Archtop Guitars

Archtop Guitar

The archtop guitar, has an arched top with sound hole shape of an “f.” The archtop was invented at the end of the 19th century. An archtop guitar uses steel strings, and can be either acoustic or semi-acoustic.

Founder of the Gibson Guitar Corporation, Orville Gibson, was the inventor of the archtop guitar. The first archtop incarnation was the Gibson L5 with its violin-inspired F-holes. This instrument flopped, but the concept was retained and continuely refined. Gibson released the L5CES in 1951, an archtop that featured two electric pickups allowing it to be played as either an acoustic or electric instrument. The innovation was really popular became the standard for all archtop guitars. Today, companies like Yamaha, Epiphone, Ibanez, and Fender also make archtop guitars.

The arched soundboard and f-shaped holes define the characteristics of an archtop guitar. Archtops usually uses thicker and longer strings than a flattop, and the body is deep and usually hollow. A true archtop guitar has a rich acoustic tone. The pickups are usually humbuckers.

Some archtop guitars have tremolo arms, a lever attached to the guitar’s bridge. It enables the user to change the pitch quickly and temporarily vary to create vibrato. Another vibrato device is Bigsby vibrato tailpiece, which allows the musician to bend notes and chords pitches with his pick hand.

Jazz and country feature the music of the archtop most often. Rock and roll and also pop music sometimes utilizes semi-hollow body electric archtop, producing very distinct music.