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can anyone comment on Heritage golden eagle for acoustic tone / volume?
I'm considering one I saw on reverb. The seller sent a clip, and i thought the tone was really nice. it's got a floating pickup.
would stringing this guitar with acoustic strings be "enough," or is there a better candidate for my use?
I typically prefer parallel braced guitars, and would rather avoid vintage stuff, though it's not out of the question.
I obviously just love archtops, but my primary use outside of home would be to accompany my students. I teach primarily orchestral strings, and frequently would bring a guitar with me to lessons (rather than a separate violin, double bass, cello, etc). I've grown to love accompanying my students with a chordal/fretted instrument. using a mandolin to get by at the moment..
I was considering a peerless, but fully carved models at a fair price for what they are seem hard to come by - only one in the USA on ebay as of today.
Thoughts specifically on heritage, or any other guitars I might want for my use? could be fully acoustic, but a floater is preferred. cutaway optional. I've tried the loar, been there done that, it's just not for me. 4k is my absolute max budget, but great stuff for less is definitely cool as well.
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04-27-2026 05:46 PM
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Your post will undoubtedly receive many replies! The only reason I can comment is because I ordered a GE from Jay Wolfe back in the mid-1990's
If you can swing the 4K, I just don't see how you could do any better. Fabulous instruments very similar to the Holy Grail Gibson L-5C. At least mine was. I no longer own it, I just went into the Benedetto camp. That's not to say anything negative about Heritage at all.
Because I needed the GE to be both electric and acoustic, at the time there was limited choices of strings that would work for both applications. About the only choice was DR Zebras. They worked OK but now there are a lot more options.
I suggest hitting the "Buy Now" key. 4k is a nice price for a Golden Eagle. Play it in good health and post a NGD if you take the plunge.
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All guitars are individuals,some GE's have great acoustic tone while others are better plugged in.If you could audition it first would be ideal to see if it suits your wants.If the guitar is in very good condition,that price is more than fair.
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Comins!!!
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All due respect, however where is he going to find a Comins with similar specs for 4K?
Originally Posted by [email protected]
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My '97 GE (acoustic w/floater) is acoustically equivalent to my prewar acoustic Gibsons and Epis and my favorite overall, I have heard others say theirs were not great acoustically though so I think you must try them (I got lucky) Mine is very light and has thinnish neck and I think these things are variable from guitar to guitar, not sure. Its also only 3" deep which makes it very comfy for sitting. The build quality of the GEs in general is exceptional and equal to anything many times its usual asking price.
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That one on verb looks really frikin nice, great year old guard made original tailpiece and its no. 285 early production. If you think about what your getting in a GE at that price, the clouds alone, a numbered guitar from a finished run of custom instruments. I am definitely a bad influence because on second look Id be all over it...my apologies I cant help it
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are you referring to the blonde one? Originally Posted by Rickco
This is the actual one I was interested in:
The Marketplace for Musicians | Reverb.com
the sellers's business has it listed on their independent website at $4k
seems like a nice guitar. I'm still thinking it over - it probably makes sense to go lower in budget, so I have budget for some other instruments I need.
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I have a standard eagle. I play it unplugged for practice about half the time, it's ok. I haven't put acoustic strings on it. It won't be as loud as an acoustic guitar, I would get an acoustic for teaching orchestral instruments
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If you're going to accompany a string orchestra, you'll want something with some bark. If you don't mind a narrow nut, there's a nice L7C quietly sitting at a Music Go Round.
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Honestly, I just prefer archtops, so If i'm spending a little on a guitar that's what i'd get. I had a mid-tier martin for years and years and literally never played it once at home, it was just for teaching. that's why I sold it. nice little guitar. Originally Posted by joe2758
I'd be open to maybe a gypsy style guitar, but the market for those is confusing, and i'd definitely not want one if it has a flat fingerboard, as many do.
I'd probably leave the pickup but string with acoustic strings so I can easily switch whenever needed.
years ago I did exactly this with a godin kingpin, and it was not that loud but worked fine to help 10 year old violinists play in tune or hear a harmony. That's a laminte guitar I think I paid $450 for.
it's just a matter of wanting something "nice," and if it's good money spending it carefully.
P.S. my original plan was to have the violin maker, who made my bass, make me an archtop. He's made them before and they're incredible, but a bit of a wait, and more money.
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Sorry if I was unclear! Originally Posted by 58flame
With my full orchestra at my day job, I play my double bass, with my bow, it's loud, it's awesome. no worries there!
the guitar is for private teaching, one-on-one lessons. I find having an in-tune chordal instrument more portable than an acoustic piano works great for teaching, especially if I have back to back double bass and violin lessons, i'd rather not commute with multiple instruments and leave one or the other in the car, etc.
so it's that + just a personal taste for cool archtops. Will check out the L7, if I go vintage that'd probably be the way.
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In that case, I think the Eagle would be as good as any other archtop
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I’m not a huge fan of Heritage archtops as acoustics. I’ve never played one that I thought had a better than an average voice. That may be just the luck of the draw. I know others here own Heritage guitars with an acoustic sound they are more than happy with. They generally seem well constructed though and almost invariably play well. I would definitely recommend either playing beforehand or buying only with a liberal return policy.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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I can't speak to the acoustic qualities of the GE because I haven't played one, but as far as strings go, I think that if you do wind up getting it Monel strings (e.g., Martin Retros) are kind of the best of both (acoustic and electric) worlds. They're a little quieter and not as bright as Phosphor Bronze, but are way more "acoustic" than typical nickel-plated round-wounds and work well with magnetic pickups. I had a Godin Kingpin (the version with one P90 pickup) for a few years as well and used Martin Retros on it. It could almost hang with a real acoustic guitar when strung that way, and was even OK for accompanying vocals (if not singing really loud). Originally Posted by Groooooove
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That's fair. I definitely wouldn't say it is any sort of beautiful sound-- my opinion came from the fact that I don't think an acoustic archtop really sounds good for anything besides old swing styles
edit: it's funny, a couple years ago before I got my eagle i made a thread similar to this one asking about acoustic sound and projection because I usually practiced acoustically.
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Me and TRM usually agree on guitars, but I have to say I think Heritage GE and SE acoustics are usually very good guitars acoustically. The Johnny Smith Rose in particular are fantastic. So, I have 2 of the JSH and one Ghost built D'angelico NE they did based on a 1960 NY. I will stand those guitars up acoustically with any acoustic archtop. If it were myself, I would jump on the Golden Eagle assuming you can deal with whatever the neck feels like. It is listed as thinner but nor exactly sure what that means. Originally Posted by ThatRhythmMan
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it's quite the hard choice.
I can think of 4 options:
1. just get this heritage. looks nice. relatively reliable resale value. probably a sweet guitar.
2. buy a much cheaper guitar. I don't "Really" play much guitar, and if I can use the rest of my budget to get another instrument I really want, that would be overall better..
3. go all-out and have the violin maker who made my bass and other instruments build me one of his L-5 clones (best sounding guitar i've ever played, a steak at $6k, but a long wait.)
4. just be patient and scout the classifieds here for a great value archtop that I like.
Honestly, as I type out my choices, #1 seems like the worst idea.
I primarily play viola da gamba these days, and if I had the budget for both a guitar and an affordable tenor viol ($3-4k) that would be ideal.
I've already tried and not loved the loar and eastman. I think peerless is my next best-bet for a budget instrument. anyone have input there? There's only one carved model domestic I can find for sale at the moment, asking $2k.
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Yes, From the pics and description its like mine. Mine weighs in at 6lbs 4oz not sure if that makes the difference, with 13 - 53 80/20 bronze its not only loud but has gorgeous tone. Taste in tone is personal, Ive heard just as many L5s that made me yawn as many other vaunted models and some crazy good "lesser" models I normally wouldnt give a second look, every guitar is different. Originally Posted by Groooooove
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So you want a good acoustic archtop for actual acoustic playing for under $4,000? May I suggest looking into vintage Epiphones from the ‘30s-50s? There are plenty of Broadways and Triumphs that would fit the bill.
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I've had 3 Golden Eagles, the latter two because I severely regretted sending away the one before. They were fantastic instruments, but only, in my opinion, great when amplified. The archtop with the best acoustic voice that I have experienced is an Eastman 910. YMMV
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yes. I'm aways skeptical of instruments without truss rods (some of those... right?) and to be honest I never know with vintage items what's a ripoff, fair price, deal, or steal... Originally Posted by andrew
Honestly? I'm leaning towards a peerless on Ebay at the moment.
They seem to be reliably nice, parallel braced, all solid wood model I like the look of. very plain wood but if it sounds good thats fine.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/29822260344...Bk9SR8b3kOC6Zw
I had originally overlooked this one because it's in Japan, apparently the listing states that the price covers all import fees. So that changes that.
If anyone has followed along and can give input here... always appreciated!
It's more important that I leave budget for a tenor viol than it is to have a premium guitar - although, if the right one came along, I could buy it and be very happy.
Edit- this is the other peerless I'm considering... I did not realize this one is 17", the other is 16. both of which are fine with me.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/20592038188...Bk9SR5qpzeC6Zw
all else being equal, I like the look of the natural finish better, but a 17" might be more suitable.
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Most of their archtops were solid pressed tops and specs changed so I would confirm its carved, I also think its priced a little high. Some had a sound post, I had a few they were great quality builds but the ones I had and tried didnt do much acoustically. A truly acoustic archtop is not easy to make, If your using it as a teaching aid you might get better value in a nice flattop of which there are many that would suit your purpose at a more approachable price.
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Did you look at the Goodman for sale here? You can talk with him directly to get the details.
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yes i did.. Originally Posted by Rickco
looks terrific.
I generally wanted to avoid small builders just for resale reasons.
that being said, that guitar is definitely an option.
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