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  #1  
Old 09-06-2017, 08:28 PM
numb fingertips numb fingertips is offline
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Default What is an archtop guitar?

I mean I've seen what it looks like, but I've never had my hands on one before. Never seen one in a store. Is it like a difference between a dread and a parlor or is it a totally different category like a banjo? Saw one on craigslist and was just curious.
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Old 09-06-2017, 10:09 PM
JohnW63 JohnW63 is offline
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Archtop guitars are not like the "flat top" guitars, like the dread and parlor you mentioned.

They are rather deep, most often have "f holes" and a floating bridge. Like this:



The tops are a lot more curved than what most people play and the top can be arched because it was pressed into that shape with high pressure and steam or are carved into that shape.

They have a different tone than the flat top guitars we most often play.

Here is a video clip of a Guild Archtop.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4sF2apgD654
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Old 09-06-2017, 10:30 PM
numb fingertips numb fingertips is offline
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Thank you for the video. It explained a lot. Hearing it made things a lot clearer. Interesting the kind of sound you can get from it.
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Old 09-06-2017, 11:55 PM
jaybones jaybones is offline
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Mostly you're going to get drowned out playing with dreads or parlors.

And the ones I've seen have some sort of amplification involved.
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Old 09-07-2017, 04:59 AM
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JohnW63 - what is the model you posted? I love the look of it.
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Old 09-07-2017, 05:01 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tdq View Post
JohnW63 - what is the model you posted? I love the look of it.
http://www.scharpach.com/guitars/vie...p-jazz-guitar/
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A bunch of nice archtops, flattops, a gypsy & nylon strings…
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Old 09-07-2017, 05:17 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by iim7V7IM7 View Post
Good grief - they are beautiful!! Slightly out of my price range however....
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Old 09-07-2017, 03:46 PM
mr. beaumont mr. beaumont is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jaybones View Post
Mostly you're going to get drowned out playing with dreads or parlors.

And the ones I've seen have some sort of amplification involved.
Not necessarily...a true acoustic arch top will occupy all the space a dread doesnt...that's why Freddie Green drove Basie''s band with an archtop, not a Martin.

A lot of what people call "jazz boxes" areally electrified archtops...when a pickup or two is added, the acoustic presence is dialed way back...it's also important to know in this type of jazzbox, laminate is not a dirty word.
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Old 09-07-2017, 08:37 PM
numb fingertips numb fingertips is offline
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it's also important to know in this type of jazzbox, laminate is not a dirty word.[/QUOTE]

Hahaha, laminate is not a dirty word. I'm in the early learning stages and am curious with most things guitar related. Saw a listing on craigslist and I've never had one in my hands so was curious.

https://chicago.craigslist.org/wcl/m...287031879.html
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Old 09-08-2017, 08:41 AM
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Sometimes you can find an old Gibson archtop that needs work. Fixer uppers are generally more affordable. This 1953 L4 needed a lot of work when I found it.
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Old 09-08-2017, 03:33 PM
gmr gmr is offline
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You can find some examples of non electrified acoustic archtop guitar, played in a non jazz format, and how the archtop tone fits in with flattop guitars. Do a search for Mother Maybelle Carter on youtube
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Old 09-08-2017, 04:03 PM
Silly Moustache Silly Moustache is online now
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The Archtop guitar was invented by Gibson ....Mr Gibson way back around the turn of the 18th/19th century. (Ulp - I meant 19/20th!!!)
The basis of the design was to make a guitar like the violin family with a carved, arched top and back.

The zenith of the style was the Gibson L-5 in (I think) 1922 and it proved the solution to turning the guitar into a rhythm instrument replacing the tenor banjo in dance and jazz bands.

The sound is quite different to most flat-tops as they are designed (by the '20s) to be loud, percussive , to project well, and high on the middle rather than bass or treble.

It was this evolution of the steel string guitar that led to the Martin OM and to an extent, the 14 fret dreadnought - bigger and louder etc.,and with thin necks better suited to crossover banjo players.

Gibson soon had many competitors for big band guitars including Epiphone who made superb archtops, but sadly, were eventually bought out by Gibson who use the brand as a cheaper version.

There are guitars that look like archtops which have pick-ups screwed into a large block under the top but they are not true "carved" archtops.
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