Classic Archtops

Mandobart

Where I live, there are no stores that carry Gypsy Jazz style (Selmer, Macaferri, etc.) guitars, or any archtops. What we have are standard flat top folk boxes. I'm more of a mandolin and violin player, but I've got 30+ years guitar picking (rock, folk, bluegrass mostly) that I would like to re-direct toward gypsy jazz. I'd really like to get a carved archtop guitar, like the old Gibson L-5's. However, I don't see many of the great Gypsy Jazz guitarists playing them. Ideally, I need to travel somewhere to try them all out, but until then, can someone explain to a new guy why a Selmer/Mac is the way to go for this music over a carved archtop? Thanks!

crookedpinky

Well for a start a carved archtop probably won't have enough volume in an acoustic jam, the tone might not be quite right and might not produce enough of a percussive sound and the physical structure may not suit the gypsy picking style.

A

Jeff Moore

Any guitar will play this stuff.
I was unfamiliar with Selmacs, only had a Django tape to reference.
Selmacs are a whole different soundscape. Other guitars won't prepare you for this sound and you might wonder why you should consider the type of guitar you play. Maybe you shouldn't. Also, it's hard to get the full effect till you get into the middle upper price Selmacs though a Saga - Gitane aint bad and will put you in this other world of Selmac design and sound.
The smoky power of these guitars will be new if you haven'l held one, and the crunch of chords just isn't something you can experience with the other more common designs. I play all the stuff (folk........even classical) on my Selmacs. They have become my new normal but that didn't come quick.
These attributes don't make Selmacs better but definitely different and well suited to the kind of music they were and are used for.
Where in the beginning I took a long while to feel comfortable after decades with the other designs, the other designs now seem quirky (some too shimmering, most to weak) now.
I'm hooked, but that doesn't make it right or necessary. The selmac design is a great design though for power and easy to work on and set up too.

I've found the short scale Cigano to be a very nice guitar and damn cheap as guitars go. They aren't really like a long scale Selmer (oval hole) which is the standard for these guitars, but something in the same range of sound and (for me at least) great to play. At the price of a Cigano if your interested, you will likely want to get a set up, as any $3-400 guitar isn't gonna have the details of set up worked out right out of the factory though its quite playable as is.
Hope you get a chance to try a Selmac if you haven't already.

Buco

Around the time I got my selmer style guitar I had a choice of either getting that or an archtop.
I really wanted an archtop badly and had one in sight that I played and loved it, but I could just choose one with my budget for a long time to come.
So given that I wanted to play gypsy jazz style more then straight jazz I figured former was the way to go.
It may sound funny but I also love the look of a selmer style guitar, I was craving that body shape and oval hole and most of all the cutout, oh that flat chopped cutout just couldn't go without it.

Sure you can find a carved archtop that's loud enough and has close enough tonal properties to a selmac style guitar, but in my case I also wanted the look of the guitar to match the sound as well.
It's kinda like you wouldn't start a Jimmy Hendrix tribute band with a lead guitarist playing a Les Paul.
And in a way we're all Django tribute bands.
Django himself played an archtop as well as Jimmy played a LesPaul but that's not what they are associated with, it's the Selmer and Stratocaster.
And you can see many top gypsy jazz musicians, just about every one of them playing archtops from time to time.
But they have a choice and can pick the right tool for the right job.

I also think a well balanced selmac is a more versatile instrument for gypsy jazz and straight jazz.
I have a friend who plays Irish music and he wouldn't use anything but a selmer style guitar, however he's got a few that are pretty well balanced instruments.
In the end it's really your choice to figure out which one you're gonna be happier with in the long run.

Oh another thing is the scale of these guitars. It is the longest scale of any guitar I ever played. That definitely took some time getting used to, it felt so stretched out when I first started playing it. Now when I play something else if almost feels like a children instrument.
So if gypsy jazz is something you really want to spend a considerable time playing, think about your hand needing to relearn to stretch more then usual and eventually you'll wind up getting a selmac style most likely anyhow.
Well you can get those with shorter scale too but starts another topic of how the sound is changing with shorter scale.
Good luck either way,

Buco

Steveareno

I love the sound of acoustic archtops for rhythm in ANY swing style. Check out Joey McKenzie with the Quebe Sisters! Like an idiot, I sold my old Kalamazoo archtop and miss it. Looking for a replacement. For lead, nothing really compares to a proper GJ guitar, for authenticity, tone and feel...except when the player starts shredding. Then the GJ tone sometimes sounds short on body and plinky IMHO. Tone and timing are super important in whatever instrument you play. GJ guitars are also LOUD and cut thru good acoustically, plus they look the part. Audiences seem to listen with their eyes as well as their ears. Archtops can certainly fit the bill for swing and can work fine in GJ, despite the differences. Seems like a lot of European players (Birelli, Rocky, David R., Ninine Garcia, etc.) use amplified archtops. Frank Vignola gets a good sound out of his too.

Swang on,

Al Watsky

Theres arch tops and then ARCH TOPS, by which I mean one set for electro/acoustic playing and the other for acoustic use.
Some solid top arch tops would provide enough volume if set the same way as a Sel/mac . Early arch tops were quite bright and were designed to sound that way because they were replacing banjos as rhythm instruments. Many arch tops from the 30's were very bright and loud if set up as 6/64 on the high E and 8/64ths on the low E. I have a Epiphone Deluxe from 34' that can be heard across a football field. :clap: