Gitane D-500 Professional Gypsy Jazz Guitar

The Grande Bouche Voice — Open, Warm, and Built for Rhythm

The Gitane D-500 Professional Gypsy Jazz Guitar is a Selmer-Maccaferri-style instrument built around the large D-shaped Grande Bouche soundhole — the design closely associated with the classic Django Reinhardt rhythm sound. Where the oval-hole DG-255 delivers a tighter, more focused lead voice, the D-500's Grande Bouche opening produces a warmer, more open tone with greater low-mid resonance and natural air. It's the voice of the rhythm section: full, projecting, and unmistakably Gypsy Jazz.

The top is solid Sitka spruce, braced in the traditional fan pattern and paired with Santos rosewood back and sides — a combination that delivers the bright, punchy projection the style demands while retaining warmth and body. The 12th-fret neck joint is a hallmark of the Selmer-Maccaferri tradition, placing the body join exactly where it belongs for authentic balance and upper-register access. A low-profile mahogany neck with an ebony fingerboard, 24 frets, a 25.25" scale length, and a 1-7/8" nut width give you the playing surface to execute the rapid chord work and fleet single-note runs at the heart of the idiom. The bone nut features a zero fret for consistent open-string intonation — a detail that matters when you're locking in with a hot rhythm section.

Traditional appointments are executed with care: an ebony compensated mustache bridge for accurate intonation, a traditional brass tailpiece that anchors the strings in classic Gypsy Jazz fashion, ebony binding, multi-ply ebony/maple purfling, and gold-plated 14:1 ratio tuners. The D-500 ships strung with Parisian by Gitane Manouche Medium Gauge strings — the right strings for the right sound, right out of the case. Every guitar includes a padded ProTour gig bag with Gitane logo for protection on the road.

El Cajon Guitars & Music is an authorized Gitane dealer. We're a working guitar shop with real expertise — not a drop-shipper. Whether you're building your first Gypsy Jazz rig or adding a serious D-hole to your collection, we're here before and after the sale. Shop with confidence at ECGMusic.com.