To fill the gap in the mass market for affordable archtops? And by affordable, I mean a range from about $500 to about $2500.
I keep thinking about this, though I’m certainly in no position to make it happen (maybe with a winning lottery ticket 😉
. But spinning out my thoughts, I think it’s possible to fill the old Harmony/Kay slot, one Godin’s well regarded 5th Avenue also filled. Go from all laminated instruments through pressed solid wood to carved solid wood. Or leave out the carved versions entirely.
Intuitively, it seems that the archtop equivalent of a D-18 or J-45 could be sold at about the same price as those icons. And since all mass production North American acoustic guitars are flattops now, novelty value (I guess what they call “unique selling point” in biz speak) alone should garner sales.
If I could organize such an operation, I’d want both round hole and f-hole models; for players who have only played or heard something like a D-18, an f-hole archtop can be too abrupt a transition. Something like an L-4 would be easier in that regard. Ideally, the sizes would run small (14”); medium (“16); and large (“18).
Gibson has (or had) the tooling to mass produce solid pressed wood guitars, both historically and in more recent years with the Solid Formed instruments. But they have abandoned the market, and who knows what happened to the tooling. Heritage and Harmony are producing instruments in the old Gibson factory; no doubt the tooling and expertise are still there to make such instruments, but both companies are strictly sticking to electric guitars now.
These last points should tell me that I am proposing a fool’s errand. But I like tilting at windmills, at least conceptually. I even sent Gibson’s CEO a message on Instagram to the effect that they should produce archtops of the same woods and appointments as the Generation Collection. Of course, I got no response, but what the heck? Maybe it gave him a laugh.
What would it take?
Mods, please move this to the Builder’s subforum if you think it appropriate.