Looking for a good archtop for son's dorm

[Doctor Jeff]

Hey OP glad you found a good answer for your son.

All above re financing is very true.
“State Universities” all over the US, in many cases two per state like University of Michigan and Michigan State. Both fine schools.
Except for my alma mater in good ol’ New Jersey:
“Rutgers University”. Causing the eternal question… what’s a Rutgers?
And they’ve essentially eliminated the entire downtown of the “city” they are in, New Brunswick, with mid rise student housing. Very few small stores left, just Resturants catering to students or business types.

I really don’t think it’s fair to posit that ‘best university’ stats are biased towards the US. There’s 50 states, count ‘em, many larger than countries in the EU. So by pure numbers alone a large country like the US a priori is going to have more colleges (which in theory some healthy percentage of will be outstanding in their field). For example, the finely honed partying skills of U of West Virginia, or Delaware State (correct Uncle Joe?)

I mean, look at Russia. They’re way bigger than the US, so they should statistically have many more outstanding universities than the US. May just be bias against Russia.

<true dorm room purpose!

jk

Uncle Joe went to University of Delaware not Delaware State, well if it's the Joe I think you're referring to. I imagine they partied a bit there, but only ranked 21 (according to Newsweek), way behind my kids' alma mater, U of Wisconsin.

[John A.]

Still, the US has 30 of the 100 best ranked universities in the world, so something seems to work

I don't see what that has to do with the quality of US higher ed as a whole. The world rankings of universities are based on their reputations as research institutions. The fact the US (which has by far the most research universities of any nation) dominates those rankings says nothing about whether, for example, higher ed is delivered well to undergrads, or achieving the things that society as a whole needs it to, etc.

I mean, yes, terrific, there are a couple of hundred institutions in the US where a tremendous amount of important work is being done, and that's a tribute to our society's willingness to invest in that. But at many of those institutions plus thousands more the mission of driving social mobility is failing compared to other most other advanced societies (after having been the the engine of huge amounts of social mobility in the first 40-odd years after WW II). There are a lot of ways of looking at the purpose and performance of post-secondary education. Jingoism and "we're the best" is probably not the most useful among them.

[BigDaddyLoveHandles]

When I was in college back in the '60s, living in the dorm was required until you were a senior, unless you were living with family in the city. That may not have been the case everywhere, but it was where I went. I couldn't have afforded an apartment anyway.

This is definitely a yer-mileage-may-vary matter. My younger daughter is at the Univ. of British Columbia in Vancouver. Her first year was remote because of Covid. The second was on campus. One of the friends she made in her dorm was a Chinese student whose Chinese friends all lived in houses bought for them by their parents -- in Vancouver we're talking a couple million dollars a pop. They all wore design clothes and my daughter dresses entirely in thrift shops' finest.

it's a pretty campus anyway.

[JohanAbrandt]

I don't see what that has to do with the quality of US higher ed as a whole. The world rankings of universities are based on their reputations as research institutions. The fact the US (which has by far the most research universities of any nation) dominates those rankings says nothing about whether, for example, higher ed is delivered well to undergrads, or achieving the things that society as a whole needs it to, etc.

I mean, yes, terrific, there are a couple of hundred institutions in the US where a tremendous amount of important work is being done, and that's a tribute to our society's willingness to invest in that. But at many of those institutions plus thousands more the mission of driving social mobility is failing compared to other most other advanced societies (after having been the the engine of huge amounts of social mobility in the first 40-odd years after WW II). There are a lot of ways of looking at the purpose and performance of post-secondary education. Jingoism and "we're the best" is probably not the most useful among them.

My point was just that the higher education system in the us seems to have succeded in some aspects, not that it is perfect. I live in a country that has a dramatically different system and I think there are merits to that system as well, such as government subsidized student loans for everyone and no tuition fees what so ever.

[John A.]

My point was just that the higher education system in the us seems to have succeded in some aspects, not that it is perfect. I live in a country that has a dramatically different system and I think there are merits to that system as well, such as government subsidized student loans for everyone and no tuition fees what so ever.

Apologies if I misread your intent. I should probably say that my kid is in his 3rd year of high school, so this whole subject of college reputations/rankings/purpose/quality is very much at the front of my mind. In my current situation, any system that offers "no tuition fees whatsoever" looks better than the insanity of college costs in the US.

[rpjazzguitar]

Sorry for a post having nothing to do with guitar.

Five years ago we went nuts about picking a college. We (parents and son) went with the most elite school to which he was admitted. We passed up several campuses of our state University.

The elite school was fine, but if we had it to do over again, we all would have gone with a campus of the University about a 90 minute drive away.

You see all this hype about college rankings in the media. The local people tell you not to fall for it. The locals have a point.

[BigDaddyLoveHandles]

I'm reminded of this.

[gitman]

Re the guitar : my vote goes for the Godin 5th avenue model(s) - great design, classic tones, sturdy and a GREAT bang for the buck.
Re Vancouver/BC - if money were not an issue I'd be living there for the summer months and spending the winters on Madeira ....

[Jonathan0996]

Having been in dorm rooms before, id suggest a tele, with drywall nails driven into it halfway, so they stick out.

I'm with Jeff on this one. Moreover, unless your son is sold on strictly playing straight ahead clean jazz, some kind of more versatile semi-hollow guitar or a tele might be better suited to his needs. A lot of young jazz students end up playing all kinds of music.

Hope he has a great ride at school.

[John A.]

Sorry for a post having nothing to do with guitar.

Five years ago we went nuts about picking a college. We (parents and son) went with the most elite school to which he was admitted. We passed up several campuses of our state University.

The elite school was fine, but if we had it to do over again, we all would have gone with a campus of the University about a 90 minute drive away.

You see all this hype about college rankings in the media. The local people tell you not to fall for it. The locals have a point.

You're in the Bay Area right? So many great colleges around there. I often regret not having considered schools there (Putz! They have trees, and beaches). I'll be happy if my son goes somewhere where he can learn something and grow up a little, though I would not complain about in-state tuition.

[bohemian46]

I'll vote for a Godin 5th Ave either acoustic, or the single pick-up or the double pick-up.
Solidly built... good tone (subjective) modestly priced.

[st.bede]

In my humble opinion and running in my (ersatz) rarefied circles... when it comes to a higher education, the most important factor is the student.

There is more of a horse and water situation, then a lack or plethora of access to knowledge. Of course my experiences are limited.

Another thing that always amazes is that in all fields, there are people who are excellent and others that are not so good at their work. Once again, the relationship to how much money was spent on a particular person’s higher education and professionalism is often dubious.

[maxsmith]

Let us know how it works out.

Thanks, all. We talked about it for a while and I found an AR-371 for a little under $1,000, so we are going to give that a shot. Just ordered it.

Sent from my SM-G998U using Tapatalk

[frankhond]

Too late by now but if the AR371 for some reason doesn’t satisfy, over here the Chinese (or is it Korean) made Ibanez GB10 is popular among guitar students. I heard a guy play it at a workshop recently and it sounded just like the Japanese version.

It’s an idiosyncratic design so YMMV but a solid option for a dorm.

And just to throw gasoline on the college debate… lots of US students at the polytechnic over here, even with the foreign student fees it’s a fraction of the cost. No tuition for citizens.

[Rick5]

I'm with Jeff on this one. Moreover, unless your son is sold on strictly playing straight ahead clean jazz, some kind of more versatile semi-hollow guitar or a tele might be better suited to his needs. A lot of young jazz students end up playing all kinds of music.

Hope he has a great ride at school.

He's very old school. No distortion, no string bending. He has always only played clean jazz - loves grant green, wes, jim hall, pat martino. In his jazz program, he always let the other guitarists play on the more fusion/funk/modern stuff.

The Eastman arrived. Very nice! He likes it. Neck feels great. I see what people are saying about it having a brighter tone than an ES-175. Through a Henriksen Blu 10, it sounds kind of grant greenish to me. Definitely a little on the brighter side, but very cool. We are happy with the purchase. It was shipped from about 3 hours away. UPS got it here very quickly - less than 24 hours.

[Rick5]

I'll vote for a Godin 5th Ave either acoustic, or the single pick-up or the double pick-up.
Solidly built... good tone (subjective) modestly priced.

That was on our list, but we tried one a while back and didn't really like it. There is so much personal preference of course.

[John A.]

He's very old school. No distortion, no string bending. He has always only played clean jazz - loves grant green, wes, jim hall, pat martino. In his jazz program, he always let the other guitarists play on the more fusion/funk/modern stuff.

The Eastman arrived. Very nice! He likes it. Neck feels great. I see what people are saying about it having a brighter tone than an ES-175. Through a Henriksen Blu 10, it sounds kind of grant greenish to me. Definitely a little on the brighter side, but very cool. We are happy with the purchase. It was shipped from about 3 hours away. UPS got it here very quickly - less than 24 hours.

Congrats. Those are nice guitars.

[marcwhy]

Congrats on the guitar, Rick and son! Play it in good health!

(And hey, if it's "too bright," start a new thread on "replacement pickups for my Eastman!" Down the rabbit hole!)

[sgosnell]

If it's too bright, the tone knob on the guitar, the amp, or both, can fix that. That's why they're there. If it's not bright enough, not as easy to fix.

[rpjazzguitar]

You're in the Bay Area right? So many great colleges around there. I often regret not having considered schools there (Putz! They have trees, and beaches). I'll be happy if my son goes somewhere where he can learn something and grow up a little, though I would not complain about in-state tuition.

We have beautiful beaches, but you might need a wetsuit and an apres-dip sauna to enjoy them. For beaches, I'd suggest a couple of hundred miles south.

My point, having been through it, buying the hype, and out the other end ... my son would have been better off, overall, at a nearby UC rather than the elite school back east.

I was in favor of UC Santa Barbara. One edge of the campus is the Pacific Ocean.

[lammie200]

...

I was in favor of UC Santa Barbara. One edge of the campus is the Pacific Ocean.

One of my nephews is enjoying UCSB. He had choices and decided to go there. Must be fun.

[Archie]

US has also produced almost 3 times more nobel prize winners than any other country. In part because us universities are able to attract and retain top talent from all over the world.

There is of course an advantage in language, and the runner up is to no surprise UK.

List of countries by Nobel laureates per capita - Wikipedia


The most hardy, good sounding and playing archtop, I ended up sticking with at Uni, was a Greco FA series.
A great ES-175 replacement and far better at resisting feedback, which is good in small practice rooms.

You can have a solid body but how are you going to woo a girl with one of those? They sound awful unplugged

Greco FA67-75 Super Real 1987 Made In Japan Natural Color | Reverb

[John A.]

We have beautiful beaches, but you might need a wetsuit and an apres-dip sauna to enjoy them. For beaches, I'd suggest a couple of hundred miles south.

My point, having been through it, buying the hype, and out the other end ... my son would have been better off, overall, at a nearby UC rather than the elite school back east.

I was in favor of UC Santa Barbara. One edge of the campus is the Pacific Ocean.

Yeah, but Santa Cruz is such a beautiful campus. Worth the cold water IMO (and if you think that's cold, try Maine).

I guess I would say that the career value of elite NE schools is narrow. It matters from some careers. If you want to work on Wall Street, the investment banks recruit on campus at Ivies, but if that's not your thing you shouldn't give those school's prestige undue weight in your decisions, and should maybe focus more on academic, social, financial, and family fit. Alas, for most of us, this insight only comes in retrospect.

[st.bede]

He's very old school. No distortion, no string bending. He has always only played clean jazz - loves grant green, wes, jim hall, pat martino. In his jazz program, he always let the other guitarists play on the more fusion/funk/modern stuff.

The Eastman arrived. Very nice! He likes it. Neck feels great. I see what people are saying about it having a brighter tone than an ES-175. Through a Henriksen Blu 10, it sounds kind of grant greenish to me. Definitely a little on the brighter side, but very cool. We are happy with the purchase. It was shipped from about 3 hours away. UPS got it here very quickly - less than 24 hours.

here is how I deal with tonal issues:

first, my hands can accomplish more then I give them credit for...

second, strings... depending on my needs

third, a slight PU adjustment can help

forth, assessment if the guitar itself is bright or muddy ... one thing I have done is to compare the overtones between guitar x and guitar y. Also listen acoustically to what is happening in the frequencies. Where does the bass roll of, where does the highs roll of, is there a spike or dip in the mids (I like to break the mids into three areas: low mids, mid mids, and high mids... our ears really love the mid range) .. stuff like that

fifth, find the right PU, keeping in mind that the tone can only be influenced but never really created by the PU itself.

[RayS]

here is how I deal with tonal issues:

first, my hands can accomplish more then I give them credit for...

second, strings... depending on my needs

third, a slight PU adjustment can help

forth, assessment if the guitar itself is bright or muddy ... one thing I have done is to compare the overtones between guitar x and guitar y. Also listen acoustically to what is happening in the frequencies. Where does the bass roll of, where does the highs roll of, is there a spike or dip in the mids (I like to break the mids into three areas: low mids, mid mids, and high mids... our ears really love the mid range) .. stuff like that

fifth, find the right PU, keeping in mind that the tone can only be influenced but never really created by the PU itself.

6th, "PICK"

Ray