Background information
An introduction (start here)
Is it a Maccaferri?
Or is it a Selmer?
The Internal Resonator
About Mario Maccaferri 
in English
in French
Selmer Primer
About François Charle
The Selmer Maccaferri book
Manouche-Tone Strings
 

the rest of the site
Paul Hostetter, luthier
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Years back, I went to the trouble of finding a respectable string maker because I was dealing Dupont guitars and wanted the owners of these guitars to have the best string available. Because importing strings from France was such a problem (and so expensive!), and because the quality of Argentines was so sketchy as well, I searched for a domestic substitute. Several other European brands really fell short. 

Fortunately, when I discovered Francisco González, the search ended. Handmade in Goleta, California, his strings proved brilliant and durable - indeed the superior strings for Selmer-style guitars. Guadalupe Custom Strings also makes the Greens, a gauge which no one else makes, as well as low seventh strings and so on. 

As of December 2004, Francisco sold Guadalupe Custom Strings to Margie Hernandez, who moved the business. Here's the new contact information:

So contact Guadalupe direct to order. Understand too that they also (primarily) make strings for the Latin musical world: guitarrón, vihuela, classical guitar, all types of harp, requinto, and on into ukuleles and so on. These guitar strings are only a small part of their unusual output. For flattop and archtop guitars, I highly recommend their round-core phosphor bronze strings as well. 

The colors refer to the silk wrap by the loop

Purples (Violettes) - 10 14 21 27 34 42  -  extra-light (extra-légère) 
Reds    (Rouges)   - 11 15 22 28 36 44  -  light (légère) 
Greens  (Vertes)   - 11 15 23 30 39 46  -  medium (serieux) 

  Purples and Reds are equivalent to Savarez Argentines. Please note, in case you're checking, that the actual gauges of Savarez Argentine wound strings are not quite the gauges that are printed on their string package.

  Greens are a bit heavier than any Argentine, and are particularly suited for the 648mm scale of the D-hole models.

  Please note: these strings come with loop-ends - unless other arrangements are clearly made!

The traditional strings used on Selmer guitars are Argentines, made by Savarez of Lyon, France. Contrary to popular folklore, they are not silk-and-steel. Indeed there is no silk or fiber in their composition at all. They are a pure copper wrap which has been silver-plated, then wound on a steel core.