Interesting thread.
I think one of the things that make the guitar such an amazing instrument is the sheer amount of variance that exists. In the flat top world you have so many different instruments that provide different tones. Same as the arch top world.
So its just very difficult for me to agree with broad brush statements.
I build both arch top guitars and flat top guitars. The flat top market is much better than the arch top market so, from a business standpoint alone, it makes sense to focus a lot of my efforts there. But from a lutherie standpoint, my passion is definitely in the arch top guitar. I wish I could focus more on archtops as it is certainly my speciality.... the market just doesn't support it unfortunately.
I believe the arch top is an incredibly under-rated instrument when it comes to its acoustic dynamic range and versatility. But the misconception is fair because proportionally I feel like there are more bad sounding archtops in the market than flat tops.
But if you are lucky enough to be exposed to really nice archtops then it can be a pretty eye opening experience.
I'm not usually a fan of conversations regarding tone of instruments because I feel they are usually pretty unenlightened conversations that are stuck in old ways of thinking. But I do think Silly mustache is correct in saying its all about choosing the right tool for the job. Each instrument offers a different voice... if you lean towards arcthops thats awesome. I think (and hope) that more people start realizing the arch top offers more than they've been told. Because it does. But I also love a good flat top.
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