Archtop made in Vietnam
 

Does anyone know about handmade archtops made by Tam Heip in Vietnam?

Saw the web site,kind of crappy stuff..

Not sure but I think Tam Hiep is a place, not a person. Didn't see any archtops on the website I ended up at. Can't tell anything about the quality of the instruments. Just that the photography isn't very good.

Thanks for the reponses.I also checked the website and didn't see any archtops.
There is one for sale locally for $150.I might check it out Friday if it is still for sale.I'll keep you posted of quality and sound.

Update on Vietnam made archtop
 

Update on the archtop made in Vietnam.Well I brought it today for $100 with 2 nice gigbags.The fit finish is not bad,the frets could be a little better.It plays true up and down the neck with good intonation.The most impressive is it's acoustic sound,very loud.Actually acoustically it sounds better then my Eatman AR605e.
It looks to be all solid wood,but I'm not really sure.I have to figure out the right strings for the guitar.I put a set of Martin custom light phosphor bronze which seem a little to bright.Any suggestions for a warmer sounding string?

Update on Vietnam made archtop
 

Update on the archtop made in Vietnam.Well I brought it today for $100 with 2 nice gigbags.The fit finish is not bad,the frets could be a little better.It plays true up and down the neck with good intonation.The most impressive is it's acoustic sound,very loud.Actually acoustically it sounds better then my Eatman AR605e.
It looks to be all solid wood,but I'm not really sure.I have to figure out the right strings for the guitar.I put a set of Martin custom light phosphor bronze which seem a little to bright.Any suggestions for a warmer sounding string?

Hard to go wrong with an inexpensive guitar you enjoy playing. Maybe a good opportunity to learn to work on frets yourself. I've gone as far as leveling.. not as far as replacing yet.

Spook I felt the same way about $100.Like you my fretwork has been limited to polishing and filing sharp frets.The guitar really doesn't have any high frets and plays pretty true without buzzing or dead notes.When I do my first string change I'll do a little filing and polishing.My best child friend lives in NM,beautiful place to live.What strings do you use on your archtop?

Most of my archtops are acoustics. I run phosphor bronze 56-13's on most. A few sound better with a gauge lighter. On the more electric archtops I like Thomastik-Infield round wounds.

And yes, New Mexico has a lot going for it but we're in the middle of a move to southern Oregon right now. Also a pretty area.