Highest dynamic range?

[Bear Davis]

Acoustic only archtop.

I don't want to break the bank lets go 5k or less as I know these things can get really expensive.

Thanks!

[Bluemonk]

You may be able to find a used Campellone for 5k or less. IMO, the very best in that price range. Probably most have floating pickups, but I'm sure there are some out there that are purely acoustic.

[Steve DeRosa]

IME a nice old New York Epiphone will give you all the dynamic range you could ask for, at a surprisingly reasonable price given their quality (significantly less than their model-for-model Gibson counterparts FYI); depending on condition a 16" Zenith or Blackstone can be had for well under $2K, the upscale 16" Spartan and relatively rare postwar 17" Devon in the $1800-2300 range, the 17" Triumph and Broadway for $2500-3500, player-grade non-cutaway Deluxes starting around $3800, and the occasional non-cut player-grade 18" Emperor - the Holy Grail for many Big Band-era compers, and second only to the legendary Stromberg Master 400 in size and cutting power - at the top of your $5K budget. Maybe it's the fact that they were a hometown brand back in the day (along with Gretsch, Favilla, D'Angelico, and Guild) and I used to see them in abundance in pawn shops, but I've been drawn to these grossly underappreciated/undervalued jazzboxes since I was a kid - I always preferred the tone to competing Gibson models (the tops tended to be carved somewhat thinner and the graduation specs were totally different), and you're not going to find anything of comparable quality in a prewar/early-postwar guitar for anywhere near the price...

[David Eastwood]

Originally Posted by Steve DeRosa

IME a nice old New York Epiphone will give you all the dynamic range you could ask for, at a surprisingly reasonable price given their quality (significantly less than their model-for-model Gibson counterparts FYI); depending on condition a 16" Zenith or Blackstone can be had for well under $2K, the upscale 16" Spartan and relatively rare postwar 17" Devon in the $1800-2300 range, the 17" Triumph and Broadway for $2500-3500, player-grade non-cutaway Deluxes starting around $3800, and the occasional non-cut player-grade 18" Emperor - the Holy Grail for many Big Band-era compers, and second only to the legendary Stromberg Master 400 in size and cutting power - at the top of your $5K budget. Maybe it's the fact that they were a hometown brand back in the day (along with Gretsch, Favilla, D'Angelico, and Guild) and I used to see them in abundance in pawn shops, but I've been drawn to these grossly underappreciated/undervalued jazzboxes since I was a kid - I always preferred the tone to competing Gibson models (the tops tended to be carved somewhat thinner and the graduation specs were totally different), and you're not going to find anything of comparable quality in a prewar/early-postwar guitar for anywhere near the price...

You're a fount of knowledge on the subject, Steve - but an occasional paragraph break would make your wisdom so MUCH easier to consume

[coldfingers]

Since you're looking at acoustic archtops, I'd like to know what you think of this one:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sLK5w75Iz3w

I hope I'm not violating forum rules here. Really not trying to sell anything, just looking for some feedback.

[Mandobart]

This Eastman AR805 is what I play. Under $2 k US. I have added a twin head piezo SBT and a Kent Armstrong floating pickup. Great guitar acoustically or plugged in.

[Steve DeRosa]

Originally Posted by Bear Davis

Acoustic only archtop.

I don't want to break the bank lets go 5k or less as I know these things can get really expensive...

Originally Posted by Steve DeRosa

IME a nice old New York Epiphone will give u all the dynamic range you could ask for, at a surprisingly reasonable price given their quality... the 17" Triumph and Broadway for $2500-3500....

Got your guitar right here:

https://www.archtop.com/ac_46bwy_117.html









- and consider the period-correct vintage DeArmond (worth a good few hundred bucks alone) an added bonus...