Archtop

The early Framus catalogs from 1949 already had the terminology used for Gibson® guitars of that time: archtop is normally an acoustic guitar with an arched top and mostly with f-holes. The prototype of the Framus design was the Black Rose. Many of the archtops listed here were originally presented as pure acoustic guitars, but Framus already supplied accessories like pickups and so-called “mixing boards” early on: synthetic pickguards or for the most part polished metal plates with pickups and volume controls.

A new archtop model is presented in Bubenreuth in late 1958, named after jazz guitarist Attila Zoller and based on the models De Luxe 60 and 62. The name of the artist is engraved on the tailpiece. Following models were sold under the name AZ-9 and AZ-10. The legacy of the Black Rose was the color, namely black rose, which remained in the repertoire until the seventies. Also the AZ-10 remained as the show model until the end of the first Framus era.