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Archtop or Acoustic?


jjulch

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I was looking at Elderly Music in Lansing, Michigan online yesterday and found a '59 Gibson ES-125 for $1400. This guitar was slightly modified, but for good reason. ABR-1 bridge and Grover Tuners, not too tramatic of a change. However, never actually playing an archtop, would it be more worthwhile to own a new(er) Gibson Acoustic/Electric or buy an old archtop? My reasoning is I want an acoustic sound to amp, but would an old p-90 ES-125 hollowbody give me a more versatile guitar?

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I have an unmodified '51 ES-125 and with the original wooden bridge it has a nice "woody" archtoppy tone, not too loud with the electric strings, but acoustically it's all the archtop I need. Plugged in, that old P-90 just sings. Everything from hard rockabilly to very mellow jazz. That pu can do it all. Ce.

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Kind of depends on the sound you are looking for. The ES125 is going to have a good, clear chord chop. Treble notes will sing. BUT chords won't ring. If you are looking for any kind of a folk-rock-son-of-Roger McGuin-meets-Tom Petty kind of thing, an archtop might not get it done for you. If you are looking for a clear fat fundamental, Eddie Taylor meets Willie Nelson, it might. ps Not plugged, an ok sound but compressed (laminates). Jk

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To behonest, when I amp my 1965 Gibson 125TCand its P90 or any of my flat top Gibsons with a sound hole Fishman humbucker pickup...the sound isn't that much different depending on how I set the amp's controls. The 125TC P90 is probably a bit warmer sounding, but I can get the Fishman to do pretty similar. I love playing my 125TC, but to be honest when I play it in folk venues its looked at as an electric guitar. When I play an acoustic with a soundhole pick-up that's amped that sounds basically the same, no one seems to think I'm playing an electric guitar in a folk club. Go figure. Since gig wise, I play a lot of folk venues or venues that bill acoustic music, I generally don't play my 125TC at those. (In those respects, its limiting.) If I'm playing a more electric-like venue...the 125TC seems to go over well. If I want a pure acoustic sound, I go with my flat-tops due to their versatility. The acoustic sonic range of an acoustic flat top is greater than the acoustic sonic range of an acoustic archtop (although I have a 1936 Epiphone Zenith archtop that sounds phenomenal...but yet it is not as sonically versatile as one of my flat-tops.)

 

Hope this adds to the discussion.

 

QM aka Jazzman Jeff

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Question Mark- Deep response. I'll have to read it a few times to figure it out. I'll keep going back and forth until I decide what I really want to do. Right now its not on the budget for either, but if I could jump the gun and go for it, I'll have to see how they sound before I decide....

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To behonest' date=' when I amp my 1965 Gibson 125TCand its P90 or any of my flat top Gibsons with a sound hole Fishman humbucker pickup...the sound isn't that much different depending on how I set the amp's controls. ...I have a 1936 Epiphone Zenith archtop that sounds phenomenal...but yet it is not as sonically versatile as one of my flat-tops... ...[/quote']

 

I agree to a point. If you're building a collection, an archtop is definitely a must. You can shape the sound you want using different amp, mic and pedal setups. If this is a single or second purchase, it depends on what you looking for in sound and versitility. BTW, if you find an archtop with a solid carved top (my Guild X-700 has one), it makes quite a difference (improvement) in the unplugged sound and tone over a laminate shaped top.

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