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I’d love to get a Hollowbody or archtop - but can’t afford one with a solid wood top. Every hollow guitar I’ve ever played with laminated tops have no real benefit over a solid body - except weight.
what are your thoughts? Does a Hollowbody (or archtop) with laminated top (and/or sides/back) worrth the extra $? Which laminated top guitars have you played have the resonance that comes anywhere near a solid top hollow guitar??!
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09-28-2023 11:34 AM
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Laminated hollowbodies have a distinctive percussive and deep sound different than solid bodies, also a different sound than solid tops. And a lot of people prefer the woodiness of laminate guitars instead or solid wood - they are different sounds. So figure out what sound you are after first.
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By and large any electric guitar can play all the same notes as any other guitar.
And a ton of the tonal / sonic differences can be compensated for by the amp.
To that extent you're not required to have anything beyond a desire to learn.
But as a 'lifelong' gearhead I say, "Vive la difference." Hearing how different guitars sound different, feeling how different guitars play differently, exploring how those difference affect my playing and just generally enjoying gear as an object of obsession is my idea of a fun time.
You might be different than me. You might be able to go places on your current gear that my bunch will never get me to.
In fact, that's pretty much guaranteed.
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Absolutely yes. Much more usable than solid carved archtops. Just think of a Gibson ES-175. Epiphone and Ibanez, for example, have made/make quite affordable yet completely satisfactory laminated archtops.
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Try a few of the modern Epiphone and Ibanez options. I can't say for certain that I've played a carved archtop to know the difference...
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I have owned many top tier archtops over the years. My favorite sound is from the laminates. We are all different but the right maker can make laminate sound fantastic! The tops on my list is Borys, Collings, Gibson. All on the expensive side. If money was tight I would look at the Benson models by Ibanez. Grade A necks and workmanship and a surprising sound.
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Hollow bodied archtops have a different sound than solid-bodies, but the difference can be quite subtle depending on the guitar, the amp, the player, and many other factors. A solid carved-top archtop has still a different sound, but again the differences can be subtle and depend on many things. Is an archtop with a laminated body worth it? It is to me, and I have several, but it might not be worth it to you. I just can't say because I don't know you. If you've played several laminated guitars and don't care for them, probably not. Guitar preference is a very personal thing, and different players prefer different guitars for reasons known (mostly) only to them, and it's really nobody else's business. Play what you like and can afford.
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Maybe more classic jazz tones have been created with the ES-175 than with any other guitar.
That says something.
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I think the issue of feedback has to be considered.
The livelier the top, the greater the tendency to feedback. Some players control it effectively, but, for some reason, I never could.
So, if you're playing an amplified carved top but you then have to somehow dampen the top to reduce feedback, is the result better than a laminate or solid? I think the answer is yes, for some players.
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If you are wanting the acoustic sound of a carved archtop, used Eastman's aren't very expensive and are very good guitars.
As for laminate tops, it's all about an electric archtop sound. The good ones have a wonderful electric tone.
Thing is.. it can be a challenge to make some very inexpensive archtops sound good. Some just sound kind cardboard-ish and it's hard to fix with pickup swaps and EQ.
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I had two guitars, same body dimensions, same pickups. Good guitars with quality build in both. When going from one to the other, I feel the differences and my hands actually adjust to the feel of either. Once my body "melds" with the guitar, I'm always convinced that what I'm playing is better.
It's a mysterious process, the way a player bonds with a guitar but as far as what you ask, I truly believe that it's not the materials type that one would objectively pronounce one better than the other, but the materials quality and workmanship.
I've played solid top guitars that were clunkers, uninspiring, and solid tops that epitomize the pinnacle of archtop instrument art. Too, I've played budget laminates that had no personality, and laminates that had an immediacy and woody quality I'd never experienced in a solid top. So in your comparisons, go for the best quality (and not necessarily the most expensive either, my JP20 Joe Pass laminate is freaky good; Jim Hall's D'Aquisto got more play than his solid topped New Yorker. I also had an Epiphone Zephyr Regent, like an ES-175, that played like a dream-I dropped a PAF in it and it sang-and it was cheap!).
Keep an open mind and play your best for a while to truly access what a guitar can do for you. And when trying out a laminate, know that the character will change drastically with your choice of pickups. They are electric instruments. Get a good feel for the guitar and what it allows you to play, then couple it with the best pickups you can. If you feel the music in your fingers and hands, there's your guitar.
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Some laminated archtops sound better acoustically than some well known and loved carved archtops (eg Dale Unger’s American Dream, which is a truly wonderful laminated guitar). But most laminated tops are a bit less bright and woody. The main advantage over carved tops is better feedback resistance when amplified. Even so, few archtops are as feedback-resistant as solid bodies. This can be very important if you gig, and it’s probably irrelevant if you only play at home.
But - and it’s a big but - many of us (especially me) love the look and feel of an archtop more than a solid. I just love holding it and playing it, so I use one whenever it’s at all practical. My Tele 7 has a great jazz tone that always brings praise from my band and the audience. But I almost always play my laminated Ibanez on jazz gigs because I love it. It just feels right. I only use my solid bodies when feedback is going to be a problem (eg high energy blues gigs) or on crowded stages where it’s just easier to use a solid body. And I rarely take a carved archtop out of the house.
There are a lot of well priced laminated archtops that sound great, play well, and are built to last. Godin and Ibanez are two great makers of such instruments. And you can often find good used ones for very fair prices. Buy what moves you - solid or hollow, they’re all good if you pick ‘em right.
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I have a feeling this was a drive-by OP and we are talking amongst ourselves (for a change ...)
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A whole other issue could also figure in here. Even if a laminate archtop sounds pretty much alike a Les Paul, the shape matters for comfort. I came into electrics from playing a Martin D28 for 40 years. I can't get comfortable physically playing the small solid bodies. I like the feel of a big guitar in my lap. So for me, the hollow bodies give me the electric sound and the comfort of the larger body, whether carved top or laminated. As for the latter distinction, I have and play and LOVE both types. The 17" carved top (L5ces or L5 WesMo) sound is, to me, quite distinctive and I love it, but I also love the compressed "thunk" of the laminate archtop.
Don't forget you can also get solid-tops that are pressed, not carved, and they sound really good. The Peerless Monarch is a splendid pressed-solid-top archtop guitar and it plays and sounds just splendid. It's also stunning in appearance and much cheaper than the others.
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I haven’t played a Peerless, but I have played one of the recent Gibson “solid formed top” archies. I found it to be decent but far from wonderful. The sound and feel were flat and lifeless, and it was as plain and ordinary looking as Peppermint Patty. It was not very dynamic in response to picking, and I thought it was grossly overpriced.
Originally Posted by lawson-stone
Generalizations are useless, and I’ve played a few older formed top guitars that were more exciting than this. But you have to try them yourself. If I’d bought the fresh Gibson sight unseen, it would have been on the first truck back to the seller.
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Well the Eastman in the For Sale section is an incredible buy for a Carved Top, better not wait too long!
Eastman AR803CE 16” Jeff Hale Custom $850 (price decrease)Last edited by jads57; 09-28-2023 at 10:23 PM.
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Yes I like the sound of a nice laminate archtop Originally Posted by mr. beaumont
with flat wounds
It's a less bright , thicker sound to me ....
than a solid top archtop or a solid body
or a semi-hollow
But thats just my taste
(I'd like to try out a Borys B120 sometime)
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