LAG - Swing SL200

The difference between the SL100 and the SL200 can be seen in the wood, even before it's played. The solid spruce top, beneath its glossy varnish, lacks the cottony warmth of cedar - it cuts, projects, and catches the light as well as the notes. It's a wood that needs a bit of breaking in, then gradually opens up to deliver a frank dynamic, a clean attack, and high notes that go the distance in a jazz evening or a tight pump session.

The real hallmark of this guitar is its full rosewood construction: back, sides and bridge all carved from the same dense, oily wood. The rosewood tightens the lower midrange, sculpts harmonics with a precision that mahogany can't match, and gives the instrument that crystalline quality in the plucked notes that makes the difference when a solo takes off. The metal tailpiece anchors this sustain without dulling it.

The mahogany neck with Black Brankowood fingerboard has a 350 mm radius and follows the same architecture as the rest of the series: stable and clean, with 21 frets covering all the territory needed for the Manouche repertoire. The two-way trussrod keeps the neck geometrically stable over time, and the 43 mm nut width lets the fingers spread out without stepping on each other. The bone nut provides a direct link between strings and neck - no energy is lost along the way.

The oil-bath action, the open-work headstock characteristic of the Manouche style, and the cutaway for access to the high positions make for a coherent whole from start to finish. The Argentina 1510MF 11/46 steel strings are original: the tension is there, and so is the sound. The dedicated semi-rigid gigbag completes the picture - the SL200 travels like it plays, without a care in the world.