Quote:
Originally Posted by HHP
If by "lame" you mean has dynamic range, I would agree.
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I've been playing archtops since 1962, and if you can't achieve
at least as great a range of dynamics and tone color from an all-solid carved archtop as you do from an all-solid flattop, you're not playing it correctly, period. In case you're unaware the basic technique is far more refined than that of flattop players - "stroke" instead of "strum," "glide" rather than "pick" - more akin to orchestral strings and as much a function of restraint as enthusiasm, in both its philosophy and execution; simply put, don't expect to just whack away on a pre-war Super 400 or Epiphone Emperor as you would a comparable-vintage dread/jumbo and expect a similar level of instant gratification. FYI archtops were considered virtuoso instruments in their day (there was a whole school of classical and classically-influenced music that grew up around them between the wars, and it has been argued that only Segovia's sensational American debut in 1928 prevented them from becoming the accepted concert instrument), and when approached with both the requisite technique and the requisite mindset there's very little a good archtop can't accomplish; small wonder Jimmy D'Aquisto considered them to be the ultimate guitar ...