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(More customer reviews)I've been itching for the chance to review my guitar ever since I got it. Now that the honeymoon is over it's time.
Mine is in sunburst finish. It has the maple sides and back as opposed to the modern mahogany. Mine was made in 2000. The only modification I've made to mine are that I installed two Seymour Duncan Antiquity P-9o pickups, made a compensated ebony saddle, and replaced the Gibson tuners with something a little more fitting to my tastes. Which was the first era Kluson style tuners instead of the modern ones that use the ferruls and large holes.
Anyhow, I've been playing guitar for over 17 years and have owned ONLY archtops. Many, many of them. I was a Gretsch man most of that time with passing fancies in just about every brand. I always wanted a Gibson archtop because they always stuck out in my mind as something very special. They kept their prices high enough to keep the rif-raf away from them and I love that. Well, for the most part.
I can't say enough good about this guitar. It's a little smaller than I'd like, but that's what the L-5 and Super 400 are for. It sounds absolutely heavenly to me. I play CLEAN. All tube...all the time. When I'm not plugged in it's more than loud enough to play in the car, lying in bed, or out by the campfire. It's acoustically valid and that's my primary concern.
The fit and finish are just fine and it leaves nothing to be desired. The flamed maple is darn pretty and the spruce top really shows nice wide grain.
Once I got this guitar my vintage collectors pieces took a back seat. That's how nice these guitars are. I would buy another one in a heartbeat, sight-unseen. I would not be worried. I played several ES-175s before buying this guitar and they can't hold a candle to it. They felt heavy and stiff to me. Not life at all.
I play mostly finger style country & western, jazz, blues, and a little rockabilly. This guitar makes me play better because I practice more. I want to play all the time. And that's AFTER the honeymoon. I've had this guitar since March.
I see so many people these days with archtops, but so few high end ones. That's what I love about this guitar. For the price you pay you'd better know how to treat it right. This is not a toy. This is for grown-ups and people who have arrived at a place in their playing where they can justify the finer things.
The only things I didn't like about the guitar I promtly changed, so I love everything about it. There's not a thing wrong with it.
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