-
Johnny Smith is amongst the most long standing names in artist endorsed production jazz guitars, almost continuously from the 1950s until 2006 with Guild, Gibson, Heritage and Guild/Benedetto. The influence extends to naming of the floating pickup system as the Johnny Smith.
I'm a big fan. Are there JS owners or fans out there with comments or questions?
-
09-23-2007 02:24 AM
-
I have never heard of him to be honest, can you post us a picture?
-
Here is a link to a photo example of the Gibson Johnny Smith with some background information. Vintage Gibson Guitars: Gibson Johnny Smith
-
Nice guitar, do you have one yourself?
-
gareth, you have to check out johnny...look for the "moonlight in vermont" album. i feel it's kind of required listenoing for jazz guitar players.
-
I have a beautiful Gibson Johnny Smith in Blonde, 1962 (first year for Blondes), single pickup. It is very lightweight with a natural acoustic tone and bell-like harmonics. Notes are articulate on all strings and all registers, something that I think sorts out the great semi-acoustics from the merely good. Gibson really made a great jazz guitar in those days.
I agree with Mr Beaumont. As a player, Johnny Smith is the important reference for jazz chord melody and the benchmark for technique, control and taste. There are various collections of his works available. The set on Mosaic Records is the most comprehensive.
-
12-02-2007, 02:41 PM #7Jazzarian GuestI've played a few Johnny Smiths, Gibson and Heritage. I really liked the vintage Gibson version very much.
Originally Posted by tusculum
That being said, my Super V doesn't have floating pickups. My GB10 does. One bad thing about floating pickups? It's very easy to hit them inadvertantly with one's pick. In addition, the bass response isn't as good as set pickups.
If you see a vintage Gibson Johnny Smith you can afford, go for it!
PS: Ibanez made some dandy Johnny Smith/L5 knockoffs in the 1970s, before the big Gibson lawsuit. Supposedly well made guitars for an extreme bargain price, if you can find one today.
-
Originally Posted by Gareth
(Oops, this was a zombie thread. Please ignore!)Last edited by KirkP; 11-08-2015 at 05:18 PM.
-
I've owned a few and played quite a few.
IMO, there's not a lot of difference between the Gibson and the Heritage models. They were built the same way and often by the same hands. Some guys have preference regarding the pickups, but that's easy to change around. They are very light guitars. The woods are the same, even sourced the same.
I have a Guild Benedetto Johnny Smith Award. It's is clearly a bit different. The scale length is longer and the cutaway is deeper.
They are very nice guitars, amplified or acoustic.
Mine is at the luthier's getting a second pickguard with a Kent Armstrong single coil pup on it. The two PGs will be swappable for different sounds. It's also getting fret leveling and set up. One of our members here (guitarcarver) is doing the work. He does a fabulous job and very fair prices. I expect this guitar and another back from him very soon.
-
This is a sound I really like. I've only heard it from a Johnny Smith guitar.
My personal theory is that only solid spruce tops with a floating pup will give you this tone.
Of course they are not practical re feedback problems but Alessio seems to manage.
-
I have a Le Grand
Does that count?
Kind of a post Johnny Smith from Gibson
-
I reckon that counts😉...
I think Johnny was a real trail blazer and like so many true greats, has an unmistakable style and sound.
I love the YouTube bootleg recording of shiny stockings. I love his tone on that recording but can't get close to it with my Le Grand.
-
I find the bjb pickup very powerful and too toppy when opened up fully. I tend to back it off to warm it up.
-
Sure - why not - I have one as well. The Legrand is a by- product of the original Johnny Smith - with a slight increase in scale length ( 25-3/8) and some additional inlays . This model was created when Johnny Smith ended his endorsement with Gibson. The internal neck block supporting the canterliver is the same ....and something Johnny insisted upon for upper register sustain. Im not sure if there is any significant body weight difference between Legrand and original. Originally Posted by Bluedawg
I've owned the Heritage Johnny Smith and its a very nice guitar retaining the original 25 inch scale and neck block support- with a real thick jazz sound- better suited for amplification in my opinion . I feel the LeGrand is very good both acoustically and amplified - another goal of Johnny.
The Benedetto version increases the scale length yet another notch to 25-9/16 which surprises me , since Johnny Smith liked the shorter scale length for his long stretches. Ive never played the Benedetto Artist Award and curious how it compares to the aforementioned both acoustically and amplified.
-
Great info Steve😊.
Did Johnny use round or flats?
As much as I adore my L5, the le grand feels just that little bit more comfortable for a guy my size..5ft 7.
-
Nickboy, Originally Posted by nickyboy
Johnny used Black diamond burnished strings - sort of like a flat wound. Johnny always tuned his low E to D and usually used a flat wound string on the low E. According to Johnny - flat wound strings were terrible in the old days and when he came across the black diamond burnished strings - he bought every set he could.
Another point on comfort. Johnny wanted the JS model to have a shorter body depth than the L5 - for comfort. If you measure your L5 and LeGrand you will see about 3/8 -1/2 difference.
In 1978 when Johnny experienced the individual finger tail pc he fell in love with it - because you could individually adjust string tension and tone. In his biography his stated that he liked playing his Gibson namesake more than his DA. He also liked the DAdarrio half rounds when they were developed.
So as the evolution goes , I believe Johnny would have loved the LeGrand with the finger tailpc. fitted with half round strings.
There is an hour long interview on You Tube with Johnny Smith and he is playing his blonde Gibson JS retrofitted with the finger tail pc found on the LeGrand's.Last edited by QAman; 11-08-2015 at 08:50 PM.
-
I love Joe Pass but Johnny Smith is my guitar hero. The Heritage Johnny Smiths are nearly perfect. With a fresh set of TI 12 jazz swings, it has never been closer to perfect for me. His original signature on the label inside the body still gives me the chills.
That said, look at Martygrass's Guild Benedetto Johnny Smith Artist Award. The shear beauty of it coupled with the Benedetto factor makes it quite possibly the single most amazing guitar ever.
-
Joe, Originally Posted by Joe DeNisco
I sold my Heritage JS to a friend that fell in love with it the minute he played it ....and just had to have it. The label was signed by Johnny and all the founders of Heritage Guitar Co. I will buy it back in a minute should he decide to sell it - it had the magic -...and I did like the 25 inch scale.
I never played the Benedetto AA .....but it is gorgeous . I could never handle that scale length.
-
Steve, I've seen a label like that before. Seeing the original sigs of all those legendary figures on one label inside a guitar is awe inspiring. Originally Posted by Steve Longobardi
-
Originally Posted by Steve Longobardi
Really? With a name like Longobardi you couldn't handle the.......... wait for it..... longer board...y?
-
js is the only jazz great i've never been able to get into (mainstream jazz great i should say - there are lots out of the mainstream i don't much like)
i can dig the technique of course - but i don't dig his phrasing. in fact he doesn't sound much like a jazz player to me - i find it hard to believe the chordal stuff is not all worked out to within an inch of its life before hand.
of course i know that when it came to blowing he could remove pretty much anyone from the bandstand - even gb admired his chops immensely etc. etc.
other than moonlight anyone got any suggestions for more jazz-y work?
-
Hi Jon,
If you do iTunes, there's a super-cheap download Johnny Smith compilation (51 tracks): Jazz Guitar Essentials by Johnny Smithhttps://itun.es/gb/eaTFw
-
FF, I'm in awe. I love everything about the pictures, including the molding.. Originally Posted by fumblefingers
Really? With a name like Longobardi you couldn't handle the.......... wait for it..... longer board...y?
thanks, Joe D
-
Originally Posted by Groyniad
As you may well know, he did not consider himself to be a jazz guitarist and would correct those who said he was.
I don't know what you could classify him as, and I guess that's the point.
As I listen to his tunes, there are sections that seem to be improvisations. With Johnny, those lines may have been planned though. I don't think improvisational jazz was his strength really. Everything else was- technique, speed, phrasing, and dynamics.
-
11-09-2015, 08:43 AM #25destinytot GuestWhen I listen to Johnny Smith, it isn't for the improvised lines; it's for the sound and feel that characterise his arrangement - and for that tone! Originally Posted by Groyniad
Of the two below, I probably like his improvisation on the first clip below (on the bridge of Cherokee) precisely because it's short.
There's a lot more improvisation - and fabulous chops - on Walk, Don't Run! But none of it really grabs me; I don't dig his phrasing, either. (Walk is right - for me, the improvisation plods along in a pedestrian way). Interesting line, though (over Softly, As In A Morning Sunrise).
What I admire about Johnny Smith's playing is the thorough and meticulous preparation behind it. For me, very few come close to achieving the level of beauty he does. Absolutely brilliant player.
Reply With Quote
Video: The Harmonic Minor Scale in Jazz
Today, 10:47 AM in Improvisation