1970 Clifford Essex & Co Macaferri Petite bouche Gyspy Jazz Guitar with hard shell case. Here we have something a bit special for the Manouche players out there as well as any Django aficionado. Originally purchase From Clem Vickery of Clifford Essex in the early 2022. The guitar was Built by Marco Roccia and the serial does suggest the guitar was built in February 1970 and that it was in fact the 52nd instrument made that year. Most of the other instruments most likely were high end Banjos. Mr Roccia was well known for the Selmer 4 to 6 string guitar conversions commissioned by Louis Gallo an Anglo-Italian Guitarist and luthier. He was well known as the conversions did play very much like the original Selmer guitars. 
Mr Roccia’s vast experience was not only on repairing old instruments but also in how these were built and what made them good or not so over the years. He was considered “the fountain of knowledge” regrading all things fretted. He often built Selmers using original parts procured when he visited the recently closed Selmer guitar Factory with Louis Gallo. This guitar may well have been made from Selmer parts, most likely the body and the neck which would explain tech SP as part of the serial number. SP, meaning Selmer parts? Special? Hard to know exactly. The research continues…
 
Rosewood back and sides
Typical profile mahogany neck with an extended Ebony fingerboard.
Selmer style headstock and joint. 
Spruce top with the small sound hole. “Petite Bouche” 
Dove tail heel and 14 fret to the body. 
Smaller scale length at 640 mm. 
Ebony bridge 
Selmer style bridge, tailpiece. 
The guitar weighs 4.36Lb or 1.97Kg 
Set up with Argentine 11s. 
Plays beautifully and has that classic dry tone that you only get from these. 
The frets have been recently dressed and there is no pitting. 
The whole guitar is in excellent condition throughout beside a bit of the usual beauty mark below the top E from finger resting. 
There is a couple of small splits by the neck, one that goes towards the tailpiece and a small one a t the back. 
These have been checked and have been professionally repaired. The guitar is solid. 
There is also Marcos’ name in writing on the top, inside between the first brace and the neck. (Can only see this with a mirror). Comes with a the original hardshell case and some paperwork/history. 
 
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