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  #16  
Old 12-12-2005, 09:16 PM
dthumb dthumb is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Nilus
Hope I wasn't picking a nit...sorry. Guess what I was saying is that a lot of people refer to any decently big-bodied archtop (carved, laminated, built-in, floating, acoustic, etc.) as a jazz box. And most vintage archtops will be acoustic with f-holes. Thus, a D'Angelico New Yorker suits all three categories. If only it weren't for that darn $40,000 price tag.

I agree with you on the playability of some of the older guitars. Even the aforementioned D'Angelico didn't please my hands as much as some of the newer models. Blasphemy? Perhaps.

Regarding size, I don't know how much more volume you get from an extra inch. Probably so many other factors involved that it's hard to calculate--how you hold it, how it's braced and constructed, etc. I'm a fairly small guy so an 18" guitar is pretty big to me. From my flattop comparisons, a Goodall Grand Concert isn't much different from a Concert Jumbo.

Anyway, I'll shoot ya a PM on my Comins just so you can see it. It's worth about 1/8 of the aforementioned D'Angelico. I'm still debating what to do with it. The wife keeps asking for more space in the apartment and I have too many guitars and too little time. I was thinking about throwing it on the classifieds forum, but I wasn't sure if anyone here would be seriously interested.

Nilus
I agree about the size thing...I'm not a big guy myself and even a 17" is a little on the big side. Amazing what difference one inch can make. I think the main factor in projection is having a solid spruce or cedar top and no "intrusions" . That may include the neck set...not sure about that one.
I'd be interested to see pics of your Comins and hear whatever you might have to say about it. I don't know that I can come up with the pasta for it and don't want to waste your time but, I'm interested, just the same. Thanks.
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  #17  
Old 12-12-2005, 09:38 PM
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This is NOT an endorsement, but there's a Colorado luthier named Gary Stroup that has his archtops listed on ebay. Do a search for Stroup on ebay and you should find a couple listed at all times. They run around a grand. I'm not too sure of the quality. . .the finish seems to be lacking, but he gets some good comments and some of the archies do look kinda nice.

I'm in the market for an archie myself.

-Barry
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  #18  
Old 12-12-2005, 11:20 PM
airguitarro airguitarro is offline
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OK here's a question - who would the forumites here consider to be the leading modern archtop makers who produce a consistently good sounding unplugged tone and yet cost less than $7000?
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  #19  
Old 12-13-2005, 02:23 AM
JohnZ JohnZ is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by airguitarro
OK here's a question - who would the forumites here consider to be the leading modern archtop makers who produce a consistently good sounding unplugged tone and yet cost less than $7000?
Eastman, hands down.
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  #20  
Old 12-13-2005, 07:23 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by avid_cyclist
This is NOT an endorsement, but there's a Colorado luthier named Gary Stroup that has his archtops listed on ebay. Do a search for Stroup on ebay and you should find a couple listed at all times. They run around a grand. I'm not too sure of the quality. . .the finish seems to be lacking, but he gets some good comments and some of the archies do look kinda nice.

I'm in the market for an archie myself.

-Barry
Barry..
I checked ot his ebay stuff and followed up a bit. Very interesting guitars and has spectacular reviews on Harmony Central. I couldn't find his web page though. He says he has one. Have you seen it? I may just give him a call and pick his brain a bit..kinda feel him out. All the reviewing posters said he was very approachable and friendly.
Thanks!
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  #21  
Old 12-13-2005, 07:26 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by airguitarro
OK here's a question - who would the forumites here consider to be the leading modern archtop makers who produce a consistently good sounding unplugged tone and yet cost less than $7000?
Thats a good question but, there are TONS available and some very good ones well under that price...like a third of that. So, lets refine that a bit and say under $3500.00...narrow the field. Eastman may still get the nod from a lot of folks.
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  #22  
Old 12-13-2005, 07:47 AM
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You guys are talking about $7000 guitars and here I am playing my $100, (via ebay), 50 year old Silvertone archtop, still in mint condition with action not too different from my Taylors... In the Sears catalogue, brand new, it was $36. It even has a trussrod in the neck, something fairly uncommon for the time. It's all solid wood and was supposedly made by Kay at the time.
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  #23  
Old 12-13-2005, 08:02 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by stratokatsu
You guys are talking about $7000 guitars and here I am playing my $100, (via ebay), 50 year old Silvertone archtop, still in mint condition with action not too different from my Taylors... In the Sears catalogue, brand new, it was $36. It even has a trussrod in the neck, something fairly uncommon for the time. It's all solid wood and was supposedly made by Kay at the time.
Yep, thee are a few of them around..you got one of the good ones. I have one of the "others"....learned to play on one of the "others"..but lets see here....$36.oo at say, 5% annually ( without adding in the compounded interest) inflation for 50 years = $90.00 - original cost of $36.00 = -$54.00.... ....Sometimes price is not the best way to determine value.
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  #24  
Old 12-13-2005, 08:38 AM
Sugar Bear Sugar Bear is offline
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Here's a couple of places to look:

http://www.phillipsguitars.com/

http://www.gretschguitars.com/gear/i...Models&q=&st=1

Sugar Bear
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  #25  
Old 12-13-2005, 09:38 AM
Nilus Nilus is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by airguitarro
OK here's a question - who would the forumites here consider to be the leading modern archtop makers who produce a consistently good sounding unplugged tone and yet cost less than $7000?
Since "makers" allows for more than one choice...

Campellone--his basic model is around $3800, he's a really nice guy and he's been doing it for many years. At a time when your average solidbody, mass-produced electric guitar is pushing a few grand, a Campellone has to be the number one value in the guitar world today. Guess that's why there's always a wait.

Comins--As I've said before...I directly compared mine (before purchase) to two original D'Angelicos, repro D'Angelicos, Andersens, Buscarinos, Zeidler, vintage Gibsons, etc. I preferred the Comins both amped and unamped. Bill's prices have been creeping up, but I think you can still score a few of his models under the limit.

Andersen, Buscarino, and a few others are also very good and offer "economy" models. For laminates, you could pencil in Bill Moll, too.

Take off the cost gloves and we can start talking Benedetto (pre-Guild), Monteleone, D'Aquisto, etc.

Man, there are just too many good choices.

Nilus
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  #26  
Old 12-13-2005, 10:06 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Nilus
Since "makers" allows for more than one choice...

Campellone--his basic model is around $3800, he's a really nice guy and he's been doing it for many years. At a time when your average solidbody, mass-produced electric guitar is pushing a few grand, a Campellone has to be the number one value in the guitar world today. Guess that's why there's always a wait.

Comins--As I've said before...I directly compared mine (before purchase) to two original D'Angelicos, repro D'Angelicos, Andersens, Buscarinos, Zeidler, vintage Gibsons, etc. I preferred the Comins both amped and unamped. Bill's prices have been creeping up, but I think you can still score a few of his models under the limit.

Andersen, Buscarino, and a few others are also very good and offer "economy" models. For laminates, you could pencil in Bill Moll, too.

Take off the cost gloves and we can start talking Benedetto (pre-Guild), Monteleone, D'Aquisto, etc.

Man, there are just too many good choices.

Nilus
Someone else mentioned a fellow in Colorado...Gary Stroup. He has a couple on eBay and some wonderful reviews on Harmony Central..you familiar with his guitars at all? Let me see if I can get one of these lnky things to work.....
http://www.stroupguitars.com/index.html ....sounds very interesting.

One more thing...I noticed you DID NOT include Eastman...any reason?
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  #27  
Old 12-13-2005, 01:32 PM
Nilus Nilus is offline
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No experience with Stroup...it's one of those, "I'd love to personally know someone who bought one to see how it went" kinda situations. I think I'm too much of a brand guy (for better or worse) to take a chance like that. The guitars on his site just don't look polished (i.e. wood choices, obvious deformities in the body shape, etc.). Like you said, price and value are two different things. There are a number of guys looking to break into archtops...I mean who wouldn't want to make a living building just 20 guitars a year? For example, I saw that Lark Street (www.larkstreetmusic.com) has a few from a NJ luthier ("Garvey"). His guitars are in the $2K range. No experience with them either though.

I think I'm somewhat biased against Eastman by an admittedly illogical belief that the production of archtops shouldn't be offshored. For the same reason, I didn't mention the D'Angelico repros. I admit, those instruments might be as good, or even better than, some of the brands I nominated (at least in terms of cost and consistency). I just wouldn't buy one, especially not when something like a Campellone would only be marginally more expensive. I guess I'm just a stupid yuppie who justifies his outrageous expenditures with the naive assertion that certain things in this world should remain attached to a small, magical workshop. Marketing guys love me.

Nilus
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  #28  
Old 12-13-2005, 01:35 PM
Akubra Akubra is offline
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Although I haven't gone on an acoustic archtop search myself, the ones that I've played that I like the best (because they were SO different from Gibson-like designs) are Tacoma archtops. They play and sound a LOT more like an acoustic, but have an archtop's plumbiness. Relatively cheap, too.
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  #29  
Old 12-13-2005, 01:41 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dthumb
One more thing...I noticed you DID NOT include Eastman...any reason?
I'd suspect it's because they are made in China.

It looks like my '69 Gibson ES-150 is going to auction above my ebay reserve so I'll be looking at Eastman AR805-CE and 810's (16" or 17"). I'll try to get out to Buffalo Brothers next week. The girl I do a patriotic act with got one this last summer and I checked it out through my Bose PAS, settleing in on an Ibanez Artist preset. I was extremely impressed with it's setup, balance, playability, and especially acoustic and amplified tone. Back off on it's volume knob and it gets great acoustic properties through the amp. Full up on the volume and it's more of a jazzer.

I may not be the best source on archtops for over the years I've only had four; a '54 Gibson L-50, a '30's Epi, a '45 Gibson L-5, and currently a '41 L-50, but they certainly were nowhere near as nice as the Eastman AR805 I played. Well, maybe the L-5.
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  #30  
Old 12-13-2005, 02:20 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Akubra
Although I haven't gone on an acoustic archtop search myself, the ones that I've played that I like the best (because they were SO different from Gibson-like designs) are Tacoma archtops. They play and sound a LOT more like an acoustic, but have an archtop's plumbiness. Relatively cheap, too.
Although "cheap" is a relative term, compared to many archtops, the Tacomas hold their own very well. I'd love to have one, but they are still a bit expensive for me.



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