Reasonably priced arched top acoustic guitar kit

[Rob Mercure]

Hey Folk,

Seems like the only way that I'll ever afford a decent archtop is to make one - an early '50s Epiphone slipped by me in Cinty about 6 years and I've kicked myself many times (couldn't scrape up $600 quickly enough). I often play with a gaggle of hand drummers and the archtop seems like what I need to cut through the mess when an amp isn't available.
So, anyone know of a decent priced kit for someone of good wood working and repair skills (but no scratch luthiery experience)? Most of the completed and kit guitars I've seen seem to have maple sides back ( sugar maple I suppose) but in the 1930s Martin and other offered instruments of mahogany and walnut sides - probably koa but I've not seen one. So in addition to a good kid I'd like to find someone who's offering alternatives to maple for the sides and back.
Whatcha know?

Rob

[Tom Krebs]

Try this link

http://acme-archtops.com/

[Rob Mercure]

Tom,

Perhaps but I was more interested in kits/plans for solid wood guitars - I already have a laminated semi-hollow body made in Japan in the 1960s that seems to be the equal - acoustically - of a Gibson semi but what I really want is a guitar that won't need amplification and while I've got years of flat top experience I really haven't spent enough time with an archtop acoustic to know whether a laminated, top expecially, would suite me. I'm quite sure that laminated flat tops don't meet my needs. But thanks for the link - I'll review it more when I've got a chance.

In the meantime if anyone knows of someone making a kit - of any solid wood - for a good archtop acoustic please let me know. Once I've got a manufacturer to talk to I can discuss alternative woods. As is I've probably got sufficient walnut (juglans nigra) and cherry (prunus serotonia) to make the sides and back - possibly enought mahogany (swietia). While I liked the maple guitars I've played well enough somehow I believe that I'd probably like the other woods more - I'm one of those strange folks who find rosewood steel strings boomy and horribly unbalanced and would rather have a cheap mahogany or koa guitar than an expensive rosewood one (and I've never seen a truly "dead" non-rose wood Martin while I've encountered several deceased D-35s and 41-45s - dunno why).

Ah well, maybe I'll get a good enough shop going again to tackle this from scratch.

Anyone used a native eastern USA wood for a fret board such as Osage Orange?

Rob

[Tim Mace]

Look at Stephan Sobell's site and what he does with arch tops.I love mahogany top,sides and bottom and neck.The wood that keeps on giving........IMO.

[Rick Homan]

Those early-50's Epiphones still come and go on eBay. I doubt they auction for more than you will pay for a quality kit, plus building supplies and the occasional must-have extra tools. Also, be sure to try the new Godin 5th Avenue archtop. While it has a "molded" top, people on the acoustic guitar forums have been raving about them, and I've seen them retailing for under $400. Of course, if you just want to build one, all this is irrelevant.

[Rob Mercure]

Rick,

Thanks. What got me started on this was the particular guitar that I played and so I'd proably be the last person to buy a guitar from e-beast or any other source where I couldn't play it for a while first - I've seen too many brand name high models that I thought were a poor buy. Also, as you mentioned, I think I'd like to make my own - I could probably build a flat top pretty easily since I've done extensive repairs and have decades of wood working but archtops are a tad more mysterous since the top plate has to be carved to achieve good tone - you can't steam off and replace a brace you've over scalloped. But the Godin site looks nice. I'm a "poor consumer" - I really don't impulse buy and antagonize about most anything that takes much budget- so an instrument has to really sing to me strongly to make the plunge and so far I've had great luck winding up with quite "collectible" instruments and amps while never meaning to (still don't understand "collectors' - what's the difference between a unplayable authentic copy and a useable tool if you're only going to hang it on a wall?)

Thanks again.

Rob

[Matt Haugen]

Hi Rob. This is heading off in a different direction, but you are going to lose volume by moving to an acoustic archtop. I have played with some hand drummers and have had to beat my d-35 pretty good to be heard along with them. I know everyone plays different and perhaps the group you play with has more of a mellow hand, but it seems that a resonator or larger bodied D size would give you more of an acoustic voice among drummers. Jus mt 2 cents, or non-cents. best of luck.

[Rob Mercure]

Well, when the band "Akash" was still in existence and I was the guitarist we played with as many as 8 hand drummers at once including a set of dum-dums (and a few times with a tabala players whos father used to play with Ravi Shankar) and while my Martin D-25K could compete amplified when we went acoustic (jams after gigs, etc.) it got lost I either played a mandolin or a flute. But when I was the Senior Electronics Tech at BRM one of these Epiphones came through and it was much louder than any flat top I've ever played - what you lose is sustain. After all the archtop acoustic guitar was designed/"perfected" to play with "big band" orchestras without amplification and my experience is that they are significantly louder - with a sharp "bark" that almost instantly disappears. So, I dunno, I guess it depends on one's experiences but some of the lowest volume Martins I've seen are D-35s but in general I don't like rosewood bodied "D" models (you may have a truly great D-35 but the only actually "dead" Martin I've ever experienced was a mid-60s D-35 that must represent the actual far left end of the bell curve of Martin's solid wood production).

Why do you think that archtops have less volume? Pure curiosity question as the entire design seemed to be oriented toward that during the 30-50s? Have you played many full bodied "jazz" archtops from that period? (opposed to the shallow bodied semi-acoustic ones designed for amplification).

Lastly, just to share experiences, where are you at and are you in a band with a lot of hand drummers? The Akash experience was fairly unique for me and while we were doing festivals, etc., I never encountered a band as heavily drum oriented. Our singer/songwriter was a drum maker and at smaller venues we would invite members of the audience who could drum to come up on stage and play with us as we carried about 1/2 dozen "spare" drums with us (the "spares" were for sale). Unfortunately the S/SW died suddenly of a heart attack at 35 and the band has been gone for a couple of years. But I just returned from a large outdoor gathering where I was trying to compete with far too many drummers with the D-25K so I'm still looking for volume and willing to trade sustain for it.

Rob