Healdsburg Archtop Observations

[kamlapati]

I was lucky enough to spend Friday and Saturday at the Healdsburg Guitar Festival. I played archtops made by Aaron Andrews, D’Ambrosio, Grimes, Kumano, Manzer, Melo, Moll, Ribbecke, Solomon, Summit, and Thorell, which probably covered less than half of the ones available.

Every single one was x-braced. None were aimed at the old fashioned Gibson and Epi sound, all were the more modern sound of D’Aquisto, more balanced (i.e. more bass and treble, a little less mids, less bark, less attack). D’Angelico’s influence was clear on the Moll and Manzer guitars.

Many of the flat tops had absolutely HUGE bass, and I think that’s what a lot of players like, so when they hear an old archtop, they just don’t get it. (You guys know the common cliches, no bass, no sustain, yada, yada, yada. What they're really saying is “it doesn’t sound like my Martin dread.”) In an attempt to win over new archtop players, it seems to me that makers try to “split the difference” between the traditional archtop and flattop characteristics. The proliferation of great modern archtops is good, but it seems to me there should still be a market for a more traditional archtop.

Just sayin'.

[mr. beaumont]

You know, I hate to be this guy, but a lot of these really high end archtops...funny, you don't often see them in the hands of a lot of musicians who are really out there gigging jazz...seems like they're almost made to sound better in a home environment, not on the bandstand.

Just an observation, and not saying that if I had the money I wouldn't be all over some of these guitars...

[TruthHertz]

Originally Posted by kamlapati

Every single one was x-braced. None were aimed at the old fashioned Gibson and Epi sound, .

Originally Posted by mr. beaumont

...funny, you don't often see them in the hands of a lot of musicians who are really out there gigging jazz...seems like they're almost made to sound better in a home environment, not on the bandstand.
.

At least around New York and Boston Eastman guitars are becoming one of the voices of contemporary jazz guitar. One of the things that is characteristic of the Easties is a building philosophy of the lighter x braced response. It's also the Gibson sound of the Johnny Smith, Kalamazoo and Citation guitars.

Hey, somebody put a real Jimmy D' in my hands, I promise I'll do my part to make it a working guitar!
David

[Vihar]

I'm glad that archtops are evolving too. In our age of great amplification, it makes sense to turn away from pursuing sheer acoustic volume and spend more time with shaping the tonal qualities of the instrument.

People who like the old school stuff can get it elsewhere anyway.

[Al_F]

Originally Posted by TruthHertz

.... Eastman guitars are becoming one of the voices of contemporary jazz guitar.
David

Yep, I see Eastmans at clubs all the time.

[kamlapati]

I like the evolution and development of the archtop too, and the variety of makers now must put us in something of a Golden Age.

But... when buying a flattop one has many new but vintage styled guitars to choose from... wonder why this isn't true for archtops?

With regard to working instruments, at least Manzer, Moll, Ribbecke, and Thorell have pros out there playing their stuff. But you might be right that certainly the majority of buyers just need them to sound good in their living rooms. And if you want loud, you just buy an amp.

I like my modern archtops too, just wish there were more options. (Isn't that a familiar refrain around here?)

[Jazzpunk]

Originally Posted by mr. beaumont

You know, I hate to be this guy, but a lot of these really high end archtops...funny, you don't often see them in the hands of a lot of musicians who are really out there gigging jazz...seems like they're almost made to sound better in a home environment, not on the bandstand.

Just an observation, and not saying that if I had the money I wouldn't be all over some of these guitars...

I think the issue with high end guitars is the price tag, not the sound!

My old teacher, Pete Snell, is endorsed by Ribeckke and I can tell you the guitars sound great on the bandstand! I'd love to own one but I don't see having that kind of expendable income anytime soon.

I saw Julian Lage a couple months ago and his Manzer sounded fantastic as well.

[Patrick2]

And then, of course . . . . there's the "really high end" guitar, from a quality aspect . . . but, also carrying a moderate price point.

[rpguitar]

I think that the evolution of the archtop acoustic guitar has made a lot of sense. It was designed for acoustic rhythm volume back in the 20's, and stayed that way until amplification opened the door to many other options. At that point archtops remained a mainstay only in jazz, but were fitted with pickups, rendering the original form pretty much obsolete.

Decades passed, and eventually both luthiers and guitarists became interested in archtops again as an instrument style in its own right. Not because it was necessary for something anymore, but because it was desirable as a thing of aesthetic beauty and a vehicle for the craftsman's vision to be expressed. But now, because the archtop's former musical niche was no longer an overriding concern, luthiers tried new things - exploiting and tweaking the platform to see how it could sound if different variables were modified from the original classics.

And so here we are. Personally, I think the archtop market offers just about everything: Classic rhythm machines that hearken to yesteryear, with parallel bracing and lots of midrange volume; "modern" sleek touch-sensitive parlor instruments that flit between the sonic territories of steel flattop and nylon, landing in some unique hybrid place. Traditional looking things; outlandish things.

I would have loved to go to Healdsburg. But I've got all the archtops I can handle at the moment. And they run the gamut that I've described above. In the future, I'd like to see some really new acoustic design elements and a bit less focus on slaying the customer with overwhelming aesthetic details. I think that's partly what has caused archtops to enter the realm of the luxury item, which is unfortunate.

[fws6]

> But you might be right that certainly the majority of buyers just need them to sound good in their living rooms.

Isnt this just normal, because in fact the vast majority of guitar players are living room players ? There are a few dozen guitar players on every street. If professional guitarists were the only people buying high end guitars, 99 % of luthiers would not be able to make a living.