I was off on the price in the video. Apparently they’re $799 on Sweetwater but they have a demo available for $599. You can also find a variety of prices in that range on Reverb.
A really good video review Dan. My views are as follows: They are interesting guitars and remind me of a lot of the instruments I came across when I started playing, around 1970. A sort of throwback to the 30’s to 50’s era. A ‘general’ guitar; neither fully acoustic nor electric. I acquired one for review purposes. The finish has a smooth, but very matt texture which is a bit odd and even noisy to touch. A bit thin sounding acoustically, but very deep and warm in tone when plugged in. Unusually, the guitar seems to exert a slight, but attractive natural ‘reverb’ in its projection. It’s comfortable to hold, with a well built neck and decent fretting. Reasonably light in overall weight. The machine heads are very efficient, but rather metallic and a bit too small and fiddly. The action is quite good, but if you have it comfortably low, the usual rattles and dead spots abound. The floating bridge is both sturdy and easy to move and adjust. The heavy bronze strings it originally had on, were almost unplayable and didn’t amplify well, though the procedure for changing the strings is the easiest I’ve ever encountered on any guitar. I’ve since fitted steel strings (11 - 48) which, although a bit thin, make it at least playable for jazz, classical styles etc. This is not a guitar for simple chord strumming or folksy accompaniments IMO. The pickguard is both flimsy and poorly secured. I would have to bolster it, or remove it. There is a pronounced electrical/static buzz when the volume is on full, though it wasn’t too offputting. The tone control seems to be either fully on or fully off. Both controls are well positioned and the simplicity of the electrics is admirable. Overall, although there are a few weaknesses, which are probably budget based, this is a guitar I want to pick up and play. Something about the general, non-specialist nature of the tradition and style of the design attracts much interest - from player and listener alike.
Cool video, it's hard to find archtop reviews so thank you. Pretty sure we're kindred spirits, I just like to noodle around on a guitar &:just generally enjoy them.
Have you found a way to reduce the him of the P90? I would love this guitar for recording but the hum would be a deal breaker…and thanks for the video. Nobody else has shown this guitar up close and personal in this way.
I have several guitars of all types/brands' the one thing I've learned buying/collecting them over the years is' I always come up with new tunes/different ideas. I don't need another guitar but something about this one has had me interested in getting one for about the last 6 months.
Dave - I just stumbled across your video as I am in the market for an arch top. I greatly appreciate you taking the time to create this video. It’s excellent. I also wanted to share that I think you’re an excellent player. We will all run into the worst of the worst on the internet, but I appreciate that you love playing for yourself purely for the love of music. Embrace it and keep on playing!
The TT Icon looks nice and is what inspired me to get this one. The first few strums I did from 15:40 to 16:00 were acoustic only picked up from my camera mic. Not much but there is some there.
Spoiler: the answer to the title is "yes. Very yes." This reminds me a lot of my Epiphone Zephyr Regent, but that is all-mahogany and has a terrifically voiced humbucker in the neck and an ebony bridge which I'm convinced impacts the tone quite a bit. Jazz boxes just make sense on a pragmatic level as they're both beautifully-voiced and immune to acoustic bridge-lift. Honestly you've got me excited to play that guitar more.
I have one like this, but in natural wood color. No sunburst or anything, just the plain wood color. Bought it in 2012, I think the model was new back then. Good to see that they still make it! I like it a lot.
