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#1
06-30-2009, 09:00 AM
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archtop musing
On the Antiques Road Show program, a lady had a Gibson archtop made in the 30's. The expert said the archtops were developed to give great volume in order for the guitar to compete with other instruments and that the advent of electric guitars diminished the demand for archtops. Are good archtops really that powerful? Is it that archtops are better a projecting a certain sound spectrum. This is just a question, no related any desire for an archtop.
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#2
09-15-2009, 09:14 PM
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yes... If it is built correctly... it will be measurably louder than the loudest flat top guitars in the mid range..... or so they* say...
they*: The infamous they.
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#3
09-15-2009, 09:21 PM
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Archtops have a sharper tone than flat tops;more treble,less bass. I think this helps their sound to carry better.
The best sounding archtop I ever tried was an old 16" Gibson L5 from the early period. It was $3000.00,and not in very good shape for playing. Strings were too high. But,it sounded like plucking a cello. I wasn't in the mood to spend that much money,but it was very unique even among other old L5's.
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#4
09-15-2009, 09:30 PM
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Archtops are wonderful instruments... depending on what they're designed to do, they can respond VERY much like an acoustic flat top guitar... or punch through a big band acoustically...
or... give you that warm woody tone when amplified..... it's all in how you build them... arch height, bracing pattern, finish, and top/back thickness can all radically alter the acoustic response/volume of an archtop...
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#5
09-16-2009, 03:51 AM
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Quote:
Yes, they are that powerful, and can have all the sustain and fullness of a flat top, at times. Listen to my 1927 Gibson L-5 on 'Nokie's Blue Bottle', solo bottleneck, or straight fingerpicked on 'Dust Mop': http://www.howardemerson.com/music1.html Regards, Howard http://www.howardemerson.com/
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#6
09-16-2009, 08:18 AM
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I really have to stay away from this forum.....
I don't want to have lustful thoughts for yet another type of guitar! (I've already only narrowly escaped being obsessed by 12 strings and dobros!....and I've thus far avoided an archtop obsession, but only just barely.....and this thread is not helping matters!)
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#7
09-16-2009, 08:29 AM
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Quote:
By the way, I do have a relatively inexpensive archtop Guild with pickups on it. It sounds good amplified but it's useless acoustically because the top is made of maple plywood. Regards, Glenn
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#8
09-16-2009, 08:56 AM
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sorry guys... but put your GAS masks on:
Here's a fellow named Doug Wamble playing this guitar: here's another recording of him playing it... with phosphor bronze strings on the same guitar...  
Last edited by wierdOne; 09-16-2009 at 09:28 AM.
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#9
09-16-2009, 09:14 AM
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I own several Gibson and Epiphone archtops and love em.Great for playing blues,old timy jazz from the 20's and 30's,western swing.I used them as lead instruments with flattop rythm players.A lot more versitile then most give them credit for.
__________________
My tools-Larrivee OM03PA and J05,72 Harmony made Fender 12 string,Guild JF30 6+12,Stagg E/A,Guild Starfire bass,a couple of Tele's,65 Gibson L48 and a 49 L7,mando,balzuki,a couple of Gretsch's,72 Fender Princton Reverb,Ultra Sound AC30 and a bunch of other toys.
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#10
09-16-2009, 12:50 PM
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I find a lot of variation in volume in archtops, but it seems to me the good ones can be louder than an average flat top, at least in part because you can play them harder without breaking up. Of course, you need to really whomp on it to get that volume. My understanding is that Freddie Green used very high action and heavy strings, combined with a strong attack to get the volume to hang with the band.
__________________
Steve
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#11
09-16-2009, 01:32 PM
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Quote:
........http://www.freddiegreen.org/instruments/setup.html A manly man's set up, for certain! HE
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#12
09-16-2009, 06:54 PM
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Quote:
__________________
Steve
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