After misses and dismisses, I've finally (i hope) decided on the Nick Valensi Riviera by Epiphone.
As you can see its a typical archtop guitar - but fitted with Gibson P94 pickups - P90 sound in a humbucker shell! Artist's quirks aside, this guitar probably encompasses the bare essentials that I need to get my music across.
Some may dismiss Epiphone as a less-than-adequate subsidiary brand of Gibson, but I believe their archtops are among the most value for money out there, after trying the Epi Casino - a really delicious archtop with the works - alas it can't take too much gain because of its totally hollow body..
