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I have played jazz guitar for almost 50 years. During much of that time I have performed jazz on archtop and solid body electrics. (Mainly an ES175 and a Telecaster) However, I MUCH prefer playing jazz on acoustic instruments, without amplification. This isn't always practical, but it is my sonic preference. For most of the past 50 years I have preferred to play on an acoustic archtop guitar. This is probably because my first instructor played an old D'Angelico Excel and my mentor played Epiphone acoustics. During the last 15 years though I have been playing a lot of jazz at home and in public on a flat top guitar--an old Guild. The tone of the flat top is markedly different from the archtop. I wouldn't want to use the Guild the way I would, say, a big Epi archtop as a rhythm instrument (basically a tuned drum) to drive a horn band, four to the bar, but I like the way that the Guild handles chord melodies when playing in small (duo or trio) situations. Does anyone else like to use a Martin, Gibson, Taylor, etc., flat top guitar for jazz?
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05-23-2014 02:13 PM
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Whoa. That Bollenback is KILLIN.' What's he playing? It sounds more like an unamplified archtop than a flattop>..
As to the OP's question, I play jazz on whatever I pick up, and a lot of the time it's my Taylor 414ce.
Last edited by mr. beaumont; 05-23-2014 at 02:27 PM.
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paul's playing a cheap acoustic with a sound hole pickup. I forget what it is but i seem to remember it was a $500 axe
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Eric Skye plays exclusively on flat-tops.
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Ralph Towner, John Mclaughlin, Mick Goodrick, Django, Larry Coryell, Phillip Cathrine,Christian Escoude, Egberto Gismonte, some Kenny Burrell (nylon) to name a few off the top of my head. In the world of non strictly jazz but improvisational solo music, Pierre Bensusan, Steve Khan, Bill Connors, Michael Hedges, Marc Ribot... Bill Frisell's work with Masada Guitars... and When I have one in my hands, I don't really find a difference in my ability to play what I usually do. I do like flat top guitars, and I had one I used a lot, but I never found the right one since I've gone to 7 strings.
David
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Hey, Mr. Beaumont...you sound great with that Taylor. Eric Skye is doing exactly what I like to do--just mic an acoustic guitar into a PA. A good condenser mic will give great results, but in a pinch a regular old SM57 yields decent results--and everybody has gobs of them around.
I originally was inspired to play flat top for jazz by seeing Larry Coryell play on an old LoPrinzi about 40 years ago. I ended up using the same model--the LR15. It was a beautiful guitar, but it belonged to a friend who sold it. I should have bought it--I had played it, at that point, for quite a while. Basically, those early LoPrinzis are like D28 Martins, but sound better, IMO.
These days, it's the Guild D50. It, too, is that company's take on the D28. It's a very nice guitar. I like it better than a comparable period Martin, but not better than a pre-war Martin...duh.
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I play a lot of jazz on one of these.
Carvin.com : AC375 THINLINE TRUE ACOUSTIC
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from a recent gig of min, jeremey poparad on acoustic
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jzucker--nice!
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I agree that the Taylor cutaways are great guitars for jazz--they seem to have a nice mellow, balanced tone, very different from Martins and the like that are all booming bass and brassy treble. A lot of smaller body parlor guitars would work pretty well too I would think.
If it hasn't been said before, I would say that someone like Kenny Burrell could make a cardboard box sound jazzy, so I think a great player could get a great sound from a traditional flattop.
+1 on what David said. John Abercrombie and Pat Metheny have also played extensively on acoustic flattops of various designs. And don't forget John McLaughlin and Al Dimeola's work with nylon string played with a pick (including Guitar Trio).
And in the other direction, Dave Rawlings is an awesome flatpicker on his 1935 Epiphone Olympic archtop. Maybe we'll see a trend toward country and bluegrass playing archies?Last edited by Doctor Jeff; 05-23-2014 at 06:41 PM.
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Flattops tend to be pretty scooped in tone which makes them volume challenged in a group. That's part of the reason Eric Skye uses small bodied guitars, they have more mid-range umph. I know that his Santa Cruz can hold it's own again gypsy guitars in a jam, where a Taylor or a dreadnaught will just get buried
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been doing it quite a lot lately. It's great for a solo guy such as myself
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Sounds great Bryan...you playing around town anywhere?
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Just got back from a tour on the west coast. Doing every Sat. night at The Wilmette Chop House. Thanks bud.
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BTW You're soundin' pretty smooth your own self Mr. B
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Thanks!
Great news...good to hear folks are getting work. Might have to try and get up there...
I still kick myself a little bit for not buying that Jazzica from you a few years ago!
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Archtops in country and bluegrass...it's happening (again). Of course, in the golden era of country and bluegrass--40s and 50s--the archtop was very common. In Nashville there was almost _always_ somebody knocking out rhythm on either a Gibson L5 (L10 in Chet Atkins' case) or an Epiphone Deluxe. Grady Martin cut the famous "El Paso" guitar lines for Marty Robbins on an Epiphone archtop--it may sound to some ears like a nylon string guitar but it's an Epiphone.
These days, some country and bluegrass folks are picking up small-bodied archtops. Keagy Parrish, guitarist/singer in the Honey Dewdrops, plays a 1930-something Epiphone 15" walnut back and sides archtop guitar. It gets a tremendous tone in Parrish's hands.
Check out the Honey Dewdrops. They won best new talent under 30 a couple of years ago on the Garrison Keillor Show on radio. Parrish, a great songwriter, is an exceptional guitarist. He can play anything from bluegrass to blues to rock and jazz. A decade ago I played in a band with keyboards/guitar in a band with him. He was pretty formidable then.
Watch for the country set to use small, old acoustic archtops.
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Yes! I've played that guitar. It's remarkable in both tone and volume for its size, but the driver is Eric. I've had the pleasure to play with him on several occasions with my Shelley Park and (unlike myself) he plays with volume and finesse. Of course he plays circles around me but is very gracious and really fun to play rhythm for since he is infinitely inventive and in the groove.
Originally Posted by D.G.
Flattops tend to be pretty scooped in tone which makes them volume challenged in a group. That's part of the reason Eric Skye uses small bodied guitars, they have more mid-range umph. I know that his Santa Cruz can hold it's own again gypsy guitars in a jam, where a Taylor or a dreadnaught will just get buried
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Julian Lage plays flattops a lot - I think he said he prefers them when playing at home.
Julian Lage and Chris Eldridge
His duo with Chris Eldridge isn't jazz per se, but a great example of contemporary improv done on flattops.
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I enjoy playing jazz on a flat top. It needs to have a cutaway and favor fundamentals over overtones, but its a nice change from playing either a gypsy or archtop guitars.
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Originally Posted by mr. beaumont
Could be worse. You could be me. I regret selling it
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Dang, I always assumed that was nylon. Thanks for the insight. I'll have to go listen to that track again. Originally Posted by Greentone
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If I want a 100% acoustic sound, I use my steel string dreadnought.
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