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I'm new here. I used to play guitar years ago, and find myself back in the hunt for an instrument. I sidetracked for a number of years playing horns, but they don't lend themselves to serenading the squirrels, and it's too much work to keep the lip in shape for the little playing I do now.
What I think I want is a fairly acoustic-sounding archtop, used unplugged most of the time. I'd like a neck pick-up, or floating one for amplified use. If money were no object, I'd own a Taylor or Martin, and have Buscarino build me a nice archtop, but alas, I need to get by with one axe (for now). So- something woody and natural sounding, with a warm jazz tone plugged in.
The budget part comes in around $500, which could maybe be stretched to $800 if a killer deal came along. New, used, doesn't matter to me, as long as it has good playability. What I've been looking at is guitars like the Gretsch G9555, Godin 5th Ave, The Loar 309, etc. Imported, one (or none) pick-up. I'm also seeing a bunch of vintage ones like Harmony , Kay, and Silvertone, but I don't know how good they are. I'd have no problem adding a pick-up to a straight acoustic guitar. I love the look of something like an Epi Broadway, but I'm afraid it will be too far from an acoustic sound.
The challenge is that I'm in rural SC, and jazz boxes are unheard of around here. They just never turn up in music stores, pawn shops, or craigslist. I'd most likely have to order on on-line, or through ebay. I'd much rather pick it up and play it, particularly a used one, but it's not likely to happen. I figured I'd tap the collective knowledge and see if I'm on the right track, or if there's a dark horse that I haven't heard of. Thanks in advance for any input!
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05-21-2017 01:45 PM
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Godin 5th avenue ,Gretsch New Yorker ,Gretsch gc100?
Sent from my iPhone using TapatalkLast edited by silvertonebetty; 05-21-2017 at 01:49 PM.
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Loar is the only maker of true acoustic archtops in your price range. The others you mention are laminates. The cheap vintage ones are likely laminated or without truss rods.
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Do you care what scale length and what nut width? Epi Broadways have a 25.5" scale length. The others that you mention are in the 24.75" range. Most have a 1-11/16" nut width, but Loars are 1-3/4".
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I have an Epi Broadway that I would happily sell for $500
But the acoustic sound is .....
No, in fact, it is not. No acoustic sound basically.
Beside this, I have others archtop guitars with good acoustic sound, (Heritage Sweet 16, Eastman AR 503) but they are more than $500 worth
Maybe if you can find a used Eastman (1 3/4" nut indeed)
No personal experience with The Loars but "I've read on the internet" that overall quality can be good... or bad ! You'll need to check it in person.
I wish you a happy hunting ! Keep us informed
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...and welcome to the forum !
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The Gretsch New Yorker claims to have a 'solid spruce top'. It doesn't say carved; I guess it could be pressed into shape. The Godin says 'molded', which I assume is laminated, but archtops have been made by pressing solid wood into place. I think certain Ibanez models have solid spruce tops, but most of them are maple. I'm thinking spruce will be warmer? I haven't read all that much favorable press on the Ibanez models, although they look nice.
Scale length wouldn't matter much, as I'm starting nearly from 'zero' anyway. A wider nut might be nice for fingerstyle, which is how I usually play.
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Yeah, stay away from those cheap Ibanez archtops; pieces of garbage.
Originally Posted by MushCreek
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IM'ing you.
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That's a tough order to fill on that budget. If you save your money a while longer then a whole range of truly carved top and back acoustic arch top cutaways await you. Your patience and saving money is your reward.
Eastman AR810ce's are my first reccomendation, you should be able to find one, a pretty one, for just about $1000.00.
They're not beach guitars, they use a thinner finish but it is what gives it it's airy acoustic tone. And plugged in they sound very nice. There are a lot of them used so start saving your money and keep searching on CL or Reverb or eBay for your dream guitar. The AR810 is modeled after a Benedetto Manhattan... the early ones were dead copies, including the headstock shape... Here's one:
Eastman 810ce Electric Archtop | eBay
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I think that every Godin archtop is a completely laminated guitar. Unfortunately you can't play one, but I have always found them to have great acoustic qualities. I have a Jazz model. It almost sounds like a Martin acoustic IMHO, and I have a solid wood Martin acoustic to compare it with. Part of it is the way the fingerboard floats over the top, and part of it is the laminate itself. Godin has some kind of proprietary core that they use on some laminates, and some are more conventional but they use cherry wood as opposed to maple or birch. They all have the floating fingerboard though. That is a feature that I would expect on a much more expensive instrument.
The odd thing for me is that I have had two Seagull acoustic guitars that I didn't think sounded very acoustic at all. Granted they weren't top of the line, but the Godin archtops are a completely different story fortunately.
P.S. If you do like Big Mike says you might want to consider Peerless. They make a whole range that kinda takes over where Jimmy D'Aquisto left off. I have had two. Very fine for the price.Last edited by lammie200; 05-21-2017 at 04:57 PM.
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Yeah, the Godins do punch way above their weight in acoustic tone, considering they're laminated and quite small.
Here's a video I did some years ago (you can hear the baby coos of my soon to be kindergartner) thathe I think shows what this little box is capable of. No flattop, but way better acoustically than any of the Ibanez/Epiphone stuff.
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I have a laminate guitar that is probably as good as you can get for acoustic sound; a script logo single pickup ES 300. I find it perfectly satisfactory to play unplugged. But I also own a true carved top (an L7). Trust me, there is no comparison. The OP said he wanted an acoustic guitar. Loar is the only one in his price range.
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Thatrythymman- I responded to your PM.
I did some further research on the loar line. If I stretch to the $800 budget, that brings a used LH-600 or even LH-700 into range. I'm going to sell a pretty collectible trumpet on the 'bay; we'll see what that nets me. Money is sort of no object, if I can bring myself to part with it. I have enough, but I'm cheap, and I know that there's a chance that the guitar may sit more than get played. I'm kind of leaning towards a straight acoustic, and then adding a floating bridge, either pick guard or neck mounted. The Gretsch New Yorker 9555 is the kind of set-up I'm envisioning. If I use the reasoning of spending what I get for the horns, I've already made $350, and could see another $650 on the collectible one. That puts me at a grand!
I used to make tooling for Buscarino and Benedetto, so I've been to 'the mountain' as far as handling some very fine archtops. I can be satisfied with a lot less, of course.
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A Godin played with attitude! Originally Posted by mr. beaumont
you blow me away Jeff.
Joe D
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Nice to meet you, MushCreek.
I've tried (not owned) the Gretsches and found them too heavy & dull.
Did not plug them in.
I own a Godin 5th Ave. with a 'K&K' twinspot & it is light & fun.
Sensitive to feedback but manageable. A used one might be a good, cheap experiment
that could be re-sold at little loss.
BigMike is right, an Eastman can be very nice (I've got one),
but I'd be wary of going over budget on something you can't try first.
Good luck & have fun with your search!
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The ONLY real acoustic archtops being factory-made now are Loars and Eastmans.
Everything else - LITERALLY EVERYTHING ELSE - is a laminate top, or a "pressed-solid" top (i.e. not "carved").
While a Loar 300 has laminate back and sides, it still has a solid, carved top. It's still WAY better than any of the other choices, acoustically. If you're in SC, I have a dealer I can recommend in Asheville, NC, who may be able to get you a decent deal close to home.
I've borrowed and played at least 10 different Loars owned by friends all over the country, and have compared them my '32 L-5, '32 Deluxe, and even a '04 Eastman 805 non-cutaway and if you're looking for an acoustic archtop guitar under $500, a Loar LH300 is the only plausible choice. Obviously, if you can spring for a more expensive Loar or an Eastman, it'll sound nicer, but for that price anything else just isn't a true "carved-top" acoustic archtop.
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I'm on something of a similar quest -- I'm looking for a guitar that functions well acoustically and which can also function as an electric jazz guitar (i.e., would be amplified by a magnetic pup rather than something piezo-like). I'm finding that meeting these requirements in an archtop for significantly less than $1000 is a tall order. I've tried a bunch of different laminated/pressed top guitars, some with floaters and some with set-in pickups. The only ones I've encountered that even come close to functioning as acoustic guitars are the Godin Kingpin P90 (nice tone, but not quite legit acoustic volume) and the Guild A150 Savoy (better acoustic tone than the Godin, but more expensive). In carved tops under $2k, I agree with campusFive that Loar and Eastman are the only game in town. There are used Loars out there for less than $1000, but very few Eastmans. In the OP's $5-800 range (and even lower) there's much better value in flattops, and maybe a flattop with a soundhole pickup is the best answer unless you're willing to go up to around $1200 for something like a used Eastman AR605ce.
John
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I'm near the NC border in SC, so Asheville is less than an hour up the road. It's definitely be worth the drive, especially if he had something in stock.
A quick search of ebay turned up Loar LH-600's and 700's for well under a grand, used, of course. The 700 is their top-of-the-line, and supposed to be well regarded. What I read of the 300 is that they're inconsistent, with some playing much better than others.
I've considered a flat top, and there's a ton of 'em out there, but they don't deliver the sound I want. An archtop is quite different acoustically, and even more so plugged in.
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Another under $1k Solid Spruce top, lam sided acoustic consideration...
Epiphone Masterbuilt DeLuxe.
Epiphone Masterbilt De Luxe | eBay
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From what I've heard, those new Epi's ain't fit to shine a Loar's shoes.
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nothing wrong with playin' some jazz on a flat top IMO. . . .
pretty much my favorite
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Haven't tried a Loar yet, but the Epis are alright for swing rhythm and the occasional lead. If you take the flattop variety with an archtop bridge, it gets a decently loud sound, and can do some fingerpicking too. I was reminded of Gypsy Jazz guitars when I tried them for the overall feel and sound - not as loud though.
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Solid, but pressed into the arch shape - NOT carved. I've not gotten a chance to play one, but the broad consensus I've heard is that these are compromised acoustically. Originally Posted by Gitfiddler
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Also, flattops have an entirely different tonal spectrum, and although they can sound good acoustically. There's something very specific about the way an archtop sits in the mix that makes is something special.
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