-
Over the years I've had an on-and-off thing for archtop / round-hole guitars. I remember at least two L-4s, an L-75 and an Eastman 604CE. The solid-top 60s Epi Howard Roberts guitars called to me but opportunity, zeal and funds never coincided. Now, thanks to our friends at Reverb, the wait is over.
The HR Standard can be summarized as, "ES-175 with carved, oval-hole top, chrome Johnny Smith pickup and slotted-block inlays." It's a tasteful recipe for a jazz guitar.
If you're looking for an unplugged jazz-box you'll probably want to keep looking. Strung with 0.012 nickel rounds, the HR has a decent top-end and an intriguing bottom but all at fairly low volume. You can certainly play without an amp . . . alone.
Plugged in though: Oh, oh, oh! The original Gibson Johnny Smith pickup -- one screw coil, one blade coil -- delivers all the goods. Highs are clear but round. The mids are right where you want them. The bottom is full and airy; that scintillating acoustic bottom is delivered.
So far the HR has brought The Tone for a sax-and-piano quartet (through through homebrew 6L6 Princeton), a DB-and-guitar duo (homebrew 5E3 with the Robinette NFB mod) and club jam (house ToneMaster Twin Reverb). There is a lot to learn from this instrument and I am lucky to have the chance to dig deeper.
Gotta go -- one last tune before bed!
-
08-08-2024 11:27 PM
-
Looking good Sam, I've had a Gibson HR, long gone, and a custom built oval hole.
Some people don't like ovals but I do.
Enjoy that one!
-
May she inspire your playing for many years to come!
-
Nice one Sam. Likely better than that Hoyer.
I so very nearly bought one of those a few months back but the deal fell through due to discovering a crack in the back. The seller only wanted to knock off the price of repairing the crack but I argued that a repaired crack, also devalues the over value of the guitar; he disagreed.
The tops on those are the same as the L4 of that era so you have in effect an L4/175 oval hole hybrid.
Enjoy!
-
Congrats Sam. Couldn't have gone to a nicer guy!
The Epi, real vintage Epi HR is such a cool guitar in ways I can't even count. There's something unique that epitomizes the old Epiphone era in that guitar. He played one of those for many years. I tried one once and it was different at first, then the more I played it, the more I got to know the distinction from other F hole guitars. The more I began to crave having one of my own.
And the inlays! Elegant and absolutely unique.
Enjoy it and make it yours-play your mojo into it!
-
I said elsewhere, Sam, great find!
-
That is a sweetie! A big Congrats
-
I am generally not a fan of round hole archtops, but a solid spruce Howard Roberts is pretty good as they go. It will provide a real acoustic presence and most those guitars that I have played are well made. Roberts has a player you could play a guitar very forcefully and hard, he wanted to make sure they stood up to the pounding. That was the thinking on the Gibson versions but this will be nice.
Play the frets off it.
-
it's not round like a prewar L-4 or a flattop, it's oval.
a friend that's played a LOT of DA's said the best one he ever played was an oval hole.
I posted this before but the DA I was most looking forward to playing was a 19" oval in the Chinery collection, but to my disappointment when I saw it at a guitar show the strings were as old as the guitar and it was horribly set up and completely out of tune so....
-
I have played 2 D'angelico roundhole guitars. One a friend had way back 40 years ago. I don't remember it sound except my friend loved it is a world class player. He sold me my cutaway 19 inch New Yorker at the time. He kept the round hole D'a.
Wintermoon I am pretty sure I played that Chinery guitar when was at his party for the Blue Collection. It was not set up to really be played or had not been too much so like you I pretty much touched it and gave up. Funny thing I have learned over the years. Sometime big guitar collections go downhill because they are not really attended to all that much.
I still think a Howard Roberts Gibson is very underrated guitar. It is not a 175 as such but it will do the job with no trouble and much cheaper than a counterpart 175. Sam wins, I think.
-
Mark,
Agree Sam wins but imo the only thing a Howie has in common w a 175 is the fact that they're both 16" archtops. They sound completely different not to mention one has built in pu's and the other sports a floater.
ps I read an Interview w Scott once and he said that oval was one of just a few of his guitars he played daily fwiw.
-
I bought a 1939 L-75 last week, adding to my round hole archtop collection (I also have a 1925 L Jr.). Seeing this HR is giving me ideas (for which read GAS?).
-
Thank you all!
I am privileged and lucky.
Nineteen inches. Geez!!
Originally Posted by wintermoon
Originally Posted by deacon Mark
You will not be surprised to hear that I wholeheartedly agree with both of you! Originally Posted by wintermoon
Originally Posted by deacon Mark
I think you're both right. Originally Posted by wintermoon
WM is right: Shifting from spruce top to plywood, cutting more holes in the top and filling them with pickups, pots and switches makes the instrument respond differently.
Mark is right: The HR Standard is built on an ES-175 frame with the same geometry and scale length. It feels like an ES-175 (but some lighter). Each can do the job of the other if the operator is willing and able.
What a delightful question to ponder on a daily basis!
-
So you're thinking about adding a Florentine cutaway to your L-75 then? Originally Posted by L50EF15
Joking aside, the big-hole L4s and the L75 I owned were acoustic guitars and they had big necks.
No judgment there. They were gorgeous and fun.
The HR is an electric guitar with a modern neck. The Johnny Smith pickup is an unique build. I'm happy about all that. It is truly a joy to make that noise.
-
The Johnny Smith pickup in this compact and resonant package is intriguing to me. That said, it also makes me think about the Solid Formed Venetian, which I believe has the same pickup. Originally Posted by Sam Sherry
-
Congratulations on a stunning guitar. There are two things that make it very special in my book- 1) Howard Roberts (enough said), and 2) Epiphone from a period when they were one of the premier guitar makers and not a budget Gibson.
The first jazz album I bought was when I was about 15 and took the bus into the big city of Hartford to go to a big record shop. I was starting to get into jazz and as a rock fan loved guitars. The local Caldors had no jazz guitar albums, so I made the trek. I bought Mr. Roberts Plays Guitar based on the cover.Last edited by raylinds; 08-10-2024 at 09:16 AM.
-
I've mentioned before that I got an Epiphone HR. It was the equivalent of the Artist model with a carved spruce top and gold hardware. My best guess is that a Gibson employee got it and flipped it, which often happened. It was beautiful and a fabulous player. The feedback was hard to control.
I know have a Gibson HR Artist. It may be the laminate build, but the feedback is easier to manage. I had to replace the midrange pot, which had become non-functional.
Acoustically, the carved top did sound better. Amplified, I have no complaint with the Gibson.
The Kalamazoo Epiphone HR had masterful craftsmanship. It also, as I recall, has a 24.5" scale and a different pickup than the Gibson.
Howard shifted to the Fusion series. I don't know why. It could be that archtop sales were down. It could be that the Fusion was more practical due to greater amplification and tonal capabilities. Anyway, he dumped his original design. In his practical work he used a different highly customized Gibson anyway.
There are three instruments I regret letting go of back in the 1970s. The first is the Epiphone HR, a huge mistake. The second is my ES-345, only because I put so much time into that guitar, and the last is a 1920s L-5, which I did not like anyway because of the massive neck but would be worth a lot now.
This is my HR. It has been played so much it is refretted. The gassed out pickguard was replaced. There is a new pot in it (which was hassle to find). I don't know if it is the same one Howard is holding in this photo.
-
Mark, it sounds like your old Epi HR was quite a guitar! Originally Posted by Marty Grass
The 60s Epi HR Standard has a 24.75" scale.
The 60s Epi HR Deluxe is an exceptionally rare instrument. More binding, tree-of-life peghead, 25.5" scale, original-style Johnny Smith pickup.
The 70s Gibson HR had a laminated top, 25.5" scale and a special Gibson full-width floating humbucker.
Your Gibson HR Artist looks tremendous. Those pics show that hours and years of passion poured through it!
-
Sounds like you went through the same somewhat arduous research to discover the differences between the custom and standard as I did. Originally Posted by Sam Sherry
luckily there’s one website that gives the correct details. Otherwise I found a fair amount of incorrect information.
btw I found another Hoyer HR on ebay for about £600. Turns out they had a good run at making them and in differing levels of quality
Hoyer Howard roberts semi acoustic archtop jazz guitar. | eBay
-
Apparently there were many different incarnations (manufacturers) of this guitar, see the comments at the end of this article about it: Originally Posted by Archie
https://www.utstat.toronto.edu/mikev...s/guitars.html
-
Hi Sam, does your HR have the 1 5/8 nut width? I'm currently looking to buy one but can't try it first, and it has the 1 5/8.
How do you like the neck on this one?
-
M -- Originally Posted by Map0Spread
The nut on my HR Standard measures 1.67".
If you're concerned about how a 1 5/8" nut works for you, the traditional Telecaster carve is 1 5/8". Take one of those out for a drive. If it bothers you, there's your researched answer.
At the moment I have five guitars and no two have the same combination of nut width and scale length. I just pick 'em up and start making new, different mistakes.
Like I said last year, I danced around the HR Standard for a long time before things came together for me to own this one. Lucky me: This guitar is a for-real keeper. It sounds truly inspiring and it feels like it's supposed to. When I got it my pal took it for a long spin at a session in a club. His take was, "Playing this guitar is like cheating!"
Here's hoping you find some that works right for you, maestro.
-
Seems like a great deal…
Just a moment...
-
Old thread, I never knew they made these with a carved top.
-
Reply With Quote
"Summer Samba" with a quintet live
Today, 11:41 AM in The Songs