Dedicated to jazz music performed (mainly) on archtop guitars.
Nicolai Foss
Here is the beautiful “Super De Luxe.” I think I have seen pics of the great French player Marcel Bianchi with one of these. Here is a very comprehensive French site on Jacobacci guitars. And here is a YouTube clip with Sacha Distel and Louis Armstrong, Sacha playing what may seem to be a Gibson L4 with a CC pickup, but which is more likely a Jacobacci copy.
Nicolai Foss
Fender is not usually associated with archtop guitars. However, many will know about the very pretty Fender D’Aquistos of about two decades ago. Before those guitars there was the Montego, which seems relatively rare, but is occassionally traded (e.g., here).
But there was also the Hand Carved, here shown in a pic from the 1972 Fender catalogue. IMHO it is not a particularly beautiful guitar, and really rather odd with its very long f-holes, over-dimensioned pickguard, unusual humbuckers, and almost Maccaferri-like cutaway (and what happened to the right side of the bridge?). Nothing in this guitar says “Fender.”
Do any O&M readers have details on the Hand Carved? When was it introduced? Discontinued? How many were produced? What was the price of the guitar? Any notable players who played it?
I have never seen it offered for sale, so I reckon it must be quite rare, but I really don’t know.
Nicolai Foss
Here. Seems to be a French builder (”Vestale”?) who imitated the more crazy German archtops of the 1950s and 60s, surpassing them in the process. I loved this line: “Elle est trés volumineuse plus que la gibson l5″. Yeah, right!
Nicolai Foss
Ibanez’ mid- to end of the 1970s copies of mainly Gibson archtops have an excellent reputation. This is reflected in the amount of praise that the seller, Archtop.com, of this Ibanez FA-510 is able to mobilize, advertising it as an “Ibanez L5CN,” indeed, “the most faithful L-5 clone anyone’s going to build, as long as Gibson has lawyers.”
Oh well. I bought my FA-510 in 1984 as new at (then) appr. 1,200 USD. I regretted the purchase, but was only able to sell it it about three years ago (at the same price that I paid twenty years earlier :-(). Acoustically, this was the most dead archtop I have ever played. Only slightly better than a solidbody guitar. Part of the explanation was that the tonewood — at least on the specimen I owned — was extremely thick and the guitar was therefore very heavy and non-responsive. But it was pretty (though nothing unusual on today’s standards), and plugged into an amp it certainly sounded allright.
However, the experience gave me a distinct distate for Ibanez lawsuit archtops, and my distrust in them has largely been confirmed by the other specimens I have occasion to try out. IMHO Ibanez only really got its archtop act together with the GB-10 and, particularly, the lovely GB-20. And the Joe Pass model was excellent value, but that is a different story.
Nicolai Foss
The Levin Guitar Company was Swedish and founded by HC Levin in the beginning of the 20th century (some say 1900). HC Levin had served as an apprentice with Martin in the US, and, ironically, Levin was acquired by Martin in the beginning of the 1970s.
Levin produced a series of very pretty archtops that are seldom offered for sale. Stockholm-based Vintage Guitars features what is arguably the largest number of Levin archtops currently offered for sale anywhere in the World. The 18½ inch Levin De Luxe is particularly impressive and may have been intended as the Levin counterpart to the Gibson 400 or the Epi Emperor (I have seen it advertised elsewhere as “Levin De Luxe 400″). The 30,000 Swedish Kroner price tag seems very reasonable for this fine instrument.
Nicolai Foss
Perhaps. On this 1960s Albanus.
Nicolai Foss
Ever heard of a Rolz (or Rölz) archtop? Me neither. But here is one. Very pretty. Like the Epi Emperor in the body shape (but smaller) and nice flamed back. Tailpiece, pickguard and tuners may be later additions.
Nicolai Foss
What has been the most radical new archtop design within the last decade? Perhaps the Ken Parker Olive Branch archtop! Introduced last year, the Olivebranch weighs only 3,5 lbs, has a unique system for changing the action without the need to retune, aluminum tailpiece and some rather unconventional tuning pegs. Ken has posted several clipshere. The guitar sounds very much like a quality gypsy guitar; certainly more cutting and trebly than a conventional arhctop. Oh, the Olive Branch costs 30k USD.
