An archtop guitar is a hollow, acoustic or semi-acoustic guitar with a full body and a curved top. This type of guitar is often used by musicians who play jazz, blues, and rockabilly.

Typically, an archtop guitar has:

History

The archtop guitar is often credited to Orville Gibson, who created innovative designs that led to the formation of the Gibson Mandolin-Guitar Mfg. Co, Ltd in 1902. His 1898 patent for a mandolin, which could also be used for guitars, aimed to improve "power and quality of tone." Features of this instrument included a violin-style arched top and back, each carved from a single piece of wood and thicker in the center than on the sides. The sides were also carved from a single block of wood. The design avoided internal parts like braces, splices, blocks, or bridges, which could reduce the instrument's sound volume. However, Gibson was not the first to use violin design principles on the guitar. For example, A. H. Merrill patented a similar instrument in 1896 with an egg-shaped body and f-holes. James S. Back also patented a guitar in 1893 that included an arched top. Another early design was the parlor guitar with a floating bridge, made by companies like Stella and Harmony and used by early blues musicians. Gibson’s early models (L1 to L3) introduced arched tops and larger bodies but still had round or oval sound holes.

In 1922, Lloyd Loar was hired by Gibson to redesign their instruments to improve sales. That year, the Gibson L5 was released based on his design. Although the new models did not succeed at first, guitars signed by Loar are now highly valued. The F5 mandolin and L5 guitar from this period are especially famous. The L5 guitar remains in production today and is considered a key part of the mature archtop guitar design, often called the "jazzbox."

Archtop guitars were later made by many American luthiers, including John D'Angelico, Jimmy D'Aquisto, and Charles Stromberg. Companies like Gretsch and Epiphone also produced them. In Europe, companies such as Framus, Höfner, and Hagström made archtop guitars. These instruments were widely used by jazz and country musicians in big bands and swing ensembles.

Gibson’s ES-150 guitar is known as the first commercially successful Spanish-style electric guitar. The ES stands for "Electric Spanish," and it was named 150 because it cost $150, including an amplifier and cable. Introduced in 1936, it became popular in jazz orchestras because it was louder than acoustic guitars, allowing it to play more prominent roles in ensembles. Jazz guitarist Charlie Christian popularized the electric guitar as a solo instrument, unlike earlier electric guitar solos by Eddie Durham. The ES-150’s top was not carved on the underside, making it unsuitable for acoustic use.

In 1951, Gibson released the L5CES, an L5 model with a single cutaway body and two electric pickups, making it playable as both an acoustic and electric guitar. This innovation was widely accepted. While some acoustic archtops, like the Gibson L-7C, are still made today, most modern archtops are electric. In 1958, the L5CES was redesigned with humbucking pickups, a feature now common in many archtop guitars. These instruments were especially popular with jazz musicians like Tal Farlow, Barney Kessel, and Johnny Smith.

Other companies, such as Gretsch and Chet Atkins, also made electric archtop guitars. Some had a distinctive "twangy" sound and were used by country and rock artists like Duane Eddy and Eddie Cochran. These models remain popular in rockabilly music.

Gibson’s last major innovation was the creation of "thinline" models in 1955 with thinner bodies. Notable examples include the Gibson ES-335 (1958) and the Epiphone Casino (1957). These guitars were less prone to feedback, easier to play while standing, and more comfortable. Early thinline models had hollow bodies, while later versions like the ES-335 had semi-hollow bodies. These guitars became popular with pop and rock musicians in the 1960s. The ES-335 and similar models remain popular with electric blues players, including B. B. King, whose guitars are based on this design.

Interest in archtop guitars declined in the 1970s and 1980s, as many musicians switched to solid-body guitars. However, in the 1990s, interest revived. High-quality archtops, with detailed finishes and craftsmanship, became popular among collectors. Luthiers like Roger Borys and Bob Benedetto improved the design and appearance of archtops, making them even more appealing. Some luthiers, such as Dale Unger and Dana Bourgeois, copied the Benedetto style. Many parts of these guitars, like pickguards and tuners, are made of wood instead of metal for a cleaner look. It is estimated that nearly 100 archtop guitar makers are active in North America today.

In the late 20th century, mass-produced archtop guitars became more affordable due to lower labor costs in Asia and the use of computer-controlled manufacturing. Major brands like Ibanez, Samick, and Gibson now offer affordable archtop models under different names, such as the Epiphone Dot.

A renewed interest in acoustic music has also brought back purely acoustic archtops, such as the Gibson L-7C, Loar Lh-600, Godin 5th Avenue, and Epiphone Century Series. Recent innovations include the use of carbon fiber in high-end acoustic archtops by Ken Parker and the Godin Montreal hybrid guitar.

Construction

Archtop guitars typically have three pegheads and necks arranged side by side. These parts are usually about the same width as a steel-string acoustic guitar, not an electric one. High-quality models often have position markers shaped like blocks or trapezoids.

The top and back of an archtop guitar are made either from a single piece of solid wood or by pressing layers of wood together, a method that is less expensive. The top usually has two f-shaped holes. The lower hole is partially covered by a raised scratch plate to prevent it from stopping the guitar’s vibrations. The curved shape of the top and the f-holes are similar to those on violins, which inspired the design. The curves are often created without a strict plan. Gibson’s archtops originally used parallel bracing, but later models used X-shaped bracing, which produces a sound closer to flat-top guitars. Common woods for the resonant tops include Sitka spruce, European spruce, and Engelmann spruce. Some builders also use Adirondack spruce or Western red cedar. The backs of archtop guitars are often made from Curly maple or Quilted maple. Full-sized archtops are among the largest guitars ever made, with the widest part of the body sometimes reaching nearly 19 inches (47 cm).

Early acoustic archtop guitars were designed to increase volume, so they were built to handle heavy strings. Even after electric guitars became common, jazz guitarists often used strings with a gauge of 0.012" or heavier for better tone and preferred flatwound strings. Thinline archtops usually use standard electric guitar strings.

Many vibrato systems cannot be attached to archtop guitars because they require large holes in the top. Exceptions include the Bigsby vibrato tailpiece and certain versions of the Gibson Vibrola, which attach to the guitar’s surface without cutting into the body. Other vibrato systems have been tested and used over time.

Various use of the term "archtop"

Archtop is a term often used to describe a hollow-bodied guitar with a curved top. However, some guitar makers also use the term "archtop" for solid-bodied guitars with carved tops to help differentiate them from flat-top guitars. For example, Gibson calls its standard Les Paul model an archtop to show it is different from flat-top models like the Les Paul Special and Melody Maker.

There is a range of guitar designs from fully acoustic instruments, similar to the original Orville Gibson design, to solid-body guitars:

• Fully acoustic guitars with either pressed wood or hand-carved tops. An example of a hand-carved top guitar, which is built like a cello, is the Gibson L-5. The soundboard is allowed to vibrate freely because only the bridge posts touch it. These guitars have large bodies and strong acoustic tones that work well for both chords and melodies. For amplified use, they may have pickups attached to the neck near the fingerboard or the edge of the pickguard. Modern "carved top" guitars may also use piezo electric pickups to amplify sound without changing the tone, like other acoustic-electric guitars.
• Hollow-bodied semiacoustic guitars, such as the Gibson ES-175, which have a sound box like fully acoustic guitars but also have built-in pickups that require an amplifier. In some shallow models, like the Epiphone Casino, the sound box only helps shape the sound sent to the pickups, as the sound without amplification is weak and not typically used for music.
• Semi-hollow guitars with a solid center and hollow sides. In these, the bridge is attached to a solid block of wood instead of a soundboard, reducing vibrations similar to solid-body guitars. Most of these have F-holes, like the Gibson ES-335, but some, such as the Gretsch Duo-Jet and Gibson Lucille, have no sound holes to reduce feedback.
• Solid-body guitars, such as the Les Paul Standard, with carved tops that do not produce sound themselves.

Bass guitars

Archtop 4-string bass guitars have been made since electric pickups became popular. One well-known example is the Höfner violin bass used by Paul McCartney. Warwick makes a variety of archtop 4-, 5-, and 6-string bass guitars. Framus also makes a variety of archtop bass guitars.

Other variations

Archtop guitars with four strings (tenor), seven strings, nine strings, and twelve strings have been made.

Some guitar makers create archtop-style Maccaferri guitars.

The Mohan veena combines features of an archtop guitar and a traditional Indian veena.

Some electric archtop guitars include piezoelectric pickups, which make them hybrid instruments.

A small number of ukulele makers produce instruments with flat tops and curved backs. These ukuleles are usually made from pressed wood layers covered with high-quality thin wood. This design helps direct the sound upward toward the sound hole, similar to how a parabolic mirror reflects light. The German company RISA, which makes the Koki'o brand of ukuleles, uses this curved back design in all its models.