Martin / American Archtop CF2

[Spook410]

<snarky response to Broyale deleted>

Well.. the question on $2000 being a decent deal was asked. And of course, laminates have nothing to do with the answer. I think Klatu's got pretty educated ears and I trust this is a fine guitar.

[mr. beaumont]

$2000 for a laminate guitar?
That's $1200 too much, no matter how good it supposedly sounds.
I don't get the archtop world at all. With flattops (even those with electronics), $2000 will get you a nearly top-of-the-line all-solid wood instrument, but when it comes to archtops, $2000 gets you an instrument pretty much made the same as a cheap, Guitar Center special $500 asswood flattop. I'm not saying a laminate archtop can't sound good, BUT, shouldn't the inferior laminate construction be reflected in the price?

Laminate construction isn't inferior when it comes to archtops, just different.

Ah, flat top guys. They'll never understand.

[pantz]

Nice guitar. I had a CF1 for a while and it was outstanding.

[Rockstar]

05.24.2015

My 1st post on this website: Hi y'awl!

This thread is a bit old, but maybe someone will still read it. I saw that very guitar in GCtr Miami, I played it many times over the almost one year it hung there with a $2,400 tag on it. I didn't buy it because I was studying Baroque harpsichord repertoire at the time (Yeah, that's right, a rock/classical/jazz guitarist studying Bach etc.). My take on the Martin CF2: A great guitar, and for $2k, a really good deal. I don't know/didn't know anything about the neck issue, but I do recall well that it seemed to be set up just right, no action or neck issues, and practically played itself. And I'm really neurotic about easy playing, low action necks. Anything I buy, I fix up the neck myself, and if it doesn't fix just right,m back it goes. Considering its features, ebony fretboard, ebony tuner buttons, light weight, etc, I'd say that all adds to the quality of this guitar and the good deal you got. So lots of luck with it, glad you got it, play well and be well. Cheers.

JC in Miami

By the way, I did see one out in Cal on GCtr online, at the same time, but I somehow determined it was not the same guitar.

[Eddie Charles]

I think the issue with "seeing thru the neck joint" was erroneously referring to the raised fingerboard. The fingerboard was not meant to be bound to the guitar top...like most acoustic guitars. This particular neck sits quite a bit high above the top...and that's how American Archtop makes them.

It is a wonderful guitar...I have the CFM-1

By the way...the CFM-1 has a slightly deeper body depth than the CFM-2 in addition to a floating Kent Armstrong PU instead of the dual hum buckers in the CFM-2. I never got to play a CFM-2.

These guitars were also made in black as well as a sunburst model. Both of those are quite rare.

[Greentone]

Dale Unger's guitars are exceptional. He's from Nazareth, PA, like Martin guitars. He learned his craft from Bob Benedetto. His instruments are, IMO, as well built as Benedetto guitars. They sound as good, to.

I played an American Dream at the Philly Show years back. If I were to compare it to any guitar, it would be a Benedetto Manhattan. I know, I know...given the construction of the body, I should be comparing the Unger to, say, a Sadowsky Jim Hall.

However, having played many, many archtops and cataloging their sounds, it strikes me that the pattern for the AA American Dream is actually the Benedetto--neck and headstock angles, fretboards, arches of the top and back plates, etc. I haven't compared the braces.

The sound of the Unger, acoustically, belies the fact that it is a laminate-topped guitar. I suspect that this has to do with the thinness of the top plate. I have noticed the same thing with the Moll John Pizzarelli guitar. (By the way, in each case I am describing floating pickup guitars.)

The Unger costs only about a third of the price of a second hand Benny. Yet, you will get most of the way there. With an AI/RE rig...Sigh. Same with a Martin CF-1, if you track one down.

And, like so many of the luthiers, Dale Unger is an exceptionally fine, humble person.

[richpiv]

Bucky Pizzarelli is now playing an American Archtop, there are a few You Tubes of him with it. I also met Dale Unger and his son at the Philly Guitar show last year. Really nice people and fine, reasonably priced instruments.

[goldenwave77]

I still haven't gotten around to learning how to record myself, but here are a couple of videos I found feature the CF2.

Sounds great. Laminates to me have that "hornlike sound"---more focused, less layers of sound than the acoustic-y sound of a thin-carve archtop. (That's a great sound too, but different.)

This sounds good....some imports, to me, sound plinky on the high end and boomy on the low end....this does not--very balanced but with that laminate "cut" to it....I think that's why it is worth paying a little extra...sometimes in life, you get what you pay for--not all the time, mind you, but sometimes.

I have a local guy who has done some work for me on guitars, and he is a big Dale Unger fan.