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Need advice on the found guitar!


ekate88

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Looks like a lovely guitar. I'm not familiar with that builder but people who build archtops tend to be a bit obscure - obviously you should research him and even contact him and talk about it. Archtops themselves are kind of esoteric - I would certainly want to play it and make sure that it is exactly what you are looking for. And of course look at the usual problem areas - possible cracks near the f-holes, neck angle, frets - that sort of stuff.

 

Whatever you decide, please let us know. And welcome to HCAG.

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First, from the pictures I would doubt that any of the things that I usually look for in a used guitar are a problem here. If you don't feel comfortable with your own evaluation I would suggest taking it to a good high end shop that has a staff tech who is qualified to help you with it. Any large city will have one - if you were to PM me your location I might be able to help - I belong to a couple of lutherie groups and have a lot of names and contacts.

 

Second, from the information in Spec's post, it sounds like the builder has worked with some of the best. I have the highest respect for Frank Ford and it sounds like that is one of the places he has studied.

 

Last thought would be to try to find a really good musician who plays archtops - they are kind of rare but normally that would be jazz players. If you can get him/or her to help you evaluate the guitar you would get some good insight.

 

Remember that archtops are expensive for a reason - the top and back are completely hand carved and it is very time consuming. I've built carved topped mandolins and have a small idea of what goes into them.

 

Good luck, let us know what you find

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