interesting article

[Anandbhat]

Here's an interesting I ran into:

Jazz Instruments: Darkness on the Edge of Tone or Do Jazz Guitarists Know How Bad They Really Sound? ? By Chip Stern ? Jazz Articles

[SamBooka]

darkness on the edge of tone lol....

[jorgemg1984]

I have read that article several time and it always seems like something ordered. Saying you shouldn't use a Polytone but instead invest some serious money on an AC Outlet Center and a Monster Cable (for that price you can get a much much better cable) is hilarious. I am not even a fan of Polytone but how many great jazz players use them and get excellent results? A lot!

My father works on the hi-fi business and I have tried some of the best power outlets in the world and they don't make a difference on a guitar amp. A good cable does but a Vovox or a Grindycop Beast, not a Monster Cable (although they definitively excel in marketing).

But it is an interesting discussion

JPS Power AC+ Outlet Center

[Bill Coleman]

Interesting points made before the article devolved into a sales pitch.
Wes spent his life trying to ADD tone to counteract the effect of using his tumb. Then successive generations of Jazz purists spent their lives rolling off tone to sound like Wes. But, I think the last 20-30 years of fusion artists such as Bill Frisell, Mike Stern, Sco etc has done much to reverse this trend. Even more traditional jazz comping and blowing styles tend to be played with a fresher tone these days... I'm personally looking for a sweet spot somewhere in between hendrixy "little wing" tone and Lenny Breau / later Jim Hall (I'm allowed to dream, right!?)

[Meggy]

I have a Polytone, I got it because I like the sound I get with it. You don't have to put your guitar through numerous effects processers, and saturate the sound with overdrive, in order to sound good (in my opinion it often has the opposite effect). Nothing against Mike Stern et al. by the way, but also there is nothing at all wrong with using a sound that harks back to an earlier era. So I won't be lectured on my bad tone by the metalhead idiots at Guitar World.

[jorgemg1984]

I think he makes good points during the article but the end is so disgusting that he looses all the points he has made before... Seriously how many players can afford a 700$ power outlet?! He is basically saying almost all payers on earth have a bad tone because they use regular power cords into their wall sockets.

But I understand the point he is making: a lot of jazz players thinks if they use an archtop, 013 flats and a polytone they will get a jazz tone. But how many blues players think if they have a tele, snake oil strings and a dumble they will get a great blues tone? How many rock players think all they need is a les paul and a marshall and they will have a great rock tone? Too many guitar players think they will have a great tone if they have the right gear but its stupid to say this is something that only jazz players suffer from.

I dont like Polytones, but there are tons of players that get AMAZING sounds from them... and guess what, without a power outlet that cost more than the Polytone itself...

[robertm2000]

The biggest/best cure for bad tone?? LEARN TO PLAY THE GUITAR!!

[hot ford coupe]

Originally Posted by Meggy

I have a Polytone, I got it because I like the sound I get with it. You don't have to put your guitar through numerous effects processers, and saturate the sound with overdrive, in order to sound good (in my opinion it often has the opposite effect). Nothing against Mike Stern et al. by the way, but also there is nothing at all wrong with using a sound that harks back to an earlier era. So I won't be lectured on my bad tone by the metalhead idiots at Guitar World.

Bingo!! I don't use a PolyTone but I use an Ampeg instead like in the picture. I like the way I sound and the folks that I play for also like the way I sound. If the tone sounds bad, I fiddle with the little faucets on the amp until I get the sound I want.

[helios]

Originally Posted by Anandbhat

Here's an interesting I ran into:

Jazz Instruments: Darkness on the Edge of Tone or Do Jazz Guitarists Know How Bad They Really Sound? ? By Chip Stern ? Jazz Articles

I agree with the author that a "perception" of how jazz is supposed to sound (polytone/guitar tone rolled way down) can be a limitation and a tonal prison. I don't think he means Polytones are bad--following a herd is bad!
Guitar Player did a guitar cable shoot-out a few years ago--there are $15-20 dollar cables that work just fine (Planet Waves etc.).

[Meggy]

Originally Posted by helios

I agree with the author that a "perception" of how jazz is supposed to sound (polytone/guitar tone rolled way down) can be a limitation and a tonal prison. I don't think he means Polytones are bad--following a herd is bad!
Guitar Player did a guitar cable shoot-out a few years ago--there are $15-20 dollar cables that work just fine (Planet Waves etc.).

I'm not really sure that all, or even many, jazz guitarists are in the habit of rolling their tone down - I certainly don't when (yes) using my Polytone. on the amp, I usually I have the bas at around a quarter, mid on 3/4 (maybe a little less) and treble at about half way.

I guess in general the herd-following point is a fair one, although I think it could just as equally be applied to the rock guitar fraternity.

[Klatu]

Good article. If nothing else, it sparks debate.

I've heard it said that there are two schools of thought concerning jazz tone: the Jim Hall and the Martin Taylor. While there are obviously hundreds of different guitar tones, I see these two as being excellent representatives of their respective ideals.

The Jim Hall camp tends toward the darker tone. The Polytone users in the article would fall into this camp IMO, while the Martin Taylor camp leans toward a brighter acoustic tone.

At the moment, I strive for the natural acoustic tone with all of the attack transients preserved, but this can change at any moment. One of the advantages of the guitar is that tone can be manipulated quite easily while it is far more difficult to change the fundamental tone of a trumpet or saxophone, so I reserve the right to sound like Jim Hall, Martin Taylor, Mike Stern, or even Klatu at any given moment.

[Atticus]

A while back I realized I was going to get a much better tone by sounding the way I wanted to sound rather than trying to imitate Wes or Joe Pass, especially since I'm not using a jazz box or a jazz amp. I think I'm getting a great, non-traditional sound with my Blacktop Strat and single-coil Thinline Tele, strung with round 11s, through a Mustang III.

I'd rather have a tone that feels right to me and helps me express myself, than try to match an existing notion of what a jazz guitar tone should be.