Acoustic Archtop video/sound clips

[Klatu]

Klatu whats you opinion on vintage Hofenrs?

I like what I've heard on the net, but I've never had the opportunity to play a vintage acoustic Hofner archtop.

However, I do have some experience with their recent offering, owning both a Jazzica and a New President. Both are impressive both in their tone and construction. The instruments share lots of specs including their carved spruce tops, floating pickups, 16" lower bout, 25 1/2" scale length, and overall body shape. What sets them apart is the Jazzica's unusual "wedge" body depth where it starts off very deep at the endpin and thins out near the neck joint, which makes for a very comfortable playing experience. That, plus its poly finish make it an ideal guitar for amplified jazz in that it produces a strong electric tone that contains far more acoustic properties than the typical laminate electric with built in pickup.

My New President is finished in French polish and sounds great acoustically and plugged in. With that said, its acoustic qualities are so good that I'm often tempted to string it with phosphor bronze strings and forgo its electric capability.

Most of what I know about vintage Hofners I learned from reading the following article on the Vintage Guitars Info page:
Vintage Guitars Info - Collecting Hofner vintage guitars

[GoergeBenson]

I like what I've heard on the net, but I've never had the opportunity to play a vintage acoustic Hofner archtop.

However, I do have some experience with their recent offering, owning both a Jazzica and a New President. Both are impressive both in their tone and construction. The instruments share lots of specs including their carved spruce tops, floating pickups, 16" lower bout, 25 1/2" scale length, and overall body shape. What sets them apart is the Jazzica's unusual "wedge" body depth where it starts off very deep at the endpin and thins out near the neck joint, which makes for a very comfortable playing experience. That, plus its poly finish make it an ideal guitar for amplified jazz in that it produces a strong electric tone that contains far more acoustic properties than the typical laminate electric with built in pickup.

My New President is finished in French polish and sounds great acoustically and plugged in. With that said, its acoustic qualities are so good that I'm often tempted to string it with phosphor bronze strings and forgo its electric capability.

Most of what I know about vintage Hofners I learned from reading the following article on the Vintage Guitars Info page:
Vintage Guitars Info - Collecting Hofner vintage guitars

I have played quite a few vintage Honfers and I have found them hard to play. For one, they have an very defined radius on the fretboard. Way lower than the old Fender 7.5 which makes them instantly feel odd, to the modern guitarist.

They also have the neck completely detached from the top. When analysing why they do this, it makes perfect sense, the neck doesn't interfere with the top in anyway. A design I'm surprised didn't catch on in the US (to my knowledge).

On the reverse of this, it also made the neck much higher on the body and thus again, instantly gives the guitar an initial awkward feel.

Thy also had some very interesting choices for wood, pine being one.

In all, I find myself more interested in them, as my appreciation for a good acoustic atchtop grows.
I think we can both agree, that in the video you posted just recently with one in, it sounds every bit as good as the legends we look to (ala Epiphone pre Gibson etc) and at the price you can pick them up for, $1000 its a sure steal.

I might start hunting around.

[Klatu]

They also have the neck completely detached from the top. When analysing why they do this, it makes perfect sense, the neck doesn't interfere with the top in anyway. A design I'm surprised didn't catch on in the US (to my knowledge).

On the reverse of this, it also made the neck much higher on the body and thus again, instantly gives the guitar an initial awkward feel.

The style of neck to which you refer is called a "cantilevered neck". Epiphone used them on their acoustic archtops before they were bought out by Gibson (electrics may have had them as well, but I don't know enough about them to confirm).

I don't think the cantilevered neck contributes to the high string clearance you experienced with the Hofners since old Epiphones have rather low clearance.

[Klatu]

Here's Tim Lerch playing a Gibson L4:

[Eddie Lang]

Here's Tim Lerch playing a Gibson L4:

Tim has the History of the archtop a bit wrong here, but his playing is very good, as usual.

I have one like that. That's the one I've been playing all week. Great guitar, and they are quite a bargain too.

[Jehu]

Is it just me, or do all Frank Vignola clips end with him having a giant, Crossroads-style duel with someone?

[ES125er]

Talking about Julian Lage... It seems that he's been playing an acoustic archtop by Otto D'Ambrosio lately. Just like... well... me.

[uburoibob]

Interestingly to me, the Gibson sounds way better than the 1 billion dollar Parker.

Julian's L-5 is a particularly good one, and only worth half a billion. Of course, judging anything by internet audio is tough. There's a reason these players go ga ga over Ken's billion dollar guitar before they know the price tag. Ken is a good friend and I do feel a need to defend his guitars from criticism based on limited input (meaning you can only go so far with the internet...).

I have played at least a dozen of his Archtops and they are mind blowing. Hopefully, everyone here will get to experience one in person at some point. So, back to the topic at hand...

Bob

[Woody Sound]

Anyone familiar with Marty Grosz?

[wintermoon]

Anyone familiar with Marty Grosz?

sure, strictly acoustic player from the Carl Kress/Dick McDonough school of playing.
he's in his 80's but still gigs occasionally

[Klatu]

I wasn't familiar with him, but I'm glad you posted it. He's a fine player with a sense of humor. With so many jazzers taking themselves so seriously, it's a breath of fresh air to hear someone ham it up on the mic.

[rpguitar]

Marty's playing a 16" dotneck L-5, presumably from the twenties. It's not all that obvious from the video. Gotta love the style, the humor, and the ease with which he cranks out all those chords while singing in a very relaxed way.

[wintermoon]

correct RP, Marty's been through a ton of great archtops.
he's had at least a couple dot necks, I think his current favorite is a refinished one.

but don't ask to use his guitar unless you're prepared,
he uses Carl Kress' tuning--B flat, F, C, G, B, D

[rpguitar]

Check it out!

Marty Grosz - Gibson L-5

[Klatu]

Check it out!

Marty Grosz - Gibson L-5

Check out the boxes he rejected. This quote killed me:

“My 1939 L-5 has a 25 ½ inch scale and is, perhaps, the most powerful instrument that I've owned - and I've owned a 19-inch Stromberg (dud), a D’Angelico New Yorker (dud), and an Epiphone Emperor (dud)! Suffice it to say that I've owned a truckload of guitars in my search for the perfect instrument. The three pictured on this site are very fine examples of unamplified archtops. Of course, the player has to contend with heavy-gauge strings, high action and play with a forceful stroke!”

[campusfive]

Some shameless self promotion in the name of more acoustic archtop clips.
I'm just playing along with a backing track I made with the same guitar, my Eastman 805 non-cut.

And yeah, Marty Grosz is a bad mf. No question.

[Hammertone]

...I do have some experience with ... both a Jazzica and a New President. Both are impressive both in their tone and construction. The instruments share lots of specs including their carved spruce tops, floating pickups, 16" lower bout, 25 1/2" scale length, and overall body shape. What sets them apart is the Jazzica's unusual "wedge" body depth where it starts off very deep at the endpin and thins out near the neck joint, which makes for a very comfortable playing experience. That, plus its poly finish make it an ideal guitar for amplified jazz in that it produces a strong electric tone that contains far more acoustic properties than the typical laminate electric with built in pickup.

- 15 7/8" lower bout
- 25 1/4" scale
- single brace (bass side, running parallel to the grain)
- 16th fret neck-body joint

My New President is finished in French polish and sounds great acoustically and plugged in. With that said, its acoustic qualities are so good that I'm often tempted to string it with phosphor bronze strings and forgo its electric capability.

- that's a bonus, not the initial design objective. In order to accommodate the 16th fret neck/body joint and still have the instrument look "normal", the body is a bit compressed in shape, and the position of the bridge with relation to the bottom bout doesn't optimize the guitar's acoustic voice.

Most of what I know about vintage Hofners I learned from reading the following article on the Vintage Guitars Info page:
Vintage Guitars Info - Collecting Hofner vintage guitars

What kind of fool would waste his time on old German archtops? Humbug!

[jazzbow]

Ah, the Epiphone recording guitar is a flat top so I'll raise nylon strung hybrid...

Uwe Kropinski

[Klatu]

Ah, the Epiphone recording guitar is a flat top so I'll raise nylon strung hybrid...

Uwe Kropinski

Mind blown.

[Woody Sound]

Some shameless self promotion in the name of more acoustic archtop clips.
I'm just playing along with a backing track I made with the same guitar, my Eastman 805 non-cut.

And yeah, Marty Grosz is a bad mf. No question.

Very nice!

[kamlapati]

Some shameless self promotion in the name of more acoustic archtop clips.
I'm just playing along with a backing track I made with the same guitar, my Eastman 805 non-cut.

And yeah, Marty Grosz is a bad mf. No question.

Jonathan, fantastic! I need to come on down to LA and see you guys, and maybe a lesson! Thanks for posting.

[Hammertone]

Ah, the Epiphone recording guitar is a flat top so I'll raise nylon strung hybrid...

That Scharpach is one cool guitar! Nice tip o' the Hatlo hat to Simplicio as well as the Wappengitarre tradition. And the Washburn EC36 solidbody electric guitar, of course. RAWK!

The Epi is not a flattop - it's an archtop with a pinned bridge. Gibson played with this idea with early L-0/1/2/3/4 hybrid designs but didn't nail it until Loar's L-4 and L-5 designs, IMO. Ahhhh, the roaring '20s…heady days - Lloyd Loar at Gibson then Vivi-tone, early Epiphone, Weissenborn, Maccaferri, 14th fret body joints - so many ideas and so much experimentation before the dust settled down in the 1930s.

[Klatu]

Why not Stromberg?

[Klatu]

What about Monteleone?

[Klatu]

Here's a really beautiful and unorthodox acoustic archtop tone courtesy of John Monteleone.