Archtop guitar

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The name Archtop describe guitars commonly known as "Jazz-boxes" or "Hollow-bodies".

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The Archtop guitar normally has f-holes (as found on violins/cellos/double basses). Most Archtop guitars have some sort of pickup/microphone system. Most used on modern Archtops are humbuckers in bridge and/or neck positions. The most famous Archtop guitars were the Gibson and Gretsch models for some time, until Benedetto guitars began to rise in popularity. The only disadvantage to Benedetto guitars is their price. A standard "Manhattan" model, which is their typical Jazz Archtop model famous around the world for its flawless sound, retails for $22,500.00. The Benedetto style of acoustic/electric archtop has been copied and in fact improved upon by luthiers such as Dale Unger (American Archtops), Dana Bourgeois and others at more reasonable cost ($3,000 to $10,000). Most of the accessories (pick guard, bridge, tuner buttons, knobs, etc.) are made of wood (ebony or rosewood)instead of metal and have a clean acoustic look. More ordinary brands (all of them quite good instruments) are Yamaha, Epiphone (owned by Gibson), Eagle, Jay Turser and others.

Related Topics:
Guitar - F-hole - Violin - Cello - Double bass - Humbucker - Gibson - Gretsch - Yamaha - Epiphone

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Some Archtop guitars have Bigsby-tremolo systems. Moveable bridges (aka. "rollerbridge") and tailpieces are found on almost all archtops. Guitar players prefer archtops mainly because they offer the warm rich sound of an acoustic guitar and of course a "real" sustain sound. The Archtop will enable the player to combine the magnificent sound with different amplifiers and effects.

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