Archtop Guitars Guide
The archtop guitar was developed in the United States at the end of the 19th century and is still manufactured by most of the major guitar producers. The main originator was Orville Gibson, who made guitars, mandolins, and other fretted instruments with an arched front and back carved from solid wood.
Archtop guitars were modified throughout the 20th century, helping to develop acoustics and cutaways and the use of pickups along the way. The electric archtop was the foundation from which a whole family of archtop and thinline guitars have been developed.
Probably the most famous archtop guitar is the Gibson Super 400.
The Super 400, introduced in 1934 to meet the demand for greater volume, displaced the L-5 as Gibson's top-of-the-line model. It was highly ornamented with split block inlays and an extended headstock.
With an 18" lower bout, the Super 400 was the only Gibson guitar made after World War I with a wide body resembling some of the Style O's from the Orville Gibson period. A "Premier" cutaway version appeared in 1939, and the electric model in 1951.
Gretsch 6120
The Grestch Chet Atkins No. 6120 hollow body was developed in 1954 and launched commercially in 1955. The original archtop "f" hole model had De Armond pickups, a three-way selector switch, and individual volume controls with a master tone and volume In 1962 it was remodelled with a thinline Electrotone body, simulated "f" holes and a double cutaway.
The Gibson the L5
was introduced in late 1922 as a new high quality professional instrument. The company's first "master model", it was designed by engineer Lloyd Loar who signed many of the early instruments. Like the company's mandolins, the L5 had a carved spruce top and "f" holes and many of the first guitars had a tone sound producer to enhance the tone and volume. This model was developed and refined during the following years, and in 1934 it was remodelled with an enlarged 17 inch wide body. In 1939, the company offered a premier cutaway option. An electric L5 with pickups appeared in 1951, and in 1958 the non-cutaway acoustic was discontinued.
