Cheap hollowbody or archtop recommendations?

[Wrogsprit]

I recently got a used Washburn HB15CTS that I have to return. It has a lot of issues that either can't be fixed, or it's not worth my time and money to fix. Bad neck angle, uneven frets that would need leveling, unpolished frets, bad truss rod, etc.

This is the kind of guitar that I would like, if it didn't have all these issues. I like the dot inlays and look/feel of the guitar.

I am looking for something cheap, preferably $500 or under. The Washburn had a floating mini humbucker. I prefer brighter sounding pickups like P90s, tele neck pickups. Humbuckers are very hit or miss for me. I have a guitar with a Benedetto B6. I thought I would love it, but I found it throaty and maybe too dark.

[DanielleOM]

Take a look at the Godin 5th Avenue TL with P90s. I am enjoying mine. It's easy to get used to the 5 lb weight.

[Bob_Ross]

I am looking for something cheap, preferably $500 or under. ...[snip]... I prefer brighter sounding pickups

You might like the Ibanez AF75. I've had one for ~20 years, and while I find the pickups a bit too bright for my tastes, the feel of the guitar is fabulous. Very comfortable, very playable. I've been telling myself that I'm going to upgrade the electronics one of these days...but I've been telling myself that for the ~20 years I've owned the guitar and it just isn't that pressing an issue, so maybe the stock pickups are fine?

$499.99 at Sweetwater.

[John A.]

Try this google search:

budget archtop site:jazzguitar.be

This returns dozens of threads from the forum on this topic.

[Little Jay]

Ibanez AF55 - the cheapest. Put a P90 in HB-format in it and still leave enough money of your budget to buy a Squier Tele to go with it ;-)



I really love mine and have done paid gigs and recordings with it: it's that good. I did some mods: better pickups, wooden bridge, other tailpiece and I made a pickguard. But out of the box it's usable for use on stage.

[chris32895]

Ibanez AF55 - the cheapest. Put a P90 in HB-format in it and still leave enough money of your budget to buy a Squier Tele to go with it ;-)



I really love mine and have done paid gigs and recordings with it: it's that good. I did some mods: better pickups, wooden bridge, other tailpiece and I made a pickguard. But out of the box it's usable for use on stage.

Good idea for a cheap usable archtop. For a HB P90 my vote goes to the GFS Mean 90 which would also keep cost down. I have one and used it for a while - nice articulate sound. Only thing is I would put a higher value cap on the tone pot than a standard 22uf, but that is really up to personal taste.

[SierraTango]

I'm going to toss the Gretsch 2420 into the ring. $499 list and widely available. Full hollow body. I bought one a few months ago for a Western Swing/Rockabilly project a friend was putting together. Made in Indonesia, I was pleasantly surprised by the workmanship and playability. Not sure what they call the pickups however it will twang all day long. There is a push pull pot that when pulled up gives a P90ish sound. And it will also do Jazz just fine with just the neck pickup.

[gvurrdon]

I got the 2420T (with Bigsby) but then saw a tailpiece for sale second hand so I think I'll switch them. It seems pretty good to me with heavy flats, but I am by no means an expert.

[Donnd]

On Reverb currently there is an Ibanez AF105 upgraded with Gibson 57 pickups that is a little out of your price but try putting in an offer. These are especially well made and the pup upgrade should really be nice. Not affiliated with this listing. Just a moment...

[Wrogsprit]

Ibanez AF55 - the cheapest. Put a P90 in HB-format in it and still leave enough money of your budget to buy a Squier Tele to go with it ;-)



I really love mine and have done paid gigs and recordings with it: it's that good. I did some mods: better pickups, wooden bridge, other tailpiece and I made a pickguard. But out of the box it's usable for use on stage.

I bought a Squier tele recently as well. It was one of the SDSP affinity ones from the 2010s. Lightweight and sounds nice, but there are some high frets that are causing buzz and I don't have the right tools to fix it currently.

[Wrogsprit]

Ibanez AF55 - the cheapest. Put a P90 in HB-format in it and still leave enough money of your budget to buy a Squier Tele to go with it ;-)



I really love mine and have done paid gigs and recordings with it: it's that good. I did some mods: better pickups, wooden bridge, other tailpiece and I made a pickguard. But out of the box it's usable for use on stage.

Do you have pics or videos of the mods? I would also like a wooden bridge. The Washburn that I'm trying to return also had a wooden bridge. Wasn't compensated, but it was at an angle. Only string that wasn't intonated well was the G, probably cause it was unwound. Did you have to notch your wooden bridge yourself?

[Wrogsprit]

I got the 2420T (with Bigsby) but then saw a tailpiece for sale second hand so I think I'll switch them. It seems pretty good to me with heavy flats, but I am by no means an expert.

I also have a Gretsch. I am not a big fan of the bigsby and think it adds too much weight. Is the tailpiece a drop in replacement? Do you need to drill?

[Mick-7]

I also have a Gretsch. I am not a big fan of the bigsby and think it adds too much weight. Is the tailpiece a drop in replacement? Do you need to drill?

Yeah, Gretsch is making good guitars at your price point, but they usually put a Bigsby on them.

[Little Jay]

Do you have pics or videos of the mods? I would also like a wooden bridge. The Washburn that I'm trying to return also had a wooden bridge. Wasn't compensated, but it was at an angle. Only string that wasn't intonated well was the G, probably cause it was unwound. Did you have to notch your wooden bridge yourself?

The wooden archtop bridges are typically compensated for a wound G indeed, if you want to use an unwound G it better to use a tunematic bridge as pictured (with nylon saddles they can sound a bit darker and take away some metal ‘zzzing’).

I never notch my wooden bridges, I just push down the string a little bit in the right place and that’s already enough to keep it in place. But I use fairly heavy strings (.012 for 24.75” scale guitars).

I currently have this bridge on the AF55 and with a wound G intonation is almost perfect:

[Little Jay]

And here is my modded AF55 (mine is the older model with different soundholes and headstock inlay):



There’s an elaborate thread on the AF55 somewhere here on the forum, let me look it up for you.

EDIT found it, here it is:
Ibanez AF55

[eblydian]

And here is my modded AF55 (mine is the older model with different soundholes and headstock inlay):



There’s an elaborate thread on the AF55 somewhere here on the forum, let me look it up for you.

EDIT found it, here it is:
Ibanez AF55

Nice job Little Jay!

It's amazing how beautiful one of the cheapest jazz guitars on the market can look.
I like it much better than many higher-end Ibanez models, mainly because I hate abalone fret inlays.
But I guess it's just me.

[chris32895]

And here is my modded AF55 (mine is the older model with different soundholes and headstock inlay):



There’s an elaborate thread on the AF55 somewhere here on the forum, let me look it up for you.

EDIT found it, here it is:
Ibanez AF55

I'm surprised how much I really like that. Is that a Gibson tailpiece?

[chris32895]

Also, seconding at least checking out the cheap Gretsch models (without bigsby). I owned one for a while and it was a great instrument. Pretty much every time I go into Guitar Center I see a couple 2420's or some similar model and I'm always struck by how good the acoustic voice is on them.

That, or honestly get a secondhand Ibanez, preferably one of the newer models with the ebony fingerboards and Super 58 pickups. I imagine if you are patient you could probably find an AF95 or something similar for around $500. A while back I got lucky and got a PM35 for about $550 shipped and played that for a long time - it was a really good guitar.

[Little Jay]

I'm surprised how much I really like that. Is that a Gibson tailpiece?

Thanks! The tailpiece is a $15 Chinese tailpiece I bought on AliExpress. But it works! (For how long remains to be seen but it looks sturdy enough.)

[GuyBoden]

Thanks! The tailpiece is a $15 Chinese tailpiece I bought on AliExpress. But it works! (For how long remains to be seen but it looks sturdy enough.)

Nice, it looks similar to this:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005008947505636.html

[Little Jay]

Nice, it looks similar to this:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005008947505636.html

Must be the same!

[Bob_Ross]

And here is my modded AF55

Did you reverse the orientation of the neck pickup to achieve a specific sonic goal, or did it come like that and you liked the sound enough to figure "don't fix what ain't broken"?

[jazzfrog]

Do you need a big box?

The Epiphone Casino is a laminated top, but no block like a 335.
So it's technically an arched-top and does have P90s...

I see most of them for $550

[Little Jay]

Did you reverse the orientation of the neck pickup to achieve a specific sonic goal, or did it come like that and you liked the sound enough to figure "don't fix what ain't broken"?

Yes, it’s on purpose to place that coil in almost the same spot as the pickup is on my ES-125 guitar (where it sits a little further from the neck, in the spot of the virtual 24th fret). It does work somewhat when you raise the polepieces and gives a bit of extra clarity (but not a completely different sound).

[Little Jay]

Do you need a big box?

The Epiphone Casino is a laminated top, but no block like a 335.
So it's technically an arched-top and does have P90s...

I see most of them for $550

A Casino can be an excellent jazz guitar indeed. I recommend using nylon saddles for the tunematic in that case.