Archtop/hollowbody suggestions

[Oli]

In conjunction with my other thread (recommendations for Jazz artists), I'm also looking for advice and suggestions for an archtop/semi-hollow/hollowbody instrument. I'm not massively keen on huge bodies, but do like a chunky neck. It's difficult to put a price down, as i've a load of stuff that needs to be sold first-- so i'll just say 'good value' guitars... whether that be a £200 model, or something that is £1k. And whilst we're at it, what BKPs would you choose for a jazzier sound?

Thanks!

[Lezard]

Ibanez do some great budget archtops. I'm in the market for an As-200 at the moment, it's similar to a 335 for a good bit less.

Ibanez AF75 is also very nice and quite cheap for a hollowbody, ex member fourth feline spoke very highly of it and there are some clips floating arround here iirc

I've tried a few of the other Ibanez Artcore range in stores and I'd definatly start my search there.

If you like a big neck I'd look at the Freshman Fj 1 , It's pretty darn sexy and within your budget.

My pick of pups would be stormy mondays. They can handle blues and rock etc but you can get a great range of jazz tones out of them with a bit of fiddling, anything from swing to bop to fusion.

[Telerocker]

If you want it superjazzy then have a look at the Manhattans, otherwise Stormy Monday's.
I had an japanese made Ibanez AS120 and quite like it. Even the Super 58's are ok if you don't want it do heavier styles. You can pick them up for decent prices.
Peerless makes nice semi's too, some of them aim at jazzers.
Perhaps a used Epiphone Elitist?

[Ian Price]

Peerless makes nice semi's too, some of them aim at jazzers.

I'm not into Jazz but have a few friends that are and they have used Peerless stuff before. I think they have quite a good rep and are pretty well priced.

[tomjackson]

Peerless makes nice semi's too, some of them aim at jazzers.

I'm not into Jazz but have a few friends that are and they have used Peerless stuff before. I think they have quite a good rep and are pretty well priced.

Good suggestion Ian, I had a similar search a while ago and got a peerless songbird es330 type. It's a really nice guitar, the neck is nice and fat and the tone is woody and mellow.  Lots of budget archtops seem to have skinny necks and have a very bright unplugged tone but the peerless is really nice.  Although this model is fully hollow it's still an thinline but sounded deeper than all of the budget archtops I tried.

[Ratrod]

Well I'd definately check out the Peerless catalogue.

Don't rule out Epiphones either. Like the Swingster.

Also have a look at Gretsch. 5120's are good for jazz. Not too big.  If you have a bit more to spend check out the Tim Armstrong model. Even though it has a punk rocker's name on it, it's based on the Bladwin era Country Club with black top filtertrons and plenty of volume and tone knobs. (although the TA is 17")

[Mr. Air]

What about a Reverend Pete Anderson signature model?

http://www.reverendguitars.com/reverend/guitars/signature_series/pete_anderson_signature.html

Or the Reverend Manta Ray might even cut it.

http://www.reverendguitars.com/reverend/guitars/set_neck_series/manta_ray_hb.html

[FredD]

I am biased when it comes to semis as I have a couple of Ibanez Artcore series that I am totally in love with.
I play Blues, Jazz and Jazz Rock Fusion, and have been playing for over 50 years.
During that time I have owned and played Gibson models 335 and 175, PRS Custom 22, and Fender Strats and Teles, but the Ibanez Artcore series are my favorite, both in build quality, sound and 'bang for buck' !

My no.1 is an AS103 model (pretty much as the John Schofield signature model but a third of the price at around £700)

[Lezard]

All sorts of good taste goin on in here  8)

[Philly Q]

Are you looking for a "true" jazz hollowbody, Oli, or a 335-style semi?

I don't know anything about the former, but there are some nice options in the 335 category - good budget models from Ibanez already mentioned, some lovely Yamahas (new are pricey, but lots of older ones on eBay), MIJ Epiphones (Elitist Casinos etc).  

And if you want a smaller-bodied model, a used Gibson ES-339 isn't very far over the £1k mark.  You could even consider the new Midtown models.

[djl]

Heritage guitars are very very good and don't hold their value => good deals 2ndhand. I've seen the 575 (basically gibson 175) go for around 1000 quid. In fact theres one on ebay now for 1000 quid (just checked). If I was looking for a seriously good archtop for the top end of your budget, I'd definitely consider one of those.
Hofner also make some killer archtops which don't sell for a huge amount 2ndhand, if you look out. They did one called the jazzica, which sold for 2 grand new but you can get much much cheaper 2nd hand.

Regarding pickup choice, agree with the suggestions above - stormy monday is good (consider getting unpotted)

[Oli]

Thanks for all the suggestions, guys! I'll definitely take a looks at the Ibanez and Peerless offerings, and see where we go from there (not in a massive hurry... have got a tax bill to pay at the end of the month-- we'll wait and see what the damage is!)

Phil: Honestly, i'm not sure! I'd like to go full jazz, but a semi makes a little bit more sense as a more versatile instrument. Ideally i'd like to have the full carved top-- but I think there's only one gibson thinline that had that (336?).

I hadn't seen those Midtown ones-- they look pretty good! I'll have to take a trip to one of the places in London next time i'm back (there's still somewhere that sells Gibson new, right? Maybe Wembley Guitar centre) I'm pretty sure that PMT here in Oxford won't have them, but i'll take a look anyway.

Tonewise, I think that as a beginner to the genre, just making the step from solid to non-solid body will be the biggest difference-- whether it is a hollowbody or a semi I doubt will have that much an effect for me, so it'd probably be wise I find an instrument that has a neck I enjoy :)

[Ian Price]

THey have a midtown in stock at GV:

http://guitarvillage.co.uk/productdetail.aspx?pid=11397&c=136&product=Gibson+Midtown+Standard+w%2fBigsby+(DSDCFRCB1)%2c+New%2c+Faded+Red%2c+Inc.+Case

Sorry for the long link!

GV normally stock a fair few Gibsons - I notice they only have one of these. Perhaps they are waiting to see if they are going to be decent sellers across the market before getting a few more in.

EDIT - I note from the product description it states that it has a solid mahogany neck with a rosewood fretboard. Strange.

[Philly Q]

Ideally i'd like to have the full carved top-- but I think there's only one gibson thinline that had that (336?).

The CS-336 (and CS-356) has a hollowed-out one piece mahogany back, with a solid centre section, and a carved maple top.  The ES-339 (and ES-359) has a laminated maple (arched) top, back and sides with a solid centre block - more like an ES-335.

Size-wise and feel-wise they're pretty much identical, but the 336 sounds just a bit warmer, more like a solidbody.

There may be full-size semis with the same construction differences, I've only really taken an interest in the small-bodied models.  Because I'm a small-bodied person.  :lol:

[djl]

Just out of interest, what sort of stuff are you planning on playing? If it's more towards the fusion end of the spectrum (john scofield, mike stern et al) then I would def go for something thinline. If you're leaning more towards solo arrangements of jazz tunes, or accompanying singers on your own a la joe pass, then the extra bass and midrange that a "proper" jazz archtop gives you is important, I think. Sort of sounds a bit more "acoustic". I've got a few hollowbodies, and do jazz gigs regularly with a few singers, and they all prefer the sound of my ES175 over any of my others (with stormy mondays FWIW!) In a band setting though, I rarely play that one, and sometimes even use my tele for jazzy stuff.