In this instance, if you really want an acoustic instrument with a decent soundboard, you would be best served by going vintage. Modern acoustic archtops (with or without a floating pickup) at low price points tend not to be carved, or even pressed, sometimes having plywood tops. By comparison acoustic archtops (with or without a floating pickup) are less well served. There are many excellent electric archtops available at low price points by the likes of Eastman, Epiphone and Ibanez. I’m perfectly happy with my D’Aquisto, but that hasn’t stopped me lusting after a top-level luthier-carved archtop!
Of course, the extra work involved means you will pay extra, but that might well be worth it. But, for sure, the pressed-top archtop has a much stronger sound and variety of colour than one with in-set pickups.įor a pure acoustic sound, you would want a carved-top instrument, with or without a floating pickup. However, if you will eventually be playing your acoustic archtop with a floating pickup through an amp or PA, the pressed top is less prone to feedback, which might be a consideration to some. The acoustic sound is very beautiful, though perhaps lacking a little in projection, compared to a carved top. Some regard the latter as a lesser instrument, yet many fine acoustic archtops have been made this way, including my D’Aquisto New Yorker. The acoustic guitar could have a carved soundboard, or one that is pressed into an arched shape. The floating pickup can be a good indicator that the guitar was originally conceived as an acoustic instrument – but be aware, that is not always the case… Joe did in fact record acoustically, though few claim it a great success (his playing, on the other hand, was magnificent). One such guitar is the Gibson 175, as played by Joe Pass and many other jazz guitarists. The result might be a wonderful sound when amplified, though lacking in strength and variety of sound when played unplugged. These inset pickups tend to diminish and render dull the acoustic sound of the instrument. On the other hand, sometimes the pickup is sunk into the soundboard, which has been cut open to accommodate it. That pickup might be “floating” (attached to either neck or the pick guard) just above the soundboard next to the fingerboard. Not all archtops are acoustic instruments.Īrchtops sometimes have a pickup (sometimes two) or not. Hopefully the following short overview will help some unwary readers. I bought a number of guitars over the years, eventually selling them for others, but slowly I discovered what made some guitars the right guitars for me.
They all looked cool, and in the right hands sounded cool too. In retrospect, it took me an embarrassingly long time to figure out the differences between archtop guitars.
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