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We've probably done this already but I've been talking about the guitar I want to design and the reasons for my choice, woods, pickups, neck, size, scale etc but I would also be really interested to hear other peoples dream archtop that THEY would design if given total control.
If you're interested in doing this, then please detail it as a spec sheet would and give a sentence following to explain why and what you think the result would be.
It will also be interesting to hear the responses and what people think different materials, sizes and hardware etc would achieve in their guitar.
If we've already done this recently though, don't worry :-)
My Guitar:
Scale: 24"3/4's I used to love 25/5 because it made the notes a little more poppy to my ears and gives each note better separation. I also find I can use lighter strings and not let the bass get out of control but I have noticed over the last few years that although japanese companies use a 24"3/4's scale, the string tension is still high. This means i can get all the benefits of the 25"5 but easier playing. So 24"3/4's if I can get the higher tension. If not 25"
Neck: Laminated maple. I like Maple, I like the feel I like the firmness. I like looking at a bit of flame when I glance down. Laminate because its obviously more stable on average than solid and if there is a tonal difference I want the body to do the overall sound but the neck and fretboard to keep the notes tidy/strong at what ever point they can.
Body Width: 16" I like this size. I used to prefer 17's but I just find the 16 is more practical and rains in the overall sound, so you dont get a lot of spilling out n the bass and trebles. You can also use heavier stings without feeding feedback.
Body Depth: 2"3/4's: This has become my favourite depth because it is deep enough so that you know the notes are coming from a hollow body but its shallow enough for the acoustic response to not get in the way of your amplified tone. Its like the best of both worlds to me. Also extremely comfortable.
Bracing: I have tried some X braced guitar but i just cant really get on with the tone as much as i would like to. Sometimes parallel bracing is over done and kills the bass string or leaves an issue with the middle strings not sounding as strong as the bass and treble strings. Done right though I find it offers the best over all tone from top to bottom and actually helps keep the bass very tight and the trebles too.
Arch Type: By this I mean the hight of the arch or how much it is 'accented'. Gibson have quite an arch where as Guild dont. I prefer for the most part the Guild sound. Also because my body will be shallower and 16" wide the tone should have a slight focus to it anyway, more so than say a 17 or a 16" thats 3" or 3.5" deep. This means I would prefer the flatter Guild arch but I would probably not make it quite that flat. Lets say in between Guild and Gibson. If the arch is not high enough, it might undo all the good work the ebony and maple back could be creating. The round tight responsive note.
Pick-up: I want a cross between an Hb-1 and Super 58. I want it to be punchy and darkish but articulate and clean. For example I find the Classic 57 (Gib) to be too dark and although unbeatable on the middle strings for tone, the bass and trebles seem wooly in contrast. A cross between the HB-1 and Super 58 should fix that.
Coil Splits: After owning my Ibanez AR305 with coil splits I love it. if you can get away with playing single coil then I think you should so to have the option, is perfect. You just get a more punchy, articulate note imo.
FretBoard: Love the way Ebony looks and love even more how it feels. Very smooth and refreshing almost, not clingy or greasy feeling. If you could say it has a noted performance in tone, then i would say it makes notes stand out and become a little more focus. Kind of like why I would chose maple for the neck.
Tail Piece: I want it to have Adjustable Tension so I can get the tension I like. I think string tension is massively important and probably an under rated or under discussed part of what makes the over tone and playability of a guitar. So something like the Gibson Finger Style would be good.
Finish: Well I used to love blonds but a couple of stunning TB's have got me going. My 90's L5, My AR305 and my now gone FA800. So yeh probably a nice dark almost walnut burst (or vintaged tobacco type thing). I no longer really care for nitro, too much hassle and not noticeably better than some lovely thin poly variation. Hofner use Poly and their Guitars sound more than acoustic. Also because my guitar is not trying to be an acoustic archtop, it would be a waist. However if nitro could be done right yes it does look better. But for simplicity poly is fine as long as its done right.
The other details would be a Single pickup (dont need the other one), tone and vol pot can be drilled into the plate, doesn't have to be mounted, again acoustic tone is not my main goal. I would also add carbon fibre to the neck and if I could, I would do away with a truss rod all together. I would have the neck shaped to be perfect (slight relief) and that is.
What Do I Expect This Guitar To Sound Like?
I expect his guitar will have very tight but round, punchy notes, with good depth that dont fall apart at volume. I expect it to be light'ish and I want the laminates to be light with some 'air' to them.
It should be the ultimate gigging be bop guitar, articulate, warm, round, fat (but not too fat), tight in the bass at all times. Smooth and beyond easy to play. You should just be able to lightly press the string down and get a very firm responsive not to then slap you across the face, again so when you play fast lines, each note exists by itself and can be clearly defined. Kinda like Bensons playing but not quite as thin.
In reality it will be pretty bloody close to the Laminates D'aquisto was making. The best Template I could give you for the guitar is this, which is essentially a D'aquisto copy.
What I also love about this shape as opposed to the Gibson shape (which I also love) is that the shoulders are slightly narrower. Now I cant say for sure but whenever I've played an archtop with slightly narrower shoulders than say the typical Gibson shape, the trebles seem so much sweeter.
Anyway, thanks for reading. I look forward to reading other peoples ideas.Last edited by Archie; 06-03-2015 at 05:38 PM.
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06-02-2015 08:33 PM
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Fun thread Archie...
Here are my specs:
17 inch cutaway (Round)
3 inch body depth
25 inch scale
European Spruce carved top, American Maple back and sides ( highly flamed and bookmatched)
One piece flame maple neck, ebony board, pearl block inlays Tapered C neck profile
Grover tuners, brass tailpiece, parallel braced
Dearmond 1100 pickup, volume and tone controls on bound tortoise pickguard
multi ply bindings on body, neck and f holes
Blond nitro finish
adjustable truss rod, adjustable ebony bridge (compensated)
1 11/16 bone nut.
Thomastic 13 Swing series strings
Strap pin on the upper side Guild Style
Benedetto style arch with full recurve
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what models of Gibson are you referring to?
Originally Posted by ArchtopHeaven
I know that the ES175's I have played were flatter arched than on my Guild.
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Well, I'm a Herb Ellis guy, so a Gibson ES 165 Herb Ellis model is my choice.
Gibson ES-165 Herb Ellis Electric Guitar | Musician's Friend
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a baritone acoustic archtop
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Over 100 guitars have passed through my hands over the years. I can appreciate many different types of guitars. So technical specs are less important to me at this point than playability and ergonomic attributes, which as a set are elusive, even in the most costly instruments:
- Absolute tuning stability
- Near perfect intonation
- Smooth frets that feel invisible
- Very lightweight
- Balanced when sitting or standing
- Fingerboard radius that lets every fretting effort hit its mark
- Feels good for finger style as well as plectrum playing
- Strums great, picks great, touch sensitive, punchy
- Acoustically responsive and dynamic
- Electrically responsive and dynamic
- No wolf tones or bum notes
Some of the above imply that it must be an acoustically capable guitar, and that would be right. A 16" or 17" archtop would be fine, thank you. I even have a couple that actually approach the ideal. But it has not been easy, or cheap, or a short trip, to get to this destination!Last edited by rpguitar; 06-02-2015 at 11:15 PM.
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I'm still very happy with my G&L ASAT (T-style). The only things I can imagine changing is having two side-by-side pickups in the neck position, single and humbucker, and stainless steel frets. I'm over archtops.
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Have you sold your JP20? If so, why?
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I was comparing their 17"s Originally Posted by fritz jones
The X-500 compared to the L5. You're probably right about the 16"'s although are you comparing a Guild 16. too a Gibson 16? I still think Guilds are flatter in both sizes, the SF2 is a good example.
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What Radius would that be Rp? Originally Posted by rpguitar
Last edited by Archie; 06-03-2015 at 02:19 PM.
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awesome ! what is the cc pickup , gibson ? Originally Posted by customxke
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Surprisingly, after many years and many 12" fingerboards, it seems that 9.5" or 10" suits me best. Something about the pinky stretches to high strings on chords falling into place, and also the way the strings respond to heavier rhythmic strumming. Originally Posted by ArchtopHeaven
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Could that be Hank Garland's own Byrdland in CustomXKE's pics ?
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Tail Piece: I want it to have Adjustable Tension so I can get the tension I like. I think string tension is massively important and probably an under rated or under discussed part of what makes the over tone and playability of a guitar. So something like the Gibson Finger Style would be good.
As far as I know, for a given scale and a given set of strings (which is usually the case on a guitar) string tension will affect the pitch. Only way to adapt string tension to your liking is to choose your suitable string gauge.
I never understood this "Adjustable Tension" concept (except for marketing purpose, maybe)
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i agree with that , physics wise Originally Posted by 339 in june
but the tailpiece height might affect the
down force on the bridge
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Totally agree ! Originally Posted by pingu
Down force on bridge because of angle change, but not string tension !
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I have to admit i kind of agree with that myself. Im a bit miffed as to how it works but I do know that the Japanese tensions on their 24'3/4's is higher than on Gibson. I don't know why or if I'm actually just tripping. Originally Posted by 339 in june
I used to play the Es-175 and found the tension too low, so I put 13's on, then the bass was too out of control. Never had that Issue with Japanese models and I don't mean that in a fanboy way. If it were the other way round I would prefer the Gibson.
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For me it would be hands down that one:
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All the guitars I don't have. haha.
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Solid or semi hollow for comfort. Long scale length, rosewood board, block inlays. Maroon/dark red trans finish. SD P rail pickup. Strap locks, mounted pickguard, no bridge pickup.
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love that too ! Originally Posted by vinlander
For me it would be hands down that one:
man all these cc pickup guitars are great
love Barney's sound
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So long as its a lefty one I will love it. More or less.
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Dont want to thread jack ATH. As I understand it, if you took two identical guitars with the same gauge strings but one guitar had a longer distance from the bridge to the string anchors than the other then as you depressed a string to fret it then the force required by the finger to overcome the action height would be less because the additional stretch to fret would be spread over a proportionately longer overall length of string. Likewise, if you were string bending then it would feel easier but you would have to bend the string further to achieve the same pitch change than on the shorter overall string length guitar. I'm quite happy to be corrected if I am wrong!! Originally Posted by ArchtopHeaven
My issue with my dream guitar is the word "used" which you mentioned in the op. Whatever spec I chose, by the time a luthier had built it then what arrived would invariably be the spec I "used" to prefer.
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A tobacco sunburst es175d, left handed.
have the cash, there is not one for sale in the WORLD for the last few months.
Enjoy your right handed lives!!!
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