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  #31  
Old 06-12-2013, 04:29 PM
bohemian bohemian is offline
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A good friend has loaned me a 1947 Gibson L-7 blond for as long as I like.

He is consoling me for a recent ongoing Martin custom fiasco.

I am happy.
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  #32  
Old 06-12-2013, 06:17 PM
Steve DeRosa Steve DeRosa is offline
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Used to have an early '47 burst, SN #A-1xx - sold it about 10 years ago to pay for a his-&-hers set of Rainsong jumbos (JM1000/3000) for my wife and myself; nice guitar, but even as a lifelong archtop player it didn't really speak or respond to my touch, and I never quite got used to that baseball-bat neck. Lovin' my little Godin 5th Avenue, though, and I'm still looking for one of those first-run Heritage Super Eagle 18" acoustics with the 1-5/8" '66 Gibson neck profile: power, speed, and class...
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  #33  
Old 06-12-2013, 06:45 PM
bohemian bohemian is offline
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"his-&-hers set of Rainsong jumbos"

Singin' in the Rain....

This particular 47 is quite a gem, as we know, not all of them are.

This is on loan from a friend that has an extensive collection of Gibson archtops and semis. He is rather discriminate when it comes to tone and playability.

After this one , he is going to loan me a 16" from the late 20's.
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  #34  
Old 06-12-2013, 08:17 PM
Spook Spook is offline
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Many archtops have built in pickups. Not the best for acoustic sound.

Practically all archtops in music stores are set up with light electric strings. Makes the guitar sound like cardboard acoustically so many never get to see their potential.

18" archtops are rare but make great acoustic instruments. You play an open G on one of these and you mutter 'oh wow..'

You can get a good, all hand carved solid wood archtop from China for around $1000. To me, these are much better than the laminate production guitars as acoustic instruments.
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  #35  
Old 06-12-2013, 08:26 PM
Landru Landru is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by paullouisf View Post
Why would you have a classical/flamenco as an only guitar? I have been thinking about getting a classical and making it my only guitar. I am curious as to what other people think about it.
Easiest to play, is a natural for baroque and yet sounds fine on pop and everything in between. I see the nylon classical as a most versatile guitar.

If I could only have one - my classical would be that one.
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  #36  
Old 06-12-2013, 08:51 PM
Glennwillow Glennwillow is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bohemian View Post
"his-&-hers set of Rainsong jumbos"

Singin' in the Rain....

This particular 47 is quite a gem, as we know, not all of them are.

This is on loan from a friend that has an extensive collection of Gibson archtops and semis. He is rather discriminate when it comes to tone and playability.

After this one , he is going to loan me a 16" from the late 20's.
Hi Bohemian,

You have a very generous friend. You are a lucky fella...

I recently picked up an Eastman archtop from Ted. I am sure enjoying this thing. So I can imagine the fun of playing a really good sounding L7. Oh boy!

- Glenn
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  #37  
Old 06-13-2013, 08:11 AM
bohemian bohemian is offline
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Most generous. I offered to reciprocate by loaning him one of my accordeons, he passed.

I am going to see if I get along with a 17", if not on to the 16's.. he has quite a few.

Which Eastman did you get ?

Last edited by bohemian; 06-13-2013 at 08:18 AM.
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  #38  
Old 06-13-2013, 08:18 AM
WordMan WordMan is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bohemian View Post
Most generous. I offeed to reciprocate by loaning him one of my accordeons, he passed.

I am going to see if I get along with a 17", if not on to the 16's.. he has quite a few.

Which Eastman did you get ?
My '54 L-7c is 17" - sounds wonderful and is versatile. You have a great connection there - I'd live to hear what you end up playing and your impressions.

By the way - I'm generally cutaway-averse on acoustics, but a cutaway acoustic archtop is a wonderful exception for me...
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  #39  
Old 06-13-2013, 08:23 AM
bohemian bohemian is offline
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I take it that you "prefer" the cutaway ?

I have an eye on a couple Eastmans. One is a mahogany backed number...
cutaway, 16 inch. The other is a 910 CE ... blonde 17 " with a floater.
Gorgeous guitar. It does have the cutaway which is the main reason I have not purchased it... but very tempting.

This L-7 has a set of phosphor bronze on it. Strictly acoustic, no pickup.
I am wondering if this is the best string for this guitar. The owner said I should feel free to change the strings to anything I like. I may have a set of Thomastiks lying about. Any recommendations considering it is acoustic?
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  #40  
Old 06-13-2013, 09:57 AM
grampa grampa is offline
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I think the best reason to play an archtop is because it's a guitar.
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  #41  
Old 06-13-2013, 10:08 AM
Aaron Smith Aaron Smith is offline
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I saw Pokey LaFarge recently; what a great show. For the unfamiliar, he does a throwback, jazz-era, country blues sort of thing. Hard to describe. Anyway, both guitarists play vintage 40's Gibson archtops; they sound Exactly Right for their music. To my mind, it is a critical part of their act.
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  #42  
Old 06-13-2013, 10:09 AM
WordMan WordMan is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bohemian View Post
I take it that you "prefer" the cutaway ?

I have an eye on a couple Eastmans. One is a mahogany backed number...
cutaway, 16 inch. The other is a 910 CE ... blonde 17 " with a floater.
Gorgeous guitar. It does have the cutaway which is the main reason I have not purchased it... but very tempting.

This L-7 has a set of phosphor bronze on it. Strictly acoustic, no pickup.
I am wondering if this is the best string for this guitar. The owner said I should feel free to change the strings to anything I like. I may have a set of Thomastiks lying about. Any recommendations considering it is acoustic?
I am new to archtop-land - the L-7c came with '12's and I've changed them once - standard Phosphor Bronze. I've considered trying 13's - not sure...

As for the cutaway - yeah; I really do like it. This guitar bucks a few trends for me - it is my only guitar with a cutaway, bound fingerboard and inlays that aren't simple dots (it has the dual parallelograms). Since this guitar is meant to support my toe-dip into jazz, the cutaway gets me playing up the neck a bit more. But overall, a cutaway archtop just seems to work for me
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  #43  
Old 06-13-2013, 10:16 AM
Pnewsom Pnewsom is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bohemian View Post
This L-7 has a set of phosphor bronze on it. Strictly acoustic, no pickup.
I am wondering if this is the best string for this guitar. The owner said I should feel free to change the strings to anything I like. I may have a set of Thomastiks lying about. Any recommendations considering it is acoustic?
I have an Ibanez from the 70's with a nice carved top. It is similar to an L5, and came with no pickup. I love it acoustically with D'Addario Chrome Flats 12-52.

It isn't dull sounding in the least, quite the opposite. I also mounted a Johnny Smith neck mount pick-up, which sounds great through just about anything. You should hear it with a mic and the pup together.

Last edited by Pnewsom; 06-13-2013 at 10:52 AM.
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  #44  
Old 06-13-2013, 01:38 PM
Archtop Guy Archtop Guy is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bohemian View Post
This L-7 has a set of phosphor bronze on it. Strictly acoustic, no pickup.
I am wondering if this is the best string for this guitar.
I use a range of lights and mediums on my acoustic archtops, but my '46 L-5, probably a bit like your L-7, really likes the GHS Vintage Bronze .013-.056 set, which are an 85/15 alloy.
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  #45  
Old 06-13-2013, 01:48 PM
slewis slewis is offline
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I appreciate the string suggestions, folks -- going to try something new on my 5th Avenue and I'm not really sure what to try, but this helps. Not looking for anything particularly jazzy or anything, just a good lively full sound that works with the guitar.
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