Lefty player looking for advice Epi/Gibson Archtop inc others

[Lucy]

Thanks Everyone really appreciating the info and advice

[Lucy]

Hi everyone just want to thank you all for the replies been having a bit of a think about what I fancy n chasing my own tone while learning some Wes Montgomery

n I've been looking at some 1960s L5 specs that I found online 17" lower bout 21" long 3/1/8th" deep and 25 1/2" scale with 20 inch depth, carved spruce top, arched back, ebony fingerboard, neck joins at 14th fret.

Does anyone know what size the nut's were on the 60's L5's an what profile neck they had an what braces were used?

With that in mind and trying to find a few guitars that are close in spec but affordable to me for now I've narrowed it down to the following.

Gretsch G9555 New Yorker - 16" lower bout, number of frets 14 to body 19 total 25" neck, Padauk Board nut width 1.75" body material laminated maple, carved? spruce top mahogany neck 3.3" depth body lenghth 20.25 Parallel bracing. V neck. £530

Epiphone Deluxe Masterbilt 2016 - 17" none cutaway body 25.5" scale 1.69" nut, ebony fretboard 5 pc neck maple/mahogany rounded c neck, solid spruce? / laminated maple, parallel braced £600 or so

Epiphone Zenith Masterbilt 16" £400 or so

Epiphone Joe Pass Lefty 16" lower bout? top spruce, laminated body 1960s slim c neck, scale 24/75" 2.75" body depth £350-500 after watching a few go

Godin 5th av 16" bout 3" depth maple neck, cherry top arched with back, 1 1/16" nut , fingerboard rosewood, 24.84" scale £770

Peerless monarch l7 17" bout 3" body depth 1500 USD

D'angelico EXL-1 Lefty 17" bout 3" body depth 1 1 1/16" nut width, fingerboard Pau Ferro neck c shape laminated spruce top laminated flamed maple. 1500USD

I think those are probably the choice at the moment unless I go for something vintage which seems to be the Zenith or Blackstone in the same sort of budget post war by Epiphone are there any 17" vintage ones under £1500 figure that I've not thought off the only other one that springs to mind is the Loar LH700 I've read about with the carved top but those seem tricky to come by currently.

Thanks in advance ^_^

Lucy.

[Lucy]

Hi Everyone just want to thank you all for the reply drove 4 hours today n got to play a modern Epiphone Masterbilt Zenith today in a shop. Tbh it left me quite underwhelmed acoustically my dad was sat about 5 feet away n couldn't hear it n I was laying into it was quite a bit on round midnight upside down so I could hear myself was a bit of background noise though typical with a guitar shops. Are all the 16" archtops like that? It was hyper quiet.

The neck was very nice fret wise, it did have round wounds on.

Could also hear a rattle on it somewhere.

Thinking of checking the Godin out next as that's the only other guitar at a dealer.

Do feel like I could comfortably play a 17" though just gotta hunt some places out.