Archtop

A guitar with a domed, carved or pressed top, typically paired with f-holes and heavy strings, and the traditional voice of jazz.

The top is a separate plate, often spruce or maple, tapped and graduated by hand when carved, then braced from underneath. Because the plate is arched under compression, an archtop converts string energy efficiently and projects strongly without amplification. Two families exist: the fully acoustic instrument with a floating pickup, and the laminated electric archtop with pickups mounted through the top, which trades some acoustic liveliness for resistance to feedback.

Example: a big-bodied spruce-topped archtop played into a small valve combo is the sound most people picture when they hear a hollowbody jazz guitar.

Archtop

See also