Thin hollow body good quality "jazz" guitar

[ThatRhythmMan]

Whoa I like that except for the color. Otherwise... yeah


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I think the color actually looks pretty nice, but then again, I have mild deuteranomalous color blindness. It surely seems less green to me.

[Doug B]

Those are excellent -- but twice (or more) your budget!

Ya, I know-<sigh!> I meant with roughly the same size and features-but preferably costing less. Heritage guitars are a good bargain by comparison. However if I have to I will save for a VB or equivalent to get what I want.

[marcwhy]

OK, buy this Peerless "Serena" now!

[frankhond]

I had a GB 10 and the neck was perfect for small hands. Unfortunately I have larger hands... but you should definitely test a GB 10.

[Doug B]

I had a GB 10 and the neck was perfect for small hands. Unfortunately I have larger hands... but you should definitely test a GB 10.

Thanks. I'll test one when the music stores reopen, post covid-19. Should be about next summer here in Canada.

[Gitfiddler]

Hey Doug B~ I see you are in Canada. Check out 12th Fret. They always carry a nice variety of quality hollow body archtops, and at all price points.

Here's the current selection:

Archtop | – The Twelfth Fret • Guitarists' Pro Shop

Good hunting!

[rpjazzguitar]

For about $1600 new, you can buy a Comins GCS-1.

It's the same instrument that Jack Wilkins plays (he has the Spruce version, I think, same price). Also Yotam Silberstein among others.

I play it too -- and I didn't see any advantage to raising my budget.

For a third of that price you can get the D'angelico EXDC which as far I can tell (having owned one for 10 years or so) is a perfectly good quality instrument.
Comins designed the one I have - and was my main instrument before the GCS-1. It has its own sound, so that's a matter of taste. The Comins has nicer looking wood.

The point is that you have a great many choices of instruments within your price range that are good quality. They vary in the way they look and the way they sound, both of which are matters of taste.

[Doug B]

Hey Doug B~ I see you are in Canada. Check out 12th Fret. They always carry a nice variety of quality hollow body archtops, and at all price points.

Here's the current selection:

Archtop | – The Twelfth Fret • Guitarists' Pro Shop

Good hunting!

Great minds think alike!!!

I've been going through their web site listings this afternoon-I'm on about page 100 out of 210! Very enjoyable and educational!

Cheers

[Doug B]

For about $1600 new, you can buy a Comins GCS-1.

It's the same instrument that Jack Wilkins plays (he has the Spruce version, I think, same price). Also Yotam Silberstein among others.

Good stuff. I always get Comins and Collings guitars mixed up.

[krusty]

How’s this for thin? Not sure of the price, but I’m planning to look into one;


Semi Hollow Jazz Guitar | Quebec | Vincent Cleroux Luthier

[Crm114]

That would be my vote too

Ibanez George Benson (GB10). Search you’ll find plenty of love for it here.
MIJ used is in your price range, and beautifully made.
Good Luck

[marcwhy]

How’s this for thin? Not sure of the price, but I’m planning to look into one;


Semi Hollow Jazz Guitar | Quebec | Vincent Cleroux Luthier

Beautiful! And very similar to Marchione's model (which is about $10K or so).

[Ray175]

ES330 or Heritage 530........ great guitars

[Little Jay]

Ibanez AF-75T, if you can find one. Tremendous value!

Saves you $2100! ;-)

[Little Jay]

Can’t go wrong with an ES-125T

[Gabor]

Can anyone enlighten which one of the mentioned instruments have center block, and which one are the real thiner brothers of the full depth archtops? Is not it important soundwise(and mojo) or am I missing something?

[gitman]

That is a Marchione model, yours for around 16 G ......
look : Marchione 59 burst semi Hollow 2016 Amber | Scarecrow | Reverb

How’s this for thin? Not sure of the price, but I’m planning to look into one;


Semi Hollow Jazz Guitar | Quebec | Vincent Cleroux Luthier

[Michael Neverisky]

Can’t go wrong with an ES-125T

I had ad '58 ES-125 and didn't find the neck to be terribly ergonomic. Cumbersome profile. Couldn't disagree with the tone though.

[gitman]

Can anyone enlighten which one of the mentioned instruments have center block, and which one are the real thiner brothers of the full depth archtops? Is not it important soundwise(and mojo) or am I missing something?

The semi-hollowbody guitars have some sort of center-block running down through the mid-section of the body, all coming from the original design concept developed by GIBSON in the late 50's and first employed in their ES-335/-345/-355 models. The Gibson ES-225, ES-125 and ES-330 models are thinline (meaning a thinner rim) FULL holoowbody guitars without any block or trestle inside. If you want your guitar to have a quicker attack and a shorter sustain then those without a block would be the better choice.
Listen to some 60's Grant Green recordings and get an idea of what this type of guitar can sound like.
However, when you listen to Adam Rodgers, Mike Moreno or Ben Monder who all use semi's then you might re-consider : it's mostly in the player's hands and touch and how the instrument is set up to make it sound hard, soft, mellow or percussive ...

Two more models to check out for the OP are the HOFNER Verythin Classic and Thin President guitars -
Hofner Thin President recent Sunburst | Neal&#39;s Gear | Reverb

[marcwhy]

That is a Marchione model, yours for around 16 G ......
look : Marchione 59 burst semi Hollow 2016 Amber | Scarecrow | Reverb

[Actually, I think it's the Cleroux - he posted the luthier's site above. See my post, too.]

[krusty]

[Actually, I think it's the Cleroux - he posted the luthier's site above. See my post, too.]

Correct. Vincent Cleroux indicates on his website that after he studied formally, he apprenticed with Stephen Marchione, and that this design is a nod to his mentor. He builds out of Montreal, and as a result, his guitars are much more accessible to me.

[krusty]

There is also this lovely 15” body model by Toronto luthier Jon Perry. Again, not sure of the price, but there is a used one of his 2-pickup design locally here at the 12th Fret for a very reasonable price.

AT-Series | |

[Jim Soloway]

Small hands and the beginning of arthritis, so something comfortable to play.

What do you find to be comfortable? My belief is that the answer for me has changed over the years and is not as intuitive as I thought it would be. I actually find thicker necks to be much more comfortable. My hand doesn't have to close as much and I can play with less pressure. I also find that strings and tuning are a huge help. I have my guitars strung with very light strings and then I'm tuned down, generally a full tone on a 24.75" guitar or 3 semitones on a s5.5" guitar. The result is extremely low on my strings. It requires a bit more attention to play in tune and I lose some acoustic volume, but I'm 68 years old and I can still play six hours a day if I want to with no pain or discomfort.

[gitman]

[Actually, I think it's the Cleroux - he posted the luthier's site above. See my post, too.]

Wow, that fooled me - it is quite a blatant copy though from what I can see......
anyhow, it could of course be a great guitar. The clip sounds good and the player is
quite accomplished, very clean playing !

What I find more pleasing to my ear is the deeper, more rotund resonance of an electric archtop with a deeper body.
I own a custom Victor Baker guitar that I ordered from him some 10 years or so ago : it's a plywood-top (+back)
17" Byrdland-type archtop (2 3/8" rim) with a 25" scale. It is very comfortable to play in both a seated and a standing position and has a
high feedback threshold but non-the-less it lacks in tonal depth when compared to my Super-400 CES or 16" Trenier Jazz Special
(also a plywood top/back guitar). In a band setting this is not so very apparent (I doubt that the average listener could make out the difference)
but when playing in intimate solo or duo situations (or at home, while recording, etc.) it becomes in issue. Strictly a personal choice
/preference though !

[lammie200]

I really like the Gibson ES-390 that I have. They should be in your price range. Mine is the mini humbucker version with a clear finished mahogany neck. There is another version with P90s and a black finished mahogany neck. Fully hollow and light weight. Smaller body than the 335 size. I would sell you mine except that I won’t. . It’s a keeper.