Modern, Compact Archtop - Options?

[tomrawlinson]

Hi jazz fiends! Long-time lurker, first-time poster here.

After a long time in the wilderness I have picked up playing jazz again, and I am looking to pick up a hollowbody guitar to indulge my new tonal cravings.

My priority is to find something that I can practice on comfortably for a few hours at time. I have a smaller frame so I like light, small-bodied guitars. I like a full, but not huge, neck with a flat radius and 6105 frets or larger; but avoiding neck-dive is important to me.

Tonally, I am after a modern sound, with nice highs and a woody, but not woolly or booming, bottom end, a la Gilad Hekselman. I do not expect to play loud shows very often, so I am leaning towards a hollowbody over a semi. I prefer simple aesthetics; I'm not into gold hardware, multi-ply binding, fancy inlays, or wine-colored 'bursts. (Natural, satin or cello-like finishes are a bonus.)

My current shortlist (with reasons why I haven't bought one already):

• PRS Hollowbody II (if I can find one that isn't decorated like a Christmas tree)
• Victor Baker Model 14 (hard to find and I've heard VBs are not very durable; love the tone)
• Sadowsky LS-15 (these seem expensive for MIJ, potentially a little over-finished)

Are there any other modern, compact archtops I should consider? I'm in NYC so I have reasonable, but not excellent, access to shops and the online market.

[Hammertone]

Hi jazz fiends! Long-time lurker, first-time poster here.
After a long time in the wilderness I have picked up playing jazz again, and I am looking to pick up a hollowbody guitar to indulge my new tonal cravings.
My priority is to find something that I can practice on comfortably for a few hours at time. I have a smaller frame so I like light, small-bodied guitars. I like a full, but not huge, neck with a flat radius and 6105 frets or larger; but avoiding neck-dive is important to me.
Tonally, I am after a modern sound, with nice highs and a woody, but not woolly or booming, bottom end, a la Gilad Hekselman. I do not expect to play loud shows very often, so I am leaning towards a hollowbody over a semi. I prefer simple aesthetics; I'm not into gold hardware, multi-ply binding, fancy inlays, or wine-colored 'bursts. (Natural, satin or cello-like finishes are a bonus.)
My current shortlist (with reasons why I haven't bought one already):

• PRS Hollowbody II (if I can find one that isn't decorated like a Christmas tree)
• Victor Baker Model 14 (hard to find and I've heard VBs are not very durable; love the tone)
• Sadowsky LS-15 (these seem expensive for MIJ, potentially a little over-finished)

Are there any other modern, compact archtops I should consider? I'm in NYC so I have reasonable, but not excellent, access to shops and the online market.

Yes. You should consider a Hofner Jazzica Custom. These evolved from the earlier (@'89-'99) Jazzica models, and are quite modern and compact:
-16th fret neck/body joint
-@25 1/4" scale
-carved spruce top, single floating pickup
-15 7/8" wide bottom bout
-wedge-shaped body - very huggable - @2 1/8" | 53.98mm deep at neck end & 4 5/8" | 117.48mm deep at butt end.
-can be configured with nickel or chrome hardware
-made in Germany.

Hofner makes only a few of these every other year. They come up used once in awhile, and I also sell new and Custom shop versions (I used to be the Canadian distribution agent for Hofner). I have a couple of these guitars that I'd be happy to configure any way you want - I have plenty of Hofner nickel or chrome hardware for them, along with many other hardware options. Feel free to PM me via the forum.

[IbanezAS100]

It looks like you have a healthy budget, so you should consider a Collings Eastside Jazz LC.

[jzucker]

Seventy seven hawk is a great instrument too...

[mr quick]

I never heard that about the baker guitars... One of the best archtops I've tried was his 15 inch model.
I personally gravitate towards semi-hollowbodies myself.
here's me and my baby at a show I did last year:
https://i.imgur.com/YMwiYus.png

If you stumble upon a guitar like mine (Gibson ES-139) those can be had for probably 800 bucks or less in the US, it's worth checking out. It's got the rounded 59 neck profile which I quite like, big but not baseball bat (although I love a bat). No frills. Single volume & tone. Plain maple all round. Medium jumbo frets.
here's a couple of clips i made when i tried out a few new recording gear/methods

Ideer Pa Flaklypa 3 by MarwinMoody | Marwin Moody | Free Listening on SoundCloud
Fonz' Hjerte Alltid Vanker by MarwinMoody | Marwin Moody | Free Listening on SoundCloud


When it comes down to it, you just gotta try stuff. You're in NY, which I've been led to believe is a hotbed for contemporary guitar builders (like Victor Baker). Just get out there dude, try anything you can get your hands on. On your list there, I'd be most inclined towards the Baker myself. Doesn't the sadowsky have that long scale length?

[medblues]

Elegant, compact and affordable:

2018 Peerless Martin Taylor Virtuoso Black #7707 Archtop | Reverb

2017 Peerless Martin Taylor Maestro Blonde #7858 | Reverb

These are sold by GuitarsnJazz in Summit NJ. He will have whole herd of other simple elegant guitars from Eastman etc that fulfill your criteria

[Michael Neverisky]

Eastman El Rey ER4, if 16" is acceptable. Thin body, short scale, full profile neck and to my ears a very pleasing acoustic tone... likely due to it's solid wood, carved mahogany and spruce body.

[marcwhy]

Tom,
Welcome to the Forum!

From your choices, it looks like your budget is around $4000-5000, which is pretty sizeable, and opens many options! For your needs, though, Forum member Doc Dosco has a 12" Peerless for sale that is essentially a Benedetto "Andy." You can buy three of them with your budget! Check it out, and let us know what you decide.

Marc

[DMgolf66]

Gibson Custom Modern Archtop Argentine Gray (Serial | Reverb

They have taken another 15% off it in the past.

[don_oz]

Benedetto Bambino?

[Dave70]

I was browsing yesterday and happened to see this:

Music Go Round

Looks cute, wish I was in MN to hear how it sounds.

[AKA]

My priority is to find something that I can practice on comfortably for a few hours at time. I have a smaller frame so I like light, small-bodied guitars. I like a full, but not huge, neck with a flat radius and 6105 frets or larger; but avoiding neck-dive is important to me. ...........Are there any other modern, compact archtops I should consider? I'm in NYC so I have reasonable, but not excellent, access to shops and the online market.

I recommend you check out the Eastman lineup. My T145 thinline hollowbody is ultra light, the small bout width is extremely comfortable, its well balanced and it sounds fantastic.

Albert

[bananafist]

Check out Gibson Lee Ritenour L5 and 2 Sadowskys at archtop.com

[coolvinny]

I'd second the suggestion for a Collings Eastside Jazz LC. In non-deluxe form and if buying used, they can be found between $3K and $4K.

But note that the standard Collings neck gets pretty thick around the 8th fret. To me, too thick...thicker than most archtops. Not a huge deal for single lines but I find the thickness annoying for chording/chord melody in that area and above. It's virtually impossible to find any Collings Eastside Jazz LC's with their 60's neck carve but you could always get a luthier to modify it for you down the road.

[BComp61]

Bill Comins' "Guitar Craft Series" are amazing values, well built and setup and they sound great.

Home | Comins Guitars

[sgosnell]

The Eastman T145 hasn't been made in a few years, but they are excellent guitars. I love mine. For a new guitar, the T146 is a good choice. It's bigger, at 16", but still only 1.75" deep, and a 1.75" neck. For more money, you can get a new Benedetto Bambino, which is a great guitar, and for a little more a Bambino Deluxe. They aren't often readily available new, though, so you may need to buy used or wait for a few months for a special order to be built. But check Bob's Boutique on the Benedetto website, they appear now and then. But really, an Eastman is close in quality. I have both a Bambino and a Bambino Deluxe, as well as the Eastman T145, and I play the Eastman more than the Benedettos. Although I really play my Wu most of the time. If I got a reasonable offer for my Benedettos, I would sell them. I just haven't bothered to go through the effort to sell them.

[jfcx]

I second that statement. I recently bought a GCS-16-1 and it is a very well built guitar that is comfortable to play, came with an excellent setup, and has a great sound. I paired it with a Henriksen JazzAmp and I am extremely happy.

Bill Comins' "Guitar Craft Series" are amazing values, well built and setup and they sound great.

Home | Comins Guitars

[Sam Sherry]

I was browsing yesterday and happened to see this:

Music Go Round

Looks cute, wish I was in MN to hear how it sounds.

The concise writeup for an ES-140 3/4 is: Les Paul sized, full-depth laminated archtop with 22.75" scale.

Tuned to standard that would be a pretty loose feel. If you tune it one step high, to open F#, it's approximately like a small-body ES-175 with a capo to the second fret.

Obviously it's more complex than that -- scale at F# is 0.7" longer which would make it a little brighter than a 175, balanced by the small body size would tend to make it boxier -- but for an internet description, there ya go.

[David Dvorin]

The concise writeup for an ES-140 3/4 is: Les Paul sized, full-depth laminated archtop with 22.75" scale.

Tuned to standard that would be a pretty loose feel. If you tune it one step high, to open F#, it's approximately like a small-body ES-175 with a capo to the second fret.

Obviously it's more complex than that -- scale at F# is 0.7" longer which would make it a little brighter than a 175, balanced by the small body size would tend to make it boxier -- but for an internet description, there ya go.

I can offer some practical perspective on this: I perform on a 1956 Gibson ES-140 3/4 full depth more than any of my other guitars nowadays. It is so comfortable, and the scale length facilitates big stretches and fast fingering. Really no need to tune up higher than standard (I would not advise this), just put some heavier strings on (I use nickel 12s with a wound 3rd). Not only does the tension feel great, the timbre of the heavier strings gets a big tone.

It sounds amazing with a big fat p90, and I believe has a quicker transient response due to its smaller body. The small body aids in reducing feedback at higher volumes, and pairs well with boosted cleans on my Princeton, as well as thick bluesy overdriven sounds. Fantastic, well made guitar! Love it...

[Hammertone]

ES-140 or ES-140T = teeny neck.

[David Dvorin]

ES-140 or ES-140T = teeny neck.

It is indeed smaller, but with the nice round 50s Gibson C shape, the neck feels substantial and fits my hand comfortably (I have average to large hands). Just in comparison, I briefly owned another short scale electric, a 1960s Fender Mustang whose neck was so thin, I couldn’t play down towards the nut very well. The ES140 is just big enough for me to form any chord comfortably, but I play with my thumb almost exclusively behind the neck (classical) as opposed to thumb over.

I have no problem going between my long scale instruments (18” arch top, 6 string banjo) and super short (terz and quart guitars included). It doesn’t seem to be a problem...if it has frets I’m in. The ES140 is indeed something special, imho.