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I've been intrigued by Trenier since I saw a Broadway on archtop.com. I've never seen any luthier take inspiration from Epiphone. They mostly go Gibson, John D, or Jimmy D.
I was also shocked at how alive the guitars sound. I was watching some videos on my phone and they sounded plugged in. Crazy.
If I was commissioning something, I'd order a 17" Broadway that leaned closer to Epi than Gibson in details and appointments.
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09-07-2020 11:54 PM
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...I used the Trenier Jazz Special 2.5" depth laminate/floater jamming with bass, drums, another guitar (16 x 3 Eastman carved) and piano tonight. Felt like I was playing a lam/mounted pickup guitar...in a good way, i.e. the electric tone was plenty fat and robust.
When I got home, I took it out of the case and practiced unplugged, then hung it on the wall. The strings have quite a few hours on them now and yet the unplugged tone is still very nice.
Pleased to say the reduced depth/laminate/floater experiment has worked out beautifully so far.
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For those interested - Bryant just updated his Facebook page with pics of a current Jazz electric build. You can see the vacuum process used on the gorgeous quilted maple back laminate.
Trenier Guitars
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Just posted a thread over in the showcase forum of an original tune, playing my Trenier. Thought it might be appreciated here!
Original Tune - quarantine blues
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I got on Bryant's list last week for a Jazz Special.
Last edited by David B; 04-07-2021 at 07:51 AM.
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Originally Posted by David B
Smart move - his Jazz electrics are quite extraordinary and gaining recognition rapidly.
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Dave, it'll be a nice companion for your Moffa!
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You can watch a Trenier in great hands tomorrow, as my friend Nick Costley-White performs in a live-stream show tomorrow at 5pm GMT with pianist/organist Sam Leak's organ trio 'Little Green Men', performing a set influenced by Larry Golding's classic album 'Light Blue'.
This show is part of the London Jazz Festival taking place (online) this week.
Nick's a great player and I've shared a few clips of his playing in this thread.
There's a £10 recommended donation.
LINK: EFG London Jazz Festival 2020 – Oliver's Jazz Bar
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Originally Posted by David B
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Vinny,
I'll admit that it was your guitar that tipped me over the edge!
I have a few design features that I've put to Bryant. My current plan is for a floating pickup, possibly a DeArmond FHC (inspired by our own Omphalospsychos and his guitar).
Bryant has a number of carved guitars up next so it may be a while before he gets around to another batch of laminates.Last edited by David B; 11-23-2020 at 06:55 PM.
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Haha, happy to have contributed to your decision! Personally I think the floater will give you a more versatile instrument, but both floater and mounted are solid options. Feedback resistance with my 2.5" deep floater has been very good so far (better than a thinline carved Eastman I once had).
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A Skylark morning :
I've known this song for ages - first heard it on a Singers Unlimited record, later the Linda Ronstadt/Nelson Riddle version - but have never really played it.... in "G" it's not that hard and there are plenty of open strings that help making the chords sound full. The guitar is strung with medium Thomastik roundwounds, going into the "Polytone" pedal into my GLB 50 amp (40 watt all tube/1x12"). Added a touch of reverb and eq in Logic. That guitar is so easy to play and the honeymoon now goes into the 3rd year....
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Beautifuly played, with such sweet tone! Thank you!
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Originally Posted by gitman
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Originally Posted by gitman
Wow!! Beautiful performance and guitar. Thanks for sharing and help to wait on my jazz special in progress.
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Originally Posted by Fal Tarlow
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Originally Posted by coolvinny
Bryant is under a lot of pressure in line with huge interest for his masterpiece. He will soon start with work on my Jazz Special with 25" scale, vintage, dark, sunburst and CC floating (Pete Biltoft). This waiting period is worse than the covid pandemic, but we will survive it all.
I'm archtop guy but Paulleta is very interesting choice. Are you satisfied?Last edited by Fal Tarlow; 11-26-2020 at 06:22 PM.
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Originally Posted by Fal Tarlow
As for the Pauletta, yes I'm totally satisfied with it. While I could do without the functionality of the bridge pickup (and that would reduce the weight a bit), I bought it in part as my tribute to the Les Paul wielding guitar gods who got me into blues and jazz (Duane Allman, Mike Bloomfield, Bluesbreakers-era Clapton) and it really needs the bridge pickup to fully cop that bit of nostalgia (I had a Heritage H-150 with the same amber sunburst in my blues days, and in fact I named her "Amber" which is the same name Slaman named this guitar!). It's an amazing instrument with a to-die-for neck (1.75" nut width, perfect shape and perfect depth)...in fact my favorite neck of any guitar I've every laid hands on. Having said all that, sometimes I think about selling it simply because I hardly use it...but I also know that as soon as I sell it some need will arise for a solid body. I've used it at big band practice to good effect. I'm half-hoping that Metheny's use of Slaman guitars will lead to a parabolic increase in market value along the lines of Manzer...
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So I take these jazz combo classes run by a local music institution where they get top local pros to "lead" different combos...we all stand far apart, wear masks and every week we think they're going to cancel it due to the pandemic (especially recently), but so far they have continued since starting up again in September.
Point is, we had one last night where the drummer couldn't make it, so it was just bass (no amp), two guitars and the pro on piano. During the bass solos (if piano was laying out) I actually had to be careful not to be too loud comping with my Trenier even when my volume all the way off...on a laminate 2.5" deep guitar.
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If the bassist isn‘t a Ray Brown clone, pulling thunder out of his fiddle when taking a solo unplugged then a full out comping with that guitar -also unplugged- would indeed be too much. Restraint is always the best advice and I try to channel Jim Hall in these situations, strumming/ picking VERY lightly, only using 2- or threepart voicings, sometimes even just one string, a la Freddie Green ...
some bassists don‘t want any comping but I often think that for the listener it can provide some sort of guideline through the changes and the form of the song. It’s a good thing to practice , paring the harmonies down to the bare minimum while still connecting them in a musically meaningful manner.
Re the particular qualities of the guitar(s) in question I think this model is even better suited for this way of playing than a comparable archtop made out of solid woods. So far my own Jazz Special performs (in my usual small group settings) just great , giving me a strong, warm and balanced lead tone and with a twist of the volume knob it backs down to a nicely dry , very acoustic tone that‘s perfect for comping. Arguably better than my Super-400, which kills as my note-cannon in loud situations....
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For those waiting for a Trenier Jazz special - I can only say it will be worth waiting for. It will be like no other laminate you’ve played.
It truly blends attributes from a solid carved guitar with the warmth of a laminate - producing a surprising amount of volume ( acoustically)- with a beautiful woody warmth vibe. My Jazz special (plugged in )sounds like Jim Halls tone.
Bryant is in final set up with my “Trenier Georgian “ - so hopefully you guys are getting closer.
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Originally Posted by QAman
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Here is another great video made by the talented Will Sellenraad playing his Trenier laminate with a real vintage Charlie Christian pickup. Enjoy!
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Originally Posted by Fal Tarlow
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Bryant just shared some photos on Facebook and Instagram of the last Jazz Specials of 2020:
Home, guitar playing and travel
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