Joined:
January 2006
Posts: 5881
Location: Colorado Rocky Mountains | A distant relative visiting the man cave last weekend prefers electric archtops, and he asked which of mine was my favorite. It was a good question and it made me think about it. Does favorite mean best in quality, or does it mean which one do I really like more than the others? Eventually, I had to admit that while the best of my small group is the Hamer Monoco III custom in terms of quality, the archtop I really love is the Gibson ES-135 with P90s. Compared to the others, I rated the ES-135 only about midpack in overall quality, but it just sounds terrific, is easy to play, provides a lot of bang for the buck, and, of course, comes with a story as to how it came into my possession. Mine has seen some use in its lifetime so it isn’t a wall hanger and I have no worries if it should pick up an inadvertent ding or two.
In terms of overall quality (workmanship, components, playability, tone, features, value, application, finish), my list goes something like this:
Hamer Monoco III Custom
Gibson ES335 CRSTD
Gretsch Chet Atkins Country Gentleman 6122
Hamer Improv
Guild Starfire IV
Gibson ES-135 P90s
Epiphone Joe Pass Emperor II
Ovation Hurricane
Ovation Thunderhead
However, as to which is my favorite, the top of the list gets rearranged as follows:
Gibson ES-135
Gibson ES335
Hamer Monoco III
I’m still bonding with the Monoco III and if I was forced to keep only one, this would be the one I would likely select because it was hand-made for me with some nice upgrades and Hamer’s workmanship and components are absolutely first rate. Nonetheless, despite Gibson’s issues of late and over time, the two vintage ES models remain very good friends. |
Joined:
June 2005
Posts: 1320
Location: Round Rock, TX | My two Gibson archtops have been getting more play time in my current duo gigs than any of my other electrics. Part of this is due to the versatility they have due to their mods. On the other hand, my VG Strat doesn't get out nearly so much, even though it is ostensibly even more versatile. I just really like the feel and tone of the ES-335 and the ES-137 Custom. As a matter of fact, on the 335 I haven't been taking advantage of the RMC bridge, lately. Just relying on the humbuckers (and my trusty Line 6). 90+% of the time my gig rig includes either of the Gibson archtops and my 07C (with an OP-Pro Studio swapped in for the VIP). |
Rating a few archtops
