Jazz Guitar Setup and Gear

In this part of the website you'll learn:

How your favorite jazz guitar player gets his unique sound (besides ears and fingers). Discover what kind of guitar amplifiers, strings, picks and effects the jazz greats use.
How do I get a jazz guitar tone? What kind of guitar, amp and accessories you need to get a jazz sound.
Working on your guitar: changing strings, adjusting the bridge, ...

How to Get a Jazz Guitar Tone

Jazz Guitar Amps

Find out what guitar amps are suitable to plug a jazz guitar into. An overview with pros and cons of the most popular amps used in jazz + a list of things to think about before buying a guitar amp.

Jazz Guitars

What makes a good jazz guitar and what are the things to look out for when buying a jazz guitar? In this article we have a closer look at 13 classic jazz guitars...

Famous Jazz Guitar Players and Their Gear

Al Di Meola's Guitar Gear

An overview of the guitars, amps, effects and guitar synthesizers that Al Di Meola plays on.

Allan Holdsworth Guitar Gear

Discover what kind of guitar setup Allan Holdsworth, one of the important players of fusion jazz, uses to obtain his legato playing style.

Bill Frisell Guitar Rig

Find out what guitars, amps and effects Bill Frisell uses to create his unique sound.

Charlie Christian Guitar & Pickup

Charlie Christian was the first great solo guitarist with an amplified guitar. Find out what gear he used...

Django Reinhardt Guitars

About the guitars Django Reinhardt used during his entire career: Selmer guitars. No amps involved.

Freddie Green Rhythm Guitar

Freddie Green played acoustic only, using the biggest jazz archtops like Stromberg and Gretsch guitars.

Gabor Szabo Guitar Gear

The guitar equipment that Gabor Szabo used throughout his career, mostly acoustic guitars.

Jim Hall Guitar Equipment

Guitarist with an intimate tone - absolutely not into guitar equipment.

Joe Pass Guitar Equipment

An overview of the guitars and guitar amps of Joe Pass.

John Scofield Guitar Gear

Scofield's favorite guitars, guitar amps, effects and picks.

Mike Stern Guitar Gear

Mike Stern's guitars, amps & effects.

Pat Metheny Guitar Setup

Pat was one of the pioneers of using electronic equipment in music and he's always on the lookout for innovative instruments. Check out his guitar rig.

Wes Montgomery Guitar Setup

Wes Montgomery was not interested at all in guitar equipment, although he refused to play unplugged. He used a Gibson L5 throughout his career.

Working on Your Instrument

How to String a Guitar

Replacing guitar strings the proper way - all you need to know about guitar strings. Putting new strings on your guitar is not rocket science, but you need to follow a few guidelines so your guitar doesn't go out of tune every time you play it.

More About Guitars

Lawsuit Guitars

Anyone looking for vintage guitars comes accross auctions for lawsuit guitars. There's a lot of confusion about these guitars though. What exactly are lawsuit guitars? How do you recognize one and where can you buy them?