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Hi folks,
like many, I’ve played rock, blues and other styles of music but now have finally been bitten by the Jazz bug.
Looking for thoughts on a new arch top that won’t Brest the bank but is nice enough to be a keeper.
Right now I’m leaning in the direction of a Fujigen, Comins or Eastman.
all arch tops and 2.5 to 3.0 plus at rims and all with single neck pickup.
Anyone have knowledge of these guitars and advise?
Set pickup or floating?
thanks for the add!
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11-19-2022 11:48 AM
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So I think the argument for an archtop for jazz tone is pretty convincing, I'm put off them due to them being a bit fragile....
Really surprised by the Les Paul on this vid, check it out..
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I was in the same position as you a week ago.. played all styles but mainly jazz for several decades but always on solid bodies. Wanted to finally get my first hollowbody and went and tried a good few.
Originally Posted by Grady
I guess it depends on what kind of players you like and listen to and what tonal direction or 'voice' you imagine yourself being happy with.
I went out and tried the Comins or Eastmans you mention. But they all sounded a bit flat and lacking in the dynamics I wanted. Kind of one dimensional and somewhat cold to me.
I actually bought the Eastman AR805CE last week but as soon as I got it home I hated it and it went back immediately. AR805CE - Eastman Guitars
I had my heart set on one of the Ibanez George Benson signature models at the beginning and after testing a whole bunch of other models that decision remains.
I ended up ordering two of them.
The Ibanez GB10SE (Made in Indonesia). https://www.ibanez.com/usa/products/...0se_5b_03.html
And the Ibanez GB10 (made in Japan). https://www.ibanez.com/usa/products/detail/gb10_07.html
They look almost identical and have the same written spec but they are very different beasts hence the price difference.
You will help narrow things down for yourself if you know what sound you want.
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I’m a happy Eastman owner (AR810CE) and know many others. But two archtops of the same same model can sound quite different, especially carved tops. Play a bunch if you can and see if you fall in love with one.
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A lot of factors to consider. What guitars do you currently own? What do you like about them? Originally Posted by Grady
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I have been thru a bunch of the less expensive hollow & semi-hollowbodies (1st was a Guild hollowbody that I can't remember but should have kept, Gibson Midtown, Epi 339, D'Angelico, Ibby AG75 & AS73, etc), I ended up w/ an Ibby GB10em. Smaller body size and thinner neck, it is super comfy for me.
Last edited by Brooks; 01-08-2023 at 05:13 PM.
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I got my first archtop, a Guild X-170 last week. It's 2.5" depth but it has two humbuckers so it fails the criteria the OP mentioned. It is a real nice playing and sounding guitar though. I paid a little under 2k shipped to my door from Reverb.com.
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You don't need an archtop to play jazz.... Spend you time playing guitar instead of shopping.
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That GB10 in natural is SUH-WEET! Beautiful guitar. Blondes have the most fun. Originally Posted by Maxxx
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You’re not going to support the archtop guitar business with an attitude like that… Originally Posted by AllanAllen
To the OP—you’re not hardcore unless you live hardcore.
And if you really want to be a jazzer, nothing but a jazz guitar will do.
I would recommend a new Godin Kingpin (1 or 2-pickup model), or a used Epiphone JP. One of the reasonably priced Ibanez Artcore models would probably be a good choice, too, though I don’t have any experience.
Then after you’ve gotten a good case of jazzitis, the only cure will be a classic Gibson archtop, like a 175.
At least that was my experience.
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One archtop won't be enough. You'll need at least one of every brand.
This post was sponsored by the Archtop Manufacturers' Association.
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Hi ! Originally Posted by Grady
I would like to tell that a guitar doesn't play by itself. It's a bit provocative but it's true.
I guess that like many guitarists you've got several solid bodies. Why not putting thicker strings on one of them ?
Believe me, you don't need a telecaster, a Les Paul, you just need a guitar with the right strings in order to avoid bends.
You can play with lighter gauge but it's not so easy when you are used to bending all the time.
Thicker strings keep the guitar in tune.
When you play rock, nobody cares about that, with distortion it's cool.
You say you are new, I'm new too, I recently bought an archtop (a cheap one), it is not so bad but you can get fine or better results with a solid body.
If you can set up a guitar, one of your guitars is the solution.
When you know what to play, you will know what to buy.
The guitars you talked about are very expensive ! Maybe your solid bodies are expensive too.
About these archtops, I think they are for the people who play a lot, I mean it's their job, not a hobby.
If you believe you can earn the value of a good archtop every month with your gigs, go for it. If you can't, it will be a waste of time and money.Last edited by Lionelsax; 01-05-2023 at 02:19 AM. Reason: Grammar mistake
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Play a lot of them before putting the money down. Make sure an archtop is the right thing for you. I love the look, sound, history of a nice arch top. I absolutely thought I wanted one. Turns out, standing with one and playing otoh is absolutely not for me.
That said, the Eastman (Eastmen?) are very good. I've only tried the Fujigen semis, but those felt very nicely put together. Ibanez is almost invariably good value for money. I tried a MIJ Tokai es-175 type recently that was very very good.
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I'd like an archtop. I have a hollow-body 12-string which is very nice. My other electric guitars are all solid-bodies. The only thing I don't like about them is that when I drop my pick inside them, I can never get it back out. I never play standing.
I think the best all-around guitar is the classical for any kind of music, including jazz.
In other words, it doesn't have to be an archtop.
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Before you go big bux (Comins etc.) consider Washburn. I have a J-600 (pic below) I'm very happy with. Also, I'm not seeing a lot of them available, but the Samick Lasalle jz4 looks killer. Both are under 1k usd.
Washburn J-600
Samick Lasalle jz4
Last edited by ChazFromCali; 01-05-2023 at 04:54 AM.
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I alternate between wanting a 175, being able to afford an Ibanez, and realizing every guitar I have plays better than me Originally Posted by Doctor Jeff
Then since I'm paralyzed by choice, I do nothing and go back to practicing. My economic situation and anxiety over making the wrong choice helps me make the best choice: just play.
But seriously, I need a 175 at some point.
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I would think that with the aging of the boomer generation and, I assume, less people from subsequent generations being interested in playing jazz guitar, there would be a lot of used archtops for sale at "reasonable" prices. I gave my wife (who is 12 years younger than me), a list of who to give each of my archtops to when I pass. But if those cats pass before I do (we are all boomers), I told my wife to just donate them; but to who? How is that done so it gets passed down to someone that would USE IT (i.e. play jazz with it).
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Oh, I have a good answer to that one! There's a high school in California, I believe in San Diego, with a guitar program. They are dependent on donations of guitars, etc. I found out about it by chance, and it's a nice story, so please excuse the length. Originally Posted by jameslovestal
When my brother and I cleaned out my parents' house, I finally had to do something about the guitar and amp I'd left there when I moved to Germany. I took them to the guitar store in town and they sold the guitar and amp very quickly, but it took a couple of years before they could sell the vintage fuzz box I'd also asked them to sell. Finally, they wrote to me and said they could sell it for quite a less than what they had originally asked for over the internet and they told me who the potential buyer was. I said okay.
Sometime later I looked up who it was out of curiousity and found there had been something about the program on a local TV show. What had happened was that a woman had donated her deceased husband's guitar. When the person who runs the program was putting it into the trunk of his car, he opened the case and realized immediately it was a vintage Fender worth about $10,000. He went back to the house and said he couldn't accept it. She said, it's what her husband would have wanted. Now they use it for concerts and such-like.
I contacted the person who runs the program and we were in touch for a while but it petered out as these things do. It's a low-income area and the families of many of the kids there wouldn't be able to afford band instruments.
I'll look up exactly where it is and post it here, in case it might be of interest to you.
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It's Grossmont High School in El Cajon, CA: Guitar - Grossmont High School Performing Arts
This is the news story: Grossmont H.S. gifted with vintage guitar after call for donations
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Enjoy the shopping, it should be a good time!
I recently got a solid body (les paul special) after only playing archtops for years. The idea was to have a beater guitar I could take everywhere I go and not worry about.
So the verdict is..... the archtops really sounds WAY DIFFERENT and MUCH BETTER!! I would suggest getting a solid spruce top archtop, full size (not the skinny 335 type). It's so worth it! Finance it if you have to! Get something old and beat up if it's cheaper. I used to have an archtop with a hole in it and it sounded real good.
I also love my solid body because it makes me really work hard to get a jazz sound. It's improving my playing. But I would not want to be in a situation where my only guitar was that solid body.
If I had limited funds I would buy a Norlin era Gibson L5, about $8K, and pay it off over 5-10 years. If you have one of those you never need to think about buying a guitar ever again. I go to a jam near my house where people play all kinds of stuff, tele, Eastman, 335, etc.... and I can tell you the L5 blows everything away. We are all using the same amp so it is a great comparison.
This one guy has an Eastman with a transducer pickup, that thing sounds AWFUL!! We asked him to play another guy's 335 or my L5 because we could not bear to listen to it!!! So painful! Literally the worst guitar I've ever heard. I blame the pickups, but it makes me a little skeptical on Eastmans also.
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Does the guy with the Eastman think it sounds good?
I think a tele, a 335, and a big archtop would get me through all of life. I have the first two, just need the big money archtop now
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Seems like he knows it sounds like shit. He jumped on the 335 when we offered it to him. I really think it's the pickup that is his issue. I was talking to him about it and I said "why dont ya trade it in for an epiphone?" and he looked at me like I was nuts haha. He loves that guitar. I suggested maybe getting a DeArmond floating pickup.
That Eastman is a cool looking guitar, maybe people like them for the looks.
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We all have our rational and irrational reasons for playing what we play Originally Posted by JazzIsGood
And anyone who says looks don't matter is more than likely fibbing.
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Best guitar sounds I've ever heard from other players were made with archtops
But, that doesn't mean that an archtop is the best guitar for everybody.
If you need more sustain for your solo style, for example, you may want a semi or solid. Not necessarily, but perhaps.
If you want more chime, for want of a better descriptor, maybe a Tele is the guitar for you.
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An archtop combines the advantages of an acoustic guitar with the ability to use an amp. What you get with a solid-body guitar, no matter how good, is basically a signal. With an archtop, or a hollow-body, the guitar itself has a nice sound. And they are just extremely pleasing, aesthetically. And yes, looks definitely do matter. I'm a woodworker but not an instrument-maker. However, if I did make a guitar or any other functional object, I would be very disappointed if a buyer told me he didn't care what it looked like. I think musical instruments are among the most beautiful objects there are. Except banjos, of course. (Just a joke, I play banjo and I love them, also the way they look.) If someone told me he or she didn't care how something looked, I wouldn't make anything for him/her.
All other things being equal, I prefer playing nylon strings. However, I think electric guitars sound better with amplification. Anyway, it's a different sound and horses for courses.
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