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Post by Deleted on Jan 13, 2012 10:44:53 GMT
Hi there I'm sure quality would vary greatly from guitar to guitar, but do any members have archtops, and do they find they are well suited to blues / slide? Are there any makes to look out for (good or bad)? Thanks TT
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Post by slidenpickit on Jan 13, 2012 11:04:32 GMT
Hi Deuce, I have a Dean Palomino (£329). 3 P90s Strat switching, built like a tank. Ive tried 3 different gauges of strings and all work very well.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 13, 2012 11:40:35 GMT
I love archtops, and have got a nice old 1950s Kay non-cutaway 2 pickup guitar. It depends what you are after in terms of sound and style. I have flatwounds on mine..and enjoy shooting for that nice warm, fat jazzy sound. With flatwounds I wouldn't bother touching it with a slide. A true archtop with no centre block will feedback at high volume, but otherwise it's a really cool thing to have. Also, what you buy depends on your budget and to a certain extent how much serious use it's going to get. I prefer the more classic jazz- style guitar rather than the rockabilly - style archtops...once you get into them you'll realise there's loads of variations. There are plenty of nice new ones to choose from, but don't rely on your local guitar shop having much of a choice. The Ibanez Artwoods are fairly widely available...I'm not wild about them, but for the money they are decent and sound pretty authentic plugged in. The Peerless range are quite nice for that vintage D'Angelico style, and the Godin 5th Avenue range are closer in style and construction to those classic 50s Kays...not flashy, with a compact body, modest appointments and nicely made..a real workhorse of a guitar. Going upmarket you've got things like the Chinese all-solid wood Eastman..about £1.7k..or for something really nice try a Dupont "BeBop", if you've got a spare £3k...mmmm nice. I've played all these guitars, so think I've got a pretty decent handle on them. Getting a nice old archtop at a good price is more difficult - I got really lucky with mine.
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Post by Michael Messer on Jan 13, 2012 11:59:41 GMT
Shine On Michael
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Post by blueshome on Jan 13, 2012 13:26:46 GMT
I've got a c.1950 Silvertone archtop - there is a pic of Jimmy Rogers with the same guitar. Solid carved spruce top, lovely blonde laminated curly maple back and sides. It sounds really nice for acoustic slide, very loud and focussed. The downside is that you don't hear it all coming back like with a sound hole guitar as the f-holes are under your picking arm. I've stuck a jazz humbucker pickup on it and it kicks really hard when playing 40-50's style blues through a little old valve amp -instant Jimmy Rogers, Eddie Taylor.
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Post by snakehips on Jan 13, 2012 13:50:31 GMT
Hi there ! Pictures please, Blueshome In the UK, there seems to be a reasonable abundance of Hofner archtops around. I have a Hofner Congress that our Uncle donated to us budding guitars (me and my older brothers) when we were younger. Not often found in great condition these days but they can be found for cheap prices often. God place to start. Harmony or Kay archtops would be the nearest US equivalent as far as quality and looks and price. I've got a lovely Gibson L50 archtop from the 1940's. Was rebuilt by Celine Camerlynck at Luthiers Corner, Denmark Street, London a few years back. Actually bought from Mel at the London Resonator Centre just before they spectacularly went defunct. While he was alledgedly taking deposits for guitars and then disappearing without anyone able to get their money back, I sent full payment for this guitar and DID receive it. Go figure ! Great with a Dearmond FHC or Rhythm Chief pickup.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 13, 2012 14:08:00 GMT
Thanks chaps - great info. I am looking for a jazz looking no-cutaway version. I havn't given a lot of thought to pick-ups, but it appears in this case, pick-ups are preferred over mics? Hope you weren't at risk of electric shock in that pic MM TT
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Post by Deleted on Jan 13, 2012 15:25:13 GMT
F-hole guitars are totally different to flat-top roundhole guitars in the way they deliver the sound as an acoustic instrument. There's no bass and middle "twang" compared to a flattop, it's a tight, more treble-focussed sound. It's seldom heard as an acoustic instrument these days, but listen to the Joe Pass "Virtuoso" album for a good impression of the sound as most (but not all) of the tracks were recorded using a mic. with the guitar played acoustically ..and also David Rawlings, playing with Gillian Welch..he plays into a mic. when performing live. This said, both of them were playing pretty nice instruments....Rawlings uses an old Epiphone Olympic, don't know what Pass used for that recording. You simply won't get that sort of tone and projection with a budget pressed-top guitar...so If you are looking for an acoustic F-hole guitar, expect to pay big money a good one. Also, it's such a different sound acoustically to what most people are used to hearing, you may not like it...so you might prefer the sound of an archtop with a pickup.
A friend of mine recently brought round an old Gibson(I think it was an L5..can't remember) for me to check over..and that was fantastic, big punchy sound...but a pretty big punchy price!!!
The Godin 5th Avenue range of guitars are mainly non-cutaways, and might be the nearest thing to what you are looking for at a sensible price.
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Post by blueshome on Jan 13, 2012 16:26:41 GMT
Sorry Richie, it's down in Rick Sellens' guitar hospital being tweaked and its tuner bushes replaced. They've always rattled despite my best efforts, that's why I stuck pick-up on it. should have it back in a couple of weeks. There is a photo of Jimmy Rogers from 1950 with the identical guitar, blonde finish, no pick up. Was on the cover of a Chess collection.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 13, 2012 21:29:29 GMT
I've recently bought a few Kay and Harmony archtops from the early '60s on ebay and a local antique mall. Never spent more than $120 including shipping. All required setup work and minor repairs but were quite worthwhile. Often these guitars have neck issues and many have no truss rods, but if like me you tend to do fingering in the first few frets and slide in the upper neck, this is not a problem. Generally I found the construction and appearance of the Kays to be superior, but the Harmony sounded better because it was all solid woods (spruce top, birch back and sides). In both the Kays and Harmony, the arched top and back are achieved by steam press, not carved like high-end archtops. Good hunting.
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Post by televiking on Jan 15, 2012 16:39:18 GMT
a Höfner from the 60's. Attachments:
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Post by blueshome on Jan 15, 2012 18:39:31 GMT
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Post by snakehips on Jan 15, 2012 20:51:05 GMT
Aaahhh ! That one ! Cool ! Thanks for the reminder, Blueshome.
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Post by bod on Oct 19, 2014 10:38:17 GMT
I'm looking for an acoustic (non-reso) on a fairly limited budget, and fancy something a bit older and a bit different to what I've had before. I had been mainly looking at parlour guitars, but as that doesn't seem to be coming together I've started looking at other options, including a fair few archtops, and in doing so have happened upon on Hofner Congress for sale more or less on my doorstep. I'm going to see it and try it probably some time in the next few days. I know some forumites have experience with such instruments and am wondering: Are there any things I should look out for / bear in mind when looking at Congress? (e.g., the instrument in question from the 1950s, so pre-truss rod - is that a cause for concern?) Also, being something of a sucker for all mahogany guitars, I've become kind of captivated by this old Kay on ebay ( link), but there is not much info - as to what the instrument is - in the listing and I don't really know what I am looking at (searching online, I found another that looks just like it that is held to be a 'K 20' - but didn't manage to find out any more about them). All thoughts / comments gratefully received. Cheers
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Post by bluefolk on Oct 21, 2014 1:26:02 GMT
Hi.I have no first hand experience with the Hofner Congress or the Kay But that Kay sure looks nice,im a mahogany man me self.
Would be interested to know how you thought the Hofner sounded for the blues. Have you seen the UT clip of "Belton Sutherland #2" ,think thats a Kay If thats not the blues i don't know.. Im still looking at Parlours.
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