How good of a jazz tone can one get from an Eastman T59/V or T486?

[Lkdog]

Curious if anyone here has direct experience with setting up one of these Eastman semi hollows with lighter gauge flatwounds (11-50's) for jazz and what were their impressions?

I might be looking for a thinner body hollowbody or a second semi-hollow to use for jazz. I do have an ES-335 already but it is setup for blues/blues rock.

Thanks.

[vintagelove]

Well, depends on the amp. Plug it into an old fender or even a Polytone, and it'd sound pretty damn good I imagine.

[Lkdog]

I use an Axe FX 3 digital amp modeler. Can use a variety of traditionally used Fender amps, but in my limited experience with playing traditional jazz the the air of a hollowbody is pretty unique.

[bluejaybill]

Lots of folks use semis for jazz, the difference being what you are mentioning here, they lack "air" to the tone, and often a low mid "thump" from some.

The question is, why a semi? Are thicker hollow bodies uncomfortable? Or is feedback an issue due to the volume you need to play at? Or do you need something more versatile?

If those are the reasons, you will need to compromise a bit in the tone department. Semis definitely have a different tone IMHO. A thinner hollow body like an ES330 or equivalent might be a good compromise, but they still feedback above a certain volume.

And sorry, I don't know the specific Eastmans you mention, so no help there. Good luck!

[Lkdog]

I should probably look for a hollowbody to get the sound I am looking for. Thanks.

[Freddels]

The John Pisano model Eastman is a very nice guitar. I have an AR680 that is great.

[grahambop]

I don’t know about Eastmans, but I recently got an Ibanez AS93 semi-hollow and strung it with flatwound 11s, I think it produces a reasonable jazz tone.

I’ve only recorded this with it so far (just single notes, no chords):

[GNAPPI]

I have an Eastman T-486 and it's a fine compliment to a 335. It has more of an acoustic vibe than my 335 even with lighter strings.

[Gustavo Eiriz]

Eastmans are very resonant, more than its Gibson counterparts, but while acoustically louder the transfer of that to amplified audio is more complex. Muddier hollow bodies seems to have a fuller amplified tone, thats my experience.

The about thin vs big hollow bodied... thin cant emulate bigger oned, if you like175 sound you wont get it it from any 335 derivate.

[Lkdog]

I borrowed a friends 59 ES 175 Reissue again and have been comparing it to my ES 335 and there is difference for sure.

[rpjazzguitar]

I heard Jack Wilkins play a Comins GCS-1 with Strings Attached. Iirc Joe Cohen played a full body, as did Mark Whitfield. Vic Juris was the fourth guitarist -- I can't recall if he played a semi or a full. I do recall he was using a Fuchs amp.

Anyway, I don't think anybody in the audience was thinking, gee, I wish Jack was playing a full hollow body. His tone was not just fine, it caused me to get the same guitar.

But, things can change and/or be perceived differently.

The best jazz guitar sounds I've ever heard up close were from full hollow bodies. A Fender D'Aquisto and a Guild Artist Award. There's a rich, woody quality -- I don't know how to put it into words -- that sounds great. But, you could convince me it was the player more than the guitar.

I can't get anywhere near that sound with the Comins. But, I can get a little closer if I play with my thumb and my other fingers splayed out, Wes-style. The splayed fingers make a big difference. Changes the angle the thumb hits the strings I think.

There you have it. A powerful argument in favor of the semi and a powerful argument in favor of the full hollow.

[Gitterbug]

I've heard some great jazz guitarists live - John Scofield, Pat Metheny, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Lage Lund, Frank Gambale, Mark Whitfield. Different guitars, different amps, different sounds. Powerful arguments but for what? It's the player, not the gear.

[rpjazzguitar]

I've heard some great jazz guitarists live - John Scofield, Pat Metheny, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Lage Lund, Frank Gambale, Mark Whitfield. Different guitars, different amps, different sounds. Powerful arguments but for what? It's the player, not the gear.

Great jazz has been played on every kind of guitar. But, they don't all sound the same. So, it depends on what sound the individual player desires.

[Stringswinger]

Great jazz has been played on every kind of guitar. But, they don't all sound the same. So, it depends on what sound the individual player desires.

I have met many great guitarists whose choice of gear is all about what gear they are given for an endorsement deal. Bruce Forman once told me that if he could ever find a guitar that did not sound like him, he would buy it. While it is true that different gear creates different sounds, in the hands of a great jazz guitarist, those differences are smaller than the same guitars in the hands of a less capable guitarist.

That said, I had a Custom shop Les Paul (57 Black beauty) that had a mahogany top that I was unable to get a jazz sound with, even after a pickup swap. Gear does matter it seems.

[Freddels]

Jens Larsen has a youtube video where he records four different guitars (hollow/semi-hollow and solid body). Then he mixes them all up showing the vid of one while playing the recording of the other. It's uncanny how much they all sounded the same. Check it out.

[Jimmy Mack]

Great jazz has been played on every kind of guitar. But, they don't all sound the same. So, it depends on what sound the individual player desires.

Count me in on that thought, one I've held on to for many a year.
Yes, you can fiddle around and change this and that - to get closer to the sound you want to produce. But.....play a few different guitars and then decide if you need that full hollow body sound - not TONE - but the sound of that kind of instrument , or another??? Only then will YOU know.

And then there is something else...less tangible and not spoken of that much on "gear" forums: maybe it's me, but I do play differently on different types of guitars.

I react differently and therefore change my style a bit. Maybe I just adjust to the voice of the guitar in my hands. Yeah tone is in my fingers and pick, but my "style" can change ( and so my tone also to a degree). Chameleon??

But I suspect it is a common occurrence. And players should court many guitars to find the "one".

[Lkdog]

All good points.
I do tend to end up sounding like myself no matter the guitar.

I have a nice Les Paul, ES 335, Strat, and Tele right now.
It's uncanny how that happens.
But I go through wanting to learn Billy Gibbons, BB and Freddie King, SRV, and Robben Ford phases.

The jazz guy I love is Kenny Burrell.

I guess I am a blues guy at my core.



I am starting to improve as a player and am at the stage of imitating styles and players and then trying to find my own voice in a genre.

It does seem like having certain guitar types helps me learn different styles.

[Gustavo Eiriz]

There is no way to emulate a hollow body with a semi hollow, or a solid guitar. I guess we all agree in this.
Now... if you are great you are going to be great with an Stratocaster and if you are not no expensive archtop will do the trick.

Considering semi-hollows: is certainly possible than in a jazz fusion band context a semi-hollow is great, but in a more acoustic situation, like (lets say) piano, double bass, guitar, light drumming a semihollow sound a little thin, it wont avoid music to be expressed anyway.

For solo jazz guitar i guess that, if you go clean, a full hollow body is unbeatble. Imagine Joe Pass playing it in a Telecaster, wouldnt be the same.

[Average Joe]

The proof of the pudding - so many players have been playing straight ahead on semis over the years. No reason they can't work. I'd also question whether "jazz tone" is one thing or a range of sounds that are all within the idiom. During the recent local jazz festival I saw and heard fairly traditional, otherwise acoustic jazz played on hollow, semis, teles, etc. It all worked.

But if you want that particular thing that a hollowbody does, you have to get one

OP, if you're in doubt, try setting up your current 335 with a set of stout flatwounds, and see how you like it. How close you can get to your ideal tone. If you can get it on the 335, you can in all likelyhood get it on the Eastman

[Sigmund451]

Jens Larsen has a youtube video where he records four different guitars (hollow/semi-hollow and solid body). Then he mixes them all up showing the vid of one while playing the recording of the other. It's uncanny how much they all sounded the same. Check it out.

I watched that the other day and put my credit card back in the wallet!

[rpjazzguitar]

My all time favorite guitar sounds have come from archtops.

But I play a semi. Partly it's because I couldn't tame feedback with a hollow -- and, with hindsight I probably could have. But there was another factor. It falls under the heading "tone" but I think of it as attack and decay, mostly decay. Some of what I do, for single note work, requires more sustain than I seem to get from the archtops I've tried. I also like the smaller size of the guitar.

The middle of the note doesn't sound that much different to me, but the beginning and end do.

Chords are a different story. There's a certain woody (for want of a better descriptor) sound that I've only heard from some archtops that sounds terrific for chords.

[Jonathan0996]

I've heard players get great sound with cheap guitars and I've heard others get crappy sound with great guitars.

If you can get a good jazz sound out of a guitar, you should be able to do it with an Eastman semi-hollow.

[Lkdog]

Jens Larsen has a youtube video where he records four different guitars (hollow/semi-hollow and solid body). Then he mixes them all up showing the vid of one while playing the recording of the other. It's uncanny how much they all sounded the same. Check it out.

I saw that. Really interesting.

[Skip Ellis]

Gee, I don't think Ed Bickert needed an archtop....just sayin'