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09-23-2011, 12:12 PM
|  | | | Join Date: May 2010 Location: Pacific Northwest
Posts: 166
| |  Perfect Archtop Waiting To Be Made!
Everyone dreams of one--the perfect archtop! Though I lack the finances/clout/celebrity to make it manifest at this time, it's image stays with me. It is an image that many undoubtedly have, but it certainly takes on various forms to different people! I have had friendly discourse with a fellow Byrdland owner, and here is MY vision of the perfect archtop!
What is your vision?
1. 17" lower bout & 2 1/8" sides
2. Lamimated top
3. 23.5 or 24" scale (Yes-Byrdlandish)
4. Body style as in photo (note L5/Byrdland with double cutaway)-photo shows a one-and-only Byrdland prototype by Gibson
5. Floating center block with fixed bridge and stop tailpiece
6. Lollar or Fralin humbuckers & CTS Pots  |
09-23-2011, 01:41 PM
|  | | | Join Date: Apr 2009
Posts: 1,059
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This one? It's the one I play most at the time. Well, it's not waiting to be made - was made last year.  |
09-23-2011, 01:46 PM
| | | | Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Chicago, IL
Posts: 806
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Wow! I love those both (oldane i've seen that before and am always blown away by that burst, and i love non-cutaways)
What about this—17" non-cutaway w/ transparent white finish & pearloid binding?
(BTW, it's a mockup so the upper bout looks pretty weird)  |
09-23-2011, 02:23 PM
| | | | Join Date: Apr 2009
Posts: 1,059
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Quote:
Originally Posted by spiral  oldane i've seen that before and am always blown away by that burst, and i love non-cutaways) | Yes, Jim Triggs and his son Ryan did a nice job with that one.It even sounds good! 
Last edited by oldane : 09-23-2011 at 02:26 PM.
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09-23-2011, 02:33 PM
|  | | | Join Date: Jun 2011
Posts: 94
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Sounds like a Heritage 576.... that just might be your guitar, except a single cutaway. |
09-23-2011, 03:06 PM
| | | | Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Los Angeles, CA
Posts: 1,157
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Quote:
Originally Posted by helios Everyone dreams of one--the perfect archtop! Though I lack the finances/clout/celebrity to make it manifest at this time, it's image stays with me. It is an image that many undoubtedly have, but it certainly takes on various forms to different people! I have had friendly discourse with a fellow Byrdland owner, and here is MY vision of the perfect archtop!
What is your vision?
1. 17" lower bout & 2 1/8" sides
2. Lamimated top
3. 23.5 or 24" scale (Yes-Byrdlandish)
4. Body style as in photo (note L5/Byrdland with double cutaway)-photo shows a one-and-only Byrdland prototype by Gibson
5. Floating center block with fixed bridge and stop tailpiece
6. Lollar or Fralin humbuckers & CTS Pots | Make it 2 1/2" deep and 25" scale and I'm sold! |
09-23-2011, 03:08 PM
| | | | Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: SE Michigan
Posts: 401
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That Triggs is amazing.
Nearly every time I pick up my Eastman I think "Damn, I love playing this guitar." It's not perfect but like I said....."Damn........" Works for me. |
09-23-2011, 04:29 PM
| | | | Join Date: Jan 2011
Posts: 1,533
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Bare Knuckles makes better pickups than fralin or lolar imo. And they also have excellent electronics. Have all that on my archtop and love it! |
09-23-2011, 05:05 PM
|  | | | Join Date: May 2009 Location: Kelowna, BC Canada
Posts: 4,235
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jorgemg1984 Bare Knuckles makes better pickups than fralin or lolar imo. And they also have excellent electronics. Have all that on my archtop and love it! | Not so easy to find outside the UK. |
09-23-2011, 08:56 PM
| | | | Join Date: Jan 2011
Posts: 1,533
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BigDaddyLoveHandles Not so easy to find outside the UK. | Have you mailed them? They have the best customer service I have ever tried and I am sure they will ship anywhere in the world. |
09-24-2011, 08:49 AM
|  | | | Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Columbia, SC
Posts: 53
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jorgemg1984 Bare Knuckles makes better pickups than fralin or lolar imo. And they also have excellent electronics. Have all that on my archtop and love it! | I've read about these and will have to check them out. I'm with you on the Fralins and Lollars. I've had each in two different guitars, and while I can appreciate that there are better pickup matches with certain guitars, I swapped out the Fralins for something else, and just sold the guitar with the Lollars because they were so stale-sounding. Even tried tweaking electronics a bit in each, but. . .was not sold at all on them.  |
09-24-2011, 09:11 AM
| | | | Join Date: Jan 2011
Posts: 1,533
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Quote:
Originally Posted by life_with_a_song I've read about these and will have to check them out. I'm with you on the Fralins and Lollars. I've had each in two different guitars, and while I can appreciate that there are better pickup matches with certain guitars, I swapped out the Fralins for something else, and just sold the guitar with the Lollars because they were so stale-sounding. Even tried tweaking electronics a bit in each, but. . .was not sold at all on them. | My guitar tech has worked with nearly all pickup / guitar configurations on earth for the last 30 years. He tried Lolar and Fralins as SD and other boutique brands. The day I took him my BK he was completely crazy! He said the last time he had heard that sound was many many years ago on some Gibsons. He signed a dealership with BK the same week and he recommends it to all his customers.
I have put them on my 335 and my archtop and they are stunning! I also put their caps, pots and vintage cloth wire (some copper shielding also i think). The integrity of the sound with good cables is outstanding really. I cannot recommend these pickups enough - and they also have the best customer service possible. And I mean post buying customer service, that's where you see how good a brand is.
PS - Before the BK I had a Classic 57 in my archtop. The price difference is 30€ and there's absolutely no comparison between the two (even knowing how subjective these things are). I also think when you are dealing with laminate archtops and built-in pickups you are electrified sound is much more important than your acoustic sound. And pickups are the important part of the equation IMO, much more than ebony vs metal tailpiece and other discussions of the same type (the other most important part of the equation for me is the amps speaker but that's another story).  |
09-24-2011, 09:40 AM
|  | | | Join Date: Mar 2011
Posts: 100
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jazzpunk Make it 2 1/2" deep and 25" scale and I'm sold! | Back in the late 70's early 80's Pat Metheny had a one off Ibanez, fat body, double cutaway, single floating pickup, ebony tailpiece. He used it on Joni Mitchell's Shadows & Light tour. I first found out about it from a Guitar Player cover story on him from '82. Great looking guitar... Always was one of my dream guitars. Later in life I got and customized a beat '69 Gibson ES150DCN with sort of that variation on the theme (except mine had top mounted Seymour Duncan Antiquities which were the "cool pickup" of the day). Pat's custom Ibanez can be seen on a guitar stand from 4:09 thru 4:30 of this video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V8ILmY5AfCo
Last edited by BigMikeinNJ : 09-24-2011 at 09:49 AM.
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09-24-2011, 04:51 PM
| | | | Join Date: Jul 2011
Posts: 27
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Fun idea!
Mine would look like a D'Aquisto Solo, with dot fret markers offset like on my Gibson Tennessean, and with a thinner body depth and a full-size humbucking pickup and a really good piezo which is blendable. It'd have removable foam soundhole covers and a port in the upper bout. |
09-25-2011, 06:24 AM
|  | | | Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: San Antonio Texas
Posts: 54
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Wow, oldane-- what's the Stromberg copy sound like? |
09-25-2011, 07:19 AM
| | | | Join Date: Sep 2010
Posts: 133
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I would say that an ibanez pm100 with carved woods would be nearly perfect... |
10-17-2011, 12:10 AM
|  | | | Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Philadelphia
Posts: 119
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For me it would be a Byrdland with a 20 fret neck, CC neck pickup, p-90 in the bridge. |
10-17-2011, 12:17 AM
|  | | | Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Shelbyville, Kentucky
Posts: 1,704
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I only have one thing to say about that Triggs guitar.
DROOOOOOOLLLL !!!! I love it and definitely wouldn't mind being seen behind that. |
10-18-2011, 12:20 PM
|  | | | Join Date: Jun 2009
Posts: 76
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That double cutaway is pretty cool... Have you checked the Peerless Tonemaster Custom? Not a Gibson, but same concept.
I'll take the Gibson with a single neck pup, 3" version in transparent ebony, no burst. |
10-18-2011, 01:16 PM
| | | | Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Los Angeles, CA
Posts: 1,157
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BigMikeinNJ Later in life I got and customized a beat '69 Gibson ES150DCN with sort of that variation on the theme (except mine had top mounted Seymour Duncan Antiquities which were the "cool pickup" of the day).
| I played a 150DCN a couple weeks ago that knocked my socks off! Great sounding guitar which I would've purchased on the spot had it not been for the skinny nut width. I just couldn't hang with it unfortunately.
Did Gibson ever make any of these with a 1 11/16" width nut? |
10-18-2011, 01:20 PM
| | | | Join Date: Jun 2009
Posts: 76
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Yeah, I've played a few as well and the neck was just too skinny. The cutouts also relate more to the 335 than say an archtop cutout like an L5. |
10-18-2011, 01:27 PM
| | | | Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Los Angeles, CA
Posts: 1,157
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Scotto Yeah, I've played a few as well and the neck was just too skinny. The cutouts also relate more to the 335 than say an archtop cutout like an L5. | Yeah, it was like a 335 after Thanksgiving dinner! 
I played it through a black face Super Reverb and it was one of the best guitar tones I've ever heard though. D**n that skinny neck! | | Thread Tools | | | | Display Modes |  Linear Mode | 
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