Archtop guitars usually become part of a guitarist’s life once the first stages of their development as a player are behind them. It is a family of instruments somewhat unknown to many. It is mistakenly assumed that they are guitars for jazz, or that they are far from the more “modern” styles. I don’t know what or who is responsible for my affinity for this instrument, but I got pretty hooked on it when I tried it.
What I do know for sure is that it is certainly not exclusive to jazz or any other particular style. On the contrary, it is versatile and surprising in most of the settings we work in.
Introduction
This type of instrument is often described as a purist’s guitar. I have the impression that this notion comes from the naturalness of their sound, the good definition this family of instruments usually offers and, perhaps, from the fact that you often hear them with clean tones. I remember that not long ago an interesting article about archtop guitars was published, written by ISP luthier Raúl Rodríguez. In my case, I’m going to tell you about the experience of trying this undeniably eye-catching Ibanez guitar from the Artcore series.
I first saw it at a trade show. Some of you may remember it if you stopped by Comúsica 09. It is certainly a guitar whose finish makes a visual impact. When I walked past the Music Manía booth, I stood for a good while looking at its lines, which looked hand-drawn. How cool.
To my surprise, and knowing nothing about it, one fine day some gear arrived for the test bench. I sorted through the boxes, amps, effects and so on. In short, what I usually do and... surprise. When I opened one of the boxes, there was this AF105SM Artcore.
Construction and finish
A visually appealing guitar (at least to my eyes). Finished in maple (sides, top and back), with drawings (I don’t know whether they are screen-printed) that look like maps. I really liked that combination of the visible maple grain and the lettered lines. Some will like the look more than others, but there is no doubt that this is a personal instrument.
The finish is thin, careful, delicate. The guitar is well built and well finished.
Feel, electronics and sound
As on other occasions, I played a few chords and phrases unplugged. In this case it seemed an even more meaningful test, since I wanted to get to know the energy and resonance of the Ibanez’s body. That was when I got my first impressions of the pleasant feel and, above all, the particular note definition of this guitar.
Once in the studio, I started recording a few tracks. It was a song I had in mind. I decided to take advantage of the recordings to “jot down” the ideas as audio so I wouldn’t forget them and, while I was at it, get to know our guest better. What started out as plain hard work (trying out a guitar to write on) started turning into pleasure.
I began with clean arpeggios. It sounded extremely defined, with a solid thickness to the notes but with definition, bright nuances and, above all, a crushing tonal balance across the strings.
The song I had in my head inspired something dirtier and scrappier. I wanted that cleanness of defined, clear, precise arpeggios, but murkier. I once heard someone ask, “How do you like your women?” and the person asked answered: “Like coffee, murky and bitter.” That murky edge is what I wanted for the sound of this arpeggio. With the amp’s help, and after cycling through several levels of saturation and small touches of tremolo, I found exactly the sound I was looking for. Perfect. How wonderful, an immaculate definition that made everything easy to understand, but with a raw flavor backed by the nuances the “crunch” offers us. I confess I got hooked on these sounds pouring out of the guitar on the test bench.
Its characteristic sound blends two elements that are quite different at first. The clarity and definition typical of acoustic sounds, wrapped in the warmth of its creamy Super 58 Custom humbuckers. In terms of the intent I described in the earlier paragraphs, what we get is a big body, a perfect contour to the sound and plenty of harmonics and saturated spots (if we look for them).
A month later, testing in the mix
Although I later recorded some more takes (with this Ibanez and others with different brands of acoustic and electric), I kept the original tracks I used for this test for ISP Música. Every time I raised the Artcore track’s fader, the song filled with magic; though I had to be careful with the body of the sound, because this is a guitar that really “fills” the mix.
It’s curious, but the only way to get something similar (if I left out this Ibanez AF105SM track) was to put a clean acoustic on one channel and a separate track of a low-pitched saturated electric. That way I managed to fuse results that gave me definition, cleanness and a raw edge at the same time. Even so, the instrument’s personality was hard to emulate, no matter how much I tweaked the tracks in the mix.
Obviously, my tests were not limited to this sonic spectrum. My tests ran through thick jazzy cleans, muted and bright funk rhythms, clean and saturated, half-throttle bluesy solos and even all-out rock. The response was appealing, balanced and personal in every case.
Conclusions
I don’t know whether by this point I’ve given myself away, but the guitar has far exceeded my expectations in testing. I went from love at first sight, because of its very personal look, to the love of living together, using it for several days in the studio. I liked the instrument a lot overall. I think that for those of you who already have an arsenal of electrics, this option may surprise you. It opens new, unexpected paths in the way you play and the sounds you can get. For the purists, I haven’t put the instrument through a comparison with guitars of this family. Even so, I’m sure that, relative to its price, its clarity, balance, intonation, tone and feel would pass the most demanding tests it could be put through with flying colors. A good and surprising guitar. Much more versatile than it looks.
