Older archtops, before amplification, have fatter necks. It may have been the style, but it's also likely because fatter strings and high action were needed for volume. I'm not sure, but they may not have had truss rods, either.
A lot of the new production archtops come a couple of factories in Korea, even if they say Guild, epiphone, or D'Angelico on them, though Epiphone went to Indonesia. And, most have laminate tops and thick urethane-type finishes.
Eastman's are OK, though the ones I tried sounded rather bright. Steve is right about Loar's neck shape, and the sound is the opposite, kind of dull.
Peerless might be one to check out. Honestly I think you're looking at upwards of 2K for a carved top.
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