Looking for a Hollow Body...Opinons

[CASD57]

Originally Posted by Steve DeRosa

If you're still looking for acoustic response ditch the tune-o-matic in favor of a wooden bridge (available from StewMac and Allparts for around $30-40), go with nothing lighter than 12's - 13's if you can handle them (flatwounds will not only make fingering easier per se but allow you to drop the action far lower than roundwounds, and the heavier gauge will drive the top and get some "wood" into your tone) - and use a wound G; this is the default jazz players' setup that's worked for decades, and for a deep-body archtop like the AF75 it's an excellent starting point...

So Electric strings?
Yea, I ran 13-56's flats in the past on my Electric I might not take it to that extreme..I'll look for something in the 12's since I'm more used to that because of my acoustics.
Actually, I took a look in my parts drawer and I have a set of Thomastik-Infeld Jazz swing series(for ArchTops) JS 112 Flat wound 12-50 their from the 90's
So I'll put those on this weekend

[Steve DeRosa]

Originally Posted by CASD57

...I took a look in my parts drawer and I have a set of Thomastik-Infeld Jazz swing series (for archtops) JS 112 Flatwound 12-50 there from the 90's...

So I'll put those on this weekend...

Perfect...

[CASD57]

Originally Posted by Steve DeRosa

Perfect...

Which do you recommend? Ebony or Rosewood ? for the bridge

[Steve DeRosa]

Originally Posted by CASD57

Which do you recommend? Ebony or Rosewood for the bridge...

IME rosewood is a bit mellower (my preference - YMMV), ebony is brighter, and bone (available from Allparts) the most "acoustic" sounding:



https://www.allparts.com/collections...se-for-archtop

IMO you might want to pick up all three - there are far worse things you could do with $100 (total) - and experiment until you find the combination of strings/bridge that'll give you the sound you're after; keep in mind that there's a strong possibility that you'll need to get the bridge base fitted to the top - an unfitted/improperly-fitted bridge base is one of the biggest tone-suckers in the archtop world (right behind improper neck geometry), and since StewMac only carries the Benedetto bridge these days (their old house-brand stuff had the uncanny ability to fit just about any archtop properly -still wondering how they did it) you'll want to be sure of your final choice before you take it to your tech...

[CASD57]

Originally Posted by Steve DeRosa

IME rosewood is a bit mellower (my preference - YMMV), ebony is brighter, and bone (available from Allparts) the most "acoustic" sounding:



https://www.allparts.com/collections...se-for-archtop

IMO you might want to pick up all three - there are far worse things you could do with $100 (total) - and experiment until you find the combination of strings/bridge that'll give you the sound you're after; keep in mind that there's a strong possibility that you'll need to get the bridge base fitted to the top - an unfitted/improperly-fitted bridge base is one of the biggest tone-suckers in the archtop world (right behind improper neck geometry), and since StewMac only carries the Benedetto bridge these days (their old house-brand stuff had the uncanny ability to fit just about any archtop properly -still wondering how they did it) you'll want to be sure of your final choice before you take it to your tech...

By fitted you mean...make it lay flat too the top?

Hate to be a pain but should I remove that foam pad under the bridge? looks like packing foam

Also I bought a used (Mint) Fender FM25R I remember you telling me about the 212R...

[FrankHudson]

Originally Posted by CASD57

So Electric strings?
Yea, I ran 13-56's flats in the past on my Electric I might not take it to that extreme..I'll look for something in the 12's since I'm more used to that because of my acoustics.
Actually, I took a look in my parts drawer and I have a set of Thomastik-Infeld Jazz swing series(for ArchTops) JS 112 Flat wound 12-50 their from the 90's
So I'll put those on this weekend

I love TI strings. Pricey (but you already have a set). You'll find them lower tension compared to like-gauged flatwounds. String them up with round-wound precautions: no cutting the loose ends before they are wound up to tension, and I put a sharp at least 90-degree bend just past where the extra string remains by the tuner capstan, and then cut after that bend.

[CASD57]

Originally Posted by FrankHudson

I love TI strings. Pricey (but you already have a set). You'll find them lower tension compared to like-gauged flatwounds. String them up with round-wound precautions: no cutting the loose ends before they are wound up to tension, and I put a sharp at least 90-degree bend just past where the extra string remains by the tuner capstan, and then cut after that bend.

Got it

[Steve DeRosa]

Originally Posted by CASD57

By fitted you mean...make it lay flat to the top?

Hate to be a pain but should I remove that foam pad under the bridge? Looks like packing foam

Also I bought a used (Mint) Fender FM25R. I remember you telling me about the 212R...

In order:

• "Fitting" an archtop bridge means contouring the base to hug the curvature of the top, to provide a solid contact path from the strings and transfer energy to drive the top - if you can slide the corner of an ordinary piece of lined looseleaf paper more than 1/16" under the bridge base at any point you need to take it to your tech for a fit - which leads me to:
• That foam strip under the bridge is packing foam, and needs to be removed before you tune up and play - just loosen the strings sufficiently, lift the bridge just enough to remove the pad, replace the bridge (remember the bridge position - both along and across the length of the strings - when you do, since both your tone and intonation depend on it), retune, and wail away;
• You are one lucky dude - far more than you know : the final-run Frontman 25R (AKA the "transistor Princeton" for its mid-60's blackface looks and size) is a cult favorite among savvy club/studio players looking to travel light with a pedalboard-friendly rig that'll handle a small- to midsize room capably. BTW if you're a tweaker at heart they respond well to both DIY and intensive internal mods (the latter not recommended unless you have the electronics background), the easiest (and arguably the most cost-/time-efficient in terms of net returns) being a speaker swap: simply put, for about $100+/- and a half-hour's work you can customize the sound profile of your little tone box for country, jazz, blues, rock, roots, and just about anything else short of metal (the 10" Eminence Patriot Series speakers - Ragin' Cajun, Copperhead, Lil' Buddy, and Cannabis Rex - seem to be the favored combination for the 25R), and if you go with one of the more-efficient models you'll pick up some additional clean headroom/volume in the process...

I'm assuming this is the one you're talking about:

[CASD57]

• "Fitting" an archtop bridge means contouring the base to hug the curvature of the top, to provide a solid contact path from the strings and transfer energy to drive the top - if you can slide the corner of an ordinary piece of lined looseleaf paper more than 1/16" under the bridge base at any point you need to take it to your tech for a fit - which leads me to:
• That foam strip under the bridge is packing foam, and needs to be removed before you tune up and play - just loosen the strings sufficiently, lift the bridge just enough to remove the pad, replace the bridge (remember the bridge position - both along and across the length of the strings - when you do, since both your tone and intonation depend on it), retune, and wail away;
• You are one lucky dude - far more than you know : the final-run Frontman 25R (AKA the "transistor Princeton" for its mid-60's blackface looks and size) is a cult favorite among savvy club/studio players looking to travel light with a pedalboard-friendly rig that'll handle a small- to midsize room capably. BTW if you're a tweaker at heart they respond well to both DIY and intensive internal mods (the latter not recommended unless you have the electronics background), the easiest (and arguably the most cost-/time-efficient in terms of net returns) being a speaker swap: simply put, for about $100+/- and a half-hour's work you can customize the sound profile of your little tone box for country, jazz, blues, rock, roots, and just about anything else short of metal (the 10" Eminence Patriot Series speakers - Ragin' Cajun, Copperhead, Lil' Buddy, and Cannabis Rex - seem to be the favored combination for the 25R), and if you go with one of the more-efficient models you'll pick up some additional clean headroom/volume in the process...

I'm assuming this is the one you're talking about:

[/QUOTE]

Yes... I paid too much for it..but Supposely its MINT
https://rvb-img.reverb.com/image/upl...tqw38guzvu.jpg

[6L6]

1960 Harmony Meteor with the classic Gold Foil pickups and Bigsby.

[Steve DeRosa]

Originally Posted by 6L6

1960 Harmony Meteor with the classic Gold Foil pickups and Bigsby...

I remember those well: except for a couple who had the cheaper single-cut/three-PU Rocket (as a kid I always thought Harmony's redburst guitars - whatever the model/shading - were super-cool), nearly all of the intermediate students at the local music school where I took lessons had them - until they progressed enough/mustered up the cash for one of the midline Gretsch 16-inchers (Double Annie, post-1962 Tennessean, double-cut 6120 AKA Nashville)...