Help me choose an affordable Jazz guitar for my recording studio.

[Jimmy Mack]

So, my vote would go to a larger body, fully hollow guitar to get the desired contrast from all the other more popular guitars that might walk into your studio. P90's. They can be mellowed out but it's harder to get a HB'er to sound like a P90.

I did have a Guild X170 where I put a coil splitting H'ber and switch in for the neck p/up. That's a cool mod........

[Bob_Ross]

This guitar will primarily be for my clients to use at the studio should they choose to do so. Most clients that would benefit from a Jazz guitar will no doubt have invested in their own and have it set up to their exact preference but I do occasionally have a guitarist in the studio, that may not be a jazz guitarist as such, but will be going for that kind of thing on a particular track that we are recording and it's likely that their guitar and the others that I currently have available at the studio won't be suitable so it would be nice to have an appropriate guitar at hand that we can use in such instances.

As a former studio owner -- and a current Ibanez AF75 owner -- I can confidently suggest that the AF75 will almost never get used by clients. The few that might be attracted to an archtop strung with flatwounds will likely be disappointed in what the AF75 is capable of.

IME something more like a Gibson ES-335 (so, from your list, the Epiphone) is way more likely to attract visiting guitarists who think they want something more "jazz-ish" than their personal guitar. It will meet their expectations, and it will appeal to guitarists who aren't necessarily going for a "jazz" sound but just want a different but recognizeable flavor on a track.

[jazzdig]

Ok, when it comes to recommendations so far, it looks like the Epiphone Casino is currently coming out on top with the Ibanez AF Series close behind (along with Eastman and Guild Starfire's). This is definitely helping me in narrowing down my shortlist and has provided me with some addition things to consider when making a choice.

[jeff from new england]

Godin 5th Avenue with P90 pickups is a serious choice. 16 inch body with 3 inch depth and 24.8 inch scale.

[Little Jay]

I have a Gretsch 2420. It's a great guitar at the price point around $499 retail, although I paid $98 for mine with some trade-ins at GC. It's a little heavy, however the fit and finish is outstanding, I believe they are made in Indonesia. It's got a very comfy neck profile and plays very well with accurate intonation. Yes, it does have the coil splitting feature via a push/pull knob on the cutaway horn area.
I haven't done any recording with it, I purchased it to do a Western Swing project a friend was doing for live performance. There were three shows, I plugged into my Evans JE200 and got excellent tone. It will do smoky jazz on the neck pickup no problem.
There is a crazy segment of players out there that don't accept Gretsch guitars as "jazz" guitars, however tell that to Sal Salvador, Mary Osborne and Freddie Green to name a few.

Also on your list I didn't see any Eastman guitars, and they can be really excellent however a little higher on price. I gig with a 05 Pisano 880 and it was my primary working guitar until I replaced it as my #1 with my Benedetto Cremona.

Attachment 124002

I have an older model G2420 with a bigsby (I bought it to have something else than a jazzguitar but it sounds really good for jazz as well) and I can testify to it’s quality. These made in Indonesia guitars are really well made with comfortable necks and I bet the simple trapeze tailpiece model makes a real good jazz guitar.

Of course I couldn’t resist modding mine into a rock’n’roll beast and put some Gretsch FilterTons on it. These pickups are great and offer a different flavour than your regular humbucker or P90. They are humbuckers but sound really clear like single coils without becoming thin!

[AllanAllen]

I do think an Epiphone Broadway is the way to go, if you are taking off list suggestions.

[jazzdig]

G2420.

I do think an Epiphone Broadway is the way to go, if you are taking off list suggestions.

Looks like we have a couple of new contenders!

[jazzdig]

Godin 5th Avenue with P90 pickups is a serious choice. 16 inch body with 3 inch depth and 24.8 inch scale.

I have been looking more into these Godin guitars and occasionally see them come on the pre-owned market in my local area.
From what I understand, the 5th Avenue Kingpin can be purchase with a single P90 or with a pair, so If I were to find one locally that had just the one P90, I'm assuming that I could simply add a 2nd P90 at a later date for a broader tonal palette, should I choose to do so (though probably wont be a need). Based on what I have seen and read in other threads on this forum, the P90 pickups on the Godin guitars are of 'direct mount' design so won't require any cuts into the body. I'm assuming that their pickups can be purchased direct from them?

[Litterick]

I have been looking more into these Godin guitars and occasionally see them come on the pre-owned market in my local area.
From what I understand, the 5th Avenue Kingpin can be purchase with a single P90 or with a pair, so If I were to find one locally that had just the one P90, I'm assuming that I could simply add a 2nd P90 at a later date for a broader tonal palette, should I choose to do so (though probably wont be a need). Based on what I have seen and read in other threads on this forum, the P90 pickups on the Godin guitars are of 'direct mount' design so won't require any cuts into the body. I'm assuming that their pickups can be purchased direct from them?

You could buy a Kingpin with two pickups, but use only one. If you later become bi-curious, all you would need to do is flick the switch.

[jazzdig]

You could buy a Kingpin with two pickups, but use only one. If you later become bi-curious, all you would need to do is flick the switch.

But in the event of finding a good deal local to me on the pre owned market, and that particular 5th Avenue Kingpin only having the one P90 installed...

I'm simply curious to know so that I'm aware of what options are available to me in the event of finding such a guitar, as I've seen more with just the single P90 than with the two.

[AllanAllen]

You could try emailing Godin to see if they'll sell you a pickup. I personally wouldn't worry about it, but that's kind of my thing, not worrying about all the what if's and maybes that get in the way of finishing a goal.

Honestly, you should just buy the archtop you think is prettiest since it'll be hanging on your wall.

[jazzdig]

Ok, after much consideration and having auditioned a few different guitars, I have made a decision and pulled the trigger on a Godin 5th Avenue with Kingpin P90 pickup. When comparing to some of the other guitars, such as the Epiphone Casino, I found that I preferred the sound of the Godin when trying it out through a few different guitar amps, as well as its natural acoustic sound. For a 2nd opinion I took a friend of mine who does occasional session work at my studio, and in addition to the sound of the guitar, we both really liked the feel of the neck on the Godin and it was useful for me to listen at a distance to the guitar while they played various pieces. I'm going to be checking the setup over the coming days and fine tuning if required and I will probably try a few different sets of strings to see what provides the most complimentary/preferred tone, but overall I'm really happy with how this guitar sounds and I'm looking forward to putting it through its paces over the coming weeks. I think that I'm going to enjoy playing this Godin and I feel sure that it will also prove useful to clients that choose to use it at the studio.

Many thanks to everyone that has contributed to this thread and shared their knowledge, experience, thoughts and suggestions which has assisted me in making this decision and has also provided me with some other options for maybe an additional purchase further down the line.

[Saytomatt]

I recently had a similar situation at my studio and ended up grabbing an Epiphone Dot. It’s been super handy for guests who don’t bring their own jazz guitars. The tone works well with flatwounds, and switching between humbuckers and P90-style pickups gave me some nice options for overdubs. Also found GONMAP - Your Local Business Navigator really useful when I needed a quick local luthier for a setup tweak. Made the whole process way less of a headache.