Laminated archtop

[Rublesb]

Looking for a thin line laminated arch top that I can use for a gigging guitar. I play an Eastman T145 smd now but the humbuckers are low output and the guitar has only moderate sustain. Any suggestions of brands and models to look at. Something that won’t break the bank. Thx.

[Ben There]

Redid RZT-22 on Amazon. About $200 delivered, with a sound you'd be happy with from a $2000 guitar. It'll need new strings and you may want to upgrade the pickup and/or tuning machines, but otherwise it is good to go. here is also an identical Grote-labelled jazz guitar for about $20 more.

[Steve DeRosa]

Originally Posted by Rublesb

Looking for a thinline laminated arch top that I can use for a gigging guitar. I play an Eastman T145smd now but the humbuckers are low output and the guitar has only moderate sustain...

Pretty much goes with the territory, in the interest of eliminating feedback; that said, that essentially leaves you with two choices:

• A thinline hollow with trestle bracing, which couples the back to the top;
• A semi-hollow, which has a solid block of wood running down the middle into which the pickups/bridge/tailpiece are mounted much like a solidbody;

- both of which will impact the acoustic tone, if that's a major factor for you...

Good news is that there's a number of well-built, good-sounding/playing instruments of this type in the low-midrange bracket - Gretsch Electromatic, Guild Newark St., Ibanez AR/AS, some of the upper-end Epiphone '60s reissues - and I'd suggest hitting the dealers and doing some hands-on test driving until you find something that suits your needs...

Welcome to the Forum...

[rollypolly]

I’ve got an early 2000s Ibanez AS73 in dark cherry. It’s a solid guitar around $300 used. I replaced the neck pup with a humbucker sized p90 and it really sounds good. It’s short scale but doesn’t feel slinky at all and stays in tune for days.

The AS/AM etc Ibanez guitars have a solid reputation especially considering how affordable they are.

[BuddyO]

Sounds like you may be describing a Comins GCS-1 series guitar. Thinline semi-hollow with great sustain. I have a GCS-1 ES in violin burst and it sounds great. Also, build quality is superb.

[Rublesb]

Went out and tried an as153 today and although I liked the sound and weight overall, that really thick neck was uncomfortable. Do any of the other Ibanez AS series have thinner necks. Also I’m not sure of the short scale. I’ve always played at 25.5. thanks for the help

[rollypolly]

Yes the as73 and ak85 both have slim necks to me. Maybe they’ll feel large to you though so try a few. The as73 does have a substantial feel, but it’s still 1 11/16” nut and not over chunky to my average hands.
I didn’t realize that they’re short scale when I first got them. But I use flat wounds which tend to feel pretty heavy.

[Steve DeRosa]

Originally Posted by Rublesb

.. Do any of the other Ibanez AS series have thinner necks. Also I’m not sure of the short scale. I’ve always played at 25.5"...

Go directly to the Ibanez website - unlike most other companies they publish highly detailed specs on each of their (many) neck profiles, which will allow you to zero in on what you're after and eliminate others without a trip to your dealer...

As far as the shorter scale is concerned, many players prefer it for the fact that it brings everything a little closer together - IME a major factor if you use extended chord voicings and/or rapid changes of register, and don't have mitts like Johnny Smith or Tal Farlow. If it's simply a matter of string tension, those of us who have different-scale instruments will go with appropriate gauges - and while it's not a hard-&-fast rule (I use flatwound 12's on my Strat and 13's on my Rickenbacker 360) you might want to go up one gauge (10's to 11's, 11's to 12's, etc.) if you're going to a short-scale instrument; in addition, some guitars are just a natural match for a given gauge/construction - if you poll all the Gretsch (24.6" scale) players here and on the Electric subforum, you'll find that flatwound 11's (with a wound G) are the overwhelming go-to choice for both tone and feel...

Good luck...

[fpuhan]

Originally Posted by Steve DeRosa

Go directly to the Ibanez website - unlike most other companies they publish highly detailed specs on each of their (many) neck profiles, which will allow you to zero in on what you're after and eliminate others without a trip to your dealer...

I'm with Steve. I don't care for Ibanez electrics, which are geared more toward the shredding player, but their basses and archtops are superb, and for some reason, fly under most peoples' radar. I purchased an AG95QA that I absolutely love! And the price was $525. New. That's not a misprint.

The workmanship is superb, the guitar plays unbelievably smooth, all the parts and pieces are designed to work together, and the result is a guitar I'd stand up next to any other. In fact, when I was spec'ing out a custom guitar, I used many of Ibanez's measurements to start.



George Benson's been a sponsored player for forty years. And if it's good enough for George Benson...

[Steve DeRosa]

Originally Posted by fpuhan

I'm with Steve. I don't care for Ibanez electrics, which are geared more toward the shredding player, but their basses and archtops are superb...

Since the '80s I've owned three Ibanez basses and one flattop acoustic - still own two basses, never should have traded the acoustic...

FYI not all of their solids are shred planks: back in the mid-80's a bandbud had an MIJ AR300 that was nothing short of amazing in terms of not only QC, but also tone and versatility - and when/if I place my MIJ '82 Yamaha SSC-500 into semi-retirement after 40 years of faithful service, I've had an AR420 (or its semi-hollow AR520HFM counterpart) on my radar for a while now: