#16
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I have a Loar 700 I got second hand for under $1K. Although the Eastmans I tried were "nicer" sounding guitars, I went for the Loar as it had that dry flat chunk I was looking for - I have other guitars for "nice". The neck profile doesn't bother me one bit, but I would have liked it to be wider - perhaps a custom Yunzhi is on the cards!
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National Resophonic NRP 12 Fret Loar LH-700-VS Archtop Eastman E8-OM Herrmann Weissenborn Recording King RP-10 Recording King RG-35-SN Lapsteel Maton 425 12-string ESP 400 series telecaster Eastman T485 Deering Americana Banjo My Youtube |
#17
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Eip's are very underrated, and therefore can be had for less money than a comparable Gibson. Unfortunately, like most old guitars, a vintage Epi is likely to need some work to make it play its best - a refret and/or a neck reset might be in order, so be sure to bear that in mind and factor it into your budget. |
#18
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As for new guitars, I was in a similar position a few years back. I needed an acoustic archtop for a series of shows doing 30s East Coast blues. I bought both a Loar and an Eastman. Frankly, there was no comparison. The Loar played fine but sounded one dimensional, almost like a laminated guitar that was designed to be electric, but it was a fully acoustic archtop. The Eastman, an AR805, was outstanding. In fact I sold it after the series of shows ended and really wish I hadn't. That said, it was a very "sweet" sounding guitar and wasn't particularly loud. If I were in the market again there's no question I'd look for a 40s or 50s New York Epiphone. But if I couldn't find the one I wanted or couldn't handle the price, I'd go with an Eastman again. Beautiful tone and very well made with a real hand crafted vibe. |
#19
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Has anyone had any experience with the Godin Fifth Avenue? They make an affordable all-acoustic archtop (as well as various versions with pickups) that I've had my eye on.
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#20
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They do not sound as archtopy as their Loar and Eastman counter parts. They seemed to sit closer to the flattop sound to me. If that is a negative or a positive that is up to you to decide. I cannot comment on the pickup versions as I have only interacted with the full acoustic version. My guess is that the addition of a pickup could diminish some of the acoustic properties. Last edited by ericmeyer4; 06-28-2016 at 12:22 PM. |
#21
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I own two Godins - an all-acoustic 5th Avenue and a CW II electric - and I'll ditto everything Eric says about them; in many ways they're the modern equivalent of those student Harmony and Kay archtops of 50-60 years ago - inexpensive, functional, good-sounding, and attractive in appearance - but built to a consistent standard of playability and QC that the originals never attained. BTW, although post-purchase bridge fitting should be standard procedure for just about any low-end archtop, another inexpensive way to improve tone is by replacing the stock plastic (they say GraphTech ) bridge with a wooden version; StewMac makes three different styles, and for ~$20 each they're a cheap DIY way to experiment with the tonal possibilities - FYI archtops are highly idiosyncratic beasts, and you might be surprised just how much difference a bridge swap can make...
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"Mistaking silence for weakness and contempt for fear is the final, fatal error of a fool" - Sicilian proverb (paraphrased) |
#22
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You are not making it easy.
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#23
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#24
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#25
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If you are not in a hurry, wait a couple months for the new Epiphone Masterbilt Century series archtops to hit the street. They are solid tops and come in the Century Deluxe, the Zenith, and the Olympic. They range in size from 17 to 14.5 at the lower bout. I am excited about these guitars. They are fitted with a piezo pickup and do rest volume and tone controls. They off both round hole and f hole versions in the larger guitars. The big one sound beefy from the short promo I saw but I ergonomically I like smaller guitars. They are stunners, all three models. David Rawlings has played an old Olympic on most everything he has done in the last several years
Last edited by gmr; 07-01-2016 at 03:03 PM. |
#26
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#27
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Mid August is what I have seen. Go to the Epi website home page. They have a couple of short promo videos and you can see all the variations.
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#28
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https://bernunzio.com/product/eastman-ar400-21729/ . An Eastman is always good.
An acoustic Heritage Eagle Classic (carved spruce top, mahogany back and rim with no ornamentation) can be found for under $2000 used. An Epiphone Triumph or Broadway (pre-Gibson, pre-PacRim) is great but prices have risen lately. But based on your music genre requirements, perhaps a good old dreadnought or jumbo steel-string flat top suits the bill. Use nickel or monel strings to move away from the phosphor bronze jangliness, use flats instead of rounds, you are almost in acoustic archtop category. Last edited by Jabberwocky; 07-09-2016 at 11:31 PM. |
#29
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That reminds me, made-in-Asia Gretsch Synchromatic G400, if you can find one. They are surprisingly good, loud and chunky. |