First Electric Archtop for Jazz :) for a lefty.

[Lucy_Strat]

Firstly I just wanna say a huge thank you to Steve and everyone thats been commenting on my other thread.

Had a super productive day today bouncing round a few stores I'm a lefty beginner ish player that's loved blues an now fell in love with Jazz My favourite players are Wes Montgomery could listen 24/7 Charlie Christian and I love anything Chet Baker on his trumpets wow! Also liking a bit of grant green to and on a journey learning about Jazz players. I usually play a lefty avri 56 strat with a 7.25" radius and a soft v that I prefer to my 1999 epi les paul slim neck as I'm really tall with a netball n figure skating figure advantage of having a Danish mum.

Tried quite a few righty guitars flipped upside down a few D'angelico premiers but didn't quite get on with them neck wise again wasn't quite my cup of tea glad I got to play one as in my head that's what I was thinking of initially.

Tried a Joe Pass again righty upside down loved it very Mellow but found the tone very even maybe a bit boxy if that's the right word very much may have been the store as the room was huge. The controls were also jabbing me constantly in the arm.

Next up was the Godin p90 warm tones for days loved the tone but the neck was constantly tripping me up like the last time I played it so decided she's not for me great guitar though.

Then I clocked a archtop peaking out a Broadway hmm had been reading about them being similarish to a L5 ish so decided to have a go having not tried a 17" flipped it upside down plugged in and fell in love probably helping by this point that I'd got used to doing the first bits of impressions n round midnight with the strings reversed.

Whether it's cause it was a 25.5" neck or I'm not sure if it's the bigger body but the sound seemed to resonate in a way I didn't expect almost like the notes were blooming with extra over tones. N it'd go from Mellow to quite snappy dependant on my playing with my thumb absolutely smitten that was a 2017 mic playing it upside down the controls missed my arm comfortably bar the one tone control if I wanted right over the front pickup so could always relocate that to a thumb wheel control on the pickguard. The tone was warm n full and really dynamic just didn't expect that much of a difference which ties in to what everyone was advising go play them even if they are 3 hours away well worth it.

What's the difference in made in Korea construction and Made on China.

I'm not sure if the difference was down to the Neck / scale length or the body size or a combination of both its fascinating

The last guitar which I played the other day but wasn't sure if it was suitable for Jazz until Steve replied in my other thread was the G5420 with the older style tail peice this was an actual lefty that had the same snappy response that the Broadway had but I didn't have enough of a chance to try dial in a Mellow tone. Gonna go and play another one tomorrow. The neck was really special on that.

The big choice I've got to make at the moment is do I get a righty and switch my playing to upside down strings I belive Doyle Bramhall II does it that way and Albert King does I'm not sure of any other players that do, I could quite easily alter my epi les paul to that stringing I fixed a ruined setup n nut from a shop that went out of business once. N change my strat to that stringing to n then playing vintage L5's or L7's or epis which are my dream guitars would be a case of just flipping the guitar n not risking damaging it by restringing lefty.

Or I leave my lefties how they are an grab one of the Gretsches which are lefty.

Also with the construction of the Gretsch does anyone know if the soundposts braces etc would allow righty stringing on a lefty if I was to start playing strings in that direction.

Has anyone got any experience of playing both the Epiphone Broadway / the Gretsch?

Massive thanks in advance

[Steve DeRosa]

Originally Posted by Lucy_Strat

Firstly I just wanna say a huge thank you to Steve and everyone thats been commenting on my other thread.

...I'm really tall with a netball & figure skating figure advantage of having a Danish mum...

...Whether it's cause it was a 25.5" neck or I'm not sure if it's the bigger body but the sound seemed to resonate in a way I didn't expect..

What's the difference in Made in Korea construction and Made on China?

The last guitar which I played the other day, but wasn't sure if it was suitable for jazz until Steve replied in my other thread, was the Gretsch G5420 with the older style tailpiece. This was an actual lefty that had the same snappy response that the Broadway had, but I didn't have enough of a chance to try dial in a mellow tone. Gonna go and play another one tomorrow. The neck was really special on that.

The big choice I've got to make at the moment is do I get a righty and switch my playing to upside down strings...Or I leave my lefties how they are and grab one of the Gretsches which are lefty.

Also with the construction of the Gretsch does anyone know if the soundposts, braces, etc. would allow righty stringing on a lefty if I was to start playing strings in that direction...

I'll kick this off by addressing those areas not touched upon in your prior Archtop subforum posts:

• If you like 17" instruments you should be able to handle them with no problem and, in spite of recent trends toward smaller-bodied electric archtops, these big-body jazzboxes indeed have a response that IMO can't be achieved any other way...
• Place of origin depends on the item in question - I'd have an Eastman carved-top in a minute, and there's a bunch of us here that swear by our Bugera V-Series amps; conversely, IME Gretsch hasn't been quite as successful with their Chinese-made Electromatics, lacking the refinement and value-per-dollar of their Korean predecessors - they are, however, about US $100 cheaper on the average, which is a strong selling point for certain players. Don't know if you've seen any of the Japanese-made Professional Series Gretsches but these are in a class by themselves, IME exceeding all but the very best Brooklyn originals in terms of playability and attention to detail, and well worth considering when you're ready to step up to the $2000+ bracket...
• Sounds like that Gretsch is a real contender - cutaway lefty, trapeze tailpiece (you really don't need the Bigsby for your intended purpose), and I agree that the necks are a standout in this price range...
• There's an advantage in terms of availability of right-handed instruments which is OK if you're doing the Jimi thing, but as you've discovered can create issues with big-body guitars (especially those with a cutaway); since you've settled on playing left-handed (FWIW I've known a number of lefties who play stringed instruments right-handed) I'd recommend going with a dedicated lefty instrument - how you string it is up to you, but IMO there's something to be said for the traditional bass-on-top/treble-on-bottom setup (YMMV)...
• I have a trestle-braced double-cutaway White Falcon, and since the primary function is dampening potential feedback rather than enhancing acoustic tone (as in a violin), it shouldn't be an issue - but see also my comments about righty-vs.-lefty instruments above...

Let the games begin...

[Lucy_Strat]

Thanks Steve really appreciate the reply ^_^ quite a bit to think about yep that's a good point regarding the layout of the guitar etc.

I'm pretty sure it was the Rosewood Korean built Gretsch even though its a bit thinner an a 24.6" scale might be the best compromise. I'll have to check that out in the morning when I go back been thinking about it quite a bit an how much I liked it even though it was short scale loved it from the moment I played it.

Was quite surprised at the lefty choice that Gretsch do quite a lot which was amazing the White falcon looks amazing an 17" anyone need a kidney?

Doesn't seem many 17" leftys with a 3"+depth saw a Peerless Monarch 17 that seemed good but not a 25.5" neck I was lusting over a Left Handed Wes Montgomery L5 that I saw some pictures off online so there's definatley one out there that'l be the thing of dreams for me now for years ha! Absolutley in love with the tone of the bigger Broadway can't get it out of my head but it does come with some comprimises, I did get offered a sh lefty Joe Pass Epi but it was way more than I've seen some go for this year and was 170 more than a dealer sold one for so a little bit of thinking is required.

It's really interesting looking at the variety of how some lefty players have learnt was just working my way through a few lists. Was aware of a few like Albert King and Doyle Bramhall II but some of the others I'm gonna have to listen to

https://www.guitartricks.com/blog/10...ed-Guitarists-

https://www.guitarworld.com/features...ded-guitarists


Such an interesting subject Does feel like its between those two just a tricky case of best compromise its weird that I can play the strings in both directions as long a it's lefty with the neck to my right.

[mr. beaumont]

I think the Broadway is a great choice!

[Lucy_Strat]

Thanks Jeff the only other one is an actual lefty Joe Pass played the RH one but I just can't stop thinking about the tone on the big 17" box broadway it was just so addictive just having a flick through to see if there's any lefty 17" 25.5" 3" + bout.

I'd say at the moment those are the leading 3 guitars.

[Al Mojo]

This is an interesting thread!

Perhaps I missed it but what is your maximum price?

I noticed there is a lefty Eastman Pagelli in Houston at Southpaw Guitars but it's around $3,700. I've played a righty Gretsch 6120 DE (MIJ) that was really nice and beautifully made.

[Lucy_Strat]

Hi Rob thanks for the reply ^_^ glad everyones enjoying it's really helped by the great replies of everyone taking the time to reply to my endless questions lol!

Probably a max of 800GBP at the mo maybe tweak it up a lil for the right guitar.

I'd say at the mo the 3 that are leading the way are

a lefty joe pass seems to ne the logical choice although I just wasn't sure on the tone an the scale length weirdly that didn't bother me so much on the Gretsch (gonna go play a righty in a different store tomorrow n see if it sounds any different to the huge store I played in)

The 2nd hand Gretsch Lefty

N the love of my life tone wise the RH Broadway played upside down but I could end up screwing myself up going forward with some of my other guitars or Id always be stuck to playing archtops with the cutout at the top or none cutaways as If I ever commissioned a lefty to be made then I'd be back go Nornal stringing.

So it might make sense to stick with the lefty stringing on lefties n look at the Joe Pass Lefty from a few years back or the Gretsch having said that I can see the immediate advantage of the big 17" Broadway sound just need to find something similar with the same tone lefty Ideally one day from memory the bridge was angled so don't think I could have restrung it n kept it inotated it was so sweet I wouldn't have wanted to risk wrecking it if I went for it through re stringing I guess as well I need to think about vintage guitars in the future certainly some advantages to upside down stringing for just spinning a vintage guitar round n playing lthough I do like conventional lefty

I'll have a look at the southpaws website I did forget about them I saw an Easman 372 but I think its gone I was looking at the peerless jazz city online as the specs didn't seem a million miles off the broadway/l5.

Lots of thinking to do promises to be an interesting day round guitar shops tomorrow

[Glennwillow]

Hi Lucy,

I don't know what to advise or even if my advice is worth much. But here are my thoughts:

1) I think since you have already started playing left handed guitars, you should stick with that. But I could be wrong. The lead guitar player in my son's metal band is left handed and he plays right handed on right handed guitars. Because his left hand is so strong, he gets wonderful vibrato very much like Mark Knopfler does (who is also left handed but plays right handed.)

2) I don't think turning a guitar upside down so you can play it left handed with the cutaway on the wrong side is a good idea.

3) I think the Gretsch 5420 could make a decent jazz guitar, but I tend to go for archtops like those offered by Eastman AR series. I have an Eastman AR910EC, a very nice guitar and I really love the tone through a clean Fender amp. But, these guitars are not cheap.

4) On the other hand, the Gretsch 5420 guitar is a killer guitar for all kinds of music. I keep wishing I had one. It certainly is useful for playing jazz.

Best of luck to you Lucy!

- Glenn

[Al Mojo]

Hey, good luck on your search, Lucy. I know something good will happen!

[Steve DeRosa]

Originally Posted by Lucy_Strat

...Was quite surprised at the lefty choice that Gretsch do quite a lot which was amazing; the White falcon looks amazing and 17" - anyone need a kidney?...

Tell your surgeon to put his scalpel away : while this one's only a 16-incher it's got all the White Falcon visual mojo, a set of FT-5E blacktop Filter'Trons (which, if they follow past precedent, should provide a smoother tone than the '60s-style units), it's a true lefty - and if you get the urge somewhere down the line there's an assortment of aftermarket parts to customize it to near-Falcon specs :



https://gretschguitars.com/gear/coll...ded/2516227567

Here's a demo from Andertons - bearing in mind that they're set up with skinny plain-G roundwounds that mellow neck-pickup tone is still there (along with a generous helping of Gretsch clarity, that'll put your solos out front without resorting to excessive volume), and IME a set of flatwound 12's along with a bit of rolloff on the tone control should give you the jazz tone you're after:



BTW they have one - and only one - G5422GLH lefty in stock as we speak (close to your budget @ £839 brand-new), so if you have the funds available (or are in a position to finance your purchase) you might want to make the move now:

https://www.andertons.co.uk/guitar-d...oard-snowcrest

[Lucy_Strat]

Thanks guys means alot all the effort you are all putting in, I'm actually on the way to play one of those at a local dealer ^_^ I had a real think about it last night an I'm gonnstay lefty lefty strung as if I ever come across a lefty with a cutout archtop I'd then have the same issue in reverse if I used a righty strung one upside down as my main guitar, actually popped Gibson/Epi an email emploring them to make some left handed archtops again as I'm sure I'm not the only one who would spend money with them but can't.

It's a shame the masterbilt range wasn't better tone wise or that they didn't have a propper pickup the necks on those gosh utterly amazing n the bridge was straight so not to bad to convert unlike the Broadway which had an angled one so guessing those are impossible.

I also saw this although it's way out of the budget.

https://www.gretschguitars.com/gear/...ded/2516020506

Parallel braced 17" 2.75 but it's not a 25.5" scale so spending that much I'd probably wait n go eastman or similar in the future. I quite liked the look of the peerless Jazz City spec wise for the future at least there's a few good higher end lefty archtops out there.

Budget wise at the moment though it's probably between the Joe Pass which come up lefty have seen a few at the moment an the two Gretsch 500 series guitars there's 0 lefty eastmans in the uk I spoke to every dealer.

[Lucy_Strat]

Just played a Joe Pass for a few hours kindly at a local store who left me to it couldn't get on with it

So off to try a few lefty Gretschs including the 17" Tim Armstrong one exciting.

The only other thing that crossed my mind is getting a Broadway from a cost point of view the controls didn't bother me an look into getting a bridge made for the inotation but I'm not sure if that's possible with it being on an angle. The gretschs are leading the way at the moment that's for sure ^_^ an sometimes it's good to be a bit different like wes was in his playing

Just flicking specs at the moment the G5420's are looking most likely be interesting to try this bigger 17" bout Tim Armstrong though

NEW G5420LH
Bracing trestle block
2.75" depth
Arched laminated maple
11-49 string
Laurel board
Maple neck
Classic c
1.68" nut
12" radius
Ft5e filtron
24.6" scale
Set neck

G5420LH old version
5 ply maple laminated
Parallel tone bars
Sound post
11-49
24.6" scale
1.68" nut
Black top filter tron pickup
Body depth 2.75"
16" bout
Neck joint dove tail.

G5191BK Tim Armstrong
Laminated maple
Parallel tone bars
5ply Arched maple top
2.75" body depth
24.33" scale
1.68 nut
Black filtron.
12.5" board
Glued neck
17" bout





NEWG5422GLH
Body depth 2.25" prefer deeper
11-49
24.6" scale
Laurel

Falcon ml bracing
2.50 " deep
U neck
1.68"nut
Ft67 pickup
12 board
25.5 inch scale hello there :3
11s

[Lucy_Strat]

It's like bringing you all along on the journey haha played the Tim Armstrong n it sounded quite flat not my cup of tea so going back to try the G5420 that I loved if I can make the shop n the broadway.

Does anyone know what bracing the modern epi broadways use? Gonna have a look into the possibility of restringing it n modifying the bridge. If I don't like the Gretsch a n b'g it would love both lol.

[Steve DeRosa]

Originally Posted by Lucy_Strat

...Does anyone know what bracing the modern Epi Broadways use?

TMK parallel bracing, like most hollowbodies with built-in pickups, and designed primarily for strength rather than tone in lower-priced guitars of this type...

[Lucy_Strat]

Thanks Steve just on the way back to the Store to try the Broadway v the Gretsch G5420. When I tried the tim armstrong one before even though I wasnt mad on the tone the neck was absolutely amazing again so it's certainly between a g5420 an the Broadway with a nut n bridge as a stop gap till I can afford something acoustic n archtop in the future or the personal holy grail of a lefty L5 Wes actually saw some pics of a few the other day.

The G5420 mik seems the most common sense

Both second hand so affordable

Didn't try the Gretsch n the Broadway on the same day so gonna give them a whirl back to back an make a choice.

This was pretty tasty popped up while I was googling.

https://www.guitar-auctions.co.uk/sa...A-ser-no-9xxx8