5 best all-solid Archtops under $1500

[Bernieman]

Hollo you archtop lovers

I'm thinking pf getting an archtop guitar pretty soon..,(if I can get one that's good enough).
I'm more of a songwriter, play quite a lot of blues and acoustic stuff these days and I'm not that much into jazz as to be willing to get one of the big names' high-end instruments : it won't be my first and only guitar, the kind you're ready to starve for...
But I do like jazz and as I came across guys that have a nice monthly jam session, I'm thinking of getting ready to maybe join them occasionally.

I seem to get bored with laminate woods guitars quickly, and decided to focus on all-solid instruments...I don't see myself spending more than a thousand euros, and as I don't know much about archtops, I'm asking for your knowledge.
Gibson is out of reach, Guild doesn't have any it seems, Taylor ain't so good at electrics, Martin hasn't been succesfull and gave up...Maybe Epiphone has some ?

So far I came across some very interesting Peerless it seems, and I have an eye on Eastman. Don't know about Loars, Recording Kings and so on, but I doubt that the former still builds and that the latter still is into archtops...What else, Gretsch but they seem to be made for rock'n'roll more than for jazz (?) and I do want an all-solid woods guitar ?

So what are your favourites 5 or 10 (or 15 if you can find them...) Archtops around a $1000, $1200 or even a (little) bit more (brand new) ?
Thanks

Bernie

[kayakman]

Myself I would not be happy with a laminate archtop,at your price range there isn`t much out there IMO.Once you play a all solid carved archtop your hooked! I have owned a Campellone and now I have a 1938 Gibson L5,I`M happy...

[mr. beaumont]

Archtops are a whole world unto themselves...and a lot of times, there's no swiss army archtop. Sometimes the best sounding guitar plugged in doesn't sound like much unplugged. Sometimes an outstanding acoustic archtop is absolutely BRUTAL to try to amplify. Different requirements...different sounds...

You say "acoustic" and "blues." But then you talk about maybe playing with jazz musicians, where you'd likely be plugged in?

Basically, your best bet would be to look at something like a Loar 600 or 700 and add a floating DeArmond style pickup. That way, you'd have a guitar that gets the acoustic archtop sound right unplugged, but gets that very different plugged in sound...

If the playing is going to be more plugged in, "laminate" is not a dirty word. Maybe the most recorded archtop in history, the Gibson ES-175, is a laminate.

[WordMan]

Gibson-made Kalamazoo archtops from the 1930’s had pressed solid tops. They vary in tone - I love mine as a great all-around versatile guitar.

[Steve DeRosa]

Originally Posted by mr. beaumont

...Basically, your best bet would be to look at something like a Loar 600 or 700 and add a floating DeArmond style pickup. That way, you'd have a guitar that gets the acoustic archtop sound right unplugged, but gets that very different plugged in sound...

If the playing is going to be more plugged in, "laminate" is not a dirty word. Maybe the most recorded archtop in history, the Gibson ES-175, is a laminate.

Excellent advice from Jeff, and in that spirit here are my five low-rent favorites (all prices in $USD):

• Godin 5th Avenue acoustic: the modern-day equivalent of those '40s/50s all-laminated student comp boxes (Harmony, Kay, Gretsch New Yorker, Gibson L-48, Guild A-50) but made to a far higher standard than most - and if you've ever played a Seagull mini-jumbo it'll be love at first strum; with a proper setup this one'll bark, purr, punch, cut, sing, and do so with more tone than a $500 axe is supposed to have - good thing is that, unlike many of the vintage pieces, the fingerboard is sufficiently elevated from the top to allow retrofitting of a suspended PU (Suggestion: the Kingpin model with one built-in P-90 pickup has almost as much acoustic tone/volume for about $100 more - Jeff owns one, I've played a few, I own the two-pickup CW II cutaway version, and it's well worth a look)...
• Loar LH-600/700: latter-day recreations of the early-30s 16" Gibson archtops (the LH-700 is almost a dead-ringer for a circa-1930 L-5), with everything that implies - be advised that the necks have a period-correct, deep-&-chunky 1-3/4" V-profile which may or may not be your liking (total deal-breaker for me on an otherwise killer-sounding LH-700 I played at Mandolin Brothers in the early-2K's), and the tone has that incisive midrange/upper-mid "bark" and relatively lean bass response (also period-correct) that many players coming over for the first time from flattop guitar find a turn-off; in addition, the neck geometry - extremely important on an archtop guitar - can be iffy on these instruments, so you might want to buy one ($1000-1500) on approval pending your tech's inspection/imprimatur...
• Gretsch Synchromatic 400 (discontinued): a near line-for-line copy of a circa-1952/53 17" Synchromatic 300 (the original Synchro 400 was an 18-incher), the solid pressed top (laminated sides/back) in concert with the large body give it a more "balanced" sound to many players, to my ears somewhat reminiscent of a Gibson J-200 but with the characteristic archtop "bark"; IMO Gretsch discontinued these far too soon - the current similarly-constructed 16" New Yorker and all-laminated Synchromatic cutaway electrics don't even come close - and while you can still find one for $1100-1200 if you're patient and shop around, I've seen them commanding a premium in excess of their ~$1500 original asking price...
• Guild A-150 Savoy: a reissue of one of their earliest 17" cutaway acoustic archtops (complete with '50s-style DeArmond Rhythm Chief 1000 "redhead" pickup), this one looks/sounds like it belongs on the bandstand at the Sands Hotel in Vegas for the New Year's Eve 1958 Rat Pack show; not quite as refined acoustically as the Hoboken originals IME (that could change to a greater or lesser extent with a bit of break-in time), but if you're going to be playing amplified it cops that '50s dual-duty (acoustic-electric) jazzbox mojo like many more expensive instruments - and this one's $1200 street...
• Eastman AR610: During the waning days of their New York operation - after founder Epi Stathopoulo's untimely death and in the midst of severe infighting between brothers Frixo and Orphie for control - Epiphone introduced the Devon, a no-frills 17" spruce/mahogany (changed to maple on some of the final production examples) guitar noted for its unusually sweet, mellow tone, and until today's Epiphone factory finally reissues the long-rumored/long-awaited replacements for the moribund Masterbilt archtops this is as close as you're going to get; incorporating elements of the Benedetto design paradigm with the Epiphone platform - this one's also an archtop for the flattop crowd, but in a different way than the Grestch Synchro 400 - the wood combination (all-solid/all-carved, BTW) minimizes the "nasal" mids some players associate with this style of construction in favor of a mellow, smooth, and somewhat subdued tonality compared to a similar maple instrument (not your first choice for comping behind a 20-piece horn section) that allows a less-experienced player to, as the old '30s/40s Big Band players used to say, "coax the velvet out" for chord solos or vocal/small-combo accompaniment. Personally, that richness of tone is the reason I always favored vintage 18" non-cut boxes like the Gibson Super 400/300, Epiphone Emperor/Super Deluxe, and D'Angelico New Yorker, as well as the newer (and unfortunately somewhat rare) all-acoustic Heritage Super Eagle and Triggs Master 400 - as I get older and somewhat less able to wrestle with one of those bandstand behemoths I find the idea of a 17-incher with comparable qualities quite intriguing, and the $1500 street price puts this puppy right at the top of my short list...

[kbrooks]

Though they will undoubtedly cost more than $1500,
if I were looking for a new archtop I would look into
the new Waterloo archtops that were discussed here recently in
this thread:

https://www.acousticguitarforum.com/...d.php?t=535758

Just my $0.02

[Bernieman]

Thanks all, many interesting things here...
I didn't think that Loar would still build guitars...I thought they were an historical make that had now disappeared (we never hear of them here except while reading american guitar forums), but I found out they are available on the major européenne online store (I saw an LH 600 VSB and an LH 650 VSB)...The LH 650 seems to be a very interesting opportunity for me.
So many thanks Mr.Beaumont : I'm okay for the acoustic stuff with my guitars (as you can see), and for blues with my Tele...I'm looking for an electric archtop yes, and I'm not that much into acoustic archtops (for now at least). But I'd like a guitar that has a nice tone when played acoustically, though I don't need it to be powerful (I think a 7,5mm depth is the deepest body I would consider)...

And thanks Steve (DeRosa) too for the Loars and for your best Five : the Eastman AR610 would be above what I want to spend, and on top of that, the AR 610CE seems discontinued...Eastman all solid archtops are hard to get in France and for the price I could buy an all-solid luthier's made near where I live (full depth however)...I'd like one with only one cut-away (and a rather thin body too).
About the other guitars you mentioned, I know the Godin 5th Avenue is a good one (I played one acoustic a while back), but I want to stick to all-solid so far : I know that 'laminate isn't a dirty word' when plugged in, but I don't seem to enjoy them for long enough...I'll have a look at the Gretsch too (soon)...
Thanks Kayakman (i liked the Campellone I listened to), thanks WoodMan (I will check out those Kalamazoo 1930's Guitars - would probably cost a lot here -), and thanks Kbrooks for this clue : but here we get very few of these less known brands, then it's not very likely to find an arch top...But you'd never know.

Bernie

[mawmow]

I got an acoustic Godin 5th Avenue as a practice guitar. By the way, I enlarged string spacing from 1,72" to 1,75" : no problem !

I am now looking at Loar LH-600/700 and LH-650, Eastman 500/600/700, Godin Kingpin/Montreal which offer a lot of different pickup configurations and the very versatile Taylor T5z.

Will I go Loar-600 or Eastman or Godin is still my question...

[Prof_Stack]

Yesterday I played a very nice Loar LH700 while deciding what acoustic archtop I might want to buy. I was impressed with it, as it had the sound of an old archtop in a new guitar. Fit and finish were great. That would fit your price range. I can give you the name of the place I went to that has an online page and ships archtops all over. PM me if you wish. You would love that guitar.

I ended up buying a '39 Gibson L-50 for more money but with 80-year old vibrations and authenticity that won't quit.

Both guitars have solid woods with carved top and bottom.

[mr. beaumont]

Originally Posted by Bernieman

Thanks all, many interesting things here...
I didn't think that Loar would still build guitars...I thought they were an historical make that had now disappeared (we never hear of them here except while reading american guitar forums)

The "Loar" guitars made today are a rough copy of the Lloyd Loar L5, but they have no other connection to the man other than that...

All solid wood definitely limits your choices.

[Prof_Stack]

Last week I played a friend's new Epiphone Masterbilt Century archtop. It has a solid spruce top with laminated back/sides, and is 17" wide. It has great punch and nice deep sound. I didn't play it amplified.

I heard my friend play it with his jazz band and it cut through nicely when he dug in. $649 at many places. Great price.

[gordyt]

Originally Posted by Prof_Stack

Last week I played a friend's new Epiphone Masterbilt Century archtop. It has a solid spruce top with laminated back/sides, and is 17" wide. It has great punch and nice deep sound. I didn't play it amplified.

I heard my friend play it with his jazz band and it cut through nicely when he dug in. $649 at many places. Great price.

+1 for these. I was pleased with several that I tried at the local GC.

[Bernieman]

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Originally Posted by mawmow

I got an acoustic Godin 5th Avenue as a practice guitar. By the way, I enlarged string spacing from 1,72" to 1,75" : no problem !
I am now looking at Loar LH-600/700 and LH-650, Eastman 500/600/700, Godin Kingpin/Montreal which offer a lot of different pickup configurations and the very versatile Taylor T5z.

Is it right that the 5th Avenue KingPin P90 coasts around $520 in the U.S., street price ? (here they are listed between € 719 and €856 - about $800 to $960 !)...If you are in Canada, they might even end up being cheeper for you...At this kind of price they must be an excellent bargain.
If you want a real jazz sound and feel, I don't think you'd get that from a Taylor T5z, however good these guitars may be.

Originally Posted by mawlow

Will I go Loar-600 or Eastman or Godin is still my question..-

Originally Posted by mr. beaumont

The "Loar" guitars made today are a rough copy of the Lloyd Loan L5, but they have no other connection to the man other than that.

I was expecting such a thing : sometimes people buy the name, and are not much related to the real thing...Should we care if they do make real good guitars ?

Originally Posted by mr. beaumont

All solid wood definitely limits your choices.

Not that much ; at this point my best 5 could be
Pearless JourneyMan
Pearless Monarch
Loar LH 650 VSB
Eastman AR 603CE, a smaller arch top (15" x 2" 3/4 body dimension), listed around $1640 on djangobooks.com, so a bit out of my price range (therefore fined and only 4th then )...
Not sure about number 5, maybe a
Godin 5th Avenue Composer but all laminate, then maybe I should ask a local luthier that does fine work, if he could build a smaller guitar for me. I like his archtops : http://www.yvan.jordan.luthier.over-.../ARCH_TOP.html What do you think ? He is not expensive (his guitar are listed around €2500 I think) aside the fact it's out of my price range ?

Well this top five doesn't mean much, since I haven't tried any of these guitars apart from a similar Yvan Jordan guitar (maybe this one)...

[Bernieman]

Originally Posted by Prof_Stack

Yesterday I played a very nice Loar LH700 while deciding what acoustic archtop I might want to buy. I was impressed with it, as it had the sound of an old archtop in a new guitar. Fit and finish were great. That would fit your price range. I can give you the name of the place I went to that has an online page and ships archtops all over. PM me if you wish. You would love that guitar.

I ended up buying a '39 Gibson L-50 for more money but with 80-year old vibrations and authenticity that won't quit.

Both guitars have solid woods with carved top and bottom.

As I said earlier on, I'm looking for an electric archtop, with (one) cutaway...So the Loar LH 700 is not really my style...Still thank you for the clue...
What about this Gibson L-50 : I've had a look at it : what's the difference with L-5s the way they were made at the time ? (I'm not willing to get one, but I like to know. And they are too rare and expensive here).

You talked about an Epiphone Masterbuilt too, but I'm looking for a solid woods archtop : so far I haven't found any among the Epiphone line...(I checked all the archtops with one cutaway I think...) ; i want this deeper acoustic tone too...

Enjoy the Gibson...

[Spook]

A Wu / Yolanda Team or a Yunzhi.