Archtops, pure or mostly acoustic

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VimFuegoVimFuego Frets: 15476
been listening to a number of different players who've been using archtop acoustics and it's got me jonesing for one, so was wondering who makes pure or mostly pure acoustic archtops. No idea of budget, so list to anything really.

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  • JeremiahJeremiah Frets: 629
    Godin 5th avenue
    (They also make a version with p90s)
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  • JalapenoJalapeno Frets: 6378
    That'd work.  Gretsch do something similar if it is the Mojo you are after .... The Loar as well

    http://www.peachguitars.com/guitars/electric-guitars/gretsch-g9550-new-yorker-archtop.htm

    But you'd want a carved top 17" or 18" for a nice tone, sustain and volume - not going to be cheap.  Going to cost 'farsands I'd guess ! :(
    Imagine something sharp and witty here ......

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  • VimFuegoVimFuego Frets: 15476
    yeah, did kinda think it'd be expensive, seems to be not much middle ground with archtops. Have to try and find a localish dealer of the godin ones, see what they're like in the flesh.

    I'm not locked in here with you, you are locked in here with me.

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  • JalapenoJalapeno Frets: 6378
    IMNSHO You go from steam pressed tops straight to the likes of hand carved Benedetto, Manzer, Comins, Campellone, Gibson L7, etc - there is no middle ground really.  That's taken by mid-range round hole Martins & Taylors and such like
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  • MegiiMegii Frets: 1670
    Admit I have no direct playing experience, but I have heard that the Godins are not massively loud acoustically - i.e. have the amplified archtop sound down, but not so good as an acoustic instrument. If the acoustic element is your main consideration, I think you should consider if it would be possible to stretch the budget up towards a bigger-bodied, and ideally carved top archtop - 17" or 18" as Jalapeno suggests.
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  • FretwiredFretwired Frets: 24601
    Godin's are great guitars. I have three ... I recommend trying to buy second hand as they don't hold their value that well.

    Remember, it's easier to criticise than create!
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  • WezVWezV Frets: 16543
    edited August 2014
    I quite like the Godins and I like a lot of the older guitars they are emulating,    but its a very different experience to a proper carved archtop.    Do you know what the players you were listening to were playing?

    budget is the key decider here.  Looking on ebay always brings up The Loar,  but i don't think they are for sale over here

    Would love to be able to get a carved archtop for under £500 but its not a guitar i would want to risk sending half way round the world (again)


    ....

    that gretsch shown above does look tempting
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  • GuyBodenGuyBoden Frets: 733
    edited August 2014
    A true handcrafted acoustic Archtop guitar is very expensive £3000 - £20000+

    Look Here:
    http://www.archtop.com/ac_inst.html
    "Music makes the rules, music is not made from the rules."
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  • VimFuegoVimFuego Frets: 15476
    yeah, saw a couple on some of the makers jal mentioned that were in the $30k region. Probably a tad above what I was thinking of paying...

    I'm not locked in here with you, you are locked in here with me.

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  • streethawkstreethawk Frets: 1631
    edited August 2014
    Yunzhi (ex Eastman) or Eastman.

    Handmade in china, all solid woods, very highly thought of.

    Loars look very good value - Thomman sell all solid versions for around 500 quid. 

    You don't have to spend thousands these days. Especially f you're only researching that sound.
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  • WezVWezV Frets: 16543
    GuyBoden said:
    A true handcrafted acoustic Archtop guitar is very expensive £3000 - £20000+

    Look Here:
    http://www.archtop.com/ac_inst.html
    Indeed.  I will build one myself one day but its something I am working towards rather than rushing into.  I am currently making a thinline which is an important step in that process
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  • EvilmagsEvilmags Frets: 5158

    http://www.peerlessguitars.eu/#/contessa/4549480812


    Looks very nice indeed. Van Hayden picked up a Spruce topped Heritage for a decent price IRRC.

    http://www.thomann.de/gb/peerless_guitars_manhattan.htm


    At 900 quid is a decent buy. solid wood arch-tops are not generally cheap.


     

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  • VimFuegoVimFuego Frets: 15476
    yeah, peerless are one of the brands I want to try out.

    I'm not locked in here with you, you are locked in here with me.

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  • EvilmagsEvilmags Frets: 5158

    The fact that Martin Taylor uses one live is fairly reassuring. If you want to get acoustic tone you really do need a spruce top and proper bracing. Maple topped ones sound plinky. I´ve played an Eastman that I really liked, but I´ve also herd they are not that solidly put together. A lot of the players combine a mic with the pickup when recording to get a really natural sound. A lot of nice stuff on flea bay at the moment. Not often you see one of these up for sale.

    image


      

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  • p90foolp90fool Frets: 31367
    If you want a real acoustic archtop you need a proper carved top - The Loar LH300 is probably the cheapest, I have one and they're the real thing.

    They've cut corners in places which don't really matter but the fundamental construction method is authentic, and they're loud.

    Godins are probably better made but just sound like unplugged electric guitars, which is what they are to be fair.
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  • VimFuegoVimFuego Frets: 15476
    oddly enough, I was just reading about those loar archtops on another forum. They look interesting, though finding a real life (as opposed to internet box shifter) stockist may be interesting.

    I'm not locked in here with you, you are locked in here with me.

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  • I confess to ignorance about archtops. Watched a short youtube vid about the LH300, got the impression it was "loud" 'cos the player was thumping it hard with a plectrum. If he fingerpicked it, I assume it would not be as loud, but would it be any louder than a bog stock round hole acoustic?
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  • p90foolp90fool Frets: 31367
    edited August 2014

    I confess to ignorance about archtops. Watched a short youtube vid about the LH300, got the impression it was "loud" 'cos the player was thumping it hard with a plectrum. If he fingerpicked it, I assume it would not be as loud, but would it be any louder than a bog stock round hole acoustic?
    About the same as your average dreadnought, but with a much more pronounced midrange.

    If you watch the meters when you're recording they're about the same as any other acoustic, but if you're jamming with other acoustic instruments they poke out of the mix very well, which is the reason I bought mine.

    I guess people like to demonstrate how loud they can get when you really beat on them and it's true, they just get louder and louder, unlike most flattops, which tend to get mushy and a little chaotic.

    It's all down to expectations, the LH300 is quite closely based on an early L5, and it does a reasonable job imitating that pre-war archtop sound, given the limitations of brand new wood compared to something 80 or 90 years old.

    What neither The Loar NOR pre-war Gibson L5s excel at though is that pretty, delicate, Martin-esque tone, and even most £5k handmade acoustic archtops are brash compared to a flattop.

    When you spend many thousands you get a refined build quality and a balanced tone, but "pretty-sounding" is just not what they're about, regardless of price.
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  • @p90fool thanks a lot for that. I've also just noticed the LH-280 which looks like a very attractive cheaper alternative to the ES-175 I can't afford ...
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  • GuyBodenGuyBoden Frets: 733
    @p90fool thanks a lot for that. I've also just noticed the LH-280 which looks like a very attractive cheaper alternative to the ES-175 I can't afford ...
    The 175's have a laminate top, so there's very little acoustic sound, they're for plugging into an amp. I've had a lot of Archtop guitars over the years, before buying them it's good to play them and listen.


    Archtop Cutaway LH-350-VS
    LH-350-VS
    LH-350
    "Music makes the rules, music is not made from the rules."
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