Major gripe about current archtops

[audiophile]

Ok, after VinceV's beaut of an archtop family addition, I have snapped and must discuss.
Is it just me?

Not too impressed by jacksons new way of doing archtops beginning with the slats.
They seem to take a standard soloist and then basically machine route oversized bevels, and that's it.
So maybe they are not hand carved anymore, but they don't even touch up the arch. No smooth arch, just massive bevels with a defined and very distinct line between the 'bevels' and a plain flat top.
The tops aren't 'elegant' or sexy anymore, they look overly machined.

Oddly, they're rather inconsistent, as some AT's seem to be rounded nicely, but most are showing this lack of attention.

Picture a Les Paul like this, or any other 'archtop'? Disappointing?

I believe these are pushing the bordline of whether they should really be archtops at all. An arch is a curve, and even on my slat, the 'bevel' is level lol.
More like 'plateua soloists', lol o my, it fits...



Sure they are badass in their own right, but com'on...

[DonP]

My 750XL rocks!

Could care less for the newer stuff at the moment.

[shadowcat]

My AT Soloist Professional, DKMGT and COW DK6 all have a nice smooth arch.
I've never seen any of the USA versions in real life, so I'm not sure what to think of them. They look nice on photos...

[dg]

I prefer the smooth archtop too, but some of the SLATQs are pretty sweet. Vince's custom looks great with that style top, imo. It's kind of a moot point anyway, since the production SLATQs have been discontinued. You can order either the modern SLATQ style or the classic smooth archtop from the custom shop. If they ever do make a USA Select archtop again, I hope it's a smooth archtop. I wouldn't be able to resist buying one.

[ABSOLUT CHARVEL]

My 750XL rocks!

Could care less for the newer stuff at the moment.

i hear you on that!

[xenophobe]

The white archtop? I think it's absolutely fantastic.

As for having "sharp edges"... you really need to see one of these in person

[jackson1]

I agree on the white archtop, it's amazing. It took the archtop design to the extreme and it works for me.


I always wondered... this can't possibly be the way Jackson / Mr. Santana crafts the bevels, or?

[Argos]

How much do you suppose a guy like Pablo makes for a living?

[audiophile]

I always wondered... this can't possibly be the way Jackson / Mr. Santana crafts the bevels, or?

Hehe, maybe they gave him dremel duties after he almost cut his arm off with the bandsaw lol, ok bad joke.

[shreddermon]

You can order either the modern SLATQ style or the classic smooth archtop from the custom shop.

+1. It's a stylistic option - the custom shop will do whatever you choose, either style.

Now quit your griping.

[kelly user]

ok lets, alright guys every one take out you dremel and lets get to work. when i saw that white soloist the other day i was thinking the same thing just didn't say anything. the guy just paid 3 or 4 thousand not exactly what he wants to hear.....

[danastas]

That's Pablo working on my guitar right there. I can tell you without a doubt that it wasn't done by a machine. I'll post pics soon.

[danastas]

[VinceV]

ok lets, alright guys every one take out you dremel and lets get to work. when i saw that white soloist the other day i was thinking the same thing just didn't say anything. the guy just paid 3 or 4 thousand not exactly what he wants to hear.....

That's okay. I love the way it came out on my White S, and at the end of the day I'm the only one that has to be happy. That's the point of a CS get a guitar the you want. There is no way in hell that everyone is going to like it, and that's fine by me. Everyone has their own personal taste. I think the more "aggressive" archtop works great on my soloist, to me it goes great with the slanted board, giving it a little more "hard" look. I bought a Soloist dammit, not a PRS!

[Budman68]

I personally love both of the styles as I have the "soft" and the "hard" designs. It's just a different look but I must admit, that even though they offer the soft top, I've yet to see a recent one. Anyone??