New PS archtop? Archtop 1 VS archtop 2?
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I've only seen the video, but one major difference from the AT I and II is that the new one (which is PS only) is a single cutaway version. Spruce top, definitely. Apparently the bracing is a little thinner/smaller on the new ones; the idea is similar to the PRS acoustics -- make the back and sides as stiff and fixed as possible and let the top do all the work.
The originals were 4" thick, IIRC. (I owned a couple at one point) I don't know if the new ones are the same. They look it.
I wanted to like the old ones but never bonded with them. The new ones look (and sound, based on the video) better to me. It's the first singlecut PRS where I really like the body shape.
The originals were 4" thick, IIRC. (I owned a couple at one point) I don't know if the new ones are the same. They look it.
I wanted to like the old ones but never bonded with them. The new ones look (and sound, based on the video) better to me. It's the first singlecut PRS where I really like the body shape.
Thanks Kingsley and Fj4. I am not sure I like the idea of the back not vibrating, as on my johnny smith, i try and hold it away from my body when playing. You can hear the sound loose liveliness when it gets dampened from the back touching your body. Of course i would love to try one. If they were designed like that, who knows? Remember the old Maciferris (spelling) that Django played had a "resonator" built into it for just that reason. It was like a back inside a back that would vibrate to make up for the deadening effect of the back touching your body. Oddly, i played a hollowbody 2 recently and really liked the acoustic sound for something with built in pups. I could not get an electric tone I liked however. It had a maple top, and is much thinner than the arhtop, which piqued my interest in one again. I have not played one (archtop) in a long, long time. I need to try one again along with a ja and the new ps. Kingsley can you give me the link to the video you are talking about?
Photos, info, and videos here: http://www.prsguitars.com/privatestocksinglecutarchtop/
Tag, I think the idea of having the back be stiff is based on the same idea (which came from Paul S playing an old Torres Spanish guitar from the 19th century) that they applied to their flat-top acoustic guitars. Paul talks about it in the video. I've played a bunch of the flat tops. They sound good, especially for some of the lower-tuned (CGDxxx) things I do, but they definitely sound and feel different relative to any other acoustics I have. (an old Martin D-35; a Klein M-43 -- which used to belong to Bill Frisell -- and of course my Ken Parker archtop)
I'm intrigued by the new SC Archtop. Definitely want to get my hands on one. I'm not sure how I feel about the single vol & tone controls, though. I love a good, strong neck-pickup-only sound as much as anyone, but I'm gonna want to play that guitar in my R&B/funk band. In that context it's all about the middle position and blending the two pickups to taste. In fact my favorite "warm, clean jazz" sounds on a guitar like that happen in the middle position with the neck vol wide open and the bridge vol down around 1 - 3. Which is the "jazz" version of what Mike Bloomfield used to do on his '59 Les Paul -- middle position, bridge vol wide open, neck vol around 1 - 3. Seen any of videos of the Nels Cline and Julian Lage duet gigs, where Nels is playing a Barney Kessel? He's doing the exact thing I'm talking about.
Tag, I think the idea of having the back be stiff is based on the same idea (which came from Paul S playing an old Torres Spanish guitar from the 19th century) that they applied to their flat-top acoustic guitars. Paul talks about it in the video. I've played a bunch of the flat tops. They sound good, especially for some of the lower-tuned (CGDxxx) things I do, but they definitely sound and feel different relative to any other acoustics I have. (an old Martin D-35; a Klein M-43 -- which used to belong to Bill Frisell -- and of course my Ken Parker archtop)
I'm intrigued by the new SC Archtop. Definitely want to get my hands on one. I'm not sure how I feel about the single vol & tone controls, though. I love a good, strong neck-pickup-only sound as much as anyone, but I'm gonna want to play that guitar in my R&B/funk band. In that context it's all about the middle position and blending the two pickups to taste. In fact my favorite "warm, clean jazz" sounds on a guitar like that happen in the middle position with the neck vol wide open and the bridge vol down around 1 - 3. Which is the "jazz" version of what Mike Bloomfield used to do on his '59 Les Paul -- middle position, bridge vol wide open, neck vol around 1 - 3. Seen any of videos of the Nels Cline and Julian Lage duet gigs, where Nels is playing a Barney Kessel? He's doing the exact thing I'm talking about.
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