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This is very interesting. Excellent player and good recording.
He states:
"I mainly use Thomastik-Infeld JS112 jazz guitar strings. And I use ERNIE BALL Regular Slinky (.010-.046) on my Les Paul. The picks I use are D'Andrea 385."
"I recorded the sound of guitars coming out of both amps, Henriksen Jazz Amp TEN and Fender Princeton Reverb. It's a mix of the sounds from the 2 amps. I wanted to get as neutral a sound as possible, because I thought that the sound from one amp would have a strong individuality of the amp. I use one amp for my daily playing. The sound heard while actually playing has a slightly stronger midrange than the sound in the video".
Gibson LesPaul Standard 1996 0:03
Gibson ES-175 1958 0:46
Fender Custom Shop 1952 Telecaster Relic 2019 1:34
Gibson ES-125 1963 2:22
Gibson L-5 CES 2015 3:06
ALL 3:53
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11-16-2025 01:02 PM
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Frankly to me they all sounded nice and full a real jazz tone. While they sounded bit different after a few bars the same. What is tells me is that sound is in the hands first and foremost. It also has much to do with the strings you use and the amps and settings. In this case of this video as much as I would like to say the trusty L5 sounded the best it did not. It simply sounds like the other great and yet by far the most expensive guitar. Play what inspires you and forget the rest.
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Gibson ES-125 1963 2:22
I liked this guitar the most - a very noble jazz sound with a soul.
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An ES-125 is still a very underrated jazz guitar….
Originally Posted by kris
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All do the job quite well. Play what inspires you....
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Yeah, they all sound quite good. I have slight preference for the L5, but when you listen to the last section at 3:53 > they sound pretty similar.
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They all sounded fine. If I had to pick one, it would be the 125, as played here. Sounded a little warmer.
I'll guess that he used the same amp and settings for each guitar. That's to be expected, with the caveat that he's not optimizing the sound of each guitar. If he did it that way, adjusting each guitar to sound its best, then there would be a question about his adjustments. No perfect way to do it.
The main surprise was that the SC Tele didn't sound all that much different than the HB guitars.
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FYI, the P-90 equipped 125 is a SC as well...... Originally Posted by rpjazzguitar
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That's correct. Less surprising to me because a lot of classic jazz was recorded with P90. Originally Posted by Stringswinger
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The differences are incredibly narrow. The final potpourri could have been from one guitar. I think the feel and responsiveness of an archtop on your lap is a big part of its charm.
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I thought the ES175 sounded a little more transparent and 'airier' than the rest, and was my favorite by a small margin. Probably the ES125 next. But all were pretty close, and in a gig situation is probably wouldn't be possible to tell the difference blindfolded.
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+1 "What is tells me is that the sound is in the hands first and foremost."
Originally Posted by deacon Mark
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Arthur Benade, an important figure in the study of musical acoustics, published a now well known study on musical acoustics and perception. In short, he found that devoid of the initial attack of a note, the vast majority of people couldn't tell the note of a violin from that of a trumpet. To the human ear, the important distinguishing character of an instrument is contained in the information in that extremely short but essential attack transient. The way a note decays, the way it forms the decay envelope is also a major player on long notes where the prominence of the individual harmonic series forms the organic breath of characteristic instruments.
I've worked with instrument acoustics and this came as a shocking revelation to me but a life of acoustical research and guitar building all evidences to these undeniable facts. But what really makes a difference to me as a builder and as a player is the physical feedback I get from in instrument. Some guitars give me such a feeling of connection and rewards me with SO much of what I want to get from each note; there are guitars that literally resonate with me that I can't put them down. My own discrimination has become better with time, but even when I was a lame newbie, I remember picking up an old D'Angelico New Yorker on 48th street in the old music row. THAT feeling is with me today.
I don't know what any of the guitars I have been impressed by sounded like to anyone but me, but I can say that when a guitar feels right, I play things I didn't think I can play, I hear things I didn't know were in me and I feel a flow of creative thought that the instrument does not stand in the way of.
Make all the comparisons you want on YouTube (which takes a sound sample from one point of a mic and not any resonance of the room that YOU hear). The best sound comes from the instrument that becomes a part of the player.
In my 2 cent opinion.
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I went back to listen again and was making sourdough bread so not focused on video. I did notice the Les Paul had what I call the dirtiest sound, not bad at all just almost could hear a bit of breakup in the playing faint sound. I was most impressed by the Tele's sound since I am not a Fender player in the least and avoid them completely. I might at this point give just a slight edge to the 125. For chords it seemed a tad fuller than the L5.
Moral on that is don't judge the sound of a guitar by the sticker price mostly. This is off topic but it is Sunday and this is cooling for dinner with a Beer and some Ravioli.
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I guess I will always prefer hollow bodied guitars over solids, for that great alive jazz sound, but, that Telecaster sure did sound great!
The 175 and the 125 are "old wood" guitars, by age. That L5 sounds like it needs another 20 years to blossom, but it does have that hollow body sound and its own voice.
Great demonstration!!!
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I just cannot play a solidbody guitar at least for very long just not inspiring to me. Also, the fellow used his thumb much like Barney Kessel. That is completely foreign in my playing. I will in certain occasions playing solo arrangements reach with the thumb to get a something odd, but it is completely against the way I play and using the index finger as focal barring. A Tele and thumbs sound good maybe I need to take note. Originally Posted by Jimmy Mack
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I though I would definitely lean towards the L5, but the 125 really sounded stellar!
Cheers,
Arnie..
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Im with you, the essence of the sauce my wife is making is in the air, its almost time for some noodles and gravy...or ravioli since well have sauce in stock! Originally Posted by deacon Mark
I went back to listen again and was making sourdough bread so not focused on video. I did notice the Les Paul had what I call the dirtiest sound, not bad at all just almost could hear a bit of breakup in the playing faint sound. I was most impressed by the Tele's sound since I am not a Fender player in the least and avoid them completely. I might at this point give just a slight edge to the 125. For chords it seemed a tad fuller than the L5.
Moral on that is don't judge the sound of a guitar by the sticker price mostly. This is off topic but it is Sunday and this is cooling for dinner with a Beer and some Ravioli.
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If you want to hear a tele with Ernie Ball .010's sound like a vintage PAF ES175 or L5 with .012 TI's, play something chordal with your fingers and run it through some mix of a rolled back Henriksen Jazz 10 and Princeton into a youtube feed.
Could have added a strat, LP, or pretty much anything else.
It isn't just about how you play. Your gear has to allow you to hear what the guitar is capable of.
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Think this just illustrates the point others are already making. The tone is coming from the player. A seasoned player is going to sound closer to wes, or grant, or whatever player you admire, on a telecaster than any novice on an L5 will.
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Beautiful, Deacon! Please send a slice! Originally Posted by deacon Mark
This is off topic but it is Sunday and this is cooling for dinner with a Beer and some Ravioli.
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I started to nod off when watching the vid. Not because of the content but because I've had a busy day and I've been giving my new to me '58 125 it's first airing rehearsing with my trio.
Anyway, I came round to the sound of the 125 - and a very fine sound it was too! The 175 is a cool customer. I liked the sound of the LP. I would have liked to hear the L5 with a 57.
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I know it's subjective and just my opinions. That being said, seems the comparison should be the difference the gear makes to an individual player at their particular level. Not pro vs beginner. A relative beginner will sound quite different on a tele through a rolled back Jazz 10 vs. an L5 through a twin. And that's before we even get into the acoustic spectrum available in the archtop family. I'm sure a pro can make a tele or anything else sound better than a beginner. But if that same pro plays something nice (thinking of SSwngr and his D'Angelico or NvrShldHvSldIt using his Eastman) through a setup suited to the guitar, it will IMHO, sound better than if they were using a tele with .010 Ernie's. Assuming you like the sound of a nice archtop to begin with and if you are in the camp where tone matters. Originally Posted by omphalopsychos
As for amateurs like me.. the sound of a good guitar through a good setup makes a lot of difference. I like all kinds of guitars and amps. But I find different rigs work best in different applications and even at my modest playing level a nice archtop with good EQ and good amplification sounds quite different from a tele with .010's.
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Enjoyed the comparison. For my ears it was:
1. 175
2. Telecaster
3. L5
4. Les Paul
5. 125
I’m surprised the 125 received such favorable responses. It had quite a subdued tone to me.
AKA
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To me the 125 was a tad nasal. Some eq adjustment might clear that up a little.
They all sounded really good and could easily be used. That said, every HB sounded like an HB and a solid doesnt imitate that. Its just there to be noticed. That doesnt mean its a better sound, it just depends on what you are chasing.
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