First jazz guitar?

[Jonah]

I really hesitated...

I wanted to buy a big size box - more or less similar to L5 by dims

Two Guilds were available in teh shop - for quite a long time... Manhatten and Savoy ... by dims both are very close to L-5 ... maybe L-5 is a bit deeper.
But they have shorter scale than L-5. And - I do not why - but they just look a bit smaller... or slimmer)))

The specs differens are obvious
- Manhatten has laminated top and two pickups (humbuckers). It is definitely an electric guitar
- Savoy has solid top and floating pick up.. so there's chance it would have a decent acoustic tone...

those days I wanted an archtop with a pick up to sound acoustically too... (now I just play good acoustic flat-top)))

I did not like Manhatten - how it sounded amplified and how ity sounded aouctically... and how it felt... that's just personal maybe

Savoy seemed much more comfotable for me... the pick up is good but the amplified sound is a bit special... plain and straight... I would prefer humbucker.
My problem was that it did not sound acoustically as I would have expected from the guitar solid top and floating pickup.
It looks beautiful with flame mapple... and all.


Finally I made quite strange choice... I ordered Epi Broadway online... they gave a good price. The reason I did it was partly pragmatic.. we had currency exchange rate drop - so manged to buy it at a very low price and I knew i would be able to sell it even at a higher price maybe... so I just decided to buy it to try it.

Yes I knew all the critics towards Epi but still I did...

My first surprise was that the guitar had no obvious faults in construction.. for about a week I was still suspecting something... looking for a unpolished edges, glue drops.. all was fine... and it was in tune, I just adjusted the bridge to fit the scale...
Inlays in the fretboard... looked like the pearl was a bit 'polished' into the fretborad around inlays

The looks: you can see by the looks that the wood is cheap... the top, and the back - all look like cheap plywood under polish...
That's what I did not like.. because together with massive head with golden Grovers and nice-looking golden Frequensator (yes.. I like how frequensator looks)... all together it looks like the thing is trying look more pricey than it really is.. you know what I mean...

Electronics: two cheap humbuckers with very dark - through some amps even dull tone.. but I still likeed the tone better than KA pickup I had at teh moment and Savoy tone...
Had some problem with switches a couple of times... currently I do not play much amplified.. if I did I would have chenged the pickups maybe and checked the electronics with teh tech
It has big scale as L-5.
And dims are the same - but still it seems to be not that deep

Acoustics. of course laminated guitar with two installed pickups and lots of knobs cannot be expected to sound acoustically (I own really good acoustics - I know what it really is)...
But to my surprise the guitar is very loud and even peasent to sound acoustically... as I said I evened jammed with two other guitarists (they played nylon acoustics) and it sounded perfect...
I also took it to master classes and there I played with no amplification and it sounded well with slightly amplified ES-175... And everybody who tried mine noticed that it sounded as if it were solid top...
I do not know why... maybe it's due to some construction points, braces or something

Again I own all solid jumbo and all solid classical guiatr and of course you can see the difference at once... I compare it only between archtops...

And to me it sounded acoustically much nicer than Savoy.. So I kept it...

In time I want to get something like ES-335... to try how it feels to play semi-hollow.

For physical comfort of guitar size really matters...

That's why I do not feel comfortable with ES-175 and its copies... it's like I want it to be either bigger or smaller...

My Broadway is Korean - I know there are Chinese ones too.. maybe they are different.

[mercosound]

Cnote - I hear you about the bucket list; I'm about 5 years away from 70 - definitely in the "end game"... So, I've been thinking about commissioning a guitar - ordering exactly what suits me. Only trouble with that plan is the wait time involved.

I've heard it said that your biggest regrets are the things you didn't do (as opposed to those you did); so getting an archtop "Jazz" guitar sounds like a pretty good idea to me...

[Jonah]

I tried Ibanez AKJ-95 today...

Very very nice.

Comfortable to play, the acoustic sound is poor.

But I liked both pickups... they are mellow but bright, the response is quick...

It about usd 300 with discount - I think regular price is about 400 or so

[Cnote]

I tried Ibanez AKJ-95 today...

Very very nice.

Comfortable to play, the acoustic sound is poor.

But I liked both pickups... they are mellow but bright, the response is quick...

It about usd 300 with discount - I think regular price is about 400 or so

I wanted to try the AKJ but couldn't get my hands on one! How did the neck shape feel to you?

[Jonah]

I wanted to try the AKJ but couldn't get my hands on one! How did the neck shape feel to you?

I like the shape ... but it's personal... it's like on Epi Broadway I have...

And it seemed a bit narrower than on other Ibanez I tried...

[Jonah]

And I cannot find AKJ-95 on Ibanez site... why? They do not produce it any more...

Meanwhile dealers in Europe offer it widely and often with discount

[Cnote]

3 listed on ebay, 2 in Japan 1 in NY used 400 bucks !

[Jonah]

I am in St.Petersburg, Russia... delivery cost from Japan and NY may be very high)))

It's available in a few big shops here and they all give a discount (probably it's dealer's discount) - about usd 350 - 370 in US dollar equivalent... all new

I really liked the feel and amplified tone... I think it's Super 68 Pickups they use her
I did not have intention to get it.
But considering the discount I now keep thinking about it...

They had also

AFJ95 - seems to be absolutely the same except for the Venetian cutaway


AS-73-TBC (Gibson 335 shape) - sounds very dull... no highs. And the neck feels thicker

[Cnote]

Yup! That's a bit of a problem! I wasn't a fan of AS-73, kinda muddy to my ears!

[Jonah]

Today I tried AKJ95, AF75, AG75 in a row...

both AF75 and AG75 look cheaper, the woods the finish, the colour, the knobs - almost all the smaller details just look cheaper probably just because they are cheaper...

A bit annoying that they are quipped with different string sets.... AKJ95 has flats (feels like 0.12), AF75 and AG75 rounds and seems to be thinner like 0.10 maybe...

AF75 - physically feels very close to AKJ95. Acoustic sound is more or less the same - poor but very audible and enough to practice unplugged if you have a good touch for aousic sound in general.
Amplified it sounds kind fatter than AKJ95 on both pickups - but to me this 'fat' is not quite good... it looses in mellowness becomes more plain direct and agressive ....
AG75 feels different, it seemed to me that the neck has different dimensions... amplified it sounds closer to AKJ95.

Then I took again AKJ - definitely better guitar... what I like the most is kind of balance. It looks simple but nice and elegant, feels smooth, the body is very comfortable to hold, not acoustic but loud and sweet enough to practice unplugged (I have real acoustic if I need acoustic), sounds very nice to me amplified.
The thing is I want to sell Epi Broadway - just the money issue now - here it costs about usd 800 used as I have it...
and AKJ95 now usd 400 new with discount...

[Alessandro77]

Ok now this made my day. I own a Sheraton II bought in 2011, and I am a wannabe jazz guitar player (I come from rock/blues). I just can't seem to get that Gibson L-5 "velvet" sound yet, but I am one of those who think that tone is in your hands, so I am working on it

Thanks again! And (going OT) if you have any advice on a nice medium-priced portable amp, that'd be great!

Ale

[christianm77]

Ok now this made my day. I own a Sheraton II bought in 2011, and I am a wannabe jazz guitar player (I come from rock/blues). I just can't seem to get that Gibson L-5 "velvet" sound yet, but I am one of those who think that tone is in your hands, so I am working on it

Thanks again! And (going OT) if you have any advice on a nice medium-priced portable amp, that'd be great!

Ale

One man's medium is another man's high end.... What's your budget?

[Alessandro77]

One man's medium is another man's high end.... What's your budget?

You're absolutely right. I would be ready to put 600-800 euro on an amp now. I've been looking at DV Jazz 12, what do you think? Overall, I need an amp that doesn't crunch at higher volumes (simply because if I want it to crunch I'll add gain, not more volume). Thanks in advance for the advice!!

[Alastair]

Hey Alexandro. I have three Sheraton IIs that I get great fat jazz tone out of. (They're the newer models with the probucker pickups - you may need to swap yours out.) You'll need flat wound 12 gauge strings (I use George Bensons), and a good tube amp (I use a Fender Hot Rod Deville 212). You'll sound as good as my L5 (which I hardly ever play).

[Alessandro77]

Thanks for the tips Alastair! Before I change my PUs, I need to see ehat happens to the tone when I change gauge and amp. Didnt'you have any issues with the guitar when switching to 0.12?

Also, hot rod is a nice choice, but I travel a lot, and I need a smaller and lighter amp. I still need to go and spend one day at a guitar shop!!

[Alastair]

Yes, Alessandro, leave the PU change till last. As the Hot Rod is heavy an my back not what it used to be, I got a Fender Blues Junior to take to rehearsals. It's not as warm as the Hot Rod, perhaps because of the single Fender speaker instead of the twin Celestrions, but you might want to check it out. Good luck!

[christianm77]

You're absolutely right. I would be ready to put 600-800 euro on an amp now. I've been looking at DV Jazz 12, what do you think? Overall, I need an amp that doesn't crunch at higher volumes (simply because if I want it to crunch I'll add gain, not more volume). Thanks in advance for the advice!!

Second hand Henriksen?

Depends how portable you want it. I have no eperience with DV Mark. Henriksens are badass.

Valve wise, many have used a Hotrod Deville. Ungodly loud, those things.

[Nicterims]

My first guitar was Ibanez G10-3Q!!! Pretty good guitar for newbie)