The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
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  1. #51

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    I think the depth is a bigger factor in comfort than the width.

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  3. #52

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    Not to me--I found my 17" x 2" guitar less comfortable than my 15.5" x 2.675" guitars.

  4. #53

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    Quote Originally Posted by Tal_175
    I think the depth is a bigger factor in comfort than the width.
    I find it's the overall combination of factors. I had a 15 x 3.75" which was unwieldy (perhaps not a surprise though at that depth!). I also had a 16 x 2 1/4" and found that it was kinda "too thin" for its bout width...hard to explain, but after a while it didn't feel quite right. I don't feel like my 15 x 1 11/16" Collings is too thin though, it feels just right (and I've had it over 2 years so it's been long enough by now to assess objectively). So, yeah, it's a combination of factors and sometimes hard to predict until you actually have it in your hands and live with it for a while.

  5. #54

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    Although not marketed as a true 'archtop', I'm impressed with the jazz tones and overall comfort of the 14"W x 1 3/4"D PRS SE Hollowbody II, especially with a set of flats. It's a laminate full hollow constructed guitar, but extremely versatile. I'd have no issues taking it to clubs (whenever gigs return) and not worry about it as much as a more expensive archtop.

    This is their import model, priced just north of $1,000. However, for $4K - $5K you can get their US made HB II model. I'm fine with the import.

    Here's my 'new guitar day' thread:

    PRS SE Hollowbody II

  6. #55
    OP here. Just bought one of these bad boys. Solid carved 15", sounds glorious. They go for less than $2k on the used market. Awesome.

    15" Archtops - why not more of them?-eastman_ar803ce_15_classic_sn_1978_archtop_guitar-1273d0e9c9a-7-jpg

  7. #56

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    Nice 2004 Gibson L5 Signature model in the for sale section. Just listed.
    No affiliation.

    Quote Originally Posted by Woody Sound
    I mean, c'mon, we're plugged in, they're more comfy. Pretty much the same tone. It's not like we're trying to project acoustically through the Stan Kenton band anymore.

  8. #57

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    Small-bodied archtops seem to be big at Fibonacci, although they make full-sized ones too. Martin Taylor seems to really like his signature model:


  9. #58

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    Here is a 15” Gudelsky that I just saw on Reverb. You don’t see those come up for sale very often. Of course his career was cut tragically short so there aren’t many around to begin with.


    Gudelsky Archtop Apprentice to D’Aquisto Custom 1992 Blonde | | Reverb

  10. #59

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    Quote Originally Posted by WahmBomAh
    Devoted 15" guy ...I think these days most players either migrated to archtops from solid body electrics or have to switch between them. My arm dynamics just adapt to the smaller body after decades of teles or strats or even 335's with the shallow depth.
    Depending on the builder's goal, the usual benefit of a 16, 17 inch is the deeper acoustic bass from the larger body.
    (All other things being equal)
    The transition from music before the 60's to music after the 60's has resulted in louder drummers and louder amplification. In the 50's it was string bass (often unamplified) and a 15-20 watt amp.
    Since then feedback has become an issue and my experience with full bodied archtops with a band often had me dialing down the bass on the amp to not get buried in the mix. Why 16,17" if I was dialing down the bass? I could get the EQ of the 15 into the amp without the struggle.
    If you can relate to this ... the 15" goes a long way to adapting the archtop sound to a modern setting.
    If I was to play my Monteleone (17") then all this gets thrown out the window because it feels and sounds like a Steinway. BUT ... Touring around 3 countries (pre pandemic) and hitting with some incredible but excitable drummers rendered the Monteleone useless. Even in duo the singer liked to be right next to me and she likes voice in the floor monitor.. I was getting that wooooof off the 17" in duo !
    After searching, I discovered the Howard Roberts fusion and although it sounded like an electric ham sandwich (thanks Frank Zappa) ,the ergonomics had me feeling like a figure skater on the board.
    I found a permanent soulmate in the Koll Ultraglide. If you have seen this model ... Saul Koll and I projected the first one and I sent him the dimensions of the HR. I`m sure he tweaked it but it was from that pedigree.
    Suffice it to say , it doesn't sound like an electric ham sandwich. To counteract the loss of the larger body we put the K&K contact pickup inside the body and I can dial in a taste of it for that sexy string noise and a richer harmonic content. This is especially essential because I work alot in duo with a singer. In my eyes I'm getting the beauty of an archtop sound in something that is a little more unique. I love the archtop because if you want it to NOT sustain ...the envelope will drop off and you get a punch with a decay ....much like a stacatto trumpet player.
    The guitar will stand up to a jab (I use 12's) yet still sing with sustain if desired. This is what a sax player does with long notes vs. tongued notes. If I try this on the 335 for instance, the note doesn't go into decay ...the inherent sustain from the solid block doesn't allow for me to cut off the note like a Clifford Brown phrasing does. I know ...put 12's on a 335 and listen to someone do it ...I have. BUT ...in my hands I can only get there with an archtop.
    The thing is that you want a creamy dense thick note and you need it in a split second. A solid body either chokes out on the percussive jab or takes too long to deliver the juicy part of the note in a machine gun phrase. This Koll Ultraglide does things for me that I haven't heard in other archtops at a drummer volume. Each build is different but I'm convinced the 15" body is ground zero for this tone. In my case there is NO F-hole so Saul also had to build around a biased EQ. Here are some examples.
    Can you hear the acoustic blend in the note ?

    solo at 2:30
    or here?
    Brazilian music is based on the acoustic nylon so the K&K blend gets me a bit of that air into the electric archtop.

    and with a band that a normal 16,17" would feed back over. If you got this far ..check out the popping in and out of the faster phrase at the end and the rich fat treble notes.
    This is a post as much about paying tribute (aka pimping) to Saul Koll's build as it is to the 15" body



    Really enjoy your playing and I’m sorry to admit I have only barely heard your name in passing, but I’m not all that up-to-date. Clearly, you have crafted an amazing career. Do you have any recordings you were especially proud of that you would recommend to a new listener? Thanks for posting, I hear what you were talking about in your guitar choice :-)

  11. #60

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    Quote Originally Posted by yebdox
    Really enjoy your playing and I’m sorry to admit I have only barely heard your name in passing, but I’m not all that up-to-date. Clearly, you have crafted an amazing career. Do you have any recordings you were especially proud of that you would recommend to a new listener? Thanks for posting, I hear what you were talking about in your guitar choice :-)
    Very nice of you ...thanks for the good words.
    I have always been a kind of under the radar player in terms of marketing myself and not having a flashy style in my musical nature ...I`ve been very lucky to just keep playing to live. Certainly my focus has been as arranger and musical director for Mafalda Minnozzi ...also not a household name but to me one of the greatest singers I have ever heard.
    During my many years in NY I was able to get enough cred from some great players who all offered to play on a record if I called them.
    I did ... except I did many years ago. I am now taking advantage of the down time due to the pandemic and am putting the right touches on it after being unsatisfied with its first version. I plan to get that out by the end of the year ...still need to record a couple more cats and get it mixed mastered etc,etc,
    I`ll post stuff here at the right time.
    I will say ..I was very lucky (as I listen back to their incredible playing) to have Anthony Jackson, Randy Brecker, Steve Jordan, Manolo Badrena, Alex Foster and a few others on it.
    Here are a couple of examples of stuff I think that came out cool.
    laid back old school... love the interplay with the pianist Art Hirahara

    and




  12. #61

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    Quote Originally Posted by WahmBomAh
    Very nice of you ...thanks for the good words.
    I have always been a kind of under the radar player in terms of marketing myself and not having a flashy style in my musical nature ...I`ve been very lucky to just keep playing to live. Certainly my focus has been as arranger and musical director for Mafalda Minnozzi ...also not a household name but to me one of the greatest singers I have ever heard.
    During my many years in NY I was able to get enough cred from some great players who all offered to play on a record if I called them.
    I did ... except I did many years ago. I am now taking advantage of the down time due to the pandemic and am putting the right touches on it after being unsatisfied with its first version. I plan to get that out by the end of the year ...still need to record a couple more cats and get it mixed mastered etc,etc,
    I`ll post stuff here at the right time.
    I will say ..I was very lucky (as I listen back to their incredible playing) to have Anthony Jackson, Randy Brecker, Steve Jordan, Manolo Badrena, Alex Foster and a few others on it.
    Here are a couple of examples of stuff I think that came out cool.
    laid back old school... love the interplay with the pianist Art Hirahara

    and




    Lovely stuff! Look forward to hearing it when you release it. So many talented people in the world, and NY in particular. Thanks for following the muse and being brave enough to have a career! For some reason, it makes me think of another very talented player in NY, Ross Traut, who was a bit under the radar as well, but a great player, retired now, I think. Anyway, keep on keepin’ on, whether you know it or not, just making a living playing serious music serves as inspiration to those of us with less talent, courage or both

  13. #62

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    Quote Originally Posted by WahmBomAh
    Very nice of you ...thanks for the good words.
    I have always been a kind of under the radar player in terms of marketing myself and not having a flashy style in my musical nature ...I`ve been very lucky to just keep playing to live. Certainly my focus has been as arranger and musical director for Mafalda Minnozzi ...also not a household name but to me one of the greatest singers I have ever heard.
    During my many years in NY I was able to get enough cred from some great players who all offered to play on a record if I called them.
    I did ... except I did many years ago. I am now taking advantage of the down time due to the pandemic and am putting the right touches on it after being unsatisfied with its first version. I plan to get that out by the end of the year ...still need to record a couple more cats and get it mixed mastered etc,etc,
    I`ll post stuff here at the right time.
    I will say ..I was very lucky (as I listen back to their incredible playing) to have Anthony Jackson, Randy Brecker, Steve Jordan, Manolo Badrena, Alex Foster and a few others on it.
    Here are a couple of examples of stuff I think that came out cool.
    laid back old school... love the interplay with the pianist Art Hirahara

    and



    I recall hearing some clips of Paul and Mafalda on TGP, a few years back, and being so impressed I tried to catch them at a club in NYC, but unfortunately my gig schedule conflicted with theirs, and I never made it. Hopefully after this nightmare is over, I'll be able to hear his superb accompaniment skills live.

  14. #63

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    Quote Originally Posted by sgcim
    I recall hearing some clips of Paul and Mafalda on TGP, a few years back, and being so impressed I tried to catch them at a club in NYC, but unfortunately my gig schedule conflicted with theirs, and I never made it. Hopefully after this nightmare is over, I'll be able to hear his superb accompaniment skills live.
    Hope so ! THanks ...We had a record release gig at Birdland on Sept. 20 ...but the club has NO shows thru the end of the year.
    Until then you can find me under a desk in Sao Paulo waiting for it to blow over.

  15. #64

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    Quote Originally Posted by WahmBomAh
    Hope so ! THanks ...We had a record release gig at Birdland on Sept. 20 ...but the club has NO shows thru the end of the year.
    Until then you can find me under a desk in Sao Paulo waiting for it to blow over.
    Here in NYC was bad enough, but Bolsonaro is even worse than Trump, if that's possible. Stay safe!

  16. #65
    Quote Originally Posted by ThatRhythmMan
    Here is a 15” Gudelsky that I just saw on Reverb. You don’t see those come up for sale very often. Of course his career was cut tragically short so there aren’t many around to begin with.


    Gudelsky Archtop Apprentice to D’Aquisto Custom 1992 Blonde | | Reverb
    Wow that's awesome. The seller says "pretty wide neck." I wonder how wide. Out of my price range at this time anyway, too bad.

  17. #66
    Quote Originally Posted by coolvinny
    I find it's the overall combination of factors. I had a 15 x 3.75" which was unwieldy (perhaps not a surprise though at that depth!).
    What guitar was that? Seems like odd dimensions, absurdly deep. My Huipe Flamenco is 3-1/4".

  18. #67
    Quote Originally Posted by Woody Sound
    OP here. Just bought one of these bad boys. Solid carved 15", sounds glorious. They go for less than $2k on the used market. Awesome.

    15" Archtops - why not more of them?-eastman_ar803ce_15_classic_sn_1978_archtop_guitar-1273d0e9c9a-7-jpg
    So I am not adept at making decent sound clips, but I can tell you this little Eastman 15" carved top sounds fantastic. Can do everything from dark and smoky to a brilliant natural acoustic archtop sound.

    15" Archtops - why not more of them?-ar803-jpg

  19. #68

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    Quote Originally Posted by Woody Sound
    What guitar was that? Seems like odd dimensions, absurdly deep. My Huipe Flamenco is 3-1/4".
    Yeah, it was an outlier for sure. It was a circa 2000 Glen McKerrihan cedar-top, walnut back/sides, oval hole archtop, with 25.5" scale. It had a big sound! But definitely not designed for playing while standing.

    I think Glen made a nylon version of it too, but mine was definitely for steel strings.