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hello. this forum is plenty of info and I'm liking it a lot. due to the difficulties in this kind of research I'm asking you a help to find my new acoustic.
the keywords are: Europe, around €400-700, used or new, glossy finish (I really can't stand matte finish), non-cutaway.
my first research was about f holes black glossy finish archtops. due to the really scarce quantity on the market my research have been exhausting and I only could find €1000 + guitars.
I then shifted to a different kind of guitar: an archtop with round or oval central hole and gloss finish. the gibson L1, L3 and L4 are a good example.
thanks a lot for your helpLast edited by sansa; 02-08-2025 at 03:43 PM.
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02-08-2025 03:15 PM
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Used Eastman AR400? There aren't many of them.
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that was one of my picks. but unfortunately the only one I found for sale it's 830 bucks and it's in the us
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I'm afraid you're looking for a unicorn here... esp. if you also want it to sound good and have a decent volume...
You might be able to find a D-hole Selmer/Maccaferri in your price range. They're often classified with the archtops but in reality they're not.
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Hoyer - Howard Roberts on Ebay UK. £675 about 800 euro
It's been on Ebay a while, I don't know anymore about the guitar. (Obviously, it's a cut-a-way)
Hoyer Howard roberts semi acoustic archtop jazz guitar. | eBay
Last edited by GuyBoden; 02-10-2025 at 11:30 AM.
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It's not exactly clear what you're seeking... you said "non-cutaway acoustic." Surely there are a lot of them on the market but you'll need a more precise search term to find what you want. Do you want no pick-up on it?
Originally Posted by sansa
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When you say "acoustic," do you mean unamplified (NOT plugged in)? Or, amplified acoustic?
Last edited by Woody Sound; 02-10-2025 at 01:23 PM.
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A "The Loar" LH-400 would fit the bill if you can find one.
Don
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Don't know anything about this run from Epiphone, but for this price I would jump on it: Used Epiphone Used Epiphone Masterbuilt Century Collection Zenith Tobacco Burst Acoustic Guitar Tobacco Burst | Guitar Center
I know you're not in the States, but maybe look for one of those to pop up in the EU?
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I was thinking of that exact guitar. That's been up for some time! Originally Posted by GuyBoden
Hoyer - Howard Roberts on Ebay UK. £675 about 800 euro
It's been on Ebay a while, I don't know anymore about the guitar. (Obviously, it's a cut-a-way)
Hoyer Howard roberts semi acoustic archtop jazz guitar. | eBay
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When Michael Compernass acquired the Hoyer trademark, he had a few inexpensive laminated archtops built for him in Korea in the early 2000s, decades after Hoyer croaked. This is one of them. I don't remember which factory he hired to build them. Very nice Korean archtop. He did have ABM in Germany make the tailpieces. Originally Posted by GuyBoden
Hoyer - Howard Roberts on Ebay UK. £675 about 800 euro
It's been on Ebay a while, I don't know anymore about the guitar. (Obviously, it's a cut-a-way)
Hoyer Howard roberts semi acoustic archtop jazz guitar. | eBay
Michael also acquired the Roger WIP inventory, along with a few Lang/Hollenbach top and back plates. He had a handful of Hoyer-branded guitars built by Sandner with solid, carved tops and backs from this wood. These went nowhere. They pop up on ebay once in awhile.
He subsequently sold off most of the Roger parts, Lang plates, and assorted junk. He sold the trademark to Ritter, who focused on Korean-built versions of later Hoyer solid-body guitars.Last edited by Hammertone; 02-11-2025 at 02:40 AM.
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ooooook now. that's something interesting. this is one of German pre-war brands that aligned to the mid price market in the 50s/60s just like framus and hofner. the only difference seems to be the fact that no famous guitar or bass player had their products. for this reason nowadays the price of these instruments is undervalued. I've just found some interesting ones. thanks a lot for the hint. Originally Posted by GuyBoden
Hoyer - Howard Roberts on Ebay UK. £675 about 800 euro
It's been on Ebay a while, I don't know anymore about the guitar. (Obviously, it's a cut-a-way)
Hoyer Howard roberts semi acoustic archtop jazz guitar. | eBay
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Originally Posted by Woody Sound
you're right I didn't say that because to me is the same. actually it would be nice to put one. but if they have no pickup I'll put a floating one, if they have one I'd see if it's good or not and I'd replace it. Originally Posted by Mick-7
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it's not an archtop. but yeah I took a look at the masterbilt series. that matte finish is what it stops me from buying them. but yeah I heard good feedbacks about them. thx Originally Posted by JSanta
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that's why I posted this thread. the research is not easy. but hey. isn't it specific what I'm looking for? hehe arched top, non-cut-a-way, gloss finish, round or oval central hole. also a black gloss finish with f holes would be nice. if it has pickup on it or not, drawings, inlays, dots, special bridge or hardware it's not important. Originally Posted by Mick-7
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good one. I didn't notice this was an archtop Originally Posted by Major Seventh
what do you think about this product? is it from the Korean older era or it's a new one from the Chinese production? it's always difficult to understand if a the loar is a good guitar or not.
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Just add a zero to your budget and get one of these. I'm sure Mark would be happy to make one for you without a cutaway:
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well these are nice guitar I can't say they aren't. but man... 5k to 8k... I can get a 40s gibson L for that price Originally Posted by Hammertone
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I really like mine. Bought it last November for just over £400, so very cheap for an acoustic archtop. But I wanted to test the water, as it were, not knowing if an acoustic archtop was for me or not. They were made in Korea before Loar moved production to China. It is much quieter than I anticipated until one digs in with a big pick, at which point it can be loud! I'm sure I've written about it lots on this site. Rhythm and lead both played on it here: Originally Posted by sansa
good one. I didn't notice this was an archtop
what do you think about this product? is it from the Korean older era or it's a new one from the Chinese production? it's always difficult to understand if a the loar is a good guitar or not.
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Nice old Dick Knight archtop. 18"+.
Belongs to one of our European members, IIRC.
Last edited by Hammertone; 02-11-2025 at 05:45 AM.
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very nice guitar. the sound is amazing. I think that's what I'm looking for. I'll have to risk and buy it on the European online after market. I hope those Korean had a better quality/control than the new ones! Originally Posted by digger
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Check out the 2nd post on this thread:
The Loar LH-500
for a review on the LH500 (same as the 400, just with f holes).
Derek
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The MasterBilt archtop / roundhole guitars are archtops. They have a pressed top -- not a carved top -- if that's what you mean. Originally Posted by sansa
If you hit it with auto-body compound and glaze it would get pretty shiny. Originally Posted by sansa
I've never played one. They don't seem to be beloved on JG.be. Originally Posted by sansa
On the other hand, I once owned the reissue Epi Howard Roberts and as an electric archtop I liked it more than I planned to.
It's not as nice as my 1968 solid-top Epi Howard Roberts but that's no surprise.
Another alternative is to take a chance on one of those mutant L-75 knockoffs from the 30s.
Here's one for $500 with a solid birch top.
All the best with your quest.
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On the photo you'd almost think it has a "sunken-arch" top Originally Posted by Hammertone
I didn't know about the LH400 but it does seem to be the best option.
OP should get over his emperor's clothes syndrome though. Many a well-used vintage guitar will have "earned" a matte-looking finish over the years, for instance, and a properly done, light finish to optimise the acoustic response will also have a matte appearance.
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Some of the early Loars (not sure about country of origin, but I think this is just the early MIC ones) had bad neck angles that resulted in extremely high action. Supposedly that hasn't been an issue in a long time, but I think you still have to be careful. Ideally, don't buy one you can't try first. If that's not possible, ask for measurements of 12th-fret action and bridge height. If, for example, the bridge is in the middle of its range and the action is reasonable (around 6/64"/2.4 mm is typical for an acoustic guitar), it's OK. But if the bridge is screwed all the way down and 12th fret action is above about 6/64" (~2.4mm), the neck angle is bad and the guitar will be very difficult to play. I tried an LH-600 that had this issue, and it was ridiculous. The action was about 1/4" (3.2mm), and the guitar was unplayable. I also tried an LH-350, and played very nicely and sounded good plugged in, but I didn't think much of it as an acoustic. Originally Posted by sansa
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