#46
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Pretty subjective...question,if I understand the question;and,I'd be answering in fairly general terms.
Not sure I've ever owned a "soft" 50mm pick;I use a 60 Blue Chip for my archtop and for mandolin. A 50 would be fine for me;but,soft(?) I tend not to like floppy picks;no room for dynamics. I can play softly with a 60 or fortissimo! With a soft pick you don't have the options. Fungus,I think I play some of that "hippie rock" stuff. A good archtop is most versatile. You wanna hit a loud G-run/Bluegrassy thing? It will roar,comp,chug,meaty rhythm or sparkle from a solid mid-range to shimmering trebles. It'll rock,shuffle,finger-pick...whatever. I've always played flattop guitars in the past;but,I'm a newly,dedicated arch-head now,bordering on snobby for pure acoustic guitar. I won't put any kind of pickup on my mandolin either. Maybe the electric option should be left out of the equation(regarding archtops/flattops),as there are so many other variations of equipment to consider(individual instruments having their own personality),like string gauge,scale-length,action,picks,and style of the operator. I think it was a wise man who said,"There's only two kinds of music;good and bad." For me,the surprising(amazing) thing about a good archtop is the transformation that takes place between strumming/comping/chopping,or even ringing-open chords, to single-note and double-stop fills and breaks. |
#47
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I play everything with a Dunlop 2mm pick... Electric, Selmer (gypsy guitar), Flattop acoustic, and an archtop guitar.. Altering how hard I'm clenching the pick, determines the dynamics of how the pick acts against the strings... if I just loosely hold the pick, it acts like a thinner pick, and is good for strumming.... just by holding with a firm grip really makes your pick attack punchy and powerful... great for rapid fire soloing... When I change to a thinner pick, I feel I lose total dynamic control over the instruments... so.. I can't answer your changing pick question.. but I don't think that a good acoustic archtop needs any "taming" by a softer pick.... I don't think any of us can theorize anything about how the guitar will react in your hands... you're going to play like you play on any guitar.. I don't know where you are (playing wise) but there came a time in my playing life when I developed the ability to "learn how to play" different types of guitars... A telecaster is a GREAT guitar.... If you know how to play it... An archtop is a GREAT guitar.... if you know how to play it... A flattop acoustic is a GREAT guitar.... if you know how to play it.. there are different approaches you need to take for any of the guitars.. just like a Jeep, a Porshe, and a Cadillac are all automobiles.. but... you gotta learn how to drive them all different. For instance, one of the Doc Watson tunes I cover is Deep River Blues. On a tele, since the strings are easier to play than an acoustic instrument.. it's easy to throw in flurries of notes while i'm dead thumbing out the rhythm... on an archtop... it's fun to dig in to the bass notes and really pull at the melody lines with my fingers... on a flat top... the dead thumbing gives you a real punchy crisp bass line and it sounds so good when you comp chords fingerstyle with some hammer ons and pull offs... Go play an Eastman 16" non cutaway, or a 1930's gibson L-4, or an L-50 for that matter.. but... don't try to play the songs you normally play like you would "normally" play them on a flat top acoustic.... spend a little time with the guitar... feel how it responds to how you pick out each note. If it's properly deigned, it should have a real woody response... plump... punchy.... not too loud... but... just right.. don't just pick one up and expect it to sound as good as a flat top does to your strumming... because you have to learn how to make an archtop sound good.... just like you had to learn how to make a flattop sound good... |
#48
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Well said
well said. Thank you for your response. This in away confirms what I was thinking. That any guitars tone regardless of type will be effected by technique and thus technique must be adjusted to find A suitable tone to the players liking. In addition pick size/thickness would make a difference and contribute to the adjusting of technique.
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"Dying on the Vine EP" available on itunes 2004 Martin D41 2006 Guild D40 "The Future of Whistling"......Daniel Duncan |
#49
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You can strum your favourite Springsteen song on an archtop if you will but it won't sound quite right and IMO it's a waste of the instrument's tonal qualities. Archtops typically have less sustain and a short decay. That's the sound that most people think of when they think of traditional jazz guitar -- and that's miles away from the traditional flat top guitar sound. |
#50
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#51
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So glad they're not popular.
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Taylor 854CE Goodall-KCJ Goodall-MP-14 J.Robertson-SJ20-SE 70's Gibson ES-175 SB 90's Gibson ES-295 Grestch 6196T Country Club Gretsch 6120 SSL D'Angelico NYL-2 (Reissue) Don Grosh Retro Classic Sunburst G&L ASAT Classic G&L S-500 |
#52
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Howard..Thanks for the archtop awakening ... and the youtube links are also liked ...
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#53
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My first and only guitar for years was an old arch top Kalamazoo. It always had a tight nasal sound to me that I never could warm up to.
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#54
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Just beautiful...
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Will |
#55
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Most beautiful!! Someday I will own another one...
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Will |
#56
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Looks like an old thread has got new legs............. Thanks for the kind words. Herewith, though, a guy who REALLY knows how to play the songs that were new before the guitars were being made: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_NabVzgONnk Craig plays with a flat pick and his ring finger, and I swear he's 'reading' the music.............I can't figure out what he's looking at because he doesn't seem concerned with his hands!! Enjoy. HE |
#57
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There is another brand in the "affordable" archtop mix that I haven't seen mentioned yet
The Loar http://www.theloar.com/products.html From what I've been able to find out so far, this is an American-based company doing the actual manufacturing in China. Whatever your feelings on that particular subject, it certainly is nice to see somebody doing new builds based on the earliest L-5 specs. All-laminate in the lowest end of the range, all-solid (including the carved tops) in upper end With the Street price of the top-of-the-line 700 series acoustics running only slightly over $1k, and the 600 series significantly under that, this brand is looking like something well worth investigating further. The hardest part for me is finding a bricks-and-mortar store that stocks them
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Everybody knows Something - Nobody knows Everything https://www.martinshenandoahguitars.info/ |
#58
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Will |
#59
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Brad
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Guild F212: 1964 (Hoboken), Guild Mark V: 1975 (Westerly), Guild Artist Award: 1975 (Westerly), Guild F50: 1976 (Westerly), Guild F512: 2010 (New Hartford), Pawless Mesquite Special: 2012, 90s Epi HR Custom (Samick), 2014 Guild OOO 12-fret Orpheum (New Hartford), 2013 12 fret Orpheum Dread (New Hartford), Guild BT258E, 8 string baritone, 1994 Guild D55, Westerly, 2023 Cordoba GK Negra Pro. |
#60
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Thanks Brad... I appreciate the info.
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Will |