Acoustic Archtop Sound Advice?

[randyc]

Following this thread from the beginning with interest, I'm compelled (obsessed?) to make the suggestion consistent with all of my previous posts on the topic. There are many bargains in older, classic jazz guitars (oops, not classical, of course) ... the guitars that characterized the unique sound - contributing to the music that we admire - and as expressed by the artists that developed that sound.

It seems that it's no longer politically correct to characterize these instruments (the ones that all other guitars emulate) as American or European, right? The brands like Gibson, Epiphone, Hofner, Guild, Framus, some of the production instruments that are heard in the magical recordings from 1935 to 1965. Accusations of zenophobia, chauvinism, rascism, and so on are offered to those who describe the benefits (historical, nostalgic and practical) of the guitars played by the artists that made us want to follow in their giant footsteps ...

Many reasons/explanations/justifications are offered related to the selection of "this" Chinese guitar versus "that" Korean guitar, or "another" Indonesian guitar (70% seem to be manufactured by a single conglomerate - smart guys, they made an intelligent business plan two decades ago. Clever copies, clever marketing.).

I listen/read the reasons carefully but most, factoring the common denominators, seem to condense into $$$ as the main selection criterium. The argument apparently is that there is a large increase in cost in order to obtain an incremental increase in sound quality.

To which I say: Yes.

If there is a practical economical reason to restrict the purchase of an item that provides great personal satisfaction (and is far less expensive than the most basic transportation cost) then there is little to debate.

Supposing that there MAY be reasons other than the decision process like ... purchasing of a socket wrench ... well I'll cut to the bottom line and suggest that it's not a BAD thing to look for a used American/European instrument, they are readily even COMMONLY available for reasonable prices (despite contrary assertions that I frequently read) if one is patient. In the past three days, several fine Guild and Hofner instruments have sold for less than many of the "upscale" Asian guitars ...

Guild guitars, as some of my friends here have mentioned, are an excellent choice. They are undervalued; so are Heritage guitars ... I like the idea of evaluating an instrument before buying. Not always possible, of course. Patience in anything (other than cancer), is rewarded.

Not wanting to misinterpret the thoughts/words of the OP but there was mention of an "L-5 copy" . Ever tried the original ?

It's pretty much win-win, buying a good guitar. Don't like it? Sell it for what you paid for it (or more) --

cheers,
randyc

PS: lost track of the original question, sorry OP! Getting back to the topic of accoustic jazz guitars (and the amplification thereto), who would know better than BigDaddyLoveHandles or HotRodCoupe? If you are so fortunate as to obtain an L-5 like these two own/have owned, whoooo-eee !!!

[cosmic gumbo]

So my question to you, the lovely and talented forum: What is the best way to amplify the glory that is the acoustic archtop? A Fishman? Baggs? What about amplifiers?

If you are going for a true acoustic archtop sound, you have to mike it and run it through a clean amp that wasn't meant for electric guitar, or use a small PA. If you take an archtop and then use a guitar pickup, you may as well keep the L5 copy. While Jim Hall and Joe Pass may have recorded sometimes using acoustics with mics, they performed on electric archtops.

[jazzrat]

AR805CE and AR803CE.
The 805 has a floater and the 803 has a built in pickup.
I do agree with the above suggestion on Guild and Heritage, but for ACOUSTIC tone I've not had better than the solid wood Eastman's.
For a more electric tone, quite frankly I prefer a Guild 150 or 170 or a Heritage 575. Since the OP was about acoustic archtops, I'm still voting
Eastman as the best value.

What model(s) Eastman do you have?