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My playing has been trending in that jazz/blues chord melody direction for a while now, and I've taken to usually having a set of flatwounds on one or other of my flattops.
Mind you, acoustic archtops are not something you see everywhere, they are quite uncommon. Most of the archtops I see are designed for electric use and not fully playable unamplified.
PS: I love Galli Jazz Flat strings. https://www.stringsandbeyond.com/galli-acoustic-guitar-strings-ajf1252-medium-12-52.html
It's about the size of a Les Paul, but with full acoustic depth. it also has a bigger neck block which allows an electric style neck join and a solidly mounted pickup - after that it is fully archtop construction and sounds glorious. Obviously not as much acoustic volume as a big achtop, but gets more sustain and is a bit brighter than they usually are
I like Newtone Archtop strings. they are not flat wound so can squeak a little, but have a double wrap of finer winds on a round core
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I have a mid-90s Epiphone Joe Pass that I bought at the tail end of 2021 from a chap on FB marketplace for £350. Jazz isn't my main musical outlet but it's had a satisfying amount of use at jam nights, big band shows and combo gigs over the past year.
I had to replace the electrics as they were starting to go (six string supplies LP harness kit) and I've replaced the neck pickup with a Bare Knuckles Stormy Monday (also found on marketplace) as the original was a bit too hot and woofy for my liking. It has D'addario flatwound 11s on it but I'm contemplating going up to 12s for a bit more "thump".
All in all I've probably spent a couple of hundred pounds on getting it to a place where I'm happy with it but that's the journey isn't it? It's been a great tool to help me get back into Jazz playing.
It doesn't stop me endlessly browsing gumtree and marketplace for a 335 style guitar though!
Here it is at a combo gig earlier this month -
https://imgur.com/gallery/0c9giNF
I've been using mine for Gypsy Jazz and general playing.
I did change the pickup it came with - ironically enough, to an Irongear Blues Engine that I bought on a whim. Despite this not seeming like it would have the most ideal jazzy credentials, it sounds really good to me. For the last couple of years I've had flatwounds on the guitar and use the wooden bridge (it came with two bridges: a fixed-intonation wooden one and a tuneomatic). The flatwounds (Thomastic Infeld jazz 11's) sound a lot better to me on this guitar than the ordinary roubdwounds it came with.
I love this guitar! It is/was a relative cheapy but I enjoy it much more than much more expensive Gibsons I've had in the past (an ES175 and an L4).
Feedback
https://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/221510/flat-tops
https://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/235210/heresy-i-tried-galli-flatwound-brass-and-liked-them
It's a shame the UK has such awful import restrictions, over here in Oz I can order anything I like from the US or Europe or the UK or New Zealand or China and once the order is in all I have to do is trundle down to the post office to collect the mail.
I read your post about the Daddario Flats - to me they were certainly better than regular acoustic guitar strings for this purpose, but I'm keen to try out the Gallis. I'll get some ordered next month.
I've fitted P90s to it but rarely plug it in, and the electric hardware made no discernible difference to acoustic volume, surprisingly.
@WezV that's my dream Les Paul!
Ibanez Contemporary Archtop AFC95 - Violin Matte | Sweetwater
I play it ABY'd between a Roland Cube and a Roland JC Jazz Chorus 22. I have only ever put Daddario Chromes on it ECG24 which are, as you describe, flat wound. They seem fine.
I don't play it too much because acoustic is my first love. The neck on the Ibanez is a bit narrow even for me, and I have thin fingers. Apart from that, it plays very comfortably and has a nice smooth neck. I think I bought the Ibanez because I had had great fun restoring a Hofner Senator. When I gave it away to someone as a present, I bought the Ibanez as a replacement. Mainly 'cos its pretty tbh! The build is very nice. Its sometimes good for simple melodic pieces and I play it with just fingers using the volume of the amps (cheating) to make up for lack of picks/plectrum. For me it classifies as an electric though so mostly it hangs on the wall where I can look at it!
Ibanez have a good rep for archtops I think. There's certainly a lot of them in their catalogue.
Feedback thread: https://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/comment/3575378
Feedback thread: https://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/comment/3575378