Jazz archtop guitars are one of the best and most versatile instruments out there. It can be used in a variety of genres and it is quite recognizable. The instrument has plenty of aficionados throughout the world. We thought we would take the time to share some of our favorite facts about this beautiful musical instrument.
- Jazz archtop guitars with oval sound holes were invented by Orville Gibson in Michigan at the end of the 1800s.
- Wes Montgomery, widely regarded as one of the best jazz musicians of all time, is a self-taught musician. He started booking gigs within a year after he taught himself how to play guitar.
- Originally, jazz archtop guitars were made out of thicker wood than they are today, plus they had an oval hole.
- In 1923, Gibson came out with the first F-hole archtop guitar. It was originally designed by Lloyd Loar.
- Generally speaking, high quality jazz archtop guitars will have solid wood sides and backs.
- There are a few different kinds of jazz guitars besides jazz archtop guitars, such as Russian and Portuguese guitars and flattop guitars.
- Jazz archtop guitars aren’t just for jazz anymore! They can be played in a wide variety of musical genres, like rock, folk and more.
- Jazz archtop guitars with a floating pick up became popular again in the 1990s.
- A cithara is the earliest form of the modern acoustic guitar. It was popular in Rome and was further developed by the Moors to have four strings instead of the original six strings. Six string lutes were quite popular in Europe during the same era as well.
- Jazz music itself draws its influences from a variety of other types of music, including African rhythms, European chamber music and more.
- Miles Davis’ “Kind of Blue” is one of the most famous jazz albums of all time. And he is one of the most famous jazz musicians of all time.
- C. Handy is known as the “Father of the Blues” and he helped to create both jazz and blues styles of music.
- Did you know The Charleston and The Shimmy both originated from jazz music?
Are you interested in learning more about custom jazz archtop guitars? Call Fine Archtops at 612-366-7120 or you can Contact Us! We can help you find the perfect professional luthier to make you the jazz archtop guitar you have always wanted!