NGD Archtop ~yEs~

[newton]

Finally...

The elusive Tacoma AJF22CE5 Jazz King archtop eludes me no more.



This particular example of the breed is a year 2000 model with a mild case of Tacoma-itis (otherwise known as the "rash"). Normal people call this a mfg. defect. The finish is lifting off in places but I know what I'm in for. This will be Tacoma #7 for me.

Starting in '00, all Tacoma's with cutaways were solid, carved tone wood top and sides. The backs were, I believe, constructed using a type of lamination process. Tacoma's without cutaways were all solid tone wood top, back and sides. From 2001 onward, there were no laminate Tacoma's of any kind. Later model Jazz Kings did away with the bolt on neck and used a dovetail joint.

I can tell just by looking that this Tacoma has got a solid sitka spruce top and solid Big Leaf maple sides. The back looks to not quite be "book-matched". You would think that if the mfg. was doing a laminate back that they would make it look perfect. The wood grain pattern on this guitar is clearly not symmetrical or book-matched in the more usual way. Which makes me think it's also solid tone wood however, there are no braces on the back (when you look inside) which leads me to believe that a lamination process was used. ...and that's fine.

As far as the top goes (and I am quoting from their literature here):

"Tacoma guitars are costructed of all solid tonewoods, that are actually carved and graduated, not bent and arched like many so-called "solid" top guitars sold at twice the price and more. The paisley soundhole design allows for finer graduation in the perimeter (recurve) area of the top, as it no longer needs to support conventional f-holes. The result is an instrument that produces distinctly more bass response and sustain than conventional designs. The use of carbon graphite components helps produce a lighter weight instrument that is distinctly contemporary in appearance ... equipped with quiet EMG electronics."

I have a lot of questions to ask about archtops in general but it's late so, let me just say that I have already started maxxing out my Ditto Looper through my Roland AC-60 and I am sitting here loving the sound on play back.

...here's more pic's...








tayl

[Steve DeRosa]

Starting to take on a real nice '40s New York Epiphone-style patina, fifteen years on

[Archtop Guy]

Very cool guitar!

Just FYI, no back braces is normal for a carved back archtop. None of my archtops, old or new, have a single back brace. And Tacoma's literature that you quote seems to second that the back is solid and carved too.

[T. Sphere]

How's it sound?

[bohemian]

Congrats!

One of the quirkiest Jazz guitars around.

[mr. beaumont]

So cool! I've wanted one of these for a while...

[newton]

Originally Posted by Archtop Guy

Very cool guitar!

Just FYI, no back braces is normal for a carved back archtop. None of my archtops, old or new, have a single back brace. And Tacoma's literature that you quote seems to second that the back is solid and carved too.

We were talking about this on the Tacoma forum today and the general consensus is that only the sides *might* have been laminates for cutaways for year 2000 Tacomas, with archtops being an exception to the general product line. The sides on this guitar are braced and therefore they are not laminate. The back then, we assume, is also solid book matched curly maple and so are the sides. I like to see the flaws in the wood grain. Laminates can sound very good. They just look a little too unrealistic now that the process has been perfected. The back on this guitar is far from perfect but I think it looks pretty good.

[newton]

Originally Posted by T. Sphere

How's it sound?

At the moment it sounds like the chorus from a Roland AC-60.

The frets buzz a little down on the 1st fret so I took it to my weekly lessons today and had the shop look at it. The truss rod has fallen away from the neck and will have to be repaired prior to making neck adjustments. I will find out on Wednesday how it really sounds. The store has some tube amps wired point-to-point with no printed circuit boards inside. Wednesday seems like a long ways off.

[louparte]

Brilliant design.

[Livingston]

Congratulations! Beautiful guitar. I played one a long time ago at a guitar store. Seemed like a very nice quality guitar but I was more into smaller body electric archtops at the time. After seeing yours, I regret not buying one back when I had the chance!

Haven't had GAS in a long time, but I feel a strong case coming on!

Enjoy your new axe!

[guildmann]

congrats Newton. great guitar. i love mine also!

Rob

[guildmann]

what do you mean by quirky Bohemian?

[newton]

The neck is sorted now.

The channel was cut about 1/16th too deep according to the luthier who worked on it. That allowed the nut to sit too low, making it next to impossible to get a wrench in place to adjust the truss rod. With a new/different nut on the truss rod and, a shim in place to offset the depth of the channel cut, all is well. There was a spot above the 12th fret on the high E string were the fret was just a bit too high but, they took care of that and now everything is as it should be regarding the neck and the fretboard. We put D'Addario flat wound XL Chromes on it; .013/.056 guage. It was already properly intonated so, I plugged it into a Valvetrain (Lexington) point-to-point tube amp and, I just sat there with the amp at my back for about 45 minutes and just played, and it sounds so pure. (Not like a cool electric tone but, just a pure, dry, smooth acoustic tone.) I will have to buy that amp. It gave me the nice warm, mellow sound I was looking for so, what else can I do? I don't see as how I have a choice in the matter.

...see gratuitous pics below...

[kayakman]

It`s a beauty,nice flame maple.....Bet it sound`s great....

[newton]

Originally Posted by kayakman

It`s a beauty,nice flame maple.....Bet it sound`s great....

Thanks. The bass is better than I expected. It's tight and it's responsive. I am already starting to favor the bass lines in everything I do just as an excuse to hear the low end.