Talk to me about Archtop Tribute...

[Jim Soloway]

And I know Westville is better but they're also out of my price range. Archtop Tribute make two guitars with specs that really appeal to me (no, I wouldn't buy both) but how good are they really? I know some of you have/do own them. Are they worth the money and the hassle of importing one?

[lesyeuxnoirs]

I can’t speak to Archtop Tribute but a friend of mine had two Archtop Tribute Custom 175s

I think the ‘Custom’ designation just refers to the higher end AT models (with Nitro) but others will know more than me

i thought they were exceptional. Quality, fit and finish you’d expect from a MIJ guitar. But they felt and sounded like a vintage Gibson 175. Seriously the best ‘175s’ I have ever played (caveat: I don’t have the widest experience).

I still regret not buying one when he was selling them

[Jim Soloway]

I can’t speak to Archtop Tribute but a friend of mine had two Archtop Tribute Custom 175s

I think the ‘Custom’ designation just refers to the higher end AT models (with Nitro) but others will know more than me

i thought they were exceptional. Quality, fit and finish you’d expect from a MIJ guitar. But they felt and sounded like a vintage Gibson 175. Seriously the best ‘175s’ I have ever played (caveat: I don’t have the widest experience).

I still regret not buying one when he was selling them

Thanks. They have one that I just came across last night that really appeals to me. It's basically a 175 with a body that's only 2.5" at the rim. So it's thinner that a 175 but thicker than semi-hollow. I really like that idea.

[nyc chaz]

Thanks. They have one that I just came across last night that really appeals to me. It's basically a 175 with a body that's only 2.5" at the rim. So it's thinner that a 175 but thicker than semi-hollow. I really like that idea.

Just a suggestion,but you should check out the Eastman John Pisano 480.It's a 175 type and only a quarter inch thicker than the Tribute you are looking to get.The 480 plays and sounds fantastic to me,is more than reasonably priced and easily obtainable.

[Jim Soloway]

Just a suggestion,but you should check out the Eastman John Pisano 480.It's a 175 type and only a quarter inch thicker than the Tribute you are looking to get.The 480 plays and sounds fantastic to me,is more than reasonably priced and easily obtainable.

It is very nice although in Canada it is a bit more expensize than the AT (that may be because they are only showing the 30th Anniversary edition). Long & McQuade (the national mega store) is a dealer but they don't have one at any of their stores in the province but I'll look around and see what's available here in Canada.

[caue amaral]

I don't have one...but they always sound great in the hands of good musicians:

Reed Miller on Instagram: "We’re all just Strangers in Paradise 🪆!
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The trio is back this weekend!
@cloakroomharlem 9pm-12am Friday 11/4
@kgbbarredroom 10pm-1am Saturday 11/5
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Also excited to join the @andrewkushnirdrums trio with @akikojazzorgan 6pm-9pm Saturday 11/5 at @standardwormwooddistillery !
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#gibsonguitars #archtop #archtopguitar #archtopguitars #tonybennett #jazzguitar #jazzguitarist @shibuyawalkin #milkmanamps @milkmansound #swingdance #modernjazz #guitarlove #vintageguitar #vintageguitars #harlemnights #harlem #pickupjazz #pickupjazzby #bebop #cowboybebop #giantsteps #nyc #brooklynjazz"

[va3ux]

Thanks. They have one that I just came across last night that really appeals to me. It's basically a 175 with a body that's only 2.5" at the rim. So it's thinner that a 175 but thicker than semi-hollow. I really like that idea.

That's the one that has my attention too.

[Jim Soloway]

Just a suggestion,but you should check out the Eastman John Pisano 480.It's a 175 type and only a quarter inch thicker than the Tribute you are looking to get.The 480 plays and sounds fantastic to me,is more than reasonably priced and easily obtainable.

I've done some fairly serious looking and there doesn't seem to be a single Pisano 480 in Canada.

[Jim Soloway]

That's the one that has my attention too.

Keep in mind that you don't pay the Japanese tax so it's 168,000 yen plus 16,000 for the case. I believe the shipping is about $250 so it's about $1925 CDN all in. There's probably Canadian sales tax as well which would take it to about $2100 CDN.

[oldHaus]

My Archtop Tribute is amazing. Had mine shipped to Canada in April, could not have been happier with the whole experience. I got the 125 clone and it has basically taken the place of my Gibson 175. The Gibson is still a cut above, but a bit with quirks too. For all intents and purposes, the AT does the job. Funny enough it's much like a Honda next to a Harley, or a Civic next to a Focus.

[Jim Soloway]

My Archtop Tribute is amazing. Had mine shipped to Canada in April, could not have been happier with the whole experience. I got the 125 clone and it has basically taken the place of my Gibson 175. The Gibson is still a cut above, but a bit with quirks too. For all intents and purposes, the AT does the job. Funny enough it's much like a Honda next to a Harley, or a Civic next to a Focus.

Where in Canada are you? And if you don't mind my asking, how much was the shipping and tax? Was it just sales tax or was there customs duty as well?

[oldHaus]

I'm in Alberta. I chose to ship with EMS, which means when it gets to Canada it is handled by Canada Post. There was no extra duty or anything. Just 5% GST on the value of the guitar + case when picking it up at the post office. I think shipping was around $320. All told I think I paid around $1850 for guitar, case, shipping, money transfer, and tax.

[dconeill]

Just a suggestion,but you should check out the Eastman John Pisano 480.It's a 175 type and only a quarter inch thicker than the Tribute you are looking to get.The 480 plays and sounds fantastic to me,is more than reasonably priced and easily obtainable.

The woods are different on the Eastman than on the Gibson. I don't know about the Archtop Tribute.

• The Eastman AR480 has a maple neck and an ebony fingerboard.
• The Eastman AR380 has a mahogany neck and an ebony fingerboard.
• I can't tell from a brief investigation what the materials are on the Archtop Tribute that Jim Soloway has in mind. I suppose it depends on the model.
• The Gibson ES175, which the Eastmans are designed to resemble, usually has a mahogany neck and a rosewood fingerboard. There have been some ES175s made with maple necks.

So I believe that the the Eastmans will sound a little brighter than a typical Gibson ES175. I've seen web reports, maybe one from our own Jack Zucker, who said that the Eastmans didn't have the "thunk" (I don't know what that is) of a Gibson. If I've misquoted Mr. Zucker, my apologies - but I believe I recall reports from several people who said the AR380 didn't quite sound like a Gibson ES175.

I've played several Eastmans and ES175s, but I've never seen an Archtop Tribute, so take my comments for what they're worth. For calibration, I have a Gibson ES335 with a mahogany neck and a Heritage Sweet 16 - nothing directly comparable to an ES175.

Jim Soloway, have you considered the Comins GCS-16-1 or -2? Around US$2200 IIRC. I've played them and they're pretty nice guitars. The GCS-1ES is real nice too. None of the Comins sound just like an ES175, but if I were in the market I'd likely get one of these.

Oh my. I've turned into one of "those" people. Have to think about that.

[Top of the Arch!]

I have owned a couple and they are first rate guitars. One thing to keep in mind though, The neck profile is quite large, if you are buying from Walkin , you might want to ask Masai, I believe thats how his name is spelled to measure the thickness for you. I really like thicker necks but had to sell both of mine as the neck was just too big. Masai is a pleasure to deal with too. B

[Jim Soloway]

The woods are different on the Eastman than on the Gibson. I don't know about the Archtop Tribute.

• The Eastman AR480 has a maple neck and an ebony fingerboard.
• The Eastman AR380 has a mahogany neck and an ebony fingerboard.
• I can't tell from a brief investigation what the materials are on the Archtop Tribute that Jim Soloway has in mind. I suppose it depends on the model.
• The Gibson ES175, which the Eastmans are designed to resemble, usually has a mahogany neck and a rosewood fingerboard. There have been some ES175s made with maple necks.

So I believe that the the Eastmans will sound a little brighter than a typical Gibson ES175. I've seen web reports, maybe one from our own Jack Zucker, who said that the Eastmans didn't have the "thunk" (I don't know what that is) of a Gibson. If I've misquoted Mr. Zucker, my apologies - but I believe I recall reports from several people who said the AR380 didn't quite sound like a Gibson ES175.

I've played several Eastmans and ES175s, but I've never seen an Archtop Tribute, so take my comments for what they're worth. For calibration, I have a Gibson ES335 with a mahogany neck and a Heritage Sweet 16 - nothing directly comparable to an ES175.

Jim Soloway, have you considered the Comins GCS-16-1 or -2? Around US$2200 IIRC. I've played them and they're pretty nice guitars. The GCS-1ES is real nice too. None of the Comins sound just like an ES175, but if I were in the market I'd likely get one of these.

Oh my. I've turned into one of "those" people. Have to think about that.

The Comins is much more expensive. Remember, I'm talking in Canadian dollars so add 36% to US prices. Beyond that, I've had nothing but great experiences with recent vintage Japanese made guitars. There are a couple of AT models that I've been looking at for over a year and the AT105M pretty much nails all my wants without any compromises. It really may be a choice between the AT or just being happy with the two guitars I already own (Not the worst idea).

[nyc chaz]

The woods are different on the Eastman than on the Gibson. I don't know about the Archtop Tribute.

• The Eastman AR480 has a maple neck and an ebony fingerboard.
• The Eastman AR380 has a mahogany neck and an ebony fingerboard.
• I can't tell from a brief investigation what the materials are on the Archtop Tribute that Jim Soloway has in mind. I suppose it depends on the model.
• The Gibson ES175, which the Eastmans are designed to resemble, usually has a mahogany neck and a rosewood fingerboard. There have been some ES175s made with maple necks.

So I believe that the the Eastmans will sound a little brighter than a typical Gibson ES175. I've seen web reports, maybe one from our own Jack Zucker, who said that the Eastmans didn't have the "thunk" (I don't know what that is) of a Gibson. If I've misquoted Mr. Zucker, my apologies - but I believe I recall reports from several people who said the AR380 didn't quite sound like a Gibson ES175.

I've played several Eastmans and ES175s, but I've never seen an Archtop Tribute, so take my comments for what they're worth. For calibration, I have a Gibson ES335 with a mahogany neck and a Heritage Sweet 16 - nothing directly comparable to an ES175.

Jim Soloway, have you considered the Comins GCS-16-1 or -2? Around US$2200 IIRC. I've played them and they're pretty nice guitars. The GCS-1ES is real nice too. None of the Comins sound just like an ES175, but if I were in the market I'd likely get one of these.

Oh my. I've turned into one of "those" people. Have to think about that.

I never said the 480 was a 175 but a 175 "type" which it is and Mr Pisano designed it as such.I've played different iterations of gibson's 175 down through the years and they can sound quite different.As far as Eastman's not having thunk,all i can say is my ar910 with Labella Jazz Tapes will give you all the thunk you could dream about.

[oldHaus]

The different models have some different specifications for woods and construction.

As far as I know, all the tops and backs are 5 ply laminate. This differs from Gibson and some other companies, which would be 3 ply laminate. It seems to me that the 5 ply is something that goes back probably to the lawsuit era guitars, and you see it on Japanese Epiphone archtops, etc. The Archtop Tributes are made in the Terada factory, where they also make Gretsch guitars.

My guitar is the AT101, and it has a 2 piece mahogany neck. I think other models are a step up, and would have a one piece neck.

The 105M is interesting to me, I like the idea of a thinner body guitar. I think Godin 5th Avenues and most Ibanez archtops are thinner than Gibsons, but I'm not sure on the specifics.

By the way, the less expensive hard shell case that you essentially have to buy for shipping is also of very good quality.

Masaki, who runs the operation, is incredibly helpful and will answer all your questions quickly and in much greater detail, so it's worth emailing with him.

Edit: one more thing, yes the neck is a bit bigger, and very comfortable in my opinion. It also happens to be WAY smaller than the neck on my Gibson VOS, which is a reissue that is supposed to match 1959 specs. The AT neck seems to match other late 50's Gibsons that I've handled, or it's a little smaller. The finish on the AT that I have is a poly gloss, so the neck feels quite different than my Gibson, which has that tacky old school feeling.

[Jim Soloway]

The different models have some different specifications for woods and construction.

As far as I know, all the tops and backs are 5 ply laminate. This differs from Gibson and some other companies, which would be 3 ply laminate. It seems to me that the 5 ply is something that goes back probably to the lawsuit era guitars, and you see it on Japanese Epiphone archtops, etc. The Archtop Tributes are made in the Terada factory, where they also make Gretsch guitars.

My guitar is the AT101, and it has a 2 piece mahogany neck. I think other models are a step up, and would have a one piece neck.

The 105M is interesting to me, I like the idea of a thinner body guitar. I think Godin 5th Avenues and most Ibanez archtops are thinner than Gibsons, but I'm not sure on the specifics.

By the way, the less expensive hard shell case that you essentially have to buy for shipping is also of very good quality.

Masaki, who runs the operation, is incredibly helpful and will answer all your questions quickly and in much greater detail, so it's worth emailing with him.

Edit: one more thing, yes the neck is a bit bigger, and very comfortable in my opinion. It also happens to be WAY smaller than the neck on my Gibson VOS, which is a reissue that is supposed to match 1959 specs. The AT neck seems to match other late 50's Gibsons that I've handled, or it's a little smaller. The finish on the AT that I have is a poly gloss, so the neck feels quite different than my Gibson, which has that tacky old school feeling.

A bunch of interesting info and all of it good. I didn't know that the factory was Terada. Most of what IÈve seen from them since they started building for Gretsch has been really outstanding quality. Your comments on the neck sound good as well.

[chris32895]

I'm in Alberta. I chose to ship with EMS, which means when it gets to Canada it is handled by Canada Post. There was no extra duty or anything. Just 5% GST on the value of the guitar + case when picking it up at the post office. I think shipping was around $320. All told I think I paid around $1850 for guitar, case, shipping, money transfer, and tax.

Is that Canadian dollars? What model did you get and what was the base price if you don't mind me asking?

[Jim Soloway]

Is that Canadian dollars? What model did you get and what was the base price if you don't mind me asking?

Yes, those are all Canadian dollars and I haven't bought it yet. When you look at their site, just remember that you pay the price without the tax.

[chris32895]

So I did reach out to Masaki and these were the prices I was given for a standard AT105 model:

"Here is an estimate which I sent to another customer in the USA several months ago.
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- Archtop Tribute AT105 JPY168,000
- Black plain hard case JPY16,000
- Shipping to NJ with DHL JPY34,073
=========================
- Total JPY218,073 (WISE)
- Total JPY222,073 (Wire transfer)
- Total JPY226,796 (PayPal)
=========================

We don't require any taxes in Japan. As for the import tax in the USA, please check it by yourself. I think it would be 8% or around...??"

I checked import duties on guitars for the USA which is 8.7% of the base price. Total converted into USD after shipping, import duties, and PayPal fees is around JPY241,412 which today ~= $1610.25 (USD) all in.

[telephone]

Took delivery of this ATC350BK a couple of days ago. When I discovered they offered this model, I contacted Masaki (super nice individual, excellent communication), and in no time it was on the way. Fit and finish are top notch. I have a ‘51 ES-350 for comparison’s sake. The BK holds its own. Best of all, I didn’t have to hack up a ‘46 350P to get my inner Barney Kessel on.

[Rob MacKillop]

Looks great! They both do!

[ThatRhythmMan]

Took delivery of this ATC350BK a couple of days ago. When I discovered they offered this model, I contacted Masaki (super nice individual, excellent communication), and in no time it was on the way. Fit and finish are top notch. I have a ‘51 ES-350 for comparison’s sake. The BK holds its own. Best of all, I didn’t have to hack up a ‘46 350P to get my inner Barney Kessel on.

Do you know if the ATC350BK has an actual bar magnet assembly or if is it made for looks like the Lollar CC pickups are?


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[Christian Miller]

Ooooo I want one