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  • From: Philly
  • Registered: 2011-01-04
  • Posts: 269

Topic: Archtop Acoustic - What Are They Good For?

There is a very beautiful Foster Avalon archtop acoustic guitar for sale nearby, but for the life of me I really don't enjoy jazz guitar music.  The guitar does have a floating pickup and from what I have been able to view on youtube the tone is very mellow.

Does anybody have experience playing these types of guitars for music other than jazz?  How do they sound when you strum compared to a flat top guitar?  Perhaps a pickup change?  Or just run it through my Plexi?

Slow is smooth, smooth is fast.
  • From: Detroit
  • Registered: 2006-06-02
  • Posts: 5,807

Re: Archtop Acoustic - What Are They Good For?

I don't enjoy Jazz either, but I think they are similar to having an acoustic. If there is a pickup in it, you should be able to play blues on it, it just doesn't seem the typical "type" of guitar to do so. LOL, you should run it through the plexi! My only concern is that it would feedback like crazy because of the hollow body.

I've always been a solidbody electric kind of guy, and I just got a hollow-body electric '65 Gibson Trini Lopez because I've seen many players use 335 gibson type guitars for a variety of styles.

Clapton's ES335
http://magazine.dv247.com/wp-content/up … -es335.jpg

Dave Grohl (FooFighters) w/a Trini Lopez
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-nLwaNHqvh3U/T … 1%2BPM.png

- Nic from Detroit... posting on JB's Forum since 6-2-2006
Ask me about my handwound Great Lakes Guitar Pickups
Since 2010, Bonamassa fans have taken advantage of my JB friend discount = my cost + shipping. cool
  • From: Edwardsville, IL
  • Registered: 2010-05-17
  • Posts: 656

Re: Archtop Acoustic - What Are They Good For?

http://www.feelnumb.com/wp-content/uplo … er_bag.png

Jack White makes one howl playing slide on it.

my guitar playing. http://www.youtube.com/user/09ncowan?feature=mhee
  • Indy
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  • From: Philly
  • Registered: 2011-01-04
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Re: Archtop Acoustic - What Are They Good For?

Here is a link to the guitar:
http://www.fosterguitars.com/theavalon.html

But "feedback like crazy" is rock n roll!

This guitar really is a jazz type archtop and it has such a dark amber color to it that I couldn't keep my eye's off of it.  I won't get a chance to play it until the weekend if it's still available.

Slow is smooth, smooth is fast.
  • From: North Carolina
  • Registered: 2008-10-26
  • Posts: 2,926

Re: Archtop Acoustic - What Are They Good For?

I can't play jazz but I love it to death.  The Acoustics back in the day had the F holes in them and that was supposed to make the guitar project more before pickups came out.  It wasn't very loud like an acoustic like a martin D-28 but it projected better over an audience and for single note lines thats what you would want is to project.

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