archtop or acoustic guitar good for leads,bending strings..

[quadrogong]

should look good ..and have tone closer to an acoustic..not too electric/twangy sounding..(like 335's)
i liked the Epiphone joe pass
the ibanez montage had good features..but the action and feel felt cheap..and nothing special tonewise..i liked the effetcs and tuner though!

i double alot..and want something with tone acousticy enough for strumming..but more of an electric feel..for leads..
any others i should check out?

[JTE]

Probably none of them. The heart of the acoustic sound is the tension of the strings making the top vibrate (that's why an ES-175 doesn't sound at all like an ES-335 despite having the same pickups). And do you want an acoustic sound like Stephen Stills, the strummy parts of The Beatles, etc. or do you want an acoustic sound like the rhtythm guitar sound on mainstream jazz records from the '40s through the '60s?

jte

[quadrogong]

More like van Morrison when he strums his clean rhythms..
with more woody, acoustic qualities than Gretch twang,
not a full out acoustic flat top tone.. A little smoother. I guess kinda jazz boxy..sure.

Bottom line, it has to be slinky for lead guitar, bends..
But it can't sound too much like an electric,

[quadrogong]

More like van Morrison when he strums his clean rhythms..
with more woody, acoustic qualities than Gretch twang,
not a full out acoustic flat top tone.. A little smoother. I guess kinda jazz boxy..sure.

Bottom line, it has to be slinky for lead guitar, bends..
But it can't sound too much like an electric,

[quadrogong]

Any ideas?
I actually liked the joe pass... Considering it