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Michael Watts

  • HOME
  • ABOUT
  • MUSIC
  • IN CONCERT
  • ONLINE LESSONS
  • TABLATURE
  • LUTHIER STORIES
  • LIFE ON THE FRETBOARD PODCAST
  • VIDEO INTERVIEWS
  • WRITTEN INTERVIEWS
  • DEMO VIDEOS
  • THE BLUE GUITARS
  • GEAR REVIEWS
  • CASIMI GUITARS
  • KOSTAL GUITARS
  • GETTING TO KNOW YOU
  • MAILING LIST

Viewing: Archtop guitars - View all posts

Nov 22 2023

ARCHTOP + FLAT TOP GUITARS - WHAT IS THE SONIC DIFFERENCE?

Archtop and flat top guitars - what are the sonic differences? I get this question a lot and what better way to answer it than with two instruments by one of the world’s finest luthiers - Kim Walker. 

There is…

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Jun 10 2023

STEVE GRIMES JAZZ LAUREATE ARCHTOP

Another video from my life-affirming trip to Hawaii this year. I have lied Steve Grimes’ Jazz Laureate design since I played Steve’s contribution to The Blue Guitar Collection. 

This is a very modern and forward thinking archchtop - a…

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Feb 9 2023

LHT GUITARS CADENZA - ONE TAKE

If you were lucky enough to attend the 2022 Rocky Mountain Archtop Festival in Arvada Colorado you might - after a full weekend of extraordinary musicianship and achingly beautiful guitars - have caught sight of me galloping towards Tyler Wells…

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Feb 3 2023

RELEASING THE GUITAR'S VOICE - JOHN MONTELEONE

I have been a huge fan of John Monteleone’s work for many years and it was a pleasure to spend time with him last year while travelling with The Archtop Foundation. 

John is a legendary figure in the world of…

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Jan 28 2023

ARCHTOP GUITARS FOR FLATTOP PLAYERS - CRIS MIRABELLA

Cris Mirabella makes disturbingly beautiful guitars. In fact I found his work so intimidating that it was several years after we first met that I plucked up the courage to ask Cris if I could try one of his instruments…

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Jan 28 2023

ONE OF MY FAVOURITE ARCHTOPS - MIRABELLA CROSSFIRE

Cris Mirabella never intended his for his exquisite archtop jazz guitars to be flung into DADGAD and used as fingerstyle machines but they really do work for me!

Here's a case in point - a sensation Mirabella Crossfire New…

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Aug 17 2022

KEN PARKER ARCHTOP "Sidekick" - This was fun!

Another extraordinary instrument that I found in the new home of The Blue Guitar Collection  is this Ken Parker acoustic archtop - just gorgeous!

Just wow!

This was only the second time I had ever seen a Ken Parker acoustic…

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Aug 11 2022

CASIMI GUITARS C2 Signature Pernambuco & Redwood

In amongst The Blue Guitars I found a trio of exceptional brown guitars and in a relatively quiet moment in amongst the azure mayhem I managed to film them.

Just look at them!

Here is the first, a sumptuous Casimi…

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Jul 11 2022

Interview with Jazz Guitar Today - The Blue Guitar Collection

It was a real pleasure to talk to the irrepressible Bob Bakert in an interview for Jazz Guitar Today alongside jazz guitarist extraordinaire Ted Ludwig!

We spoke at length about our experiences with The Blue Guitar Collection so far…

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Jan 5 2022

What Happened to This Archtop?

Recently I've had a lot of emails asking what happened to the Clara Archtop that Luthier Thierry André and I had been working on for the 2020 Holy Grail Guitar Show in Berlin. 

80 Year Old Sinker Cedar anybody?

How…

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Nov 12 2021

5 Ridiculously COOL Guitars I still Haven't Played!

I have been very fortunate, over the past couple of decades I have been left unsupervised with some truly stellar instruments made with love by many of the world's most talented luthiers. 

This sort of thing being a case in…

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Oct 1 2020

Between Streets - One Take Performance

Hello everyone,

I've been pretty ridiculously busy this past couple of weeks but I finally found the time to get in front of the camera for a one-take performance of Between Streets on my Gretsch White Falcon.

A Gretsch White…

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Apr 14 2020

Collaborating with Luthier Thierry André - A Fingerstyle Archtop

One of the guitars I was most looking forward to playing at the grand finale of the Holy Grail Guitar Show is a collaboration that I have been working on with luthier Thierry André of Quebec. This is he. As…

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Mar 16 2020

Joel Paterson Interview - The Guitar Magazine

I've been a fan of Chicago's Joel Paterson for a while now and it was a real pleasure to interview the man himself for The Guitar Magazine recently! Click on the pic below to go through to the full interview…

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Feb 27 2020

Archtops for the Fingerstyle Guitarist - With Sean McGowan

Throughout my life as a player the archtop guitar has held a brooding and slightly intimidating mystique. Now, as I'm learning how to appreciate the subtleties and nuances of these beautiful instruments - built with an intent and technique far…

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Feb 21 2020

Catching Up With Rosie Heydenrych - Turnstone Guitars

One of the joys of a visit to the Turnstone Guitars workshop is a cup of tea and a chat with Rosie Heydenrych, the luthier behind all these beautiful instruments. 

This time we filmed it (it's been a while!) as…

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Jan 20 2020

The 5am Tango on a Gibson L5

I was back at Surrey Studios this week to record The 5am Tango - which will be one of the 9 tracks on my next album HYLAB. I was really looking forward to this session as the good people…

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Jan 8 2020

More Vintage Guitars Than is Strictly Fair...

It's been an exciting start to the year for me and I sincerely hope for you too!

Thank you to everyone for your messages over the holiday period. It was wonderful to hear from you all!

I've been busy in…

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© Michael Watts 2023

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