Fun Facts about Jazz Guitars

We here at Fine Archtops just love custom jazz guitars. And we love to share our knowledge about these beautiful instruments. Read on for a few of our favorite facts!

• Archtop jazz guitars were invented in Kalamazoo, Michigan, at the end of the 19^th century by Orville Gibson.
• Wes Montgomery, one of the best jazz musicians of all time, taught himself how to play jazz guitars. He started to be booked for gigs within a year.
• The first archtop jazz guitars had an oval hole and they were made out of thicker wood than other guitars of that era.
• In general, higher end archtop jazz guitars will have solid wood backs and sides.
• There are several different types of jazz guitars besides the archtop. They include Russian and Portuguese guitars and flat top guitars.
• Acoustic guitars used to be used for jazz only but they have since evolved and are now being played in all different genres of music, such as folk, rock and roll, etc.
• In the 1990s, there was a renewed interest in acoustic jazz guitars, especially archtop jazz guitars with a floating pick up.
• A good solid top can make or break a guitar’s tone and overall sound quality.
• The earliest form of the modern acoustic jazz guitar is a Roman instrument called a Cithara. From there, the instruments were further developed by the Moors and had four strings instead of six strings like modern day jazz guitars. Six string lutes were very popular in Europe too.
• Electric guitars became popular in the 1940s.

We hope you learned a few new things about jazz guitars!

For more information on custom jazz guitars and how to get one custom designed by an experienced and professional luthier, call Fine Archtops at 612-366-7120 or Contact Us!

Sources:

http://www.archtopguitarsandbooks.com/category.php?id_category=10

http://www.guitarplayer.com/gear/1012/all-about--archtop-acoustics/12942