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In 1968 I was invited to join a Rock band called "The Sanskrit Staircase" (far out man!)I had previously only played acoustic guitar. I bought a double-cutaway Melody Maker with 3 single coils. In retrospect it was a decent axe that played well.
Originally Posted by GNAPPI
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01-31-2017 07:44 PM
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Good points my friend, agreed!
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Aria, tone is literally in his fingers:
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Well, that is a fine example right here of the great chinese made archtops, i mean you can have beautiful instrument like Eastman's up to 3500$ and be in really good hands! and yet, when you go back home, enjoy the rich, powerfull, balanced, warm yet clear tone and a well made, voiced and carved fine Acoustic Archtop and really get to feel the notes i mean really be transported by the notes,,, not just sounds or unrelated harmonics..
There is great beauty in truly well made, at every steps Hand Crafted, graduated and carved acoustic archtop... Something some people might see irrelevant, or might never even feel it but i get shivers when i think of the full richness of tones, harmonic complexity and focus yet very warm bass i get from my Acoustic Archtop, For sure i don't own 15 of them... neither would i go out on a gig with it, the eastman does it quite well! but it's worth looking for and waiting for the good instrument to catch up on you
ahahah I'm slipping a bit here ahah,
Thanks for sharing you thoughts!
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You have good points on many things... one thing i'd like to share my vision about, most of the big Expensive Collector/players of High end, new and vintage Jazz guitars i know (some with up to 230 000$ worth of archtops at home in my customers) are actually ''Home Players'' who would just never go out on gigs with their instruments... and many of the best players i know don't even gig, they play with other masters for fun and just shred the hell out of their souls in there homes, hiding in the woods like no body knows :P
I just want to say that not only the professional ''gigging'' players out there ''Need'' or deserve great instruments, most of the very good guys out there you couldn't even say they play.. and gosh they do! I just think it's a matter of what people like or dislike, i know that for myself, there is nothing as great as the tone i get or hear when a friend comes home and plays amazing 20's, 30's and early days jazz on my acoustic archtops at home... I wouldn't even hear a 10th of the subtleties, complexity and rich tones if i would got out and listen to it on a gig
Best regards,
Guillaume,
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Back in the day I would buy and sell what would be classed as 'vintage' guitars. The same vintage guitars I cannot afford today!
All I can say is thank the star's you can get well made cheap guitars nowadays.
The other thing with cheaper guitars is that you can own many until you get an idea as to what works best. Then you'll have the quandary over which cheap guitar you've bonded with that will fund a more up market instrument.
My wife plays clarinet. She has an old Yamaha student model. I bought her a intermediate quality Buffett. She likes the ease of playability with the Buffett but prefers the tone of the old Yamaha! This has worked well for me as now she understands why I have to have soo many guitars!
I have settled on alternative branded guitars of late, Squier over Fender, Epiphone over Gibson. I couldn't be happier.
I did have a hand made Selmer Maccaffarri, LeVoi petit bouche. I would be beside myself when taking it out for sessions and clumsy folk players bashing out Danny Boy with it. In the end I sold it as i could not justify having it.
Talking of Yamahas, I have an AEX 502 P90 equipped thinline ES 125D-a-like that I hunted down in the NW England area.
What a piece of kit! Yamaha guitars are so well made you cannot go wrong. I gave it to my son in the end but had to bribe him with a tele to get it back. One day I'll get me a Yammie AXE 1500.
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Cheap isn't always bad and expensive isn't always good. I sold Fenders in the late 70s when they were expensive junk. For me, a guitar has to feel good and play well. You can tell a lot about an electric playing it unplugged- how well it sustains, how balanced it is, that sort of thing. Electronics can always be upgraded and replaced.
These are great times for guitars. My first electric cost my father the equivalent of $800 in today's dollars for a one pickup Musicmaster. That same money will buy a really nice guitar today.
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Just read this post. Great feedback from some smart people. Some bottom line questions: What can you live with? What can you live without? What is your budget? The rest is up to the player and his/her talents to drive tone & sound. I've seen some guitarists playing 2nd hand guitars on 2nd hand amps and sound phenomenal. Keep playing everyone!
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My first guitar was a parlor size Kay my Father bought for me when I was 8 & 1/2yrs old. As I grew older, watching musicians on TV or in person, I dreamed of having a Gibson or a Fender or a Martin or Epiphone, and later, a Guild. I learned to scoff at Harmony, Stella/Harmony, Silvertone, anything less than the afore mentioned "Holy Grails." I've owned them and loved them, but as time has gone by, I've changed. I own one Collings MT-O that was an extravagant purchase, but my other mandos are a 1935 Kalamazoo "flat back" and a 1969 Harmony Bat Wing (K&K Definity installed). My Tenor Guitars are a 1959 Martin 017-T, 1936 Kalamazoo "00" and a 1965 Harmony Archtone (K&K Definity installed); looking back I never would have even picked one of these "lesser" instruments up let alone be seen playing one, but now I love them. What I'm trying to say is best found in the Steven Stills song "Love The One Your With." I never put anyone's Wife, House, Car, Dog, or Guitar down, because that's what they enjoy. PEACE!
Last edited by Donnie; 05-25-2017 at 12:46 PM.
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A few pics of cheap carved, solid wood archtop Chinese guitars. I think there has been enough objective evidence in this forum to move past point of origin and towards playing what sounds good and what you like.
Last edited by Spook410; 05-25-2017 at 12:37 PM.
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AMEN Spook410!
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Funny that someone mentioned Peterson's Bosendorfer contract rider. He also traveled with two Bosendorfers in his trailer. He really had a STRONG preference for them. Years ago I used to sell them. Here's a little known detail. The case of the Bosendorfer--the "outside" of the piano--is solid wood. It is flippin' extravagant to make a concert grand piano with a solid wood case. Yamaha, Steinway, etc., are all plywood cases. This isn't a bad thing, at all. For example, consider how outstanding a D-model (i.e., 9-foot) Steinway sounds. However, I promise you that the solid case of the Bosendorfer contributes to the clarity of that instrument's sound--especially in the mid-bass and bass. You can play a left-hand chord on the Bosendorfer--anywhere--and it comes out CLEAR. This is something that OP prized.
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Your original post is full of sweeping generalizations and under close scrutiny really don't hold water. Reasonably priced instruments from such well respected companies as Peerless, Eastman, Ibanez certainly offer performance quality guitars for $1000-2000 or just a little over.
You are certainly welcome to your opinion, but I can't agree.
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I've tinkered on a couple of Bosendorfers
the Bass on them is frikin HUGE
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Originally Posted by joaopaz
Wonderful playing! I know this is an old post, and I'm sorry I didn't see it earlier.
I have to say that I didn't care at all for the photography - too close-in.
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Ditto on that. I played a Bosendorfer once for about an hour. Unbelievable. Originally Posted by pingu
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Recommandations for Hollowbodies for $600 and under?
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