This should be a good period for archtop builders (and manufacturers) as the equipment and tooling for this kind of building has really advanced a lot, particularly for factory-scale work. Those heavy rhythm machines can now be built much more lightly and stably; instead of manufacturers overbuilding them in order to avoid warranty claims (like the dreaded collapsing top) we can see lighter, finer tolerances, with great tonal consequences. I'll be honest -- I really dislike archtops, having never played one, including some vintage Gibsons, I would want to bother with as a pure acoustic. (I have never had the chance to play a luthier-built modern archtop; those might be great.) The only compelling archtop tones I have heard were either recorded or amplified. But I am really excited by the recent developments in archtop and semi-acoustic building, and look forward to hitting some shops where I can try out some of the good new offerings. With low volume music blessedly back in style, having a responsive archtop has become an asset, I think, not the liability it was in higher-volume sound environments.
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