Quote:
Originally Posted by Steve DeRosa
Have you gone to a heavier gauge - IME at a bare minimum you'll need 12's (with a wound G) on a short-scale guitar like the AF75, to get that "woody" tone you expect from a full-hollow archtop electric; I'd also recommend flatwounds - not only are they less "fizzy" and edgy-sounding, but you can drop the action significantly lower than with roundwounds to offset the extra effort otherwise necessary to finger them (a trick all those fleet-fingered '50s jazzers and rockabilly cats knew - and used to great advantage). Finally, you might try a rosewood bridge - they're already compensated for heavier gauges with a wound G, and for around $25 it's a cheap (and quickly reversible) modification which, in combination with heavier strings, should get you the sound you're after...
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Right on the money.
12s are almost a necessity, but they don’t have to feel heavy; archtops are not hard to set up, as Steve notes.
Some of the Ibanez AGs ship with an alternate rosewood bridge, and it makes an enormous difference in tone. I have an AFJ 81 - the larger body with only neck pickup - and the rosewood bridge is much lighter, allowing the top to move much more. It’s a much sweeter-sounding guitar with the RW bridge.