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Old 12-03-2017, 02:27 PM
mr. beaumont mr. beaumont is offline
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Location: Chicago, IL
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Well, from the two guitars you mentioned, I thought you were looking for an arch top to plug in...

Arch tops are a weird beast...people associate their plugged in sound with mellow, round, somewhat dark jazz tones--but their unplugged sound is nothing like that. Furthermore, some of the best sounding plugged in arch tops (often with laminate tops!) aren't much to write home about unplugged--and some of the best unplugged arch tops are difficult to amplify--and sound little like those smoky set pickup jazz tones when they are.

You've selected two pretty different instruments. The pressed solid top on the Guild is really just marketing...they're just not much of an acoustic guitar. The one i tried reminded me a lot of a decent but laminate archtop like the Epiphone Emperor regent.
The Loars are carved top and loud and responsive...so if you want an acoustic archtop, they're a much better choice.

I suggest the Godin because it's very high quality, sounds great plugged in, and, if strung with some .013 Monel or Pure Nickels, has a very good unplugged sound. The Godin have a lot of bass for a small archtop, which I think flat top players would appreciate (The Loar, while a more "real archtop" sound may set your ears on end if you're used to playing flat tops...they can be quite harsh if not played in the style that suits them best)

If at all possible, get out and play some of them...archtop are a whole 'nuther deal. A really fun rabbit hole to go down.

This is a video I made ages ago, compares the Godin with a Loar 600 and an old Kay archtop. I think it'll be helpful.



The Kay is a "pressed" top. I think it's tone is quite similar to the Guild you mentioned.

By the way, since I made this video I've gone back to round wounds on both of these, and the acoustic tone is definitely better. I use Monel on the Godin, and bronze on the Kay (set up for strict rhythm guitar only duties)

My electric arch top is a Heritage 575, so the Godin acts as a "split the difference" guitar--sounds good plugged in, but also nice sitting on the couch.
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Last edited by mr. beaumont; 12-03-2017 at 02:44 PM.
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