-
just a quick poll ....
what is your choice for loudest acoustic archtop or flat top (unplugged) ?
we talking for general jazz playing (standards) but for solo lines and comping ...for more than trad 4 to the bar chord big band style playing
and of course we all know the freddie green method of high action /super thick strings and a heavy hand but i doubt my hands could take that much abuse at my age ....
so yes just asking for brands/model numbers you would consider LOUD acoustically , lets say even "banjo killer" loud ...a 6 string banjo (like i see a lot of country guitarists switching to , tuned as a guitar) may be loud enough but it sounds real bad tonally ..i don't mind sharp tone
i do love tele's but banjo volume without the shrill tone would be 1st prize
mmmm wonder what a 6 string banjo with flatwounds would sound like
i even tried a brand new gibson J200 and was very dissapointed in the overall volume , other than that a beauty but huge and far quieter than i expected
any suggestions?
-
01-04-2015 06:18 PM
-
A good Selmer-style?
-
Shit, even a cheap Gitane is louder than any flattop you'll find.
So i gotta ask...why the need for "loudest?"
-
I thought that the PRS cutaway model was louder than my j200
-
Keira, I agree with Mr Beaumont - a Selmer or Macaferri type guitar is hard to beat and easily overpowers any flat top in terms of volume and projection. Whether it is possible to get the same volume from an arch top I don't know (but doubt it).
-
i gig on electric 90% of the time and as a change i love playing just acoustic ...i mean 100% unplugged and can do with a clarinet or even sax so be cool to NOT plug into an amp....
Originally Posted by mr. beaumont
BUT this is just my own little "distraction" to break away from the norm...and i love playing acoustic but usually feel i gotta force it to get any volume
-
A long scale gypsy D-hole. The loudest gypsy guitar I've ever heard has been the Dupont MDC50. I've also heard some good Dell'Arte guitars -- American made, NOT the asian imports. In gypsy guitars you usually get what you pay for. OTOH, I can't say I've been impressed by any of the Shelly Park guitars I've played. In terms of cheaper gypsy guitars, I've looked with interest at the import Altamira guitars.
However, if you really want the loudest acoustic guitar you can find, you want a biscuit resonator
Not the most toneful instruments around, but certainly the loudest, barkiest guitar you can get. For a slightly sweeter tone, a Tricone would be next best.
-
That's exactly what I was going to suggest. Originally Posted by D.G.
However, if you really want the loudest acoustic guitar you can find, you want a biscuit resonator Not the most toneful instruments around, but certainly the loudest, barkiest guitar you can get. For a slightly sweeter tone, a Tricone would be next best.
My L-7 is loud, even with flatwounds. I also have a round hole L-4 too that projects quite a lot too.
-
I play in a trio with a guy who has a Del Arte that is really loud, although I'm not sure how he manages to play it - I'm told it has a 27" scale(?)... I have another friend who has a '39 L5, non cutaway, that has plenty of volume. I haven't listened to them back to back, but I believe that my Martin D-21 (1966) could stand up to them; it does fine alongside a '24 Lloyd Loar mandolin, but it's work to play it...
My Campellone is fairly loud (and fairly new) instrument; whoever ends up owning it 40 -50 years from now will probably own a pretty loud archtop.
-
Maybe it's a '23 Loar mando - hard to remember that far back
-
Oscar Aleman played a steel resonator and they can be loud like a bagpipe if not in the right hands. I remember an old ad for an amp, a simple photo of a hand grenade. The picture read "Yes it's loud, but what are you going to do with it?"
National steel, or Dobro, designed in a time when you didn't plug in and you needed to be heard. He later settled on a Selmer type guitar, I wonder why.
David
-
Gitane D500
-
Good advice all around. I went on a quest to find the loudest acoustic setup a while ago. The gypsy guitars are the kings of the wood world, but if you're willing to go almost banjo (never go full banjo), the resonator guitars take it to the next level.
I played around with a resonator guitar with metal fingerpicks a while back. It was pretty cool, but honestly too loud for my voice or most string groups.
-
nobody plays much gypsy guitar around here. Flat tops are the loudest guitars I hear, and Taylors are the loudest of the bunch -- mainly because they have more treble. Though all the bluegrass players seem to favor Martin or Collings. (all thoughts of banjos aside . . . ) I play a Gibson fingerstyle, but a Taylor with a heavy picker can absolutely bury me in the mix. But I don't care -- I'd rather play sweet than loud
-
great input thanks all round ...
-
I have a recent model big hole Gitane not especially loud compared to my old full body Gibson L7 loudest of many big acoustics I have. An old Martin 12 string, 12 fret D20 using only 6 strings is a fine loud acoustic but boomy unlike the well balanced big old L7 definitely designed for volume. The expensive 1998 Schaefer is almost as good. artb
Last edited by artb; 01-05-2015 at 09:53 AM.
-
I had a Le Voi selmer copy. It was the long scale small hole. He does a long scale D hole as well.
As for loudness it was/is a cannon. Bang!
Le Voi does do flat tops that have the same sort of tone but not as loud.
A well seasoned solid wood vintage flat top acoustic is a good bet too. Also the previous owners style imprints on the wood too, so if they thrash out chords it will be loud!
Yes I know that last statement seems a bit wacky but it's true. If you just play a solid wood acoustic in one key the frequencies will react with parts of the grain and not the others. This opens up the tone and lessens the 'stiffness' people hear with a new guitar. But after a while if you start to play in a different key the guitar will sound 'stiff' again and will have to be played in.
When valuable Stradivarius violins come out of storage they have to be 'played in' before they are 'concert ready'.
I practiced Gypsy swing rhythms on my old Japanese maple back Martin-like 33 year old acoustic and it is quite loud as a result. I recently did a guitar duet of Christmas tunes with a work colleague at the office party and I was drowning out the other guitar! I had to reign in my attack.
My time with the Le Voi I found it couldn't do subtle quieter tones, but loud-in your face tone it had it aced!
-
Forgot my loudest of all fun instrument. 1915 Gibson harp guitar. A little clumsy, however. artb
-
Originally Posted by FrankLearns
Are metal resonator guitars even louder? I don't know, just wondering.
-
Having had the Gintane's and many other styles I can say that the loudest 'Off The Shelf' Archtop is the Hofner New President (well in my experience).
It performs much like a Selmer but has a much deeper tone. I wouldn't be surprised if Gypsy players don't start using them, to bridge the gap between Flat and Arched sound.
I'm waiting for hammertone to agree
-
Two points...
1. I'm surprised by the poster who found Taylor's loud. I'd be interested to know what model he's heard (I'm guessimg one of the big maple backed boys)
2. Gypsy guitars are loud--but they also get a lot of their volume from being played in a certain way.
-
Totally agree there Jeff. Maple backed flat tops are brighter than their rosewood/mahogany counterparts. Originally Posted by mr. beaumont
Cedar topped acoustics have a warmer sound over spruce too.
I bought my Japanese Masano Martin-a-like with a maple back because a mate had a 70's Japanese Epiphone J200 type with maple and I really like the tone.
I bought that back in 1983 and it eats up lesser flat tops for dinner
-
I wrote about loud Taylors based on my experience at a weekly jam. One of the jam host players recently bought a new Taylor, subbing out for his older Martin. It is one loud guitar, in his hands anyway. I don't know if it's maple back or not -- a fairly low-end model I think (satin finish . . . ) I'm sure a lot of it is playing technique anyway . . . but my Gibson sounds positively delicate in comparison.
No gypsy guitars around here -- it's strictly bluegrass country. Plenty of banjo's though! I surprised nobody has mentioned 12 strings in this thread yet. Some of those can pump out the volume too!
-
Oh, yeah that's right! The laminate arched back 1xx and 2xx Taylors are very loud!
My 414ce isn't very loud at all....but it sounds waaaay better than the archback 214ce i traded it in for.
-
Shouldn't the old real 19" Epi Emperors be the loudest, or is that just for chunk chunk chunk chunk Freddie Green style?
Reply With Quote
PSA: Guitar Fetish parts
Today, 12:06 PM in Guitar, Amps & Gizmos