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So.. if Kenny Burrell had done 'Midnight Blue' on a Martin.. umm..wait..
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05-15-2012 06:53 PM
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I got an old Hofner President .........
Originally Posted by Hammertone
Saw it on a wall in a music shop £200 I think
Refret TI 13 Jazz swings
Really good sound , chunky neck , loud too
Flat - tops can be great too
if they intonate right with your choice of strings
I have rarely found a flat top where the 6th string is right on .....
If you find one that intonates right and you like it go for it
But home set-up (action intonation etc) is much easier on a floating bridge guitar
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I just got a The Loar archtop for $300, and while the name is aweful, the neck and sound are incredible. With flatwounds on it, it's my favorite acoustic guitar I've ever played.
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Blimey,I only posted this yesterday and cannot believe the amount of replys,thank you everyone for your thoughts on this.I will certainly try to go to Cleckheaton to look at the Eastman.Mr B,you asked about steel strung or nylon and to be honest i assumed i would be buying a steel strung until you mentioned nylon,please could you tell me your thoughts on this.As for the flatop vs archtop again i really am not sure of the difference in sound,with regard to the sound jazz.Dad ,as for girl pulling power,i am the best part of fifty years old and have been married for twenty five of those so i dont think that is really relevant anymore.In fact,even when i was 18 and playing in a rock band i dont recall ever pulling that many girls ,but now you mention this i did have a cheap grant(anyone remember these)telecaster copy.That must have been it.But any way thats enough reminiscing,i will let you know how the search goes,as the days of rushing in to buying things are long gone,older and slightly wiser these days.Peace.
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I don't know what they sell for on your side of the pond, but I paid $499 for a Taylor GS Mini and it has a sweet, full and balanced tone. Playability is very good; it is very comfortable to hold and play. Add to that the reliable quality control of Taylors and I think it is the best value in smaller flat top guitars.
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Hi Gingerjazz. Just in case you are intersted - I have a virtually untouched "The Loar" LH-700 Vs - - I bought it and then got a call from Archtop.com and went crazy and bought a '34 Gibson.
The Loar is plenty good, but...I have the Gibo.
They are currently about £618 plus shipping from Thomanns BUT - you may have to send back one or two before you get a good one - 'least that's what I did.
How about £500 ish including the original case (not hard shell but very lightand good protection - also unmarked. I have a good sturdy shipping box - Shipping costs ? I could find out - my step son knows about these things.
01243-776391 or andrew@andrewperry.plus.com (Hope I'm not breaking any rules here ).
Ol' Andy
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Thank you for the offer,but to be honest i am still unsure what to do,i might still wait until i can afford a more expensive instrument.As i said before i have made too many rash decisions in the past,but thank you all the same. Originally Posted by Silly Moustache
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I love flat tops AND Pat Metheny's hair.
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Lenny Breau used a lot of flat tops. the wonder boy record was done on a old gibson flat top. I had a chance to play the very guitar. His brother Denny is a incredible player and uses only flat tops. Denny isnt strictly jazz but he is the only guy I ever heard say "want to hear some Lenny stuff" and pull it off
what ever you want to do. the eastman flats are all (the 4 or 5 I played in shops) great guitars.
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Archtop acoustics were invented for rhythm guitar. Who soloed on an archtop before they were electric? Django used a flat top in an acoustic setting. Anyone ever try flatwounds on a flat top?
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Manouche guitars aren`t exactly "flattops". Eddie Lang soloed on an acoustic archtop. Dreadnaught guitars didn`t come about until the 1930`s.
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A lot of thumb pickers use flats on flat tops. Guys like Thom Bresh and Chet devotees. I have had T I swings on my d28 a couple of times. Worked fine in solo settings or amplified but with other acoustic guitars you are at a real volume disadvantage.
It did give a very nice 40/ 50's sound, nailed western swing and Hank sr tone.
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I used to use heavy Pyramid flats on my old Blueridge, and it sounded good, mostly because it was a very loud and midrangey guitar to begin with. I tried it on a Tacoma and wasn't overly impressed.
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I don't think many lead players using flat tops (e.g. thousands and thousands playing bluegrass) use strings made for amplified archtops. I think they tend use medium strings designed for flat tops. Also, inexpensive flat top guitars, IMHO, are not that impressive. Maybe I've been spoiled. Nicer ones (Taylor/Martin) are very good. Very nice ones are amazing.
Last edited by Spook410; 05-19-2012 at 04:00 PM.
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Yeah but how do you sort out the intonation on a flat top ?
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with a compensated saddle and if necessary, an Earvana nut? Originally Posted by pingu
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>>> how do you sort out the intonation on a flat top ?
Most flat tops come with a "compensated saddle" to some extent.
The way to further improve bridge compensation is to custom-cut a more refined saddle for the particular guitar/strings/setup in question.
An experienced luther should have no trouble doing this for you. It does not require extraordinary measures (kind of a pun there). It sometimes requires either a wider saddle or an altered position of the saddle within the bridge.
>>> an Earvana nut?
An Earvana nut begins to address nut compensation as part of overall intonation. But in my opinion/experience it will not be anywhere nearly as effective as a compensated nut made for the particular guitar/strings/setup in question.
It is ironic to note that a custom saddle is considered a notable improvement over a stock saddle's shape and position, but that a heavily "productized" compensated nut is expected to be a drop-in magic fix.
A compensated nut still needs to be very carefully installed with careful string slot height and shape. There are no magic-beans here.
Respectfully, the two companies who sell compensated nuts work very hard to present their technology as a profound improvement. But in both cases, they can easily do more harm than good if just dropped in.
It is particularly troubling to note that a compensated nut can be promoted as allowing excessive slot height with no (or reduced) intonation trouble in low positions. This is an unfortunate concept since excessive slot height is a huge contributor to playability troubles.
Anyway, getting to superb intonation on a flat top is do-able for a reasonably experienced and interested luthier.
But I suggest turning away from drop-in magic beans solutions of any kind.
Chris
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I did, I have nice round back Furch guitar and from time to time put flats on it and it sounds great. Intonation is spot on with TI .12" Originally Posted by cosmic gumbo
Last edited by papaj77; 05-20-2012 at 01:52 PM.
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And don't take the brown magic beans. Originally Posted by PTChristopher
...mmmmm.....beans.....
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Rebadged Furutama dreksticks dipped in plastic are usually not that impressive. Originally Posted by Spook410
Certain offshore makers have done surprisingly good jobs:
The Chinese shop turning out Epiphoney Masterbuilt flattops and Guild flattops has turned out some excellent guitars:
Eastman has been turning out some excellent flattop guitars.
Yamaha has been known to turn out a few excellent flattop guitars.
There are probably a few more who have proven that we have passed the tipping point with Chinese guitar-building - it can be as good as anyone else's. The issue is simply finding the good ones in the tsunami of multi-badged garbage flooding the market.
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Thank you to everyone who has responded to my post.I am still unsure if i really want to buy budget priced guitar or just wait and save up a bit more money..I might well be being a snob but i have other higher end guitars and it is hard to consider buying budget brands even though i know that some of the lower priced stuff is far better than it was when i started out with music 40 years ago,pheww has it really bee that long.Thanks again and peace.
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OK. Forget about the Congress, the Senator or even an nice old carved-top President. Go for one of those snappy all-carved 17" Hofner Chancellors. Originally Posted by gingerjazz
There's a gorgeous new one for sale in England for only £3,499.00 - the store is located in Lancashire:
Hofner German Made Chancellor Archtop Jazz Guitar - Vintage Sunburst - NEW | eBay
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Hey Hammertone ,that is a nice guitar,if i can just talk him down to £500,i will take it of his hands.But seriously i just do not want to rush in to making a snap decision and regret it later ,like i have done so many times before.Thanks again.Peace.
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No problem.
I like to amuse the folks here with my retrogrouch ranting, tempered with the odd bit of useful information.
This forum is a good place to bounce around some ideas.
Enjoy the process of deciding what best suits your needs.
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Hey Hammer',
I thought Retrogrouch was pretty much a cycling term? I assume you wrote this wearing your Vittore Gianni wool shorts (before my time, sounds itchy).
Chris
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