Archtops under $2,000?

[NewMartinFan]

Does anyone have any recommendations? Thanks, in advance.

[ryanfender]

The Hertiage

[OddManOut]

The word is Eastwoods are pretty nice, too. I'm not an archtop guy, though.

[barrangatan]

I heard Eastman gets high marks for the line of archtop too. Check 'em out.

[Tone Gopher]

Are you looking for an acoustic archtop? Electric hollow? Semi-hollow?

http://www.elderly.com/brand/45U_heritage.html

Heritage used to make a plain, all mahogany, acoustic archtop, the Eagle, but I think it is discontinued.

[ljguitar]

Hi nmf…
Are you meaning thin body, or deeper bodied?

There are tons of good choices well below your price limit...Epiphone, Gretch, Eastman, Brand-X (Asian likely)

[Taylorplayer]

Ibanez Artcore Series are a great buy (IMO). Eastman archtops rival ones costing several times more (IMO). Maybe you could "snag" a used one.

[verbs4us]

Consider a hunt for a used Guild. Sure, some are laminates, but the Hoboken models and early Westerly models are schweeet. Action like an electric and satisfying tone. I don't think you can touch a New York Guild for under $2k, but you might luck out. Check out www.letstalkguild.com

[David Eastwood]

Originally Posted by OddManOut

The word is Eastwoods are pretty nice, too.

Why, thank you

I think you mean Eastman, however...

There's also the Godin 5th Avenue at the lower end of the scale, but definitely worth a look.

[OddManOut]

Originally Posted by eatswodo

Why, thank you

I think you mean Eastman, however...

There's also the Godin 5th Avenue at the lower end of the scale, but definitely worth a look.

LOL! Yes...Eastman...Clint Eastman...C'mon, punk, make me fret.

OK...I'll quit the comedy!

[RustyAxe]

Originally Posted by OddManOut

LOL! Yes...Eastman...Clint Eastman...C'mon, punk, make me fret.

Thanks for starting my day with a chuckle! A jazz player, with whom I play bass, has an Eastman AR810 (I think it is) ... beautiful guitar, nice player, good tone. I've played some of the Gretch and Godins as was not impressed at all. But the Eastman is the real deal.

[JohnZ]

For a hand carved, solid wood archtop with great tone in that price range, you really can't beat a used Eastman. I've had my AR810 CE for about 5 years now and I'd say it compares very well to a '45 Gibson L-5 I used to own (stolen)...right down to the Bill Lawence pickup vs. the Johnny Smith I had on the Gibson. And without the baseball bat neck of the L-5.

That said I will be selling the Eastman shortly (AGF classifieds in a month or so) for I'm just not getting the opportunities to use it.

[Polyhymnia]

I'm an ex-pro who still gigs occasionally. I bought an Eastman AR805 (I think that's the model--it's at home) a few years ago from a local dealer at his cost because he couldn't move it. It's a killer. It plays so well, and has such a wonderful sound. It would cost me probably 10 times what I paid to replace it with an American-made version. I hate that disparity, but I probably wouldn't have an archtop otherwise (or I'd have an old beat-up one). They are the bomb in affordable archtops.

[Folkstrum]

FWIW, another solid vote for Eastmans. I have a friend here who is into archtops and flatops. He wasn't looking for a "grail" in an archtop; just something a cut above the usual. Did a lot of due-diligence research, and scored a very nice Eastman (sorry, don't recall the model number). His comments were along the lines of very fine craftsmanship and Q/C; nice "touches," superb action and excellent volume and tone. Simply a ton of bang for the buck, and hard to believe something so beautiful was priced so low. "How do they do that?"

Eastman:

[massimo]

Can anyone mention any good archtops, in that sub 2k range, that have a vibrato tailpiece?

best regards
Massimo