How about the Robert Conti Guitar

[derek]

Originally Posted by carlescountry

First of all: I am an ameteur guitarist

I do not understand the problems with this post. Robert Conti's guitar has certain characteristics: there will be people who will like and others not. Is it the best guitar in the world? Of course not. But some people believe is excellent value for money and some of its features appeal to us very much: thinline, 24 frets, radius very flat, very low action ... What is the problem?

I have the misfortune what in my country I can't choose a lot and I have to buy often without play a guitar. It's unfortunate, but it's the true. I would be able to compare the Conti with Eastmans, other Peerless, with D'Angelico Korean ,.... but I could not do. I liked the sound heard in the youtubes and JJG lessons and I bought it. Am I sorry? Absolutely not!

I do not make propaganda of the guitar. I would love to try one Sadowski and have an old L-5 .... But for now, The Conti makes its function: easy to play with good sound and a good price.

And the deal for the purchase of the guitar was exquisite: in two days the guitar was at home (Barcelona, Spain) from Las Vegas, NV.

Not sure who you are directing your questions to. Really, there is no problem with this thread, or for that matter, this guitar that I see. The OP asked about it, I mentioned that there is lots of competition at this price point, so one could find something better. I also stated that it might be just what someone wants.

I stated it has a solid top, but didn't see initially in the specs that it is all solid wood. I was corrected by Ron that it is indeed all solid wood. No big deal. We talk about all sorts of guitars on this site. Some we like more than others, and everyone has their own opinion.

You clearly like the Conti guitar, and that is great. Nothing like having a guitar that speaks to and inspires you.

[Big Ron]

carlescountry

Even here in the good ole USA, when you are looking at comparing Jazz type guitars your chances of having lots and lots of choices aren't good. I went to Atlanta, GA to the Sam Ash store. They had a total of three jazz type archtops. Fortunately two of those three were two of the guitars on my short list. That one visit helped me a lot in deciding what I wanted.

It just so happened that I snagged a great deal on Craigslist or I wouldn't have been able to get anything at all. I run my own business in the concrete industry, and my playing is just all personal entertainment right now. There is a large grocery / resturant complex across town that books entertainment into the store on Friday night. I called them and found out that you have to submit a CD "audition" and then if they book you, you set up and play two hours on Friday night. The pay is a large pizza and a beer from the restaurant facility. It would be hard indeed to make a living doing jazz in Chattanooga, TN.

There is a line in a Brad Paisley song called "Start a Band" in which his sisters rock star boy friend encourages him to "get a few buddies and start a band" one of the advantages is "never buy a beer again".
For me as a non drinker, getting free beer has never been a big reason for me to want to drag all that equipment somewhere and back.

I really enjoy sitting in the basement with my dog and playing for my own entertainment. Band in a Box is coming along pretty well.

Ron

[randyc]

Originally Posted by mjirish

A bit about jazz at Michigan Tech. I am Head of our Music Division in the Department of Visual and Performing Arts. ...
I hope that the "above" will answer some questions concerning my background.

Thanks for the information, it will be interesting to have an academic on the forum again - and one with practical experience as well. Forgive those of us who are slightly suspicious of high product praise from low-post-number members. We encounter (all too frequently) those that have nothing to contribute except their obvious example of self-serving greed -

Paraphrasing one of our valued members, discussing the topic a few months ago, if we can "weed out" some of the obvious shills before our moderator has to do so, it's of service to us all (he has a difficult task, already, you'll appreciate).

Anyway, welcome to the forum, looking forward to your future contributions.

cheers,
randyc

[Drumbler]

Guys,

I don't want to get in the middle of this. These specs are listed on the Conti website.

I don't know Conti from Jack but from his vids he can play the heck out of the guitar. It is also evident that he is a very fine businessman. That dude can market!

The Conti Guitar

Specifications

Headstock

Shape

Traditional Style

Name Inlay

Same As Logo Design

Logo

Mother Of Pearl

Binding

White/Black Triple

Truss Rod Cover

Black/White

Machine Heads

Grover GH109

Neck

Wood

Maple

Fingerboard

Ebony

Scale

625 mm (24.6")

Radius

406.4mm (16.0")

Width at Nut

43 mm (1.69")

Width at the end fret

57 mm (2.25")

Neck Joint

Set In Neck @16th Fret

Number Of Frets

24

Strings

GHS - Robert Conti Preferred Gauges: 11-14-20w-28-38-48

Binding

White/Black

Fingerboard Inlays

Mother Of Pearl & Abalone

Nut

Bone

Body

Body Shape

Thin Line Archtop

Top

Solid Spruce

Back

Solid Maple

Sides

Solid Maple

Cutaway

Shallow Florentine For Easy AccessTo The Upper Register

Finish

Antique Sunburst High Gloss Polyurethane

Body depth

44 mm (1.73")

Body width

435 mm (17.13")

Sound Hole & Binding

F Holes, White

Top Binding

White/Black Triple

Bridge

Tune-O-Matic Type

Pick Guard

Rosewood, White/Black Triple binding

Tail Piece

Rosewood

Electronics

Pickup

1 Humbucker (Epiphone '57 Classic Style Alnico-V Magnet)

Controls

1 Volume, 1 Tone As Pictured

Output Jack

Approx. 4” From End Pin

Hardware

Gold Finish

[riovine]

Originally Posted by derek

I stated it has a solid top, but didn't see initially in the specs that it is all solid wood. I was corrected by Ron that it is indeed all solid wood.

So I go back to my original question, from my experience an all solid top it typically used to provide better acoustic properties by a better string vibration transfer. Why is the bridge then apparently mounted (i.e. screwed) directly into some kind of internal mounting block with no bridge footing to transfer any (or very little) string energy to the top. What is then the selling point of the all solid top when in this case it seems a (pretty) laminate would be a better choice.

[randyc]

Riovine - good question! And no answer from me although I note that the guitar is dimensionally similar to the very fine ES-330TDC in relative size and body thickness. The 330 is also a fully hollow guitar (albeit laminated construction) and has the TOM bridge mounted in the manner that you observed. That makes me curious as to whether the more modern version - with solid wood - sounds any better than my '64 ES-330. I'd love to A-B the two, should anyone care to lend me their Conti for a few hours

cheers,
randyc

[fep]

MJirish,

I'm glad that it appears my suspicion that you were posting spam was incorrect. I apologize.

I really enjoyed your perspective and thoughtful posts. I hope you'll become a regular member here.

Originally Posted by riovine

So I go back to my original question, from my experience an all solid top it typically used to provide better acoustic properties by a better string vibration transfer. Why is the bridge then apparently mounted (i.e. screwed) directly into some kind of internal mounting block with no bridge footing to transfer any (or very little) string energy to the top. What is then the selling point of the all solid top when in this case it seems a (pretty) laminate would be a better choice.

Riovine,

I found that a way a guitar sounds sometimes defies logic. For instance, I had assumed a floating pu would be better as it would allow the top to vibrate freely, something I thought was important if you were going to buy a carved solid top top guitar.

Then I sat down and played a bunch of archtops side by side and found I liked the archtops with a mounted pu better (that is -I liked them better when amplified).

I think you have to test drive a guitar and do a bunch of side by side comparisons with other guitars while keeeping an open mind.

The way it sounds and feels to you is where the rubber meets the road.

[derek]

Originally Posted by riovine

So I go back to my original question, from my experience an all solid top it typically used to provide better acoustic properties by a better string vibration transfer. Why is the bridge then apparently mounted (i.e. screwed) directly into some kind of internal mounting block with no bridge footing to transfer any (or very little) string energy to the top. What is then the selling point of the all solid top when in this case it seems a (pretty) laminate would be a better choice.

Beats me. I don't think I can recall ever seeing a solid wood thinline like that. And yes, having the bridge mounted to the top, assuming it is, would greatly reduce vibration of the top. However, like having buckers mounted in the top, it would also help reduce feedback.

Like I said upstream, it is an interesting combination of features.

[randyc]

Well, there's the Byrdland, solid top + back, although not as skinny as the Conti guitar photos suggest. B'land is in a league of its own, I guess (paraphrasing Derek's comments above) with the "interesting combination of features".

[DHT]

Hi Guys... my first post here... but I've been following Dirk's Website for a few years already.

Anyway, great thread on this Conti Guitar. I, myself, have been eyeing this guitar for over a year now and I think I am ready to order it. I always wished I had a chance to at least try it once before I buy it. Plus Shipping to Canada is not the cheapest, or to return it in 24hrs if I don't like it.... I've been hoping to wait until I go down to Vagas one of these days where I can both try it and bring it back with me....

My wife's 50th birthday is in March... she just asked if I would take her to Vegas...LOL LOL.... So it seems my wish may come true after all!

[DHT]

Derek... I have to commend you for the way you handled yourself here... It just tells me you are one classy dude! You could have escalated things but you stayed very courteous and calm. Bravo!

[Jack James]

Hello everyone:
This is my 1st post. I came here off of a search engine because I was interested in other opinions about Robt. Conti's guitar too. I teach music theory and guitar to quite a few students; some children, some teens a few adults and some elderly. It takes a lot of patience to be a teacher. I play with other musicians and have a favorite who is learning bass guitar and plays and writes from his six-string. He's a very nice person too. I'm a full-time college student at the age of 53 yrs. young. In my profession and education endeavors I have learned, by experience and educational reading that criticsm, with or without merit is really not such a good thing because it grows life-long roots in the head(s) at which it is aimed. Imagine, my first time on this site this afternoon and there is this running bash-fest about; a guitar, an opinion of another blogger, an accomplished and FAMOUS fellow jazz-guitarist, his administrative staff personel attached to his SUCCESSFUL company......, HOLY SMOLELY! catty,catty,catty....., IT'S ABOUT MUSIC, SWEET MUSIC AND THE SPIRITUALISM OF MUSICIANS WHEN THEY GATHER TO........praise each other and groove! Thanks for the experience. Jack James

[derek]

Originally Posted by Jack James

Hello everyone:
This is my 1st post. I came here off of a search engine because I was interested in other opinions about Robt. Conti's guitar too. I teach music theory and guitar to quite a few students; some children, some teens a few adults and some elderly. It takes a lot of patience to be a teacher. I play with other musicians and have a favorite who is learning bass guitar and plays and writes from his six-string. He's a very nice person too. I'm a full-time college student at the age of 53 yrs. young. In my profession and education endeavors I have learned, by experience and educational reading that criticsm, with or without merit is really not such a good thing because it grows life-long roots in the head(s) at which it is aimed. Imagine, my first time on this site this afternoon and there is this running bash-fest about; a guitar, an opinion of another blogger, an accomplished and FAMOUS fellow jazz-guitarist, his administrative staff personel attached to his SUCCESSFUL company......, HOLY SMOLELY! catty,catty,catty....., IT'S ABOUT MUSIC, SWEET MUSIC AND THE SPIRITUALISM OF MUSICIANS WHEN THEY GATHER TO........praise each other and groove! Thanks for the experience. Jack James

Welcome to the group Jack, good to have you. If you think that this thread is a "bashfest", then it is clear you haven't been to the biggest sites, like Harmony Central and The Gear Page. I reread this thread after reading your post, and honestly, I don't see anyone bashing the guitar or Mr. Conti.

Many of us here use and enjoy his products. However, his marketing approach (toned down from previous years), has earned him some criticism over the years. People may or may not enjoy his playing, but no one would deny the man has monster chops.

So where are you studying? Full time at 53? I would love to hear more about that?

[fep]

Originally Posted by Jack James

Imagine, my first time on this site this afternoon and there is this running bash-fest about; a guitar, an opinion of another blogger, an accomplished and FAMOUS fellow jazz-guitarist, his administrative staff personel attached to his SUCCESSFUL company......, HOLY SMOLELY! catty,catty,catty.....,

Jack, this is a pretty small group that frequents this forum. Kind of like a local bar/hangout (I think it was Mr. B that originally made that observation). It almost feels like family here and the folks are very friendly and supportive.

Your characterization of us is not only grossly inaccurate, I find it insulting (I actually find it kind of humorous that someone would insult the whole board as part of their first post, holier than though? comes to mind. Thanks for the laugh).

[Meggy]

Originally Posted by Jack James

Hello everyone:
This is my 1st post. I came here off of a search engine because I was interested in other opinions about Robt. Conti's guitar too. I teach music theory and guitar to quite a few students; some children, some teens a few adults and some elderly. It takes a lot of patience to be a teacher. I play with other musicians and have a favorite who is learning bass guitar and plays and writes from his six-string. He's a very nice person too. I'm a full-time college student at the age of 53 yrs. young. In my profession and education endeavors I have learned, by experience and educational reading that criticsm, with or without merit is really not such a good thing because it grows life-long roots in the head(s) at which it is aimed. Imagine, my first time on this site this afternoon and there is this running bash-fest about; a guitar, an opinion of another blogger, an accomplished and FAMOUS fellow jazz-guitarist, his administrative staff personel attached to his SUCCESSFUL company......, HOLY SMOLELY! catty,catty,catty....., IT'S ABOUT MUSIC, SWEET MUSIC AND THE SPIRITUALISM OF MUSICIANS WHEN THEY GATHER TO........praise each other and groove! Thanks for the experience. Jack James

Your interested in other peoples opinions, but only if they are positive? While I do take your point about the negative effects of criticism from a teaching perspective, are there not any dangers in being over-protective? Criticism is a fact of life - you are going to get some, and a certain thickness of skin will be needed. I can't agree with your "spiritualism" etc comment either - not all of us have this new-age view of things. Nor do I like being told what "it's about" by someone who has only posted on this site once. If you took the time to investigate a bit more, you might find that this is a useful, informative, friendly and civilised site generally.

And this is a forum after all, what were you expecting? I would defend my right to express my opinions and ideas on a site designed for exactly that purpose.

[Dookychase]

The beatings here will continue until morale improves!!!

[mjirish]

It's all pretty simple, folks! Like Jack implies; Keep MUSIC as the focus. In that regard the Conti guitar allows me to make the best possible music that I can. 'Nuff said.

[Jack James]

Hey y'all, Jack here,

To answer all of the comments which I received about my first post: I'd like to thank the person from Michigan who came to my defense. To the rest of you: MUSIC and the performance of it by assembled musicians IS spiritual and it is not any kind of NEW AGE "thing"! Musicians have known the truth in that one statement for centuries! Spiritualism doesn't have to imply GOD or whatever "those non-believers" are afraid of "giving into"! The creation of music, by a group of human beings is a function of the "life-energy", which is in every animated-living creature, SINGING! I hope that all of you can sink your heads into what that statement means. I'm also an electrician and something which I have learned in my 53 years is that because we all have electric energy, in our bodies timing our heart beat, firing our brain synapses, then it only stands to reason that this "energy" can be mearured in the HERTZ scale of "frequency vibration". WE MUSICIANS, pretty much all know that the musical tone "A" = 440Hz. The vibrational frequency of each of your individual bodies can be measured! With that recognition being made then it becomes totally apparant that everyone is vibrating at a particular musical-tone, (HERTZ)! Some of you are sharps, some flats and lots of natural notes as well. Everyone knows that it takes 3 notes, stacked in thirds, in one of the intervallic relationships to make a chord; well, when we, as humans meet each other, for the first time, unconsciously our brains are "in-tune" with the frequency, (musical tone) at which this "new aquaintance" is vibrating at! I say that it is "unconsciously" because unless we have been made privy of these "human dynamics", our conscious minds "DO NOT HAVE A CLUE" about why we either do not feel immediately comfortable with "the new person", or we feel as though we have known this new aquaintance all of our lives! The immediate feeling of liking someone is because of harmonious tones. The initial stand-offish feeling comes from dissonant tones; but that's not to say that those two people couldn't make "JAZZ" together if they were to become conscious of these human, (life energy) dynamics. When you have a room full of people and they are all dear friends or family, then what you have are multiples of CHORDS, (some awesome extensions and inversions) playing across the room. If you were to conduct an experiment and have everyone, in that room OHM, (vocalize the word ohm) in the natural tone of their individual voices then you would hear "music" through out the room! I've expressed myself now, with my intent being to do "some good", instead of "some bad" in this social circle. One other thing; to the person who said that I'm thin-skinned- you don't know me or my life's experiences. It's not kind to make accusations when you have no insight. To the person who was offended; my remarks were not aimed particularly at you. They were generalized observations, and that is all. "Me thinks ye' protests too much". Good luck to you all in your endeavors, have a good life and as soon as you can begin to do so, "Give Back"! The rewards are soul- satisfying.

Sincerely,
Jack

[helios]

Hi Jack,
I like what I've read about the the Conti guitar, and I would definately consider purchasing one.
I agree that everything (including music/jazz) IS centered around energy, and that the subtilties of "energy", and it's interaction upon people, are poorly understood. Music, like any tool, can bring people together, or separate them depending on intent. Best Wishes, Jeff

[Goofsus4]

Wow, I missed this thread for a long time looks like.

My guitar is made of particle board. Is that good?

[Hammertone]

It's an interesting guitar.

Bob has played all sorts of things. He was playing a Hofner Jazzica for quite awhile (some of the clips on his site show him playing that guitar). The Jazzica has a carved top, laminated back and sides, 16th fret neck/body joint, 24 frets, a floating pickup, a wedge shaped body for comfort (deep at the tailpiece, shallow at the neck/body joint), ebony/foam removable soundhole inserts. It's just under 16" wide and has a 25.5" scale.

He then got Saul Koll to modify that very guitar, and made it into a thinline instrument with a set-in humbucker and ...8 strings.

I think the Peerless borrows the 16th fret neck/body joint and 24 fret ideas from the Hofner and is Bob's next step in his guitar odyssey. I think the bridge mounted into the body instead of floating on a wooden base is no big deal - it probably has more to do with the neck set angle than anything else. The bridge posts are seated in threaded metal ferrules that have a lip. The top is probably a bit thicker in the bridge area, or the ferrules are right over the struts that support the top.

I look forward to playing one at the next NAMM show and checking out its design features more closely.

[ezeewmusic]

If anyone is interested, I am selling my Conti guitar. It's only a couple months old and you can get for $500 less than what it would cost you directly from the Conti website. I am selling my three archtops (including the Conti) to save up for one really nice one. Am moving and need to have just one nice archtop. Let me know if you have any questions.

Conti Hollowbody Archtop Electric Guitar - Robert Conti | eBay

[DHT]

I ended up buying this guitar last year (The Conti Equity, by Peerless), although we never made it to Vegas so I had them ship it to me. It was a real pleasure dealing with them with great follow-up for a small issue that got promtly fixed. [One of the abalone inlays on the fretboard had a tiny cavity... we found a wonderful luthier where I live here in Calgary (Jim Mozell) and Mr Conti himself spoke to him at length... anyway long story short... the cavity got fixed.]

I've had this guitar now for over a year. At the time a hard case was not available so I found one made for a deep jumbo accoustic and had a foam pillow made so the Conti's thinline body will securely fit in it. I also copied the logo and stenciled it on the case using gold paint... it looks wonderful.

The guitar is beautiful and weighs 6 lbs. so it's pretty light. I own two other more expensive guitars (a Gibson semi-hollow Custom Shop ES-339 and a Gibson Les Paul) and I love the sound of the '57 Gibson classic neck humbuckers... the Conti's Epiphone Pick up just didn't do it for me... so I just had Jim Mozell replace it for me with a Gibson '57 Classic. While at it I also changed the knobs with Gibson Black top hats with gold reflectors. The problem with the original knobs was the lack of numbers. It was hard to keep the tone where I wanted with a quick glance/adjustment. I felt the pods maybe needed to be changed too, but Jim Mozell didn't think so and convinced me to keep them.

Overall, the guitar is well made and sounds fabulous.... although compared with the Gibson, I find the sound a little on the bright side... it must be the Maple neck versus the Mahogany Gibson necks... so I have to keep turning down the tone... Also the solid spruce top makes a difference... it need to open up a little... like a good wine, it need time and a lot of playing... so I am woriking on it.

Also, I am not sure about the 24 frets part... yet! For me, I am finding it a little harder to play as you really notice the loooong neck... (and the huge body @ 17.3"). My arm gets almost tired until I get used to it. The problem is when I switch between the Gibsons and the Conti it takes a little time to get used to the positions... everything moves on me LOL...

For now, I keep running back to my ES-339... it just feels and sounds perfect... but also it is my most expensive guitar and I am used to it the most.

[86general]

Originally Posted by fep

Riovine,

I found that a way a guitar sounds sometimes defies logic. For instance, I had assumed a floating pu would be better as it would allow the top to vibrate freely, something I thought was important if you were going to buy a carved solid top top guitar.

Then I sat down and played a bunch of archtops side by side and found I liked the archtops with a mounted pu better (that is -I liked them better when amplified).

Amen. On youtube there is a guy who calls himself dutchbopper, and he has a video posted where he plays 4 different archtops, only you don't know what he's playing because the screen is scrambled. The sound quality is pretty good. The 4 guitars are an L5, ES-175, Tal Farlow, and I think either a Super 400 or an ES330. Most people end up liking the ES-175 best...a laminated top guitar.

As to the specific question of the logic of a solid top given the absence of a bridge touching the top, all I can say is that guitar string vibrations are very complex things, and the final product depends on EVERYTHING in the guitar. Bridge type, bridge material, bridge attachment design, nut material, body woods used, overall weight of the guitar, thickness and dimensions of the guitar, position of the pickup, etc. As we all know, the entire guitar vibrates (otherwise headstock tuners wouldn't work), and the vibrations of the body feedback onto and effect the vibration of the strings.

I think for a purely acoustic instrument, the characteristics of the top and the connection of the top to the bridge, fingerboard, etc., are much more important to sound than in a magnetic-pickup guitar. But for the latter, it's a big mystery I think.

I think I'm going to buy a Conti guitar just to play around with it and compare to my laminated top instruments.

[helios]

Here are the videos you mentioned--Gibson Archtop Shootout:

YouTube Video

YouTube Video

[86general]

I just ordered a Conti Equity. Black, 2-pickup. I admit this was an impulse buy, but I'm so intrigued by it. I also called them in Vegas to ask questions, and Bob Conti actually got on the phone and chatted. Very, very nice guy. We talked for probably 30 minutes on a variety of subjects. He wasn't pushy or anything; we were talking about politics, the music business, etc. But he was so nice I ended up deciding I wanted one of his guitars. We'll see how it sounds...

[jazzuki]

Peerless are made in Korea-use to make guitars for Gibson and Fender mainly until the relative companies switched to China-then went under their own name of Peerless.Been making guitars since 1970.

[Gramps]

I didn't see any sign of a "bash-fest". You are dealing with opinions and we all have them. I might not like the same qualities in a guitar as the next person. Someone who owns and plays a Conti guitar mentioned "I am finding it a little harder to play as you really notice the loooong neck... (and the huge body @ 17.3"). My arm gets almost tired until I get used to it."

That is hardly bashing even though it isn't a positive. It is something that someone who is smaller would probably like to consider prior to purchasing an instrument. (I just sold a guitar for the exact same reason. I thought I'd get used to it but didn't)

As to the "keep MUSIC as the focus" comment, this thread is bout hardware and the perfect piece of hardware for one person isn't likely the perfect piece of hardware for everyone else.

Jack, I'm looking forward to more of your input on actual music related threads. We can always use another informed opinion even if some of us might (or might not) disagree with it.

[doc]

Music for a living is a very tough business whose monetary rewards are frequently not in line with a person's talent, acting is that way, art is that way; in general entertainment or creative arts is handled that way. I have advise others that there is a plan A and a plan B for life for making a living. Frequently, love for some form of creative life blinds us to the need for a plan B, which can derail our ability to deal with the aspects of our economic needs in our lives.

[mjirish]

Here's an interesting statistic from MENC (music educators national conference). 84% of all of the people with any kind of music degree (performance, jazz performance, theory/composition, history/literature/musicology, etc.) that are still in the business, make the MAJORITY of their income through TEACHING (whether it be private studio, public school, community college, the "trade schools" like GIT etc. universities).

So, it seems pretty clear that if Plan A is to be a player, by necessity, Plan B needs to be teaching. As a 35-year career teacher, my advice is to not go into teaching unless you are serious and well prepared. There are so many players out there that can't make a living, so they turn to teaching and very frankly, don't have a clue about it. Please don't be one of those.

The most successful path to having a career (for most of us) as a player is to also be a first-rate teacher. Then, you've got a chance at having a life. My $.02.