Members EvilTwin Posted September 27, 2006 Members Share Posted September 27, 2006 Another thread on here made me think about this... There used to be a substantial number of acoustic archtops that you could buy on a budget -- Harmony, Kay, Silvertone, etc. Now its a niche market of hand-built guitars that will cost you well over a grand. I can't find any new acoustic-only archtops for under $500, can you folks? I think there's a market for 'em. People are constantly buying old ones on eBay to fix up. If Alvarez or Seagull built one (hell, it could be all lam like the old Kays to save cash), I think they'd sell like hot cakes. But I'd wager they aren't gonna build 'em. So what happened to affordable acoustic archtops? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members riffmeister Posted September 27, 2006 Members Share Posted September 27, 2006 How about the MIC Eastman? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Andrewrg Posted September 27, 2006 Members Share Posted September 27, 2006 Fashion happened and they went out of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Terry Allan Hall Posted September 27, 2006 Members Share Posted September 27, 2006 Doesn't Ibanez make one? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JasmineTea Posted September 27, 2006 Members Share Posted September 27, 2006 The Loar.$995 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Queequeg Posted September 27, 2006 Members Share Posted September 27, 2006 The Loar LH-500 Sunburstoops. QuickDraw McJT beat me to it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Treborklow Posted September 27, 2006 Members Share Posted September 27, 2006 I saw a new Gretsch at a guitar show recently. I don't remember the exact price but I seem to recall it wasn't much over $500. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members EvilTwin Posted September 27, 2006 Author Members Share Posted September 27, 2006 Thanks for the info, guys. The Loar is a beautiful guitar, but out of my price range. The same goes for Eastman (I haven't seen one under a grand, save for their new flat tops...one of those lists for about $899) and Grestch (the Synchromatic archtop acoustic listed on their Web site doesn't go for much less than $1,300 anywhere). The closest thing I could find from Ibanez is a one-pickup model (but I already have a decent two-pickup electric archie). I've kept an eye on eBay, but pretty much everthing on there is what I'd expect -- old plywood guitars with warped necks and cracks (and there's no way I'm paying $200 for something I'll have to pay for a neck reset on). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bjorn-fjord Posted September 27, 2006 Members Share Posted September 27, 2006 You'd think that with the advent of the CNC machines there would be relatively cheap archtops available. Hand carving tops and backs is terribly labor-intensive. I guess it's a supply and demand issue. If Clapton had played one on his Unplugged performance they'd be everywhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Fade2Grey Posted September 28, 2006 Members Share Posted September 28, 2006 Originally posted by bjorn-fjord You'd think that with the advent of the CNC machines there would be relatively cheap archtops available. Hand carving tops and backs is terribly labor-intensive. I guess it's a supply and demand issue. If Clapton had played one on his Unplugged performance they'd be everywhere. +1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members guitarcapo Posted September 28, 2006 Members Share Posted September 28, 2006 You answered your own question. There are so many old archtop acoustics bouncing around the market and made out of solid woods selling for peanuts...that guitar manufacturers probably figure there's not market.Just buy yourself something like one of THESE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members EvilTwin Posted September 29, 2006 Author Members Share Posted September 29, 2006 Originally posted by guitarcapo You answered your own question. There are so many old archtop acoustics bouncing around the market and made out of solid woods selling for peanuts...that guitar manufacturers probably figure there's not market. Just buy yourself something like one of THESE There was a really nice Patrician I was watching that's gone now. It stayed at $100 for a long time, then went up to $200. I can't find the page now. I wouldn't be surprised if it went for double that, though.I'll keep my eye on the one currently listed at around $70. There's a Silvertone and two Kays that might be deals, too. The K1 with a cutaway on there might be nice, but it has a couple cracks.But that's the prob...that one will probably go for at least $250, even with cracks. There are non-truss rod archtops that need neck resets (and have permanent bows anyway, unless you can somehow heat set them), fret work and crack repair that go for $200 to $300. Add on the repair costs, and these aren't real deals, anymore. If you could make a new, all-ply acoustic archop for about $300 with our modern improvements (better laminates like the ones from Seagull, working truss rods), I'd certainly buy it. But I might be the only one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bardsley Posted September 29, 2006 Members Share Posted September 29, 2006 Cheap, laminated archtops have nowhere near the volume of most flat top acoustics, and often nowhere near the tone. I'd have to spend at least $4000 (au) before I think I could find an archtop that I would want to play acoustically, rather than my flat-top martin (which admittedly is also fairly expensive, so that's maybe unfair). I like my Ibanez archtop electric, and the unplugged tone is fun and might sometimes be useful, but I'd never use it just as an acoustic guitar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members RiderOnTime Posted September 29, 2006 Members Share Posted September 29, 2006 If you're willing to import from Japan, then you could consider this:http://www.kandashokai.co.jp/greco/l_l9.html Alternatively, if you could put up with one pickup, then there's also this available at a store somewhere nearer to you: http://www.ariausa.com/series/FA50E/fa50e.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members EvilTwin Posted September 30, 2006 Author Members Share Posted September 30, 2006 Originally posted by bardsley Cheap, laminated archtops have nowhere near the volume of most flat top acoustics, and often nowhere near the tone. I'd have to spend at least $4000 (au) before I think I could find an archtop that I would want to play acoustically, rather than my flat-top martin (which admittedly is also fairly expensive, so that's maybe unfair). I like my Ibanez archtop electric, and the unplugged tone is fun and might sometimes be useful, but I'd never use it just as an acoustic guitar. I'm not looking for volume. I've got a Selmer-style archtop for outright volume. My Tacoma dread gives me the ringing overtones the gypsy jazz box lacks (plus is pretty loud in its own right), and my Seagull Folk splits the difference nicely.Those old cheapy archtops have their own clear, upper midrange tone. Not a Selmer, but much mellower, too.I just think they're a neat sound to play around with. Originally posted by RiderOnTime If you're willing to import from Japan, then you could consider this: http://www.kandashokai.co.jp/greco/l_l9.html Alternatively, if you could put up with one pickup, then there's also this available at a store somewhere nearer to you: http://www.ariausa.com/series/FA50E/fa50e.html The Japanese box looks great...but with shipping, that'd probably be at least over $800 (probably more).That Aria is quite intriguing, though. Thanks for the link. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jjang1993 Posted September 30, 2006 Members Share Posted September 30, 2006 http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product?sku=517748 Gretsch G100 http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Epiphone-Zephyr-Regent-Archtop-Electric-Guitar?sku=518547 Epiphone Zephyr Regent Archtop http://www.music123.com/Washburn-HB15-Hollowbody-Guitar-i131640.music Washburn HB15 those r some archtops under 500 except for the Gretsch. im not sure if the washburn and epiphone will sound like an archtop, but the bridge are rosewood, so they will have some acoustic sound. i think hollowbodys with metal bridges would have a lot of acoustic sound. EDIT: oops i mistaked the epiphone zephyr for the epiphone emperor which is 700. http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Epiphone-Emperor-Regent-Electric-Guitar?sku=518545 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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