A 17" archtop review
Sound: 9
The acoustic tone is stunning. Balance is phenomenal, warm, with great clarity, not booming. Perfectly suited to unamplified performance with vocals unless you're Domingo or something.
The electric tone is very much the same, responds well to the tone controls, and makes a broad range of sounds through what few effects I use. Flange, fuzz, overdrive, wah, delay, compression.
Customer Support: 10
The Company is Gary Stroup and as near as I can tell he's pretty much a "Salt of the Earth" type. He's extremely nice and genuine and friendly.
A 16" archtop review
Features: 10
...This is a hand-made solid wood single cutaway archtop guitar with no frills. The top is spruce and everything else is maple. The only metal on this guitar is the strap buttons, frets, bridge screws, and frets...Body depth is 3". This guitar has all the features I wanted!!!
Sound: 10
..I wanted a guitar that would suit a number of styles (soft-folk, "beat the guitar" folk, soft jazz, gospel, country) and this guitar does well in all genres. The sound is complex without harshness or boominess. I can play it hard or finger-pick and get the dynamics and clarity I'm after. It maintains its quality from first to top fret.
Action, Fit, & Finish: 10
..Playability is excellent! It has a wide neck and low action (for an acoustic). It plays consistently well up and down the neck.
Overall Rating: 10
I've been playing since 1966. I've owned many guitars and like many guitarists have been on a quest for the 'holy grail'. I may have found it in this guitar. It fits my aesthetics (it's beautifully 'rough cut'), plays well, sounds great, and most of all, makes me want to play to the guitar!!!!
Stroup Archtop Travel Guitar
Sound: 9
I generally play finger picking style on this guitar. It is a guitar which seems to shape the way you play (in the best way). At times when improvising, there is no guitar like it on earth. Minimal compositions seem to hang in the air in an indescribable way and yet when playing complex finger picking patterns, all of the notes are audible was an amazing clarity.
Overall Rating: 10
I have been playing guitar for a number of years... For its uniqueness, amazing look and sound, this guitar will be by my side for life!!