Approaching the Acoustic Archtop Guitar
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- Опубликовано: 20 окт 2024
- Demonstration of some different ways to pick and strum an acoustic archtop guitar to get different tones. I'm playing a 1935 Gibson L-12, recorded with a Shure KSM32 mic to a Presonus Firestudio Project into an Apple MacBook. No effects of any kind were used.
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5 minutes is all it took to make me an archtop fan!
thank you for demonstrating an archtop with more than just gypsy jazz.
They sound amazing doing jazz, blues, rockabilly, country.....i use mine for hip-hop beats, even.
Great demonstration! Wonderful playing on a nice vintage guitar, but explained simply and respectfully - thanks for sharing this!
Wow. That Long Train Runnin' segment sent me right back to my childhood. Thanks for that.
hey man, great video! I just got my first archtop and was struggling with how to go about it. you helped a ton!
+Jake Meador - Great! Very glad to have helped at all. Enjoy your archtop. They are the best... I still can't get enough of 'em.
Same here. Thank you!
@@StefanGBucher Daddario Chromes Flatwound strings ought to mellow out the sound
Thank you for the very informative demonstration of a lovely guitar.
Nice demonstration. Nice playing. Thank you.
Nice, direct presentation of an intriguing topic. Thanks.
Beautiful. I've been an archtop fan all my life. Unfortunately, I've never been able to afford an exquisite vintage Gibson; but I do own a new Godin 5th Avenue acoustic archtop for playing jazz, and a 1965 Harmony Monterey acoustic archtop for playing slide blues in open G. Your playing is wonderful; the Gibson sounds amazing! Thanks for sharing the video.
Excellent demo about getting the best from an archtop. Gorgeous jazz tone from that old guitar.
Flatwound Strings might help
Of course it is! I don't play much blues at all. With the right setup and technique, an archtop acoustic can be suitable for jazz, folk, country, blues, or really any acoustic music at all. It's up to the player. Reject stereotypes and make your own voice!
The biggest advantage of this instrument is that you don't have to worry about the bridge pins, you just load the strings into the tailpiece way easier to restring.
First the guitar is XXXtop ....and you play very well with contagious energy and authority ( right
hand !! ) . Since I almost never play with a pick I rather focus on the natural acousic tone of the
guitar . This L- 12 looks very powerful and well balanced through the entire range . One of the
main thing I discover after a long practice is to strum directly on the neck ( close the 12th fret
as possible ) to epitomize the power and the acoustic touch . I play mainly with a MONTGOMERY's
technique and I use according the moment a Gibson ES 150 or a Gibson BYRDLAND or the IBANEZ
AF 105 ( which has a very good neck ) . Thanks to share your approach and experience .
I have an archtop and my brother wants to get one but I had a hard time describing the differences and nuances of the instrument. This helps greatly to nail it down.
Thanks man, good video. I've been an Archtop fan and owner for years. I love the punchy sound and I love playing jazz.👍
Thanks for this video. I appreciate you for taking the time to let me hear this wonderful playing on a nice guitar. -Al
the last minute of this says it all, well done
You might wanna try Rouxinol R-30 Strings which are Silver Platted Copper.
Thanks for this vid - it is a great demonstration of the sound and versatility of an acoustic archtop guitar. I love your playing, and your guitar is beautiful!
This is true for all Acoustic Guitars
Thanks for sharing your passion and enthusiasm. Lovely playing also, thanks for posting.
That's a fine-sounding guitar and a good demo. The point about pushing the string instead of hitting it applies to classical technique as well.
And even Electric Guitar too
2:57 This is that good old Fashioned Freddie Green Comping sound.
Thanks very much, VERY helpful!
Thank you! I have a Loar LH300 and an Eastman AR810 - both all acoustic, both non-cutaway - and I love them and find that most people just don't get how to approach this guitars.
This applies to all types of Guitars.
Very, very nicely presented. Your work on the guitar is a treat for us!
To me (and the Fender company, by the way) a .73mm pick is considered "medium". Of course that is cellulose, not the material in the pick you are using. You get a very pleasant sound from your venerable old archtop! It is easier for most of us, however, to get a pleasant, even mellow, sound from a good flat top.
Very few people have an archtop that qualifies as what you call, "an instrument like this"!
Great demonstration. It helped with my Squier x155...thanks
I forgot to tell you that Daddario now makes XS Coated Strings for Acoustic and Electric Guitars and the coating makes them feel like Flatwound strings so they'll not scratch the frets but they're flexible so they're quite useful.
Thank you VERY much for your video. I am looking for my first archtop now. Hoping to get a Gibson L-7.
This video will really help me find the best guitar for me and how to best play it.
thanks for your video, you took away the questions from my mind! i'm agree with you, it's about the strings' attack
Nice tips, and really love the sound of the guitar
What a stunning guitar and nice playing too.
Great video. I love your "hitting and pushing" concept.
God I love this guitar! Its sound goes to my heart!!!!!!
Really an excellent tone esp when you pick...a sweet jazz character..I'd be tempted to put a floating neck pup in there with that kind of tone..
Gibsons are amazing - period and you're spot on about the approach having a profound effect on the sound - that looks to be in amazing condition for the age -
nice..
Great sound and versatility of tone.
When you said what most people think about archtops, i was like.....those people are idiots. I have a '39 ss stewart archtop.....it's amazing. Never goes out of tune. Sounds really great when playing old hank and johnny songs, but just as nice playing stuff normally played on electric....they were popular in that sweet spot between acoustic and electric.....part 1 of a 2 part process...the next step was adding a resonator....then came electric. Anyone is lucky to possess an original archtop...that's a tangible, and still highly useful piece of quickly disappearing history.
I'm glad you're publishing this. Something important to bear in mind is that if this is a 1935 L12 it has an X-braced top as opposed to post 1939 Gibson archtop designed with parallel bracing. A different than later Gibson acoustic archtops.
I'd love to hear how this thing sounds without a plectrum! Just with finger picking.
Actually it's designed to be played w/ a Pick, it's a Guitar alright.
This is my first video of yours I saw and I've completely fell in love with your playstyle! How can I learn to play like you?
I love your playing. Just curious what strings do you use on your acoustic archtop guitars. I just got a Hofner Jazzica custom and have Thomastik Bebop 13s...looking for a warmer sound without going to flatwounds...but want to do away with the squeakiness of the round wound strings... any suggestions.
Try Flatwound Strings, they do away w/ that Squeak & they're also very smooth feeling under the fingers
I switched over to archtop a couple of years ago after 20 years of playing flattop and electric and I love it. It's true, that you have to develop a feel for the instrument. I often recommend people picking up the archtop work on their muting technique first. A lot of the best tones from the archtop come from striking the strings about 4-5 inches from the bridge, closer than most people are used to. And especially on the bass side, closer to the bridge you can get some neat tones.
I 've put some comment about the place where to strum to epitomize power and acoustic
" colours " on the archtop up this page . To resume I recommand to strum above the neck
( more than 10 inches from the bridge ! °
@@jean-lucbersou758 Yes, I've found for rhythm, right near the end of the fingerboard gives a more balanced tone with more bottom end.
@@andy16666 This is true for Flattop Acoustic Guitars too
+1. From all the money i've spent on "cheap" archtops, i could have had a vintage L5 a few times over ... not that i didn't have fun doing it. Your L12 sounds lovely.
@mrsexsymbol - Thanks for the nice compliment. Glad you checked it out.
@CubeableGame - Loud enough for what? Short answer: Yes. They were originally designed to be loud enough to be heard acoustically in the rhythm section of a swing jazz big band.
I use an archtop acoustic interchangeably with my flattop acoustic. It depends upon what I want to hear. Archtops are supposed to project better than flattops, but my D-45 projects like a cannon and so does my D'Aquisto New Yorker. Different tones, yes, but equally pleasant and expressive. Oh, and I NEVER play jazz on my D'Aquisto.
@rpguitar That's all I wanted to know! I was just curious because I thought that the f-holes were too small to produce a soundhole like sound. I'm now starting to discover the archtop world and your answer helped me a lot! Many thanks.
Very kind of you to post. Thanks!
Very useful vid. Thanks, bro!~
What scales are you doing around 2:10?
2:02 I've done the same thing with my Science Teacher's old Harmony Stella Tenor Guitar
nice video! i like your playing and your ideas and i gotta mention: that is one beautiful guitar you've got =)
Awesome stuff, Roger. Archtops rule. I'm not really a guitar collector, but I do have a "player's" 1950 ES-175 that is a phenomenal...like a shredder's acoustic haha. My uncle gave it to me in '94 from out of his garage! It's on the mellower end of the spectrum, but still dynamic. Off topic, but after looking at your gear page on your site, is there a sentimental fave of yours?
good foundational lesson for folks at that level. Valid statements and good demonstration. Nice Archtop, too!! If you were in my neck of the woods, we'd have some fun Jamming...........Cheers!
Great demonstration....
@4:25 "pushing" the strings. Great analogy -very helpful!
are you playing roundwound or flatwound string on this demo? apologies did not hear you mentioning
Sounds great,what kind of strings were you using on this? Thanks for sharing
Those are D'addario 80/20 Bronze Strings, but he's switching over to Flatwound Strings cause they'll save the frets from scratches
Magma GA120PBF Flatwound Strings would certainly give it a slick Flatwound Jazz Feel. In fact this applies to Acoustic Flattop Guitars too because you can get a variety of sounds on it the same way.
Oscar, you’ve made similar comments a few times on my videos. Personally I think flatwounds sound like ass on any type of acoustic guitar. Great on electric. Not acoustic. Cheers
@@rpguitar I did however play Waterloo by Abba on an Acoustic Archtop Guitar strung with Magma Flatwound Phosphor Bronze Acoustic strings and it sounded more Melodic.
@@rpguitar Magma Flatwound strings are a bit different because they're actually round wound strings that have had the wrap wire flattened after they wound it around the core.
Excellent demo and a beautiful sounding Gibson archtop.This would be great for Freddy Greene style rythm playing.
Ken, Toronto
Is there a big difference between the sound of one of these & a flattop? To me this one sounds alittle fuller, but idk. Also, I'm going for a country sound would this one be good for that or no?
Thank you for posting... now I know why I couldn't get the right sound out of my last archtop guitar.
Very Nice :-) I have a 42 Banner L 50 . . . I have been noticing the vastness of variation available . . . what string type and gauge are you using?
Those are 80/20 Bronze Strings. He's planning on switching to Flatwound Strings cause they'll save the frets from scratches.
Check the details under the video; I can't remember what was on the L-12 at this time. But now it has D'Addario EXP 80/20 bronze strings in 12-53. Most of my acoustic archtops do.
How about Magma Phosphor Bronze Flatwounds?
You can turn it into an Acoustic-Electric by changing the pickguard to one that has a pickup added to it
Hi, I just wanted to say that I really enjoyed your video. I am new to guitar and recently purchased a 50's arch top guitar. I really like the tone of the guitar. What kind of strings are you playing. Are the round or flat? What brand/model?
That is one beautiful instrument.
Hey I'd like to know weather it's possible to play other music genres on the acoustic archtop guitar other than blues ?
I enjoyed this. May I enquire on the type of bridge you were using?
I love all the sounds you're demonstrating. On archtops, what type of strings do you use to get all of those different colors. Flat or round wound? And what gauge?
What's the action like?
Hi Alex, I think it says in the info section what was on the L-12 when I made the video. But in general, I string these with 80/20 bronze strings in 12-53 gauge. Occasionally I'll give phosphor a shot too. But 80/20 have a more fundamental tone with fewer brassy overtones, and generally I feel that works better for an acoustic archtop. Thanks for watching!
I only use Optima Golds and I humbly strongly recommend them :))))))
@@rpguitar How about Chromes Flatwounds? They have a more fundamental tone & finger noise eliminated
@goreri - I use 12-54 gauge phosphor bronze strings on this L-12, either D'Addario EXP or Martin SP usually.
Do archtop acoustic guitar sound loud enough, compared to a flat acoustic with soundhole?
Great Demo man Nicely done
@ondaocho - Thank you. I know; after making that spontaneous comment late in the video, I realized that it's actually a key concept. The "push" attack is a big part of getting a nice sound out of an acoustic archtop.
@cyberprimate - Yes, good point. I will have a parallel braced 1940 L-5 to compare with in a few days! Should be fun to post a video showing both. Also, my Eastman vs. Gibson video features some finger-picking (although the action was a little low on the L-12 and there was some buzzing; I can do better).
Im planing on getting a 60's guitar and I had already had it in my mind as an archtop with F holes but Im wondering should I stick with that? or get the normal guitar with the O in the middle? & Is there any diffrence tone wise? This would be a huge help for me if you could answer, Thank you! :)
@25i - That's a good analogy. And probably the most salient point to be gleaned from this video (push the strings, don't hit them).
hey man, do they sell these guitars with floating pickup and piezo? :)
I just looked at this vid for a bit of research, but damn those were sweet sounds.
@jukka84 - Thanks. I have a 40's L-5N that will be the subject of the next archtop oriented vid if I can get my act together one of these days!
This is true for Flattop Acoustic Guitars too.
great movie and playing! keep it up :)
best wishes
Thanks, I was thinking about buting one Great Demo.
@zodiacloveteam - Sentimental faves have to be the old Gibsons: '35 L-12, '67 335, '57 175. Plus 3 guitars made for me (2 Forshages, 1 Anders Elliason flamenco). There's enough love for all of 'em though!
Hey man, what strings are you using on your guitar?? Sounds great by the way.
Those are 80/20 Bronze Strings but he's switching to Flatwounds which save the frets from scratches
wow thats beautiful!
what kind of strings do you use? they sound like round wound strings.
Great video , thanks !
amzing sound. how much they go for?
very good instructional aide
What does a guitar like this sound like with no mic? I love the arch top look and sound but most I find can't play well without any amplification
Bill Najmy Well, you're hearing it recorded, not amplified. It needs a mic to be recorded - the microphone is not a pickup. This is an acoustic archtop, and good ones sound great, but they do prefer a certain type of technique to bring out their best qualities.
KF110 Flatwound Strings would sound great on it
how does it sound when playing without a pick?
Can i use archtop acoustic guitar as a beginner or my first guitar
hi man, i know u have wonderful guitar, hope im not taking your time, just wanted to know something, is this inlay on the head original? any way... more than amazing guitar also this one.
I wish I could help, but it's a personal decision. Play numerous models of both types and decide. Hopefully one will speak to you. They are fundamentally different and I love them both, but I simply hear "my" voice more clearly on archtop. Don't decide based on looks or your imagination. (Especially if you are buying a vintage instrument!)
facial expressions are 56% of how a guitar sounds.
So botox is a tone killer.
Hi - the lam archtop electric guitars sound quite a bit better plugged in than the L-12 in my video. ;) It's all about using the right tool for the job. Laminated archtops are not designed to be acoustic guitars, so it's a bit like criticizing a pair of pliers for being a lousy hammer. (Even though I've certainly smacked a few nails with pliers when it was the only tool available!)
What song are you playing at 3:00??????
hey hi i hv an 1936 Vega C-20 Archtop Acoustic but i colud u give me a video on hw to tune it
@bendotjackson - Thanks. Please refer to 4:57 in the video for that info.