Vienna Apex - the most beautiful archtop I've ever seen!

**silverfoxx** · 05-02-2015, 04:18 AM

Hi kkfan

Thanks for the post on Phillip Catherine, a name not often mentioned these days.
A fabulous player IMHO, one clip has him with a Flugel Horn Player who's name
escapes me, I saw him with John Faddis @ the Royal Festival Hall many years ago
can you or anyone please enlighten me ?( he appeared to be slightly unwell but a
wonderful player )

Silverfoxx

**ES125er** · 05-02-2015, 04:31 AM

Tom Harrell, maybe?

**Jabberwocky** · 05-02-2015, 04:32 AM

Phillip Catherine is a fine player.

As they say in The Old West, it's not the arrow...

**kris** · 05-02-2015, 04:32 AM

**kris** · 05-02-2015, 04:54 AM

**kkfan** · 05-02-2015, 05:14 AM

Originally Posted by Jabberwocky

Phillip Catherine is a fine player.

As they say in The Old West, it's not the arrow...

But I'm sure the Vienna Opus is his favorite arrow.

Here's a write up with pictures of Philip Catherine taking delivery of his Vienna Opus on November 20, 2014:

https://m.facebook.com/scharpachmast...9193032801702/

**kris** · 05-02-2015, 05:50 AM

Philip has quite good sound on Godin...I like his hat...:-) ..and rythm section...

**Jehu** · 05-02-2015, 08:04 AM

Kris, am I correct in assuming that you do not care for the Vienna archtops?

**kris** · 05-02-2015, 08:29 AM

Originally Posted by Jehu

Kris, am I correct in assuming that you do not care for the Vienna archtops?

Jehu, I not sure but these instruments are too much in every aspect...:-)

**silverfoxx** · 05-02-2015, 09:15 AM

Originally Posted by ES125er

Tom Harrell, maybe?

absolutely spot on thanks glad to see he is still gigging
we were knocked out by his playing as well as John Faddis
it must be 20 years or so since the concert
kind regards

**sea_fasn** · 01-24-2017, 10:44 PM

As a Scharpach Vienna Apex owner, and having owned many of its peers, only the Scharpach and a Grimes remain in the stable. Both are unbelievable instruments and second to none sonically and in quality of build. They are literally perfect in their workmanship and exceptional in their sound. Also, you are over-estimating the price of Scharpach's instruments particularly with the declining Euro. (If you haven't seen his latest iteration of the Blue Guitar in Guitar aficionado, it is worth a look). Now there is a glass case guitar.

Lastly, I play them daily and they are only getting better. You simply keep them in their case and control the humidity in the house. Then there is no need to pamper them.

**kkfan** · 01-24-2017, 10:46 PM

Originally Posted by sea_fasn

As a Scharpach Vienna Apex owner, and having owned many of its peers, only the Scharpach and a Grimes remain in the stable. Both are unbelievable instruments and second to none sonically and in quality of build. They are literally perfect in their workmanship and exceptional in their sound. Also, you are over-estimating the price of Scharpach's instruments particularly with the declining Euro. (If you haven't seen his latest iteration of the Blue Guitar in Guitar aficionado, it is worth a look). Now there is a glass case guitar.

Lastly, I play them daily and they are only getting better. You simply keep them in their case and control the humidity in the house. Then there is no need to pamper them.

Thanks a lot for sharing that information. I doubt there are many Vienna Apex owners in the forum.

Do you have any photos and/or video clips you could share?

**GNAPPI** · 01-24-2017, 11:16 PM

Nice old post, it's nice to see posts from members long gone or passed.

Rest easy Patrick

**PB+J** · 01-25-2017, 08:25 AM

Just saw this thread. To my taste the Vienna Apex is not attractive. It slips beyond the beauty of function and into gaudy. Instruments are tools for making music, and they should serve that purpose first and foremost. i like the simpler lines of telecasters, vintage Martins, and Benedetto.

I have a Guild Artist Award from 1977. its a great playing guitar but aesthetically it's more than a little silly

**Dennis D** · 01-25-2017, 09:13 AM

Originally Posted by Marwin Moody

Looks fantastic, what's the bridge wood?

" - - And why is it so high ? "

It looks like a bass violin. I have to assume it's intentional, so I'd be curious to know why he left that large a space for which the bridge has to compensate ?

**oldane** · 01-25-2017, 10:04 AM

I wrote a post when the thread was new in 2015, but I'd like to say that I like this guitar a lot. Obviously, with regards to stylistic features, it has taken as much from the violin tradition as from the Gibson archtop tradition. And it's clearly a stunning instrument with impeccable attention to every little detail. If it also sounds good, then WOW. I acknowledge that people with a tie to the Gibson/D'Angelico tradition can be put off a bit by this design. However, those who are familiar with for example some of the more radical Hoyers, may not see it as so far out.

Now, would I want to own it? If I was a collector with no monetary limits and with many other guitars in glass closets - then yes. The drool factor is high. But it's one of those guitars I hardly would dare to play and much less take out of the house.

**Ol' Fret** · 01-25-2017, 12:57 PM

If people speak out on the beauty (or the opposite) of a thing - here an archtop guitar - they often tend to disregard one basic recognition of esthetics. In social psychology it is known as the "mere-exposure effect" or the "familiarity principle" (Mere-exposure effect - Wikipedia ): Under otherwise identical conditions, known things are more pleasant and sympathetic than unknown ones.
"In the advertising world, the mere-exposure effect suggests that consumers need not cognize advertisements: the simple repetition is enough to make a 'memory trace' in the consumer's mind and unconsciously affect their consuming behavior.")
Fairly simple knitted beings, these people - including me!

This explains why Gibson fans appreciate Gibson guitars, a Scharpach fan his Scharpach guitar, and a Hoyer fan the "more radical" (really? - IMO, creativity is always related to radicalism) German Hoyer design. Of course, all from the purely esthetical point of view.

The Hegelian Karl Rosenkranz says in his 'Esthetics of Ugliness' (1853): "Beauty is the divine, original idea." And right at the beginning he remarks: "Hell is not merely a religious-ethical, it is also an esthetic one. We are in the midst of evil and viciousness, but also in the midst of the ugly. The horrors of unform, and of deformity, vulgarity, and atrociousness surround us in countless forms."

The tragedy of beauty is that it provokes aggression, sometimes even the desire to destroy it. In Herman Melville's novel 'Billy Budd' that dark emotion is subject. In the setting of Benjamin Britten's opera the ugly officer Claggart vents (retranslated): "O beauty, o loveliness, if I only had never met you! I should have been allowed to remain in my world, in the wretchedness from which I came. I would have come upon the peace found in hell. Now, the light shines in the darkness, the darkness comprehends it, and it suffers. I am condemned to destroy you. I will eradicate thee from the face of the earth."

Not sure here, if the "mere-exposure effect" is also 100% valid for persons... after five and more years.
At least, for males, the "Coolidge effect" is also proven.

**lammie200** · 01-25-2017, 01:45 PM

Beautiful guitar. Regardless of price, I don't think that I know enough about music theory to share space with it.

**PB+J** · 01-25-2017, 09:27 PM

I don't think it's simply tradition or the familiar that makes me dislike the Vienna Apex. For example, I really like Ken Parker's archtops--the design is clever and hits at many of the problems with traditional archtops in an effective way. I like Nigel Forster's unorthodox archtops enough that I built one myself (Nigel Forster style Archtop)

And I don't think you need to appeal to the divine or an ideal to formulate an aesthetic theory. In my case, I'm usually looking for the place where form and function meet. The Vienna archtop keeps going well past function. I see that in the names of their guitars, which are falling over themselves to find new adjectives for "ultimate."

No doubt extremely good craftsmanship, and the tuning key thing is clever. They clearly will bring a great deal of joy, so good on them. But not my taste

**kkfan** · 01-25-2017, 10:59 PM

Originally Posted by PB+J

No doubt extremely good craftsmanship, and the tuning key thing is clever. They clearly will bring a great deal of joy, so good on them. But not my taste

I think that's totally fair. Taste, after all, is purely subjective.

**kkfan** · 01-26-2017, 04:36 AM

Here are a few more photos of the Vienna Apex.

**sgosnell** · 01-26-2017, 01:03 PM

Nice pictures. I'd like to see one, and hold one, and play it a little. I like the tuners and tailpiece, and the look of them. I'd be scared while playing it, though, afraid I might put a scratch or a ding on it. I'd never buy one, they're just too expensive. But then I'm not the intended market.

**Jehu** · 01-26-2017, 02:25 PM

Nice to see a high end archtop with a stacked heel. I hope the practice loses its stigma.

**Bluedawg** · 01-26-2017, 04:02 PM

I still think it is one of the nicest looking guitars on the internet

The recording on the website is flattering as well ...

Not sure if it would be worth $30K plus with my middle class finances ...

Although it is probably going to cost less to buy and maintain than a Porsche or other mid to high end sports car ... which would be an equally frivolous expenditure for most of us

This guitar will be on my short list for that big retirement present to myself .... but it will be competing with the likes of the Benedetto La Venezia and the Ken Parker archtop

Assuming I make it to retirement and have some money left LOL

**sgosnell** · 01-26-2017, 04:12 PM

Here is my retirement gift to myself: Bambino™ | Benedetto Guitars

But I got it used for $2500.

I also got an Epi ES175 as a retirement gift from my children. We're not quite high enough in the classes to be able to afford anything like the instruments being discussed in this thread, nevermind a Porsche or anything else in that class.