I'm a gypsy-jazz guitarist, and frankly I think archtops are much harder to play than my gypsy-jazz (Selmer-style) guitar. For every archtop I've played, the tension is crazy tight and difficult...!
One time I borrowed an archtop from a luthier friend, and I needed to put gypsy-jazz strings (Argentines) on it to make it playable for me. Even then, it was way more difficult than what I'm used to.
Maybe this just goes to show that people get used to things.
At any rate, to answer the original question, the best bet may be to play a particular gypsy-jazz guitar and find out for yourself.
Adrian
|