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Old 07-18-2018, 11:29 AM
Steve DeRosa Steve DeRosa is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Vee_Voe View Post
...I spent most of my life playing fingerstyle on flat top acoustics and cedar was always known to make extremely responsive tops, which is great for fingerstyle though at the expense of headroom. I can say that this is by the most responsive archtop guitar I've played to date, it has a lovely fingerpicked tone/projection...Charles' carve on the top and back is just absolutely stunning to me, the curves around the waist are nice and tight with a very pronounced dish around the perimeter. These curves are what makes/breaks it for me cosmetically on an arch top (yes I'm shallow)...
You're not shallow - that "dish" around the perimeter (also known as the "recurve") is a significant personal element of the luthier's craft and, while it can vary over time (and individual instruments), is as much a mark of maker authenticity among archtop collectors as orchestral-string specialists; to my eye it looks like Charlie took a bit of inspiration from a couple late-40's D'Angelicos I've seen, particularly in the back where he paired it with a subtle touch of "German carve" such as one might see on a '50s Hofner jazzbox (or, in its most extreme form, on the rare Fender LTD or certain Rickenbacker hollowbodies) that lends an almost cello-like elegance - very well done IMO, and I'm sorry he didn't have a more prolific output...

BTW I don't know how long this guitar was played (or by whom) before it came into your possession but archtops, being the finicky beasts they are by nature, not only take longer to "break in" than flattop guitars - I played a number of Big Band-era comp boxes back in the '70's-80's, that were just beginning to come into their own after several decades - but IME once they have a tone "played into them" that's it, for better/for worse/for life. Although your tastes/style may run to fingerpicking (and perhaps extensive use of the open/semi-open positions and alternate tunings associated therewith), I'd also spend a fair share of time whacking out some four-to-the-bar Freddie Green-style comp chords and single-string lines along the entire length of the neck - or enlist the aid of an experienced jazzer friend who can (I doubt anyone in his/her right mind would refuse the opportunity on that guitar) - to help "open up" the full tone/volume potential; as an archtop player since the early-60's the best examples I've found were the ones that were obviously played hard in all positions (and treated with respect and care over their lifetime - there's a big difference between honest wear and abuse, that a lot of the flattop guys don't seem to get) - and while I recognize the difference a cedar top would make, time is on your side in that it would likely tend to mature earlier in terms of ultimate tonal capability. I'd give it a try - meaning over an extended period of time - and see what happens...

Gorgeous instrument - use it well and often...
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