tracks with Ultraphone and had hits on both sides of the pond.

In 1939 war broke out across Europe. The Quintet was touring England at the time and disbanded as each member followed his own conscience. Django returned to Paris, leaving his wife and son, Henri “Lousson”, behind, and continued to play and record music throughout the war; somehow managing to avoid the fate of many of his fellow Manouche. It is thought that he had protection from an officer known as “Doktor Jazz”. During this time he met and married his second wife, Sophie, with whom he had a son, Babik. He also tried a different musical direction, attempting to write a Mass for the Gypsies; improvising whilst an assistant took down the notation. Post war, the Quintet was reunited and playing and recording picked up where it left off. He toured with Duke Ellington in the States in 1946 including two nights at the Carnegie Hall. Django returned to France in early ’47 and eventually retired in 1951 to the small village of Samois sur Seine. He continued to play the Paris jazz clubs and began playing an electric Be-bop guitar.

On May 16th 1953 Django suffered a massive brain haemorrhage and died, leaving behind his wife Sophie and child Babik. But, more importantly, he left a musical legacy that is as vibrant today as it was then. As well as his brother Joseph, both of Django’s sons continued to play jazz guitar; Babik in the contemporary style and Henri in the traditional Manouche style. There is now a third generation of Reinhardts playing jazz; David, Babik’s son, leads his own trio whereas Dallas, “Lousson’s” son, follows in his father’s footsteps travelling with his music.

As part of Django’s legacy, Maurice Dupont continues to maintain the Reinhardt family guitars; repairing where he can and rebuilding where necessary. Here at Sandarac we are proud to be associated with this rich heritage and are delighted to be able to bring fine Grande Bouche, Petite Bouche, and Be-Bop guitars, as well as authentic Stimer amps and pickups to the UK and Ireland.

http://www.sandarac.co.uk/…/selmer-maccaferri-style.html
http://www.sandarac.co.uk/instrum…/busato-jazz-guitar.html
http://www.sandarac.co.uk/…/bebop-arch-top-jazz-guitar…
http://www.sandarac.co.uk/amplifiers/maurice-dupont.html
http://www.sandarac.co.uk/acce…/maurice-dupont-pickps.html

Come in – we’re open

06 - we're openNormally we’re only open by appointment at weekends but, with a few people coming in to collect their instruments, we took the decision to open for the full day.

So, if you’ve not had the chance to visit us before and fancy a mooch round The Old Dairy why not come and see us at Brickwall Farm today?  We’re on a working farm so, as you come down the drive, you might see the cows or horses in the field, the chickens running around their pen, the lavender hens that wander around, and you could even take a walk out to the lake.

If the animals aren’t reason enough, don’t forget we have a wonderful range or instruments for left and right handers, our Schatten Design pickups, Stimer pickups and amps, plus our wide range of giftware (90% of which has been made right here in the UK with the remaining 10% coming out of wester Europe).

So what’s keeping you…?  We look forwards to seeing you soon

Stimer M6

In addition to the iconic Stimer M12 amplifier we also brought back an entry level Stimer – the M6.

The M6 could be considered to be a bit of a plain jane when compared to her big sister but her forebears graced equally iconic stages and she still delivers that distinctive gyspy sound.

06 - stimer M6With its sleek wooden casing, black leather jacket, and leather handle the M6 is eminently portable and will comfortably sit behind the front seat of most cars. But just because it’s smaller and plainer it doesn’t mean than it hasn’t been hand-made with the same care that its bigger showier sister has. What’s more, we know that this particular one was solely build by Maurice Dupont himself (even if he didn’t make all the components personally!).

As with the M12, we are able to offer this particular M6 amp at a great price; this time at £695, which is over £200 cheaper than previous prices.

Again, at the risk of sounding like a broken record, we have to emphasis that this price applies only to the Stimer amps currently in stock and that, with forex fluctuations, we cannot guarantee these prices on subsequent models.