Carlo Robelli UAS-920F Hollow Body Electric Guitar

Comments about Carlo Robelli UAS-920F Hollow Body Electric Guitar:

"Yes, I was frankly surprised to get a decent jazz archtop for $[...]. I have had Gibsons (e.g., L-5CES, L4C, ES-150, ES-175) & Epiphones (Emperor, Emperor Thinline) and used many other archtops (e.g., Aria, Harmony, Fender, Guild). It takes real craftsmanship to get decent ""playability,"" tone, and volume out of an archtop, but I happily admit that ""the drunken piano tuner"" (& his genuine Korean helpers) has done it with the UAS-920F Jazz Guitar. The SIZE of the UAS-920F is very similar to my old Gibson L4C (like the ES-175); lower bout of 16.25,"" upper bout of 12,"" body at about 20.5,"" and a single cutaway. But unlike the Gibson L4C, the 920F was an improvement with: 1) 25.5"" full-scale neck; 2) rounded cutaway, not the pointed venetian style; 3) decent humbucking pickup (I had to install a ""Johnny Smith"" floating pickup on my L4C); 4) slightly more comfortable body size with 2.75"" rims, rather than the L4C's 3.25"" rims. Except for my old favorite 1949 Gibson ES-150, the PLAYABILITY is honestly better than any of the Gibsons, Epiphones, or most other archtops I've played after set-up, new strings, and such. The TONE is exceptional and really surprised me. Archtops are exceptionally clear in tone (vs. flat-tops); every note comes through loud and clear - great for jazz voicings on chords and complex nuanced lines. The 920F was exceptionally clear, but with some ""choking"" on the low E or 6th string. But to be honest, only my 1949 Gibson ES-150 and 2 big Guild jazz boxes I've played have come through on the low E (I think a bigger box helps). The acoustic VOLUME level is very surprising - it'll cut through a dozen dreadnought flat-tops. The audiences like the sound, too; clear, yet mellow with a rounded woody feel. The pickup has good humbucking and tone, with a hany volume knob and a tone control that does some change (more than most Gibsons). And the cord plug is a standard .25"" phone-plug on the bottom rim, not the .125"" mini-plug on the pick-guard like the Johnny Smith pickup. Of course, like any acoustic archtop it has feedback with an amp. In the 1940s and 50s they simply played behind the amp for higher volume without feedback. Now, you can ""play with"" the feedback with amp tone controls or simply moving about on stage. The 920F seemed easy to ""play with"" the amp, perhaps because the body is slightly ""chopped down"" with 2.75"" rims. Thanks, Carlo and your genuine Korean helpers, for an affordable, playable, and good sounding jazz box I can take to any gig without fear of wrecking my antique! Chill-Cat "