Sadowsky vs Eastman vs Heritage ARCHTOPS

[Quencho092]

I'm looking where I can unload my cash and quench my GAS, it is coming soon with some gig money in my pocket....After some research and listening I got 3 potential companies for an archtop...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jOlOshLf2J8 It's a semi, but it sounds flawless, fat, clear and articulate, seems to be a wonder to play but Leo is an absolute beast on the guitar.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sYr1T1CUEho The full hollow sadow, amazing...with Loeb....LS-17 model

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XNw518d7Thw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QlYj0DxOmTA Smaller Jimmy Bruno full hollow, I really dig it, looks closer to a les paul except full hollow, love that idea.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f9SVT50Vz8g 575 is fantastic
http://www.youtube.com/user/wolfegtrs#p/search/1/HdmUuWFB8-Q

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qwRneuoWub8 Eastman 810 CE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSC25MIVEyQ&feature=related Looks like an L-5 because of the cut and inlays, but not sure, what a sound. here as reference, if I can score a used one when I've reached my guitar purchase goal of $3000+ in the very :banana:near future

I don't know exactly where I'm going just asking for some opinions from discerning ears! Based on what I've read- most of these require player testing, except Sadowsky because their standards for construction and fretwork are insane. I would really love to spring for the sadow, but the Eastman MIC makes for a nice guitar as well as the Heritages MIA. I'm going to take a trip to a few shops including Wolfe in Jupiter, FL and try out as many as I can.

The Sadow I have in mind....

 

[Chickenwings]

Re: Sadowsky vs Eastman vs Heritage ARCHTOPS

the heritage has a "Kenny Burrell" amp in the video. Kenny is the greatest in my book. So that one wins!
Also cos i love 175's and a 575 is really the heritage version of that.

i think jim Hall uses sadowskis tho. So they must be great too.

ive playes a couple of eastmans. They are competent, but they dont feel as comfortable as a gibson. I dont know why..maybe its the neck angle or string tension. Maybe its just cos im used to gibsons.

 

[Chickenwings]

Re: Sadowsky vs Eastman vs Heritage ARCHTOPS

juts found this:
http://www.heritageguitar.com/models/superkb_specs.html
cool!

 

[Quencho092]

Re: Sadowsky vs Eastman vs Heritage ARCHTOPS

WOW the KB is a luxurious instrument, and a huge box, 18''!

What is your experience with box size and what they excel at? I like the notion of the Jimmy Bruno because it has a smaller 14.75'' body for a full hollow, but I have yet to try these extensively. Pros and cons, body sizes from 15''-18''! I'm not concerned with feedback very much, I will assume the 6 band eq and notch control on my amp will help in fine tuning this factor to my benefit (350hz turned all the way up makes my strat feedback clean, I dig this)

I'm not exactly a master of jazz guitar, I started serious study in January of this year and have been able to cop some Wes/Benson/Kenny and the sounds of a few modern players. My style leans more towards the exaggeratedly articulate sounds of Benson, but since I haven't really tried all the wonderful sizes/construction types of archtops I wouldn't know what works best in my hands.

 

[Quencho092]

Re: Sadowsky vs Eastman vs Heritage ARCHTOPS

http://strombergguitars.com/pages/montreux.html

I just found these and they're priced nicely.

 

[Chickenwings]

Re: Sadowsky vs Eastman vs Heritage ARCHTOPS

the old strombergs are amazingly loud. I have never played one of these newer ones.

I guess its pretty obvious that i like 175's (a 575 is pretty much the same)...but heres why i like them.

a 16 inch body is very comfortable for a player of average height (im 5.11) so you can cradle it in your arm and kinda lean on it keeping your spine comfortable for hours in comfort as you play - no fatigue in your right shoulder. My avatar will give you an idea of the playing position o prefer. :Level shoulders, level hips, balanced and no need to hold my arm in an unnatural position. The hands are free to do the job of playing rather than steadying the guitar etc.

Also belive it or not a laminate top has advantages over a solid in some situations. The gibson l4 is essentially a 175 with a solid top. A friend has one. I also had an L50 which is the same body but with no cutaway. Solid tops definitely sound better acoustically as they are louder and have more bass and presence...however its that very thing that makes them more prone to feedback when plugged in. The yalso tend to have certain frequencies and notes that are more prone than others. So it depends on whether you like a great acoustic sound, or are likely to get the bulk of your tone from your amp.
Kenny Burrell for example has a great plugged in sound, whereas someone like BUcky Pizzarelli has a killer acoustic tone. Joe Pass, Herb Ellis both used 175's extensively. Tal Farlow's signature model is essentially an L5 with a laminate top. So yeah...i guess youll have to play a few axes and see what you prefer - lovely acoustic resonance or a more focused and trouble free amplified sound. Its all personal preference.

The huge bodies of the super 400 and the strombergs was mainly about projection and volume in the swing era big bands. Its not really necessary in the modern era of amplification, but its a great sound nonetheless - all that extra bass tho will mean the axe is more prone to feedback when amplified. As far as body size goes, again, you should play a few and see what is most comfortable.

The smaller bodied Ibanez geroge benson is an amazing guitar. A thick solid top gives a sweet tone at higher volumes. But for me the smaller body is less comfortable than a 16. Nonetheless if you like the feel of a smaller body they are pretty amazing playing and sounding instruments so check at least one out before you make any decisions.

As far as using your eq etc....most of the great jazz tones you have heard from Charlie Christian to Grant Green or Wes and to modern players like Jonathan Kreisberg tend to use very simple set ups. A carefully chosen guitar and amp needs very little in the way of eq and will give you plenty of room for allowing the natural tone of the instrument thru and have plenty of playing dynamics. Id recommend against overcomplicating your signal path with an eq. The vast majority of those great tones are just a really nice axe plugged straight into the fender amp of choice. Eqs just get in the way of a really rewarding clean tone in my experience.

 

[Quencho092]

Re: Sadowsky vs Eastman vs Heritage ARCHTOPS

Very informative post!

Regarding EQ, this is the built in EQ on my bass amp and it's how I emulate an archtop sound, I found that the missing 'resonance' in my strat has to do with 350hz and I was shocked at how wonderful my sound became when I'm generous with that frequency. An archtop probably has an abundance of 350hz and would probably resonate and feedback with that freq boosted up. I obviously wouldnt know because I havent tried it, there are few archtop dealers in Miami and guitar center tends to overstock solid bodies and only sells gretsch or Ibanez entry level hollows(not what I'm looking for).

I dig the jazz tones I'm getting now, but I would like to retire my strat from posing as a jazz instrument and get a proper archtop; leave the strat for more rugged gigs where I wouldn't want to take an archtop.

I played for my final grade in instrument proficiency in front of a jury that consisted of a few local jazz legends, and Mike Gerber was among them (he's a blind pianist, amazing musician). He actually commented on how much he digged my archtop's sound, and one of the other prof's whispered to him that I was playing a strat. I would imagine that an archtop would have received even more positive feedback...

 

[Chickenwings]

Re: Sadowsky vs Eastman vs Heritage ARCHTOPS

I played for my final grade in instrument proficiency in front of a jury that consisted of a few local jazz legends, and Mike Gerber was among them (he's a blind pianist, amazing musician). He actually commented on how much he digged my archtop's sound, and one of the other prof's whispered to him that I was playing a strat. I would imagine that an archtop would have received even more positive feedback...

heh...nice! Mebbe you should keep using the strat!