Best Archtop of 2018

The archtop get its name from the distinctive rounded arch at the top of its hollow body. Archtops typically have six steel strings and these guitars are played mostly in Jazz and blues music. High end archtops are usually made in limited amounts at a very high quality. Therefore, they can be very pricey.

Epiphone Guitars

PR-5E

For almost 20 years, the Epiphone PR-5E has been on stages all over the world with countless musicians. Designed by Epiphone in 1990, its distinctive body shape was patterned after Epiphone's classic ES-335 style guitars such as the Sheraton and Casino. But instead of a double-cutaway, the PR-5E features a unique, single "Florentine" or sharp cutaway. The large lower bout provides excellent lows and a solid mid-range with easy access to the upper frets on the neck. As with all Epiphone instruments, the PR-5E features a Limited Lifetime Warranty backed by Gibson's 24/7/365 Customer Service. The eSonic system features Shadow's extended 5-year warranty giving you added peace of mind. Play the legend, join the club, and get yourself a PR-5E today!

Martin Guitar

CEO 8.2

This beautiful FSC® Certified Grand Jumbo 14-fret acoustic guitar is crafted with a European spruce top with Vintage Tone System and a Bourbon Sunset Burst finish, paired with genuine mahogany back and sides. Other features include a Martin archtop headstock shape, grained ivoroid binding and heelcap, bone nut and saddle, liquid metal bridgepins on an ebony bridge and an ebony fingerboard with a gorgeous mother-of-pearl skeleton diamond pattern inlay. This guitar comes with a TKL Alumin-X„¢ case which is built using patented technology for a strong, lightweight case with great impact protection. The interior of the case was custom designed for a precise instrument fit. If you are looking for a great sounding guitar that is also pleasing to the eyes, look no further.

Rickenbacker Guitars and Basses

Model 760J

*** Discontinued Model *** There has never been a jazz body to compare with the Jazz-bo. . . bold, rich sounds are just waiting to escape. The exquisitely carved arched Spruce top and Maple back are tempered by lavishly charactered Maple sides. Rickenbacker's trademark soundholes belie a guitar of truly ageless character.

Alvarez Guitars

AAT25/TSB

The Alvarez Jazz & Blues Series delivers genre specific instruments to capture the very essence of American music history. Design, bracing and construction were carefully considered before opening molds for our body shapes and finalizing specifications. Alvarez archtop acoustic and semi acoustic guitars offer incredible value. The build quality is superb and married to Duncan Design pick ups to deliver breathtaking tone and player experience. This AAT25 is a lighter, slim hollow body jazz guitar powered by a single Duncan Design P90 pick up. It has a very traditional style construction with parallel bracing and a mahogany set neck. It is quite simply a perfect, classic jazz guitar able to create all the sweet tones desired by most players. After 50 years of making guitars, continual improvement through the use of emerging technologies, processes, and materials is still at the heart of our culture. Alvarez guitars are constructed correctly in every sense, from raw material preparation to construction and manufacturing processes. Our tone woods are carefully cured; our components such as neck blocks and wood joints are carefully designed. The painting, sanding and polishing techniques we use are continually researched and developed, and our tone is impeccably crafted and married to a stable, consistent and lively sound box. This caring approach to development comes from one simple goal: To deliver the best guitars in the market at every price point, instruments that are truly amazing value and offer a fantastic player experience. Each model is designed to get the best out if its components, and for them to work together to produce a great playing experience. These components include our designed sound boxes and bracing systems, real bone nuts and saddles, great quality tone woods and thin finish.

Alvarez Guitars

AAT32/TSB

The Alvarez Jazz & Blues Series delivers genre specific instruments to capture the very essence of American music history. Design, bracing and construction were carefully considered before opening molds for our body shapes and finalizing specifications. Alvarez archtop acoustic and semi acoustic guitars offer incredible value. The build quality is superb and married to Duncan Design pick ups to deliver breathtaking tone and player experience. This AAT32 model is a double cutaway semi acoustic powered by two vintage voiced humbuckers with Alnico magnets. The mahogany center block provides sustain and influences the overall tonal color perfectly. Whether you're looking for all out rock n roll crunch or round warm jazz tones, the AAT33 delivers. After 50 years of making guitars, continual improvement through the use of emerging technologies, processes, and materials is still at the heart of our culture. Alvarez guitars are constructed correctly in every sense, from raw material preparation to construction and manufacturing processes. Our tone woods are carefully cured; our components such as neck blocks and wood joints are carefully designed. The painting, sanding and polishing techniques we use are continually researched and developed, and our tone is impeccably crafted and married to a stable, consistent and lively sound box. This caring approach to development comes from one simple goal: To deliver the best guitars in the market at every price point, instruments that are truly amazing value and offer a fantastic player experience. Each model is designed to get the best out if its components, and for them to work together to produce a great playing experience. These components include our designed sound boxes and bracing systems, real bone nuts and saddles, great quality tone woods and thin finish.

Alvarez Guitars

AAT33/BGE

The Alvarez Jazz & Blues Series delivers genre specific instruments to capture the very essence of American music history. Design, bracing and construction were carefully considered before opening molds for our body shapes and finalizing specifications. Alvarez archtop acoustic and semi acoustic guitars offer incredible value. The build quality is superb and married to Duncan Design pick ups to deliver breathtaking tone and player experience. This AAT33 model is a double cutaway semi acoustic powered by two vintage voiced humbuckers with Alnico magnets. The mahogany center block provides sustain and influences the overall tonal color perfectly. Whether you're looking for all out rock n roll crunch or round warm jazz tones, the AAT33 delivers. After 50 years of making guitars, continual improvement through the use of emerging technologies, processes, and materials is still at the heart of our culture. Alvarez guitars are constructed correctly in every sense, from raw material preparation to construction and manufacturing processes. Our tone woods are carefully cured; our components such as neck blocks and wood joints are carefully designed. The painting, sanding and polishing techniques we use are continually researched and developed, and our tone is impeccably crafted and married to a stable, consistent and lively sound box. This caring approach to development comes from one simple goal: To deliver the best guitars in the market at every price point, instruments that are truly amazing value and offer a fantastic player experience. Each model is designed to get the best out if its components, and for them to work together to produce a great playing experience. These components include our designed sound boxes and bracing systems, real bone nuts and saddles, great quality tone woods and thin finish.

Alvarez Guitars

AAT32/VNT

The Alvarez Jazz & Blues Series delivers genre specific instruments to capture the very essence of American music history. Design, bracing and construction were carefully considered before opening molds for our body shapes and finalizing specifications. Alvarez archtop acoustic and semi acoustic guitars offer incredible value. The build quality is superb and married to Duncan Design pick ups to deliver breathtaking tone and player experience. This AAT32 model is a double cutaway semi acoustic powered by two vintage voiced humbuckers with Alnico magnets. The mahogany center block provides sustain and influences the overall tonal color perfectly. Whether you're looking for all out rock n roll crunch or round warm jazz tones, the AAT33 delivers. After 50 years of making guitars, continual improvement through the use of emerging technologies, processes, and materials is still at the heart of our culture. Alvarez guitars are constructed correctly in every sense, from raw material preparation to construction and manufacturing processes. Our tone woods are carefully cured; our components such as neck blocks and wood joints are carefully designed. The painting, sanding and polishing techniques we use are continually researched and developed, and our tone is impeccably crafted and married to a stable, consistent and lively sound box. This caring approach to development comes from one simple goal: To deliver the best guitars in the market at every price point, instruments that are truly amazing value and offer a fantastic player experience. Each model is designed to get the best out if its components, and for them to work together to produce a great playing experience. These components include our designed sound boxes and bracing systems, real bone nuts and saddles, great quality tone woods and thin finish.

Alvarez Guitars

AAT33/WNT

The Alvarez Jazz & Blues Series delivers genre specific instruments to capture the very essence of American music history. Design, bracing and construction were carefully considered before opening molds for our body shapes and finalizing specifications. Alvarez archtop acoustic and semi acoustic guitars offer incredible value. The build quality is superb and married to Duncan Design pick ups to deliver breathtaking tone and player experience. This AAT33 model is a double cutaway semi acoustic powered by two vintage voiced humbuckers with Alnico magnets. The mahogany center block provides sustain and influences the overall tonal color perfectly. Whether you're looking for all out rock n roll crunch or round warm jazz tones, the AAT33 delivers. After 50 years of making guitars, continual improvement through the use of emerging technologies, processes, and materials is still at the heart of our culture. Alvarez guitars are constructed correctly in every sense, from raw material preparation to construction and manufacturing processes. Our tone woods are carefully cured; our components such as neck blocks and wood joints are carefully designed. The painting, sanding and polishing techniques we use are continually researched and developed, and our tone is impeccably crafted and married to a stable, consistent and lively sound box. This caring approach to development comes from one simple goal: To deliver the best guitars in the market at every price point, instruments that are truly amazing value and offer a fantastic player experience. Each model is designed to get the best out if its components, and for them to work together to produce a great playing experience. These components include our designed sound boxes and bracing systems, real bone nuts and saddles, great quality tone woods and thin finish.

Alvarez Guitars

AAT34/BGE

The Alvarez Jazz & Blues Series delivers genre specific instruments to capture the very essence of American music history. Design, bracing and construction were carefully considered before opening molds for our body shapes and finalizing specifications. Alvarez archtop acoustic and semi acoustic guitars offer incredible value. The build quality is superb and married to Duncan Design pick ups to deliver breathtaking tone and player experience. This AAT34 model is a single cut semi acoustic powered by two vintage voiced P90's with Alnico magnets. The mahogany center block provides sustain and influences the overall tonal color perfectly. The AAT34 can deliver brisk rock n roll crunch or you can roll off the tops for single coil jazz tones with just that little more edge than humbuckers. After 50 years of making guitars, continual improvement through the use of emerging technologies, processes, and materials is still at the heart of our culture. Alvarez guitars are constructed correctly in every sense, from raw material preparation to construction and manufacturing processes. Our tone woods are carefully cured; our components such as neck blocks and wood joints are carefully designed. The painting, sanding and polishing techniques we use are continually researched and developed, and our tone is impeccably crafted and married to a stable, consistent and lively sound box. This caring approach to development comes from one simple goal: To deliver the best guitars in the market at every price point, instruments that are truly amazing value and offer a fantastic player experience. Each model is designed to get the best out if its components, and for them to work together to produce a great playing experience. These components include our designed sound boxes and bracing systems, real bone nuts and saddles, great quality tone woods and thin finish.

#10

Alvarez Guitars

AAT33/TSB

The Alvarez Jazz & Blues Series delivers genre specific instruments to capture the very essence of American music history. Design, bracing and construction were carefully considered before opening molds for our body shapes and finalizing specifications. Alvarez archtop acoustic and semi acoustic guitars offer incredible value. The build quality is superb and married to Duncan Design pick ups to deliver breathtaking tone and player experience. This AAT33 model is a double cutaway semi acoustic powered by two vintage voiced humbuckers with Alnico magnets. The mahogany center block provides sustain and influences the overall tonal color perfectly. Whether you're looking for all out rock n roll crunch or round warm jazz tones, the AAT33 delivers. After 50 years of making guitars, continual improvement through the use of emerging technologies, processes, and materials is still at the heart of our culture. Alvarez guitars are constructed correctly in every sense, from raw material preparation to construction and manufacturing processes. Our tone woods are carefully cured; our components such as neck blocks and wood joints are carefully designed. The painting, sanding and polishing techniques we use are continually researched and developed, and our tone is impeccably crafted and married to a stable, consistent and lively sound box. This caring approach to development comes from one simple goal: To deliver the best guitars in the market at every price point, instruments that are truly amazing value and offer a fantastic player experience. Each model is designed to get the best out if its components, and for them to work together to produce a great playing experience. These components include our designed sound boxes and bracing systems, real bone nuts and saddles, great quality tone woods and thin finish.

#11

Alvarez Guitars

AAT34/TSB

The Alvarez Jazz & Blues Series delivers genre specific instruments to capture the very essence of American music history. Design, bracing and construction were carefully considered before opening molds for our body shapes and finalizing specifications. Alvarez archtop acoustic and semi acoustic guitars offer incredible value. The build quality is superb and married to Duncan Design pick ups to deliver breathtaking tone and player experience. This AAT34 model is a single cut semi acoustic powered by two vintage voiced P90's with Alnico magnets. The mahogany center block provides sustain and influences the overall tonal color perfectly. The AAT34 can deliver brisk rock n roll crunch or you can roll off the tops for single coil jazz tones with just that little more edge than humbuckers. After 50 years of making guitars, continual improvement through the use of emerging technologies, processes, and materials is still at the heart of our culture. Alvarez guitars are constructed correctly in every sense, from raw material preparation to construction and manufacturing processes. Our tone woods are carefully cured; our components such as neck blocks and wood joints are carefully designed. The painting, sanding and polishing techniques we use are continually researched and developed, and our tone is impeccably crafted and married to a stable, consistent and lively sound box. This caring approach to development comes from one simple goal: To deliver the best guitars in the market at every price point, instruments that are truly amazing value and offer a fantastic player experience. Each model is designed to get the best out if its components, and for them to work together to produce a great playing experience. These components include our designed sound boxes and bracing systems, real bone nuts and saddles, great quality tone woods and thin finish.

#12

Alvarez Guitars

AAT35/TSB

The Alvarez Jazz & Blues Series delivers genre specific instruments to capture the very essence of American music history. Design, bracing and construction were carefully considered before opening molds for our body shapes and finalizing specifications. Alvarez archtop acoustic and semi acoustic guitars offer incredible value. The build quality is superb and married to Duncan Design pick ups to deliver breathtaking tone and player experience. This AAT35 is a single cutaway, deep hollow body jazz guitar powered by two vintage voiced humbuckers with Alnico magnets. It has a very traditional style construction with parallel bracing and a maple set neck. It is quite simply a perfect, classic jazz guitar able to create all the sweet tones desired by most players. After 50 years of making guitars, continual improvement through the use of emerging technologies, processes, and materials is still at the heart of our culture. Alvarez guitars are constructed correctly in every sense, from raw material preparation to construction and manufacturing processes. Our tone woods are carefully cured; our components such as neck blocks and wood joints are carefully designed. The painting, sanding and polishing techniques we use are continually researched and developed, and our tone is impeccably crafted and married to a stable, consistent and lively sound box. This caring approach to development comes from one simple goal: To deliver the best guitars in the market at every price point, instruments that are truly amazing value and offer a fantastic player experience. Each model is designed to get the best out if its components, and for them to work together to produce a great playing experience. These components include our designed sound boxes and bracing systems, real bone nuts and saddles, great quality tone woods and thin finish.

#13

The Loar Guitars and Mandolins

LH-350 Archtop Cutaway

The LH-350 cutaway archtop guitar is an excellent option for traditional jazz guitarists who want classic archtop sound that cuts through the mix for ensemble playing. The Kent Armstrong floating pickup amplifies the sweet natural tone of the hand-carved spruce top, while the Florentine cutaway allows unrestricted access to the upper frets, making the LH-350 perfect for either soloing or accompaniment. The LH-350 is assembled with a solid hand carved spruce top, maple back and sides, and mahogany neck. The bone nut and compensated adjustable ebony bridge let the sound of the select tonewoods resonate clearly. The bound pickguard with a single volume knob adds to the vintage look and feel. The LH-350 is finished with a meticulously inlaid mother-of-pearl 'Fleur-de-Lys' headstock design and a tobacco sunburst finish to stay true to classic design and style.

1 Rig