Holy Grail of Archtops?

[RobertForman]

just teasing you man.

I am very happy with my guitar. I was also happy with my Triumph Regent and L-4, and Spartan, I had an L-50 too but that was definitely in the lesser category. and they all sound very different especially the L-4 which was an early round-holed model. so any of these could be my grail archtop and for now the Collings is it. The Collings is like an L-5 but it has a longer scale which I like. the Parker archtops are very forward thinking and I tend to think of myself as a forward thinking individual and artist, so I could dig having one of those.

by the way, my next favorite kind of guitar is a 00 steel string, and I have had many including the Huss & Dalton 00 which was fabulous. currently doing more of an L-00 thing with a couple in my guitar room.

[Paikon]

Buscarino
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YaDVYymlPKE
and Sadowsky
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eIonShHIg1o

[SuperB23]

Originally Posted by Bluemonk

D'Angelico
D'Aquisto
Monteleone

I agree with these three and maybe add Benedetto to the list too.

[bohemian]

http://www.nylonstringjazzguitar.com/



http://www.the1923project.com/

[Scotch]

Originally Posted by henderson is go

The instruments being built by John Monteleone are some of the most expensive and revered right now. I've had the pleasure of visiting Monteleone's shop and playing a few of his guitars; wow is about the only word to describe them...

Ahhh i remember that 3rd one. Was a documentary of Mark Knofler of his top guitars. He visted this guy and played that 3 one. Think that was the first time i saw a proper archtop and made my mouth drop.

Also this thread is bad, looking at these and googling them made me want one so bad. Plus i'm supposed to be working -.-

[rpguitar]

You can hear and see the Monteleone "Four Seasons" guitars on a wonderful DVD called "Seasons." Here is the official trailer promoting it:

http://youtu.be/5urlUFSx16Q

This is essentially chamber music for the acoustic archtop guitar. And as exquisite as the Monteleone instruments are, you don't need one made by him to produce sounds like his (but you do need a good one; don't get me wrong).

[Scotch]

Just watched one video, then watched anothe and another of these guys.

Found my new motivation i think. Scared to ask how much one of those beauties cost

I'll wait a fair few years before i consider getting an archtop.

[Spook]

The current wait time on a Monteleone is 3 years. I'm not sure what a used one could be had for. I don't think they come up that often.

[bohemian]

One of my favorite guitarists, Anthony Wilson with Diana Krall, 4 years ago put aside his Gibson Byrdland to enjoy his new Monteleone.

[verbs4us]

Yo Yo Yo. Don't forget Linda Manzer.

[WordMan]

Originally Posted by uburoibob

I have found that with vintage rigs, it REALLY comes down to the actual guitar. More so than with modern builders who have a different sensibility about their approaches. SO, in the vintage world, it's hard to suggest THE ARCHTOP. They are all cool in their own way and there are some real standouts and some real not so good ones.

Boy, isn't that the case? I have a '54 L-7c that I just adore, but have found other L-7c's from that era that really couldn't play and sound more different. Archtops are persnickety

For those in California, Rumble Seat Carmel is/was selling the D'Angelico that John Collins, Nat King Cole's guitarist, played live and in the studio:

http://www.gbase.com/gear/dangelico-...ay-1952-blonde

It has a nut width narrower than 1 3/4"

[Richard Mott]

I'm surprised no one has mentioned Steve Gilchrist's 16" archtops. Scarce as hen's teeth but truly perfect instruments based on the Loar-era L-5s.

Another off-the-radar archtop builder extraordinaire is C.B. Hill out in Brea CA, builds exceptional instruments.

[DesertTwang]

Depends on who you ask and what sound they like. For me personally, I don't care much for large body archtops, and I consider my 1933 Epiphone Olympic small archtop the holy grail...

[rpguitar]

There are many wonderful archtops by makers big, small, famous, and not so famous. But when we say holy grail, it means "Rare, elusive, valuable, and highly sought after by a great many."

For that I think the list is pretty short, and early replies in the thread captured most of the contenders.

[ampjunkie]

Definitely agree on the innovative features and thinking of Parker archtops. But has anyone got a good recording of these? Everything I have found on the net, youtube, etc. has a sound that isn't that great to my ears ...