So I'm looking and wondering
What's the level of quality for those arch tops that range $500- $1k at GC? Brands same as flat tops? If its "amped" what is the bottom line regarding all solid wood vs laminate? What do you look for ... Why get one $800 vs another $800 arch top?
The Master used one. I probably should get one eventually... |
Archtops that have magnetic pickups mounted to the top are already compromised from an acoustical standpoint. Therefore I wouldn't worry much about a carved top vs. laminated, unless you want it to sound good acoustically, in which case of course a carved top with a floating pickup is ideal. Less expensive laminated acoustic archtops typically don't sound very good. It may not meet your budget, but Eastman is probably your least expensive option if you want an archtop that sounds nice acoustically. But for a good plugged in tone, the Gretsch guitars are possibly your best bet. I've been impressed with the look and sound of their budget archtops.
It should be noted that generally the more responsive an archtop is acoustically, the more feedback prone it will be plugged in. A delicate, carved instrument will howl at moderately loud volume levels. A laminated archtop with surface mounted pickups would be more suitable if you play loud, and if you really plan on waking the neighbors, a semi-hollowbody archtop would be the most feedback resistant choice (and the least "archtop-sounding" choice as well). |
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Hot Vibrato has summed it up very nicely for you regarding carved top and laminate guitars. If you want to go the electric way then a laminated guitar will be good from the feedback point of view, but they are not so clever when played acoustically. Obviously you can play them acoustically but they lack the tone and volume of a carved top instrument.
The Gibson ES175 is the achetypical laminated electric jazz box, but even second hand is out of your range of prices. Eastman may come to your rescue here with their AR371CE model which is a single pickup variant of a 175. The AR372 has two pickups and perhaps second-hand would fall into budget for you. I think a carved top guitar, even from Eastman, will be outside what you want to pay. Incidentally, I have an Eastman AR371CE and find it great for me, a beginner at jazz guitar. |
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I had forgotten that Eastman makes an excellent ES-175 copy, which would maybe be a better choice for a jazz player - that or Epiphone's ES-175, which is pretty darn nice too. |
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my 2 cents
if you are primarily playing through an amp I would go with a laminate top and inset pickup. The acoustic degradation you will find with an inset pickup is not going to matter in this price point as no manufacturer in that market is making truly acoustic archtops which are being individually voiced anyway. Thats not to say you can't find one that will make you happy acoustically... but its really just a probability game in the market you are looking at. out of every thousand guitars a company pumps out there are bound to be some that are nice acoustic instruments. But the process by which a luthier creates a truly acoustic arch top guitar does not fit into the business/manufacturing model of any manufacture listing instruments for less than $3,000. At the price point you listed you are looking exclusively at mass production instruments being made by lower skilled laborers in countries that have less environmental and labor standards than in westernized countries. So, my advice is to just spend some time and play as many guitars as you can in person until you find one that suits you. And if you plan on playing amplified most of the time, I'd go with a lam top and back and an inset pickup so that you are sure the guitar will preform in whatever setting you bring it to. |
It is not just a question of laminate top/back or carved top/back. You could also have a solid wood tops and backs that are steamed and bent. These have the distinct advantage of cutting cost but are also not graduated and tuned like a good carved top plate.
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If you buy direct from Yunzhi Guitars or Mr. Wu guitars in China you can get an outstanding solid wood, hand carved archtop for around $1000. IMHO, they are better than the excellent Eastman guitars in terms of nitro finish and they are not quite so bright sounding generally. Eastman certainly has better hardware. Also, with Yunzhi and Mr. Wu you can specify things like nut width, inlays, binding, et al. which you can't do on an Eastman.
Though I have not played one, if you buy an $800 big box store laminate archtop, you are unlikely to get a guitar that will function well as an acoustic instrument. It will probably also have other issues. |
Ibanez makes some nice affordable electric hollow body's as well, they are a bit less money than the Electromatic Gretshes.
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