Yunzhi Guitars?

[Jimmy blue note]

Yes, that's a nice guitar, similar to the guitar I'm thinking of ordering from Yunzhi. (I'm waiting for my bridge from Yunzhi.)

Ooo that looks really pretty. Even with a good post delivery set-up (which I'd say is a must...wait a couple months for the wood to settle and the fingerboard to make peace with the frets), you've got a really nice guitar if it's half of what I've seen from that shop.
Did you order from Ali or did you go through Lora?

[Ukena]

This is Daniel's work. They sell for $1200 with a AAA solid spruce top. Solid wood all around. Solid workmanship and a slightly longer (like Johnny Smith) scale which gives them a nice projection.

NEW BRAND AAA-Hand-carved Archtop 17" Jazz Guitar | eBay

These look really nice, and the price is insane. The neck of this style is 1.77" which might be a little wide for some, but it's fine for me. I can't find any reviews or videos of Batking archtops – ukuleles, bass ukes, travel electrics yes, but no archtops. Has anyone played one of these?

[Jimmy blue note]

These look really nice, and the price is insane. The neck of this style is 1.77" which might be a little wide for some, but it's fine for me. I can't find any reviews or videos of Batking archtops – ukuleles, bass ukes, travel electrics yes, but no archtops. Has anyone played one of these?

Sure, I had Daniel build me a set so I could assess his work before I recommended them to customers and students. You can specify neck widths, depths, cross section, plate thickness, etc and he'll build whatever you want. For instance, a player was a pick player, pretty broad span of dynamics and his top thicknesses worked well for him. I wanted to see what they could do for a finger style player with 7 strings. They built lighter thicknesses and adjusted the archings accordingly. This increased the harmonic response for a lighter attack. That's what I love about a custom builder: they work best with a player who knows what he/she wants. I think I got delivery about 5 months ago and it's still coming up. In other words it's in the break-in period and the finish is hardening, it gets better and better every day and it gets a lot of use along with a frequency generator to "teach" the top the harmonics and overtones in all keys.
Bottom line, I love it and he sure can build a great guitar. In the future if I order anything else, I will specify a thinner neck depth and thinner graduations for the plates. I asked for these things specifically on the demo he built for me because my primary guitar is a Jimmy D' and I love what he achieved with what is considered an ultra thin top thickness. Daniel won't go that thin but on the lighter build he made me, the guitar really sings and people who have ordered theirs have wanted theirs built like mine.

So yeah, he builds a great guitar. And yeah if you know what YOU want, he's got the chops to do it.
And why would I want a custom built Chinese guitar when I can build my own better, and I have a Jimmy D' that I play on? There was an idea of an instrument, a 15" 7 string that is perfect for me. There's nothing like that out there. I certainly can't build one for what Daniel does and I can do final adjustments on graduations and set up at this end, so yeah, I trust him and he builds me exactly what I want.
I have also had Yunzhi build for customers, and Mr Wu. Again, my experience has been the best, but I have also turned customers away from ordering from China. If they have an idea of their perfect guitar and it's not based on their abilities as a player, if they want something that is collectable and they think they're going to get their 1938 L-5 and their wife says $1,500 on a guitar is outrageous... if they want fantasy for cheap, I tell them to watch for a buy on Reverb.
Daniel's guitars are good. They've got his own take on archtop building that's unique. He tends to favour a slightly longer scale (like on a Gibson Johnny Smith, which is a little longer than an L-5). His archtops don't feel like Eastmans, more mid-range accented and maybe closer to the old Gibson vibe. I like them. I'll let you know after it's broken in.

[bluenote61]

He tends to favour a slightly longer scale (like on a Gibson Johnny Smith, which is a little longer than an L-5)

I thought the JS has the shorter scale (25", and the L-5 has 25 1/2")?

[GuyBoden]

I have received the Yunzhi built D'Aquisto type ebony bridge I ordered.

I am very, very pleased with the quality.

Pictures below:



I ordered the bridge from here:
https://yunzhimusic.en.alibaba.com/

[Jimmy blue note]

I have received the Yunzhi built D'Aquisto type ebony bridge I ordered.

I am very, very pleased with the quality.


I ordered the bridge from here:
https://yunzhimusic.en.alibaba.com/

Gives new meaning to the term: Charlie Parker bridge.

[KPJazz]

Sure, I had Daniel build me a set so I could assess his work before I recommended them to customers and students. You can specify neck widths, depths, cross section, plate thickness, etc and he'll build whatever you want. For instance, a player was a pick player, pretty broad span of dynamics and his top thicknesses worked well for him. I wanted to see what they could do for a finger style player with 7 strings. They built lighter thicknesses and adjusted the archings accordingly. This increased the harmonic response for a lighter attack. That's what I love about a custom builder: they work best with a player who knows what he/she wants. I think I got delivery about 5 months ago and it's still coming up. In other words it's in the break-in period and the finish is hardening, it gets better and better every day and it gets a lot of use along with a frequency generator to "teach" the top the harmonics and overtones in all keys.
Bottom line, I love it and he sure can build a great guitar. In the future if I order anything else, I will specify a thinner neck depth and thinner graduations for the plates. I asked for these things specifically on the demo he built for me because my primary guitar is a Jimmy D' and I love what he achieved with what is considered an ultra thin top thickness. Daniel won't go that thin but on the lighter build he made me, the guitar really sings and people who have ordered theirs have wanted theirs built like mine.

So yeah, he builds a great guitar. And yeah if you know what YOU want, he's got the chops to do it.
And why would I want a custom built Chinese guitar when I can build my own better, and I have a Jimmy D' that I play on? There was an idea of an instrument, a 15" 7 string that is perfect for me. There's nothing like that out there. I certainly can't build one for what Daniel does and I can do final adjustments on graduations and set up at this end, so yeah, I trust him and he builds me exactly what I want.
I have also had Yunzhi build for customers, and Mr Wu. Again, my experience has been the best, but I have also turned customers away from ordering from China. If they have an idea of their perfect guitar and it's not based on their abilities as a player, if they want something that is collectable and they think they're going to get their 1938 L-5 and their wife says $1,500 on a guitar is outrageous... if they want fantasy for cheap, I tell them to watch for a buy on Reverb.
Daniel's guitars are good. They've got his own take on archtop building that's unique. He tends to favour a slightly longer scale (like on a Gibson Johnny Smith, which is a little longer than an L-5). His archtops don't feel like Eastmans, more mid-range accented and maybe closer to the old Gibson vibe. I like them. I'll let you know after it's broken in.

Any videos of what they sound like? Would love to hear it.