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Anyone played one? Worth $3500? Any descriptions of sound and playability are greatly appreciated.
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08-09-2010 02:09 AM
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I've played a D'aquisto briefly. I think you can do better for your money.
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Was it the Solo or Avant Garde? Those are the pure acoustic ones vs. some of the other D'Aquisto reissues i've seen.
Originally Posted by 82Benedetto
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I have played both the Solo and Jazzline. I agree, there are better guitars out there for the $. The Sadowsky line comes immediately to mind if you want a laminate.
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I own an avante guarde which is similar to the solo. These are nice quality guitars and sound good. they are not as loud as a carved top but are all around excellent.
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This is what turned me on to the Solo. I heard a clip of the Avant Garde and though it was perfect, and then saw there was a cutaway model. I assumed the Solo would have similar quality. I'm pretty sure it is solid pressed, which doesn't really matter so much to me as i like thin pressed tops and/or laminates anyhow. $3500 still seems like a lot for a production Aria guitar (esp. one that is pressed). Have any clips you can share? Originally Posted by edbuff
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Both models I played were just tonally dead to my ears. I have seen this before with hand built archtops too, but the Aria/D'Aquistos I played were heavy and dead, not a good combo. No doubt there are good ones out there, so play before you buy, for sure. Happy hunting.
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Damn you and your practical realism! I may have a chance to play one in NY in Sept so thanks for the advice; I will heed it for this amount of $$. Originally Posted by derek
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For that price--three words: (1) Sadowsky; (2) Jim; (3) Hall.
Jim Hall himself A/Bed it against his own D'Aquisto and preferred it.
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That has a set-in pickup and a thinner body. Looking for a full-depth acoustic. Originally Posted by NSJ
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I bought my avant garde in 2007 new for 2k. It was listed at 4k. At that specific price its your call. Stevepat on you tube has some good clips of his avant garde. Im not one for giving opinions of price but I know that you do not see to many of these around.
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Sorry The ot I´m traveling to NY on september and planning to buy a D´A jazz line, anybody has one? opinions?
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Do you still have it? If so, where does it rank in your menagerie? If not, why did you sell it? Originally Posted by edbuff
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I still have it and it will be the last one I sell. I use it acoustic chord melody. I don't think it would be a very good Gypsy Jazz guitar and it is not loud enough for chunking out loud back up chords for a band. I use a Cushman carved top for that for that. But for acoustic chord melody it has great chord clarity and sweet tone all the way up the neck? It is a bit heavy but is a good quality guitar. I am thing about trying to get a Solomon oval hole arch top. If I do that then I will sell it.
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I hope it is a keeper! Make sure you update us when you get back. Originally Posted by spiral
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Tom Painter for Laminates
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I own two Centuras. I have played the Solos and the AG's and the Centuras just "sang" to me. I keep flats on one and roundwounds on the other since that's what Jimmy was going for, a true flattop/archtop hybrid kind of thing. Anyone who thinks they sound "heavy" or "dead" obviously didn't spend enough time in a studio with them. All of these early Japanese Aria makes ('03-'04) were made at Terada where they made the legendary Sadowskys and Jim Halls. Once production moved to Korea, they lost a bit of their shine. But you need to get these puppies in front of a good condenser mic. They will absolutely blow your mind. I've never had a more responsive or dynamic experience with any acoustic guitars. Just experimenting with different mic positions gives you entirely new boxes of tonal colors to paint with! And every one of these early Arias that I've had the pleasure to play have all had very lively backs that more than made up for their pressed arch tops. I was a carved top purist until I got my gut out of the way and let the backs do their job and man do they SING! Changed my mind about pressed tops for sure. They're not "bad" compared to a good carved top... just "different" in that you don't have to worry about feedback as much and you have more control over the tonal pallette of the instrument. My Centuras have taught me so much about mid-priced pressed tops! Take a look at that Guitar Heroes exibition at the NY MOMA when Steve Miller and another guitarist cut loose with two ORIGINAL Centuras and yes, they have carved tops by the Master himself, but notice that they played in front of a nice 3" mic for a reason. You just can't pick up the subtle dynamics with your ear alone, so I can see where you would think they sound a little sonically "flat". I did too, at first! But that "flatness" is really "consistency" when you get in front of the mic. Every note is just as loud as the next on the fretboard and for someone who can't afford the big $ for an original, the price of these Arias is a STEAL. Just to be able to see how Jimmy D's ideas translate even into a pressed top copy is enough for me to hold on to my Centuras till hell freezes over. There's a good reason why you don't see very many of them on the market. Think about it... Just my 2 cents... - Squint
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Bit pointless if it takes a studio and mic positions to get a decent sound from it.
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I have a Jazzline from ´08 and its made in Japan, are you sure that the new ones are made in Korea?
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I don't know about the Jazzlines, Arnesto. I was referring to the Centuras that were moved to Korea. I do know that some models are still being made in Japan and of course, they are always my first choice. But I do have a couple of Washburn J-9's made by Samick Korea that I have modded into top-notch instruments that I will also never part with.
And as far as needing a mic to make them sound decent. You don't. But the fact that I prefer to use a more controllable pressed top in the studio over a booming carved top, in fact, IS the point for me. It all comes back to personal taste. Of course, it helps to know how to position the guitar without dampening the back of it when you try it out in order to get the most out of it. You can pick up a $50,000 Mc Pherson and if you put the back right up against your stomach, it just is NOT going to sound as good as it could. Both of my Centuras project very well but there's still the obvious difference between a pressed top and a carved top, not that one is "better" than the other... they're just "different". So if you want to pay more for a carved top, it's your choice. I spend 99% of my time in studio, so that's my biggest concern. If I played live more, it wouldn't matter as much. I get the sound I need when I need it more through technique than technology anyway.
The original question was: are the D'aquistos worth the money? They are worth what your budget allows. Are they going to sound better than guitars selling for thousands more? No. But I've played a couple of custom built archtops from "name" makers that sounded nothing like what I would expect them to and really did not shine like the Centuras. I've also played less expensive ones that blew both the Centuras and higher priced models away. (Having the chance to cherry pick through dozens of models is always a good thing! I remember an Eastman I found once that I'm still kicking myself for not buying...) But for the most part, you get what you pay for and IMHO, the early D'aquisto line from Aria is well worth the going price. If they weren't, you would be seeing more of them on eBay and Archtop.com, don't you think? Again, to a jazz purist, it's probably just not their "cup of tea" and the traditional sound of the carved tops is more like what they're looking for.
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BTW, every client I've had who has a Jazz Line LOVES it. They're a very good value for their price range. Originally Posted by Arnesto
And as far as any of the D'Aquisto models go... If you can find one cheaper, then by all means, BUY it!
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