Singlecut Archtop and McCarty Archtop

[fgeorge097]

Hello,

Looking for some feedback on this private stock Singlecut Archtop model, and also the Mccarty Archtop model that was made in the nineties, and also the JA-15 . If there are any current owners out there of any of these models who would not mind answering a few questions, shoot me a PM!

How does the model handle feedback in a live setting?
Can the guitar be played through a distortion channel, or will that feed back too excessively?

 

[goof1073]

Go onto youtube and look for Emil Werstler videos; he used to play an HB2 Spruce with heavy distortion and there is at least one video of him playing a JA-15 (just don't remember what tones he went through).

 

[garrettb]

For the original Archtop model, check out Incubus' "Morning View" album and any of their live material from around 1999 - 2003-ish. Mike Einziger used an Archtop II exclusively for a few of those years. He ran quite a bit of gain at times and a ton of effects. They were doing arena tours at the time and he sounded great.

 

[Huggy Love]

Check out this vid, it should answer your questions.

As for me, I use my solid body for high gain stuff and my HB for jazz, R&B, & Fusion, best tool for the application kinda thing.
When I do go into overdrive with the HB, yes it does feedback a bit more than a solid body but you learn to control it with gain levels, volume control, and positioning yourself in proximity to your amp. You can control a never-ending feedback note simply by turning towards or away from your speaker cabinet. In this sense it's a much different animal than a solid body.

 

[AP515]

I must admit that I haven't really tried mine with high gain. It sounds so darn sweet playing clean that I spend all my time on it there. One day I'll get around to putting some hair on it.

 

[garrettb]

Check out this vid, it should answer your questions.

As for me, I use my solid body for high gain stuff and my HB for jazz, R&B, & Fusion, best tool for the application kinda thing.
When I do go into overdrive with the HB, yes it does feedback a bit more than a solid body but you learn to control it with gain levels, volume control, and positioning yourself in proximity to your amp. You can control a never-ending feedback note simply by turning towards or away from your speaker cabinet. In this sense it's a much different animal than a solid body.

Great video. I agree all the way around. Granted, they're talking about the thinner Hollowbody models and not the Archtop. I also think they're talking about the low output McCarty Archtop pickups and not the later 57/08 or 58/15 models.

Here's a good one with Mike Einziger playing his Archtop with a good amount of gain:

And with more gain (with the HBII, though). You can hear the feedback coming on when he's doing the swells at the very beginning.

It takes a little work, but you can rein them in and master the feedback to use for your advantage.

 

[Huggy Love]

It sounds so darn sweet playing clean that I spend all my time on it there.

That's just about it for me too, sometimes a touch of gain to get the Larry Carlton mid 70's tone, but outside of that I play jazz standards on mine and my 408 is my swiss army knife.