Its always a very personal thing. The instrument has to be comfortable and inspiring to play, and must produce a top quality thick precise sound. Once you go above £1500 or so, 99%+ of the audience can't tell the difference.
Great job! Clearly explains the variations of archtops. Nice to have so much info and insight in one video. Thanks so much for sharing your wealth of experience.
Side note: I own three Heritage archtops. A 535, 575 and Golden Eagle. Each one is unique and an affordable hand made Kalamazoo Michigan solution for the old Gibson factory . Good prices available for used guitars.
+1 on the GCS-16-1 guitar from Comins mentioned in the thread! I've tried numerous laminates including those on the less expensive side (like Eastman) and more expensive side (like Sadowsky and Collings). I ended up liking the GCS-16-1 the best of them overall. Sounds great electric, pleasant acoustic, and has incredibly low action out of box. A couple of other things that may be worth consideration (and apologies if I missed any of this in the video). 1) Scale Length. For me I like 24.75 or 25". 25.5" with a heavier gauge string is a bit too much for me. But my hands are on the smaller side. 2) For smaller body guitars, the fret at which the neck joins the body. I tried a Sadowsky SS-15, which is a wonderful laminate, though on the higher end price wise. Sounds and plays great. But it joined the body at the standard/typical 14th fret. With the combination of the smaller body, I ended up feeling too scrunched when playing the guitar for a extended periods of time. A strap might solve this, but I generally like the guitar resting on my lap. I also tried a Collings that had a smaller body but joined at the 15th and found that very comfortable. 3) Phosphor Bronze vs. Pure Nickel strings. This would be for an acoustic archtop mostly. I have a 16" Broadway model by Bryant Trenier with walnut back and sides. Originally it had PBs on it. I just found them very hard to play, and to my ear the sound was kind of meh (started out ok, but seemed to dull quickly). So I tried putting on a set of D'Addario Pure Nickel rounds that I really like. I found these much easier to play, and I thought it really changed the tone of the guitar acoustically for the good. Everyone's mileage will vary, but laminate or carved, acoustic or electric, I really like 16 inch archtops. I think they really hit the sweet spot for comfort and compactness/sweetness of tone.
I used to have a Peerless fitted with a Charlie Christian pick-up and strung with Tomastik black flatwound 12s...and it was the best jazz guitar sound I ever heard. I regret selling it every day 😢
Thanks Jamie, a very thorough and interesting video. Focusing on the ergonomics, the neck profile is something I noticed varies a great deal. There’s so much to consider, thank goodness I can’t afford one yet!
Hi Jamie, I bought a used Eastman AR732CE for about 1K and it is a thing of beauty. It's the reddish-orange finish. I even like the Kent pickups it came with. Thanks for all your excellent videos - I've learned a lot.
@@jamieholroydguitar My pleasure, I meant every word. Looking forward to enjoying more of your content. All is well with me thank you and hoping it's the same with you too my friend 🙂
I'll add a vote for Eastman. I've played many models - laminated and solid tops, new and used - and they are quite amazing. My current guitar is the AR580CE I bought used and it's hard for me to imagine a better feeling or playing instrument. The other plug I'll make is for the Comins GCS-16-1 guitar. The fit and finish on these Comins guitars is seriously amazing.
An excellent informative video. I'm just going to complicate things and build my next guitar, likely to be an L4 style instrument. I initially thought that the large archtops would be awkward but far from it and I now have a preference for them.
You don’t have a representation of a carved top floating pickup jazzbox. The three you play have similar sound - and that’s because laminate or carved, the moment you install pickups and electronics in the top itself you seriously limit its ability to vibrate. So your sound ends up being mostly reliant on the installed pickups. A carved top with nothing installed in it tends to amplify every nuance of your touch, thus creating a more ‘woody’ sound.
I used to play with a bloke who had one of those but they really need to be amplified. He a local preacher and wrote all the songs which were horrible they had a religious theme and I couldn't take it anymore so I bolted.
Bronze will give you more volume but most acoustic Archtop players from the early days would have used nickel strings. Both work well! I like at least gauge 11s
I have never seen one, but I’d like to have one. And I wish there existed better ways to use an amplifier with a nylon string guitar. Anybody can strum “Wonderwall” at an open mic night, but using your right hand like it’s a li’l 4 to 5 piece ensemble unto itself… using chords that aren’t 100% made of neighbor strings … this sort of playing goes with nylon string guitars and wide nut widths. But if we agree on this sort of playing, we now have an amplification problem. Mic-ing is fine for at-home recording, but I don’t want to fuss with mic placement at a sloppy pub. Piezo under saddle pickups sound dry & artificial. Fishman’s internal mic with piezo blend system is an improvement for sure, but I don’t want my percussion accompaniment to affect that internal mic. … 🤔
@@duanetrivett750 I have an LH 600 and an LH 700 (which doesn't have a better sound but has a better neck) and I just got a 1935 Gibson L10 which is an X braced guitar with a big sound and much broader range. It's more responsive but you can't hit it quite as hard as the Parallel braced Loars. Also it's 17 inches and I prefer a 16 inch but I can't afford a 16 inch Gibson...
I have an LH600 also and it's very nice. I also just got a 1935 L10 which is X braced and it's a warmer sound with more balance. I like both. The LH600 is 16 inch and the L10 is 17 inch and I prefer the 16 inch for comfort.
Its always a very personal thing. The instrument has to be comfortable and inspiring to play, and must produce a top quality thick precise sound. Once you go above £1500 or so, 99%+ of the audience can't tell the difference.
id say that price point stands true for most electric solid bodies, there is quite a difference between a £1500 and a £3000 archtop
@@adnjazz yes agreed 👍
Great job! Clearly explains the variations of archtops. Nice to have so much info and insight in one video. Thanks so much for sharing your wealth of experience.
Side note: I own three Heritage archtops. A 535, 575 and Golden Eagle. Each one is unique and an affordable hand made Kalamazoo Michigan solution for the old Gibson factory . Good prices available for used guitars.
Thanks! I’d love a Heritage. I’ve never tried one but I hear good things and they’re very competitively priced.
And I would love to hear your take on pickups.
+1 on the GCS-16-1 guitar from Comins mentioned in the thread! I've tried numerous laminates including those on the less expensive side (like Eastman) and more expensive side (like Sadowsky and Collings). I ended up liking the GCS-16-1 the best of them overall. Sounds great electric, pleasant acoustic, and has incredibly low action out of box. A couple of other things that may be worth consideration (and apologies if I missed any of this in the video). 1) Scale Length. For me I like 24.75 or 25". 25.5" with a heavier gauge string is a bit too much for me. But my hands are on the smaller side. 2) For smaller body guitars, the fret at which the neck joins the body. I tried a Sadowsky SS-15, which is a wonderful laminate, though on the higher end price wise. Sounds and plays great. But it joined the body at the standard/typical 14th fret. With the combination of the smaller body, I ended up feeling too scrunched when playing the guitar for a extended periods of time. A strap might solve this, but I generally like the guitar resting on my lap. I also tried a Collings that had a smaller body but joined at the 15th and found that very comfortable. 3) Phosphor Bronze vs. Pure Nickel strings. This would be for an acoustic archtop mostly. I have a 16" Broadway model by Bryant Trenier with walnut back and sides. Originally it had PBs on it. I just found them very hard to play, and to my ear the sound was kind of meh (started out ok, but seemed to dull quickly). So I tried putting on a set of D'Addario Pure Nickel rounds that I really like. I found these much easier to play, and I thought it really changed the tone of the guitar acoustically for the good. Everyone's mileage will vary, but laminate or carved, acoustic or electric, I really like 16 inch archtops. I think they really hit the sweet spot for comfort and compactness/sweetness of tone.
I used to have a Peerless fitted with a Charlie Christian pick-up and strung with Tomastik black flatwound 12s...and it was the best jazz guitar sound I ever heard.
I regret selling it every day 😢
Thanks Jamie, a very thorough and interesting video. Focusing on the ergonomics, the neck profile is something I noticed varies a great deal. There’s so much to consider, thank goodness I can’t afford one yet!
Hi Jamie, I bought a used Eastman AR732CE for about 1K and it is a thing of beauty. It's the reddish-orange finish. I even like the Kent pickups it came with. Thanks for all your excellent videos - I've learned a lot.
Thanks Stuart! I saw one of those just recently and almost went to try it. Lovely guitars.
Hi Jamie. A video on pick ups would be good. Great vid as always.
Thanks had a few requests so I’ll definitely look into it!
I am getting one next week that is made for me, but I am getting it to play Blues on🙂
Hi Jamie, great video , subscribed! I think I will give my 1966 Guild Capri C100 D a playing tonight...
Cool guitars almost bought one of those a few ago!
It took me a minute or two to realize what a calfed top is
Great video Jamie. Loved it and your playing is sounding excellent!
Thanks Sam, means a lot coming from you my friend! Hope you’re well.
@@jamieholroydguitar My pleasure, I meant every word. Looking forward to enjoying more of your content. All is well with me thank you and hoping it's the same with you too my friend 🙂
My personal favourite: the Guild, smooth but articulate
Thanks. That’s a good way to describe it!
Love this comparison with the Eastman, the Guid and the Yamaha. I’m using a Yamaha aes1200 on the ship I work on and I love it.
Thank you! Which cruise do you play on?
@@jamieholroydguitar I’m the music director for Cunard Queen Victoria.
I'll add a vote for Eastman. I've played many models - laminated and solid tops, new and used - and they are quite amazing. My current guitar is the AR580CE I bought used and it's hard for me to imagine a better feeling or playing instrument.
The other plug I'll make is for the Comins GCS-16-1 guitar. The fit and finish on these Comins guitars is seriously amazing.
Would love to try a comins!
@@jamieholroydguitar Jimmy Bruno who also does You Tube videos uses a Comin's guitar.
Love the video Jamie!
Thanks!
Lot of good information. Thanks.
Thank you!
Very informative. Thanks so much!!!! You have a new sub....
Thanks Glen!
An excellent informative video. I'm just going to complicate things and build my next guitar, likely to be an L4 style instrument.
I initially thought that the large archtops would be awkward but far from it and I now have a preference for them.
Thank you! Me too
Wondering if your 150 is a 16 or 17” , what year? Great video, yes on pickup video. Also the short vs long scale would be interesting as well.
Thanks I have a 59 125 which is 16”
You don’t have a representation of a carved top floating pickup jazzbox. The three you play have similar sound - and that’s because laminate or carved, the moment you install pickups and electronics in the top itself you seriously limit its ability to vibrate. So your sound ends up being mostly reliant on the installed pickups. A carved top with nothing installed in it tends to amplify every nuance of your touch, thus creating a more ‘woody’ sound.
I used to play with a bloke who had one of those but they really need to be amplified. He a local preacher and wrote all the songs which were horrible they had a religious theme and I couldn't take it anymore so I bolted.
I play acoustic Archtops, what kind of strings do you recommend ? Thanks for the video
Bronze will give you more volume but most acoustic Archtop players from the early days would have used nickel strings. Both work well! I like at least gauge 11s
Check out Northfield Guitars built built Luke Mundy
What archtop with nylon string is possible to get for max 1000? Thanks 🙏🏼
I have never seen one, but I’d like to have one. And I wish there existed better ways to use an amplifier with a nylon string guitar. Anybody can strum “Wonderwall” at an open mic night, but using your right hand like it’s a li’l 4 to 5 piece ensemble unto itself… using chords that aren’t 100% made of neighbor strings … this sort of playing goes with nylon string guitars and wide nut widths. But if we agree on this sort of playing, we now have an amplification problem. Mic-ing is fine for at-home recording, but I don’t want to fuss with mic placement at a sloppy pub. Piezo under saddle pickups sound dry & artificial. Fishman’s internal mic with piezo blend system is an improvement for sure, but I don’t want my percussion accompaniment to affect that internal mic. … 🤔
Would you recommend the Epiphone Sheraton II? What's a good sub-£1000 guitar for jazz/R&B rhythm guitar?
I haven’t tried one but the matt finished Epiphone 175s are nice but hard to come by. You can probably find some nice used Eastmans for around 1k too.
I suppose having all of my fingers is most important; so, I may not be buying a carved top benedetto
Where did you get that t-shirt? :-)
A student in Singapore sent me it s as a gift
Interesting ! 🏴Micah
Thanks!
I've listened to the first half of this and it's all about electric guitars. I like acoustic archtops and none of this is relevant.
I play acoustic Archtops my self . I have a
LH 600 VS what do you play ?@pnomis
@@duanetrivett750 I have an LH 600 and an LH 700 (which doesn't have a better sound but has a better neck) and I just got a 1935 Gibson L10 which is an X braced guitar with a big sound and much broader range. It's more responsive but you can't hit it quite as hard as the Parallel braced Loars. Also it's 17 inches and I prefer a 16 inch but I can't afford a 16 inch Gibson...
I have an LH600 also and it's very nice. I also just got a 1935 L10 which is X braced and it's a warmer sound with more balance. I like both. The LH600 is 16 inch and the L10 is 17 inch and I prefer the 16 inch for comfort.