Perfect Jazz guitar?

[Chrizzia]

I play on a jap. 1996 stratocaster with 0.13 flatwounds. Very nice
It´s what you play on it that makes the difference IMHO...

[mississippi]

I don't know, but I bought a telecaster. I think it's a nice guitar. I notice many people here own a telecaster too. I'm happy with mine.

[Jazzaluk]

Originally Posted by Chrizzia

I play on a jap. 1996 stratocaster with 0.13 flatwounds. Very nice
It´s what you play on it that makes the difference IMHO...

Wow...those are big strings for a strat, it must really change the character of the guitar. I've often mused over getting a tele and beefing up the string for a rounder tone but I don't have the courage to do it. Did you need to change the setup much?

[derek]

SRV played .13s on all his strats, though rounds not flats. The rule is pretty much, if you go up or down more than one size in strings, you will need to reset intonation and maybe nut slot adjustment.

If moving only 1 gauge, if anything is needed, usually just a tweak of the truss rod.

[mr. beaumont]

depends on the guitar...i use .11's on my teles, which isn't all that heavy, but i use a wound G which they're usually not setup for.

On my american tele (which has a bit of a thinner neck) i had to do a little tweaking after moving up the string gauge (before i started using flats i was using .10 gauge roundwounds) but the nut was fine, the space for the G string was fine to accomodate the wound string.

on my two MIM tles (which ship with .09's, i believe) i did have to do a little nut work, but those big fat necks didn't budge.

good 'ol SRV used .13's on his strat, but they were roundwound with an unwound G, and he also tuned down a half step. he definitely had a distinctive tone (not a fan really, but that tone's been copied quite a bit-- so somebody digs it) on the jazz side, ted greene used .12's, i believe, and got some absolutely gorgeous jazz tones out of his teles.

there used to be a cable acess show here in chicago, back when i was in high school, led by a cool sax player whose name escapes me...his son was on guitar, and he played a green strat that appeared to be strung up with flatwounds (could kinda tell, in the tight shots) he always sounded great. show was called the (blank blank) jazz show...

my buddy and i used to watch that show every afternoon...dang, what was that cat's name?...

[Chrizzia]

I had to change the setup quite a bit, but it works great...
0.12´s can do the job without a doubt.
I think that most decent guitars can be used in jazz music. It really depends on the player.
I would reallu like an archtop, but I have not decided which one yet...So untill I know, my Strat will be the main man...

[mississippi]

New at this, but I bought a used Marshall practice amp. I just started out with dirkji lessons (Jazz Guitar 101 Arpeggios). When practicing the lesson the amp has a warm and full sound coming out of it. I'm using a telecaster with the rear bridge pickup on.

Any one else use a Marshall amp for jazz?

[mr. beaumont]

wow. proof you can get a good sound out of anything if you try...

i'd definitely say a tele bridge pickup thru a marshall isn't very common in the jaz world, but if it sounds good, it is good.

[Scolohofo]

I play a ibanez AF105f and a old steinberger GM4sa and both are good for jazz while the first has a tradionnal sound type and more suitable for chords the second is a for very,very fast playing.

[kevro2000]

My fave for jazz is my LP (the one they made for Justin Hawkins - but I don't play his music), strat (Limited edition, deluxe players), tele (based on 62 or 66??), ric 381 (which has an arch), 69 gretchs,.... but they are all differnt in character, but perfect for jazz & gospel.

[jcayer]

While on the subject of Tele and jazz. One fine guitar player that I like a lot, Scotty Anderson, uses a Tele and neck humbucker.

You can see it here and on plenty other video...
YouTube - Scotty Anderson Live- Take The A Train
YouTube - Scotty Anderson Live -Summertime

[gravyTrain]

For what it's worth, I played an inexpensive Epiphone Zephyr Regent and think it sounds great! It is basically a low-budget ES-175 with just a neck humbucker, so it gets that beautiful chunky 175 sound for just a few hundred dollars.

Originally Posted by mississippi

New at this, but I bought a used Marshall practice amp. I just started out with dirkji lessons (Jazz Guitar 101 Arpeggios). When practicing the lesson the amp has a warm and full sound coming out of it. I'm using a telecaster with the rear bridge pickup on.

Any one else use a Marshall amp for jazz?

I don't own one, but recently I was in the shop checking out a new guitar, and I plugged it into a Marshall head with a 4x12 cabinet. The warmth of tone made me all mushy inside...gorgeous

[jazzbender]

Wow, lots of Tele players here. I finally got one after decades of playing other axes. I opted for the Nashville model with B-bender installed. Nice guitar!


Has anyone tried the Taylor T-5 for jazz?

[Jazzarian]

Originally Posted by TheThunder

In your opinion, what would you describe as the best all around jazz guitar, either currently produced or out-of-production, and what makes it so amazing.

just for fun

Thunder

Got 45 grand or so? Knock yourself out.

Monteleone Instruments


I'd say this might be "the best" jazz guitar currently in "production".

If you've got $100,000, and really want the best, try this:

http://www.mandoweb.com/15-5843.jpg

[gremboul]

I like the Gibson L5, found a guitar based on that 1920's design and love it.

[Jazz Classic]

Originally Posted by gremboul

I like the Gibson L5, found a guitar based on that 1920's design and love it.

Yeah, I dig Wes. But--Mr Beaumont told me to check out Grant Green. I did --and I must say Grant has a blues sound that I dig! But getting back to guitars--I have a Strat Squire , not bad for a low cost axe, but I am wondering if a Telecaster would not be better choice for jazz. I tend to favor the F-hole acoustics for the good sound. But, the Strats and Tellie's, etc, are so easy to cradle. Could there be something in between? I want something that is easy to hold, so I can focus on my left hand! Man, at 86 I don't have time to screw around and try a lot of guitars. Mr. Beaumont recently bought a nice axe with one F-hole, it looks something like a Tele. Please excuse my ignorance, I am not familiar with it. But he put it on audio a few months ago and I think it sounded great. Of course, he is an accomplished musician, one I do admire. I like Chris Strangling, another Brit! Mr. Beaumont plays with a lot of feeling, I like his style. I'm sure there are a lot of good musicians on this forum, not to forget our sponsor. I really appreciate this Forum. Any advice?

[kkonopatzke]

This is my first post but I have many years of experience with different kinds of solid body guitars and I thought I could humbly offer what I have learned.

I too am a huge fan of the fender Telecaster. American Fender Solid Bodies are absolute workhorses and are rediculously versatile in my experience, as are many other major brands I will concede, but what has made me unable to deny myself a fender of some kind is the quality of the necks on both th Strat and the Tele. The availability of the maple fingerboards, the "medium-jumbo frets" the curvature and fret layout and the finish are all highly desirable in my experience. Fender necks have a spaciousness and scale that is perfect for me. Its a matter of comfort and convenience; both of which give me confidence wihile playing that I can't afford to pass up.

Why I chose the tele given that all traditional fender solid bodies have necks with the qualities I'm picky about has to do with its history, its electronics ( I generally prefer single coil pickups and adore my tele's rhythm/neck pickup), and its overall design.

History:
First commercially produced solid body electric guitar which speaks to its reliability, simplicity, and versatility given that it is still among the most popular models made today and that it is mostly unchanged.

Pickups:
They are the cleanest and most accurate pickups I've ever experienced. They lend themselves to a great warm, shimmering, inimitable clean tone (obviously nice to have for Jazz oriented playing).

Overall design:
Modest cosmetically. I don't like guitars that aspire to be decorative pieces or or works of art instead of tools. I'd prefer that an instrument's cost would come from attention/labor given to the functionality, tonality, playability etc.

Also it is balanced in the terms of weight and comfortable to wear or hold.

It's got a charming appearence, as well as an iconic one.

I play a custom shop 1953, with a custom neck shape. It is primarily a historically accurate "c-shape" except at the 1st 2nd and 3rd frets where it has a tapering v-shape for enhanced comfort fingering taxing chords which is great. Other than that it is perfectly accurate in its replicating a 1953 in the terms of pickups (hand-wound by custom shop) and the like. Neck joint tightness and other specs were specified and the setup was perfected by the tech who commisioned it.

It's great for almost every application that doesn't involve being overdriven to an extreme due to single coil pickups (which do fine at moderate levels of distortion) but it offers perfection for traditional playing, that is Jazz or Blues or (I have heard) Country.

The only complaint I would make is that the tuning stability, while fine in-and-of itself, isn't as good as that of a Gibson with a Tune-o-matic bridge as I know from experience. Tuning stability is greatly improved by locking tuners which are easily installed adn are affordable. I don't have them on my 53 to preserve historical accuracy but I have put them on my past American Standards to great effect.

[gremboul]

Originally Posted by kkonopatzke

This is my first post but I have many years of experience with different kinds of solid body guitars and I thought I could humbly offer what I have learned.

I too am a huge fan of the fender Telecaster. American Fender Solid Bodies are absolute workhorses and are rediculously versatile in my experience, as are many other major brands I will concede, but what has made me unable to deny myself a fender of some kind is the quality of the necks on both th Strat and the Tele. The availability of the maple fingerboards, the "medium-jumbo frets" the curvature and fret layout and the finish are all highly desirable in my experience. Fender necks have a spaciousness and scale that is perfect for me. Its a matter of comfort and convenience; both of which give me confidence wihile playing that I can't afford to pass up.

Why I chose the tele given that all traditional fender solid bodies have necks with the qualities I'm picky about has to do with its history, its electronics ( I generally prefer single coil pickups and adore my tele's rhythm/neck pickup), and its overall design.

History:
First commercially produced solid body electric guitar which speaks to its reliability, simplicity, and versatility given that it is still among the most popular models made today and that it is mostly unchanged.

Pickups:
They are the cleanest and most accurate pickups I've ever experienced. They lend themselves to a great warm, shimmering, inimitable clean tone (obviously nice to have for Jazz oriented playing).

Overall design:
Modest cosmetically. I don't like guitars that aspire to be decorative pieces or or works of art instead of tools. I'd prefer that an instrument's cost would come from attention/labor given to the functionality, tonality, playability etc.

Also it is balanced in the terms of weight and comfortable to wear or hold.

It's got a charming appearence, as well as an iconic one.

I play a custom shop 1953, with a custom neck shape. It is primarily a historically accurate "c-shape" except at the 1st 2nd and 3rd frets where it has a tapering v-shape for enhanced comfort fingering taxing chords which is great. Other than that it is perfectly accurate in its replicating a 1953 in the terms of pickups (hand-wound by custom shop) and the like. Neck joint tightness and other specs were specified and the setup was perfected by the tech who commisioned it.

It's great for almost every application that doesn't involve being overdriven to an extreme due to single coil pickups (which do fine at moderate levels of distortion) but it offers perfection for traditional playing, that is Jazz or Blues or (I have heard) Country.

The only complaint I would make is that the tuning stability, while fine in-and-of itself, isn't as good as that of a Gibson with a Tune-o-matic bridge as I know from experience. Tuning stability is greatly improved by locking tuners which are easily installed adn are affordable. I don't have them on my 53 to preserve historical accuracy but I have put them on my past American Standards to great effect.

I agree with you about the telecaster. I have a 52 reissue and it is a workhorse. I replaced the bridge pickup with a seymour duncan mini-bucker, made especially for the tele...works great with jazz-blues....Have to say that my archtop is nothing to sneeze at...

PS: what strings would you use on a tele to play jazz?

[mr. beaumont]

hey, JC, that's a '69 telecaster thinline. semihollow, reissue, made in mexico. nice bang for the buck...the honeymoon hasn't wore off yet--i love that guitar.

i use flatwounds on all my teles, .11 gauge. since i teach and also play some western swing, i like to be able to bend a little too. it's a good compromise on feel.

as far as teles for jazz go, you all know i'm a fan--and m78w, a regualr here, is a hell of a player and a tele man too. if you're a fan of the darker, ed bickert/jim hall tones, a neck humbucker is a nice option--i have one tele with a neck hummer and it's a jazz machine. my other two have single coils, and the jazz tones i get with them are a little more grant green to early jimmy raney-ish. it's good to have options!

glad to hear you're digging grant green. have you gotten into jimmy raney yet? big influence on grant, actually. the self titled record he made with bob brookmeyer (valve trombone) and a record called simply "A" are among my favorite recorded jazz tones ever--and his playing is phenomenal...the man was the master.

[gremboul]

Originally Posted by mr. beaumont

hey, JC, that's a '69 telecaster thinline. semihollow, reissue, made in mexico. nice bang for the buck...the honeymoon hasn't wore off yet--i love that guitar.

i use flatwounds on all my teles, .11 gauge. since i teach and also play some western swing, i like to be able to bend a little too. it's a good compromise on feel.

as far as teles for jazz go, you all know i'm a fan--and m78w, a regualr here, is a hell of a player and a tele man too. if you're a fan of the darker, ed bickert/jim hall tones, a neck humbucker is a nice option--i have one tele with a neck hummer and it's a jazz machine. my other two have single coils, and the jazz tones i get with them are a little more grant green to early jimmy raney-ish. it's good to have options!

glad to hear you're digging grant green. have you gotten into jimmy raney yet? big influence on grant, actually. the self titled record he made with bob brookmeyer (valve trombone) and a record called simply "A" are among my favorite recorded jazz tones ever--and his playing is phenomenal...the man was the master.

It hasn't yet crossed my mind...but at my next string change on the tele, I will put flatwounds. My humbucker is in the bridge position because I didn't want to use a router on the wood to make a larger opening in the neck position...

[derek]

I too have a tele in my arsenal, a Bill Nash made from Fender licensed parts. Jason Lollar pups, with a bucker in the neck and single in the bridge. It is a swiss army knife of guitars.

[gremboul]

Originally Posted by derek

I too have a tele in my arsenal, a Bill Nash made from Fender licensed parts. Jason Lollar pups, with a bucker in the neck and single in the bridge. It is a swiss army knife of guitars.

would love to see pics

[Kevdog]

i have a Washburn J9 with Jazz Semour Duncans and Gibson electronics. Dollar for dollar, a great sounding guitar. But I also have a Stratocaster for my rockin' blues days.

[gremboul]

Originally Posted by Kevdog

i have a Washburn J9 with Jazz Semour Duncans and Gibson electronics. Dollar for dollar, a great sounding guitar. But I also have a Stratocaster for my rockin' blues days.

Washburn makes excellent guitars.

[kkonopatzke]

Originally Posted by gremboul

I agree with you about the telecaster. I have a 52 reissue and it is a workhorse. I replaced the bridge pickup with a seymour duncan mini-bucker, made especially for the tele...works great with jazz-blues....Have to say that my archtop is nothing to sneeze at...

PS: what strings would you use on a tele to play jazz?

I've been looking at possibly replacing my neck pickup with something that bucks hum a little more aggressively like a mini-bucker or cool/hot rails by Duncan I believe. I just don't have a good understanding of what the custom shop provided for pickups. If they don't make use of any of the noise reduction technology that has been developed since 53 then I think I would like to try a Duncan model in the rhythm position. This is not to say that noise is really a problem but my current pickups have a lot of bite and snarl at gig-volumes. I'll Have to look for a mini-bucker equipped instrument to check it out.

I haven't done a lot of experimenting with strings but Fender .009 super 250s are the strings that bring the highest level of playability out of my tele. I think I prefer .010 guages tonally as they are are a little less twangy or sharp but bending and hammer-ons etc. are somewhat hindered at EADGBE tuning. This is more the concern of a blues guitarist however.

I remember the coated Elixer strings I used once being very "warm" or "full" as would be desirable for jazz applications. Perhaps a better description would be that they had a less metallic character in the high-end when amplified.

Which strings have been best suited in your experience?

I'm also curious to learn:

What sort of amp do you prefer with your 52? What are your feelings if any about the Vox AC30 (1) Generally for use with Tele and (2) For Jazz.

I didn't buy mine with jazz tone in mind but I find it offers a range of good tones for jazz even if it is a bit more aggressive (high treble and prone to overdrive) than is likely conventional for strictly Jazz guitarists.

Any opinions regarding Vox AC30?

[m78w]

I've got a '66 tele with a gibson mini humbucker at the neck and a bill lawrence humbucker at the bridge. I use .11 flatwounds and I love this guitar! I've been offered to play several high end archtops, Buscarino's, Benedetto's, Fosters etc by collectors and i always tell them "I'll hold on to it but nothing will ever replace my tele!"

MW

[derek]

Originally Posted by gremboul

would love to see pics

Here you go.

Bill Nash Tele-Custom 63 - Mass Street Music

[gremboul]

Originally Posted by derek

Here you go.

Bill Nash Tele-Custom 63 - Mass Street Music

Nice looking guitar! looks close to Tommy Emmanuel's tele
YouTube - Tommy Emmanuel - Electric Guitar

You guys have me regretting having bought an archtop...oh well, my punishment will be playing a 52 tele RI...

[derek]

Originally Posted by gremboul

Nice looking guitar! looks close to Tommy Emmanuel's tele
YouTube - Tommy Emmanuel - Electric Guitar

You guys have me regretting having bought an archtop...oh well, my punishment will be playing a 52 tele RI...

Actually, I think it was Bill's swipe at Fender, as they had just released the ridiculously high priced Andy Summers model. It mimics AS's guitar pretty well without the crazy price.

Don't regret the archtop. I own 2, an ES175, and PRS Archtop, though I am considering moving the PRS. I don't think I will ever sell the 175 though, is a guitar I play pretty much daily. Just because jazz CAN be played on a tele doesn't mean it HAS to.

Nothing sounds like an archtop to my ears.