Acoustic Archtop Tone

**m_d** · 06-12-2025, 06:08 AM

Tobias Hoffmann - very cool

**Rickco** · 06-20-2025, 01:07 AM

I came across this and had not heard of him before, theres one for sale on the forum. I thought the tone of this guitar to be exceptional and the players very good. If I was shopping in that neighborhood it would be on my (very) short list.

**Hammertone** · 06-20-2025, 03:52 AM

Erich's guitars tend to be wonderful acoustic instruments, for the most part. He's also a very lovely person. I highly recommend him to anyone considering an acoustic archtop.

**Marker** · 06-20-2025, 04:02 AM

Acoustic archtops have their place but they will always sound better amplified to me. I get that people want a consistent tone and loudness up and down the neck and historically they had a purpose but I’m not sure why more modern players don’t embrace a different approach that is more dynamic and interesting to my ears. It would be interesting to hear more flattops in Jazz settings.

To each their own, though !

**GuyBoden** · 06-20-2025, 04:28 AM

Originally Posted by Marker

Acoustic archtops have their place but they will always sound better amplified to me. I get that people want a consistent tone and loudness up and down the neck and historically they had a purpose but I’m not sure why more modern players don’t embrace a different approach that is more dynamic and interesting to my ears. It would be interesting to hear more flattops in Jazz settings.

To each their own, though !

A big benefit is that you can play an Acoustic Archtop unplugged at home, it's a great sound. Very enjoyable too, especially for those long hours of practising.

To my ears, generally, Flat Top Acoustic guitars have a more boomy bass than an Acoustic Archtop, still a nice sound, but different.

**RJVB** · 06-20-2025, 07:35 AM

Originally Posted by Rickco

If I was shopping in that neighborhood it would be on my (very) short list.

That definitely sounds like one you'd want to take to that island!

Originally Posted by GuyBoden

it's a great sound. Very enjoyable too, especially for those long hours of practising.

Of course it is. And the sensation of a big instrument resonating in your arms to the response of your touch just adds to it.

To my ears, generally, Flat Top Acoustic guitars have a more boomy bass than an Acoustic Archtop

Plus a nasal/hollow quality, on the trebles but also in the sense that the larger the body, the more they seem to hold back a part of the lower registers for a while. I guess that's part of what makes them boomy.
I've said this before: to me an archtop combines the depth (but not boominess) in the lower registers of a big-body flattop with the clear & immediate (but not as nasal) higher registers of a small-body flattop.

**FourOnSix** · 06-20-2025, 09:43 AM

Originally Posted by Marker

I get that people want a consistent tone and loudness up and down the neck and historically they had a purpose but I’m not sure why more modern players don’t embrace a different approach that is more dynamic and interesting to my ears.

Maybe they've never heard of you?

Sorry, that was a joke, not a dish.

**Marker** · 06-20-2025, 11:07 AM

It’s personal

**Spook410** · 06-20-2025, 01:10 PM

To me it's not the frequency difference between flat tops and archtops. Frequency varies quite a bit between an OM and dread on one side and an 18" vs 16" on the other. That and a bunch of other variables like construction and materials.

What gets me about a good acoustic archtop is the sound envelope. The attack, the initial emphasis, then the decay. If that's combined with just enough overtone information, nothing sounds better to my ears.

**Rickco** · 06-20-2025, 02:03 PM

Originally Posted by Hammertone

Erich's guitars tend to be wonderful acoustic instruments, for the most part. He's also a very lovely person. I highly recommend him to anyone considering an acoustic archtop.

Are those yours?

**m_d** · 06-20-2025, 03:44 PM

Not an archtop, but an experimental Claudio Pagelli model which I find really appealing. Was Pagelli looking for a kind of hybrid sound-wise between the archtop and the flat top here? Some fine acoustic playing by Francis Coletta, born in Marseille, settled in Switzerland, fantastic player whom I saw once live leading a big band with an f-hole Telecaster. I believe he used to tour with Sinatra on his European dates.

**Hammertone** · 06-21-2025, 06:05 AM

Originally Posted by Hammertone

Erich's guitars tend to be wonderful acoustic instruments, for the most part. He's also a very lovely person. I highly recommend him to anyone considering an acoustic archtop.

Originally Posted by Rickco

Are those yours?

The two on the right are mine. The one on the left belongs to a friend.

**Rickco** · 06-21-2025, 11:48 AM

Originally Posted by Hammertone

The two on the right are mine. The one on the left belongs to a friend.

Would you say the one in the video is representative (within reason) of the sound of the ones you have and have heard? I think the description said it was under 4 lbs. I looking at a cutaway of his on Rev. perfect for me weight and size, no way to hear it first but trying to find out more about his guitars.

**Hammertone** · 06-22-2025, 02:41 AM

Originally Posted by Rickco

Would you say the one in the video is representative (within reason) of the sound of the ones you have and have heard? I think the description said it was under 4 lbs. I looking at a cutaway of his on Rev. perfect for me weight and size, no way to hear it first but trying to find out more about his guitars.

Yes.