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Hi every body!
I'm looking for an archtop with a loud acoustic sound around 1000$, loud enough to play with Selmer style guitars. I'd like it eventually with a pickup.
I'm interested by the Guild 150 Savoy, the Godin 5th avenue composer and maybe a The Loar.
I already played a 5th avenue kingpin ii unplugged in a bar and I didn't find the sound very loud but people heard me in the bar. I'd like something louder. I didn't try the Composer, has anyone played both the kingpin ii and the composer and could compare the acoustic sound?
Il didn't either tried the Guild but i read that the sound was loud. Has anyone tried it and could compare it with the 5th avenue?
Thanks
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10-22-2017 09:38 PM
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I’d recommend a Loar over the Guild A-150. Even the 60s carved top A-150s aren’t that loud. A Loar LH-700 is usually pretty loud.
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Thanks.
So the difference is important?
Are there any concurrent to the Loar in this range of price?
Another question : I'm actually in Canada and I'm surprised, the Loar isn't distributed in Canada, you can only order the guitar for an expensive price.
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Someone was selling a Furch guitar here on the site. Acoustic with a floater, Czeck made....looks like good quality.
There's a sound clip too...I think the seller is overseas, but you could probably work it out.
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Nothing in that price category will come close to matching the acoustic volume of a Loar LH700. I hear tell there's a mint LH700 available
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One inexpensive archtop with a big voice is the mid-90's MIK Epiphone Howard Roberts. It has a huge oval-shaped sound hole, and the body size of an ES175. The stock floater p'up and electronics aren't the greatest, but are a fairly easy upgrade. A good used one should be far under your $1,000 price point.
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I've tried the following in order of quietest to loudest:
Originally Posted by Quent
Godin 5th Ave Composer
Godin Kingpin II
Godin Kingpin (single pup, no cutaway)
Guild A150
Epiphone Masterbilt Deluxe
None of these is as loud as any decent quality full sized flattop or true carved-top acoustic I've tried.
The Epi comes closest to being a legit acoustic (and has a piezo). Under some conditions it might be able to keep up with a gypsy style guitar, but would not be loud enough to solo over a flock of them pumping hard.
The Godin Kingpin (I recently got one) is significantly louder than the KP II or Composer, and works well for practicing unplugged because its tone sounds more like an acoustic than an most laminate archtops, but my dreadnought style flattop is much, much louder. The Guild is a little louder than the KP and very nice sounding but not truly an acoustic guitar either (sounds amazing plugged in IMO; the DeArmond pup is great).
As others have said, only one of the carved-top Loars is a realistic choice near this price point. For around $1500 (though likely a bit more) used there are some Eastman carved top models that sound very nice and are pretty loud.
There are tons of threads here on this subject, so I'd suggest searching.
John
Sent from my SM-J700T using Tapatalk
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In a perfect world a Stromberg Master 400 would solve your volume challenge, but also drive you to bankrupcy - assuming someone was willing to part with theirs
Whatever you get, you could maybe put some consideration into string gauge.
In many cases a heavier guage will give a fuller sound - when I put 13s onto my 1961 ES175D, its acoustic qualities, including projection, changed remarkably to my ears - a quarter to a third of a turn of the trussrod corrected the slight neck bow that came with the string change, and as well as being a little louder the mid range and upper register sounds fuller.
On the other hand, do be careful not to overload a more modern guitar that is not designed for the higher tension associated with heavier stringss.
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A carved top Loar is the only one that'll even come close to competing with gypsy jazz guitars (and your leads will still get buried, particularly if you're playing with hacks who don't know how to lighten up their "pompe")
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I borrowed a friends Eastman once and it was pretty loud.
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If you choose to play acoustic, put Phosphore Bronze on an Eastman AR503CE, it'll bark like a flat top !
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I have gotten along quite well with a Godin 5th Avenue acoustic (no pickup version) at Gypsy jazz jams. My 1951 Epiphone Zenith works better in that situation because it has more "bark" and cuts through the other guitars better, but it's a lot harder to find a vintage guitar under $1000. You can get a brand new Godin for less than $500 and put a pickup on it.
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the qualification was a "loud acoustic." One can put a "pickup" on any guitar - for loudness Originally Posted by Chazmo
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OP did say he would "like it eventually with a pickup." I qualified my response by stating the Godin I played at Gypsy jams was acoustic--no pickup, but loud enough to be heard in that circumstance.
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Possibly of interest:
1964 Epiphone Zenith Guitar
Got my L-50 from this bloke, he's honest & I got what I paid for.
Be sure to ask you all the questions you are supposed to.
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Used Eastman 810CE
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You can search any number of threads on this board and they will all basically say the same thing: buy a Loar.
Loar and Eastman are the only true carved-top archtops being made for under $2000. And Loars are definitely the only under $1000.
If you can find a used Eastman that happens to be a boomer - great. But, the easiest solution is to buy a Loar.
You can always a reissue DeArmond floating pickup to go electric when you need that, while keeping the top free to vibrate fully.
Lastly, just remember that acoustic archtops are directional: they throw the sound forward from the top. This means that they can be pretty darn loud to the audience, but not seem all that loud to the player. I was jamming with a friend this weekend, and his guitar is sheerly louder, but I was turned toward the bass player and he was turned about 45º, and all the bass player could say is how well my guitar projects.
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I have only tried Eastmans, not Loars, but an Eastman with a carved spruce top is pretty loud. My T145, a thinline 15", is louder than my Gibson J45 or my Ovation. And that's from my perspective, not from the audience. Archtops don't often seem that loud to the player, as Jonathon said, but are much louder to the audience. You will probably need to find a used Eastman to get one for $1000, but it might be possible. If you do find one, it's probably a good deal.
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The cheapest "used" Eastman 810 on ebay is $1500. Originally Posted by jads57
Used Eastman 810CE
But beyond price, from having owned an embarrassing number of Eastman guitars, including 810's, 910's, neither of those guitars approaches the acoustic volume of a Loar LH700 or LH650. For a grand, a Loar can't be touched...it's not even close
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If you want to know how loud your archtop really is, play it like Freddie Green. Tilt it way up, and you can hear it much better, plus it should actually project better, sort of like tilting your amp back. If you want to hear yourself playing acoustic with a big band, that may be the only way. I don't know if that's why Freddie did it, probably multiple reasons, but it certainly helps me hear the guitar better.
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If we want to be honest and keep it real, and it's been said, in this price range no archtops will be able to hang with Gypsy guitars. I don't know if in any price range actually... But ok, maybe Strombergs or Dangelicos...
I was in the same boat, looking for an acoustic to play swing, but not the Selmer styles. I solved my problem with a resonator. It is actually louder than anything else, but it's not exactly archtop sound, and very little sustain. But it does sound great in its own way, and perfect for early jazz styles.
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If you're playing an archtop along with someone playing a gypsy jazz guitar a few feet away, the gypsy will certainly sound louder to you. But to an audience, a decent carved-top archtop should be louder. And maybe to the gypsy player. Archtops were designed to project over a big band without amplification. They are very loud at a distance, but not behind the top, where the typical player is. When you play an archtop in the typical position you don't hear much volume because it's being projected straight out from the top, with little going back toward you. If you want to really hear what the audience is hearing, tilt it way back toward your head.
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That could be. But are you saying it from the personal experience? In theory yes, but also those archtops were designed for just rhythm playing. The rhythm , 'chugging' will definitely be heard, or rather felt. But again, in $1000 price range? Hmmmmm Originally Posted by sgosnell
Surprisingly the only acoustic i witnessed was on par with Gypsy was Martin D type. I only saw it once though.
But more on topic, yes, Loar is the best bet.
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These are pretty loud in my opinion
https://musicsquare.co.uk/163597_Epi...ic-guitar.html
Sweetwater.com (800) 222-4700
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Epiphone with 2 humbuckers is loud enough acoustically? No way! Originally Posted by sandal90
I owned that Synchromatic for a day or two- not good, Loar is much louder.
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