Oval hole archtop

[eastmanschool]

No affiliation with the seller, and really kind of glad I'm broke at the moment. Otherwise I might do something rash.

https://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/msg/d/e...47862.html

[eastmanschool]

Did any of you ever play one of these?

[Bert]

es, looks like an AR604 ?  My former avatar was moi playing one at Maple St in 2013.  The one listed has a pickup/pickguard, don't know what it might sound like plugged-in.  AR604 is mostly a jazz comp type guitar imo, wonderful for a few things but not an all-arounder.  The later models come with newer versions of the Kent Armstrong jazz pickups.
 
For similar money....

my avatar is now the El Rey 4.  Once I found the right strings (NYXL 11-49), couldn't ask for a better all-around archtop.  bert

[eastmanschool]

es, looks like an AR604 ?  My former avatar was moi playing one at Maple St in 2013.  The one listed has a pickup/pickguard, don't know what it might sound like plugged-in.  AR604 is mostly a jazz comp type guitar imo, wonderful for a few things but not an all-arounder.  The later models come with newer versions of the Kent Armstrong jazz pickups.
 
For similar money....

my avatar is now the El Rey 4.  Once I found the right strings (NYXL 11-49), couldn't ask for a better all-around archtop.  bert

I'm reading between the lines and agree; it's a little pricey. But if anyone's interested, I'll check it out for you.

[eastmanschool]

I went and checked out the archtop. I knew w/in 3 minutes that the combination of its short scale and comparitively narrow neck carve just wouldn't work for me. However, it was pretty cool otherwise. The seller has it strung with nickel or some other electric string alloy. But it still had a fairly strong and warm tone, which would be improved greatly by a nice set of Martin Retros.
As far as the existing pickup, it would have to be removed. I didn't plug it in...didn't have to to imagine the feedback!

Overall in very good condition, with only one small scratch. The finish didn't seem near as brittle as did my old AR610.