narrow nut
 

hi it seems every time i go into sam ash or GC there are all those gorgeous archtops ! but when i play them ,theyare all hard to play [which can be adjusted],but the nut is toonarrow. who makes one with a wide nut?

Hard to play: bridge/truss rod adjustment (both DIY), nut slots/fret leveling (leave these to a pro) - and don't use anything lighter than 13's if you expect to get any real acoustic tone...
Neck too narrow: Try a Loar (vintage thick V-profile) or Eastman (modern D), both 1-3/4"; anything else you'll need to have custom made, starting at about $5K for an entry-level Campellone...

Archtops were designed as rhythm guitars for tenor banjo players - in dance/jazz orchestras. Chording is usually closed style kiling one or more strings.

Eastman make/made some with 1 & 3/4" nut widths but string spaciing will always be quite narrow.

I have a Loar 700. The nut is definitely not 1 3/4", unfortunately, even though the specs say they are, it's more like 1 11/16. I guess it could be the string spacing but there's not much room at the edges. Might not seem like much but it makes a big difference to me - Maybe they changed it at some stage? The eastman's I've played in store have a much more comfortable nut width.
Some people here have purchased archtops from Yunzhi, under $1K, which had wider nuts. Do a search on the sub. I know I'm tempted.

I'm looking for the same thing, but also need a short scale... not an easy thing to find off the shelf at all. The Loar and some of the Eastmans seem to fit the bill. Interestingly, the Godin nut widths are at 1.72 (43.7mm) but seem to have a wider spacing. I measured one in my local shop and it was about 37mm outside edge to outside edge. My Ibanez AC240 has a 45mm nut with a 37.5mm spacing, O-2-O.

Message me if you find another option with a wide nut and a 25" or less scale.