ampfixer
Vintage Gibson archtops are very affordable. They are expensive but I've seen originals sell for the same price as reissues. If you have the money for a repro you really should look at the vintage market. The repro guitars seem to devalue like driving a new car off the lot.
I have a friend that owns a few guitar shows and he admonishes me with these very facts... to which I sincerely and humbly reply... I want to play the thing and many of the affordable vintage arch tops are a beast to play, have cracks, and have binding deterioration that would only appeal to a fellow that likes the guitar in the photos above.
Construction has come a long way on some vital things; truss rods for example.
The same guy sincerely thought I should buy a old Jazzmaster rather than a newer one. The numbers work out in favor of the old ones... if you are thinking about selling it rather than playing it. I explained that I'd feel lucky to get a good playing new one, let alone one that really did sleep under a bed for 50 years because it was never all that much fun to play.
Don't get me wrong I love the old wood. I love the vibe. I even have a few old guitars... nothing expensive but stuff I can sell for 4x-6x what I paid for them.
Playing the old guitars led me to my current interest in having a variety of well built late model guitars that are still fresh and eager.
Just some ramblings.