My First Jazz Guitar - Help!

[Patrick2]

Nope, 315 is not part of my real name. ehehe
I apologize for the confusion, I should have made my post a little more informative.

As a matter a fact, I really do not own any guitar other than my steel stringed acoustic, and this purchase would pretty much be my first take at owning an electric guitar. I've been considering the full hollow / semi-hollow because jazz solos really are what make my heart speed up, but I'm still very "fresh" at guitar playing, and maybe it does make sense to have a solid body first, such as a telecaster, and later on move onto a hollow body, but what do you think? Could a beautiful epiphone casino or sheraton II be as versatile as a telecaster, and still provide that warm mellow tone for jazz which I 'm looking for?

I'll just jump in here and offer up my opinion. If as you say you are relatively new to guitar playing, and as yet haven't totally experienced learning and playing different types of music . . . . I would think that you are going to be much better served with a Casino type guitar than a solid body . . . or a fully hollow bodied guitar. The semi will allow you to comfortably learn and play . . .. anything. Then, if your taste remains strongest for jazz guitar, you could move on afterwards to what ever floats your boat.

[cjm]

As a matter a fact, I really do not own any guitar other than my steel stringed acoustic, and this purchase would pretty much be my first take at owning an electric guitar.

Well, hell. I thought I was really onto something...

Actually though, one thing you might consider is buying a sound hole pickup for the guitar you've got and buying an amp. Something like this:
GuitarCenter

Then (depending on the model pickup you get) you might string it up with nickle strings instead of bronze and get to work.

No, it's probably not going to be a great sounding jazz guitar. But you're also probably not looking at playing gigs within a year or so anyway, and the money you save can go toward a decent amp, and some acoustics with such a pickup actually do sound fairly good through an amp suited to jazz.

Something to think about. Defer expense, continue to learn theory and technique, and add to your stable once you have more experience under your belt.

[rpguitar]

Either way, the choice between a Casino or a Tele (or a Strat, or Les Paul type for that matter) is just not that critical. I mean, it really isn't. These are common, versatile electric guitars that can be and have been used for nearly any kind of music, and (most importantly) they can all be setup to be very playable. The decision at this point comes down to your sense of aesthetics and the "vibe" you want.

The Casino is like the Gibson ES-330 used by Grant Green and Emily Remler. The Tele is like Ed Bickert, Mike Stern, and Ted Greene. Nearly every iconic electric guitar has had someone famous appear with it at some point throughout history. Go with your vanity here.

CJM's suggestion is perfectly valuable too; it's just not as much fun as buying a new guitar! I will say, though, as a person who has played for about 35 years in total but primarily on acoustic for the past 5... that really working on your acoustic guitar chops will make you fly on an electric. There's nothing like it for developing strength and dexterity.

[MrCharles315]

Thanks for your advice cjm, I really do appreciate it, but I'm really set on going electric, as I've played in quite a few and they're just so much fun for trying stuff out, and I really think I'd learn faster than on my stiff acoustic.
As such, would you agree with Patrick2, in regard to an epiphone casino being a nice choice?

EDIT: Thx rpguitar, I really do agree that it's more fun to buy a new guitar, ehehe. And, as far as my vanity goes, I really would have no doubts in going for a casino as they're just so *beautiful* I won't leave my acoustic behind though, it's still a very nice guitar and useful to practice.

[cjm]

Thanks for your advice cjm, I really do appreciate it, but I'm really set on going electric, as I've played in quite a few and they're just so much fun for trying stuff out, and I really think I'd learn faster than on my stiff acoustic.
As such, would you agree with Patrick2, in regard to an epiphone casino being a nice choice?

Well, I have played/owned some semi-hollows, and I've played, but not owned, a Casino.

My own preference is for a deeper bodied archtop electric. And that is the only perspective from which I can answer. It isn't about tone, per se...more about the level of aural and tactile feedback provided by the guitar even when playing through an amp. Plus, the Casino has a shorter scale than I like.

But those considerations don't necessarily apply to anyone else. And absolutely...a Casino is capable of making all the jazz noises you want to make with the right setup.

So yes, it is potentially a "nice choice."

I don't necessarily agree that you would learn more quickly than you would with your "stiff acoustic." "Stiff acoustic" can mean a lot of different things to a lot of different people. You see, I don't have any way of knowing whether your "stiff acoustic" is a $75.00 pawn shop wreck with loose frets and a permanently bowed neck, or a nice clean Ovation with a fairly light action as acoustic flat top actions go.

If it's a decent guitar, then switching to a good electric like the Casino might make it seem as if you're suddenly progressing at a higher rate for a couple of weeks...but over a period of a year you might have progressed further with the acoustic.

If it's a broken down wreck, then sure...you'll learn a lot faster with a better guitar.

If you are taking lessons, I suggest you also discuss this idea with your instructor. Unless he or she is also selling guitars (and feeling a bit hungry) the advice offered might be better than you can get here, because your guitar and your skill level is better known to your instructor than any of us can guess at.

[Peter C]

If you like hollow body guitars, I think your original idea to buy an Artcore AF75 and a Roland 40XL is sound. Good enough to gig with.

My own AF75 can do hollow body Funk, Rock and Country (I imagine) just fine. It's a blast to play, too. Recommended string gauge would be at least 11s. Mine seems to prefer pure nickel strings to the nickel plated type (so do I). Flatwounds are great but will limit versatility (Rock).

I remember seeing someone on YouTube playing Heavy Metal on an AF75. It didn't sound any worse than a solid body.

The pickups will be fine to start off with. You may want to get a tech to replace the string nut for one with wider spacing because the stock one (on mine) makes things a bit cramped.

[gcb]

The Casino has single coil dog eared P90 pickups.
A 335 will normally have humbuckers.
There is a difference there you should also consider. If you are decided to go electric try guitars with both kind of pickups.

[goshawk]

Just to muddy the waters a bit, you might want to look at the Eastman El Rey 2 or 3.

They position the ER 2 as a "deluxe jazz model" -- it's fully hollow but small and without f-holes. It has a spruce top on maple back and sides and a jazz tailpiece.

The ER 3 is "semi-hollow," in that it has a block under the bridge. It's maple on mahogany and has a stop tailpiece.

Here's a

- not sure what model.

And here's a

.

[MrCharles315]

Again, I'd like to thank all of you for your contributions, they have been most helpful, I'd also like to apologize for taking so long to reply.

@cjm:
Well, my "stiff" acoustic must be somewhere in between of $75 and the Ovation. I bought it right when I started guitar following the advice of my instructor and so far it hasn't let me down. It's from what I gather to be a Chinese brand called "Academy", but I really don't have any more info on it. I'm really just looking for a change of tone and the possibility to experiment new things with more "ease".

My instructor does sell guitars unfortunately, and he might be a bit hungry with all the economical problems we've been having around here. ehehe

I've been watching quite a few YouTube videos of different guitars, and I'm pretty sure I'm going for the Epiphone Sheraton II, as it seems to be the most versatile of the thinlines. It sounds amazing for blues, as stated by Doctor Jeff, it was John Lee Hooker's main guitar, it can also be a very well sounding jazz machine, and I've seen some other examples of it rockin' and funkin' very nicely also. I think I'll buy it as being an all rounder, and for now, considering I still have plenty to learn about everything I think it'll do just fine.

Now, all I'm missing is the second half of the equation, the amp. I've seen the Fender Super Champ XD in action in quite a few videos (some even with the Sheraton II) and it sounds great. It does stand a little out of my budget, and being it a tube amp, does it not require regular maintenance? I'm really not going for gigs anytime soon so this amp would be just a practice amp. Any ideas?

[cjm]

I'm really not going for gigs anytime soon so this amp would be just a practice amp. Any ideas?

Yes. But you're not going to like my idea.

Here it is anyway.

The Fender Super Champ XD is an inexpensive amplifier. If, as you say, that is a bit out of your budget, do not even think about buying a different guitar at this time.

Buy a sound hole magnetic pickup for your acoustic guitar.

Then revisit your budget. If the Fender Super Champ XD is still beyond budget, continue playing the acoustic without an amp until something in the price range of the Super Champ XD is in your price range.

That said, the Super Champ XD may or may not be the right amp for you. That doesn't matter at this moment, because it is at least, in a reasonable price range. There are other amps -- new and used -- that might be better suited to your needs...but since they're outside of budget...you cannot afford to buy one at this time. That is the bottom line.

A new electric guitar and a lousy amp, or a new electric guitar and no amp at all, represents no advantage over what you have now, and actually, probably a bit of a disadvantage.

Buy the sound hole pickup, and if that allows you to afford an amp in the price range of a Fender Super Champ XD, then it is worth considering what amp represents the best choice/value.

If not, buy the pickup and begin saving for an amp so that it doesn't represent a financial sacrifice or burden when it is time to buy an amp.

Now, I understand that you aren't going to take that advice, but I feel a responsibility as someone who is clearly a damned sight older than you are to offer it anyway.

Show this thread to some old guy and see what he has to say.

[jorgemg1984]

Look for a second hand 80s solid state amp - Peavey Bandit 65, Roland old Cubes, Yamaha G series, Fender M80... they are usually very cheap, loud, clean and have decent reverb. Where exactly do you live? A guy on the forum just scored a 1x15 80s Cube for less than 50 pounds I think - you cant beat that!

[pauln]

Some thoughts...

The Ibanez jazz guitars are fine. I play the AG-175 on stage and it sounds perfect. Got it new for under $300 a few years back. It has a nice low "thump" in the tone that suits jazz and blues real well. Only things I changed were to lower the pickups all the way down, swap out the metal bridge for a one-peice wood bridge, and I put big fat flat wound strings on it (high E is "13").
Lowering the pickups gives a very natural tone and response. Even with the bridge cable sized strings, the guitar is a breeze to play.
For performance I use either a Princeton or a Deluxe Reverb, both are small tube amps, and with the pickups lowered all the way down I play these amps clean at full volume and get perfect tone at stage level - not too loud at all.

As far as what to do starting out, it is really not so important what you have in the beginning. I started out playing a $29 solid body electric WITHOUT AN AMP for the first SIX YEARS!

So what I mean is that what you can learn on is different than what you need to perform with... If you can manage to get nice stuff at the beginning, that is great. But, as you develop you will likely discover many things and your "requirements" will change; so it is not a bad strategy to adjust your gear as you go rather than trying to hit the final configuration too early to know the difference.

The suggestion to put a pickup on your acoustic is interesting. One of my favorite jazz albums is "Extrapolation" 1968 or 1969, John McLaughlin in his early 20's playing with bass, sax, and drums... he used an acoustic guitar with a sound hole pickup.

The suggestion to get a Telecaster is interesting, too. I learned all my earliest jazz on a '72 Tele Custom and Gibson G-20 solid state amp. What you learn, and learn to play and hear, is much more important than what you play it on... when the time comes that you "need" to have certain gear, you will know what you need.

[MrCharles315]

I knew I hadn't heard the last from you cjm!

Well, I'll just cut to the chase, I'm a foolish and reckless young guitar lover, holding a passion for jazz and carrying 800€ currently burning a hole in my pocket. And in this particular instance, I also have complete disregard for the wise advice of wiser men.
I thank you for your concern, and I appreciate the care, but, being as foolish as I'm being now, I will not follow your wise advice.

Now, *trying to* move on I really could go for the Super Champ XD, my budget is not that tight, but surely not all amplifiers bellow the price of the Champ are "lousy", no? And by the way, you did not answer my question on tube amplifiers such as the Champ requiring additional maintenance.
What say you?

[cjm]

being as foolish as I'm being now, I will not follow your wise advice.

Well, you cannot move in with me when you piss away your last penny, so go right ahead! There's no room anyway, what with my own kids not following my excellent advice either!

Now, *trying to* move on I really could go for the Super Champ XD, my budget is not that tight, but surely not all amplifiers bellow the price of the Champ are "lousy", no? And by the way, you did not answer my question on tube amplifiers such as the Champ requiring additional maintenance.
What say you?

Okay, fine. I hate tubes. I spent decades working with tubes in a different field. In guitar amps, they sound great...when they work. But they don't necessarily sound any better than solid state.

I think jorgemg1984 nailed it with his advice above...look for an older, all solid state amp. Don't know about the European market, but here in the States you could buy a used Polytone MB II for what a new Super Champ XD will cost you. For less money, the amps jorgemg1984 mentioned would fill the bill.

Impetuous youth!

[Skjold]

If you definitely want a full hollowbody I would suggest a Godin Kingpin CW II. The two P90 pickups will give you a wide range of tones, and the guitar is a great value for the price. I have one and I love it. Google the cognac burst, it's a very handsome guitar.

If you are open to a solidbody guitar, I would also recommend a telecaster. The tele would be a bit easier to play than a hollowbody (easier access to higher frets, easier to form chords, etc) and can cover a broad spectrum of sounds. With that said though, I do love my Godin.

For amps, I have owned a bunch and think the Roland Cube would be a good place to start. You can always move up to a more expensive tube amp later if you decide you want one, and for now the Cube would give you a lot of sound options (I really like the jazz chorus, blackface, and tweed sounds) and it also has the advantage of a headphone jack for quiet practice. I used to own the Cube 30 and it was a nice amp. I also own the microcube bass amp (RX) and I love it so much I have been tempted by the guitar version. I really love the battery powered aspect (no cables) and the built in drum machine is great for developing timing.

[Silentwiz]

I have way too much stuff... and the cubes are my go to amps. Yes, you can buy much nicer sounding stuff (AI, Henriksen, etc), but the price tag goes up remarkably. Further, most casual listeners will really struggle to acknowledge the difference.

On the guitar front, I've sure tried to bond with hollow/semi and I just plain can't do it. Hurts my back, hurts my shoulder, forget it.

I'm with the guy who said a Seymour Duncan Alnico Pro II pickup in anything works.

I have a handful of guitars these days, but I sure love my Squier Classic Vibe 60s Strat with a single SD Alnico Pro II in the neck. I could (and do) play a lot more pricey instruments, but this one really sings to me.

[Helgo]

Hi Mr. Charles.

I played some guitars from the Ibanez AF range and none of them was a bad guitar. For my feeling they lack a little bit in "mojo", but they are really well built and great sounding guitars, especially considerung the price. (up to now I never owned one, though)

As for Telecasters I can recommend the Fender MIM´s. There are good ones and bad ones, and one person´s good one might just be the next person´s bad one, if you know what I mean. So either you could go to a store that has a lot of different tellys there or you order from someone with a return policy. As you seem to be located in Europe, I can recommend thomann.

Also, rockinger.de offers really good Teles at a decent price.

I would probably go for (at least ) two guitars, probably a hollowbody and a Tele...

The most important thing, imho, is that you have the guitar set up by a guitar tech. This really is essential. A good guitar tech will turn a factory product into an instrument at the cost of two crates of beer... I never regretted one Euro I spent on a guitar setup.

As for amps I don´t think you can go wrong with the Cube 40xl. It will suit you for a long while as your playing develops and even if you are jamming with others. Once your playing evolves you will automatically develop a taste of your own and you can buy something more sophisticated (and expensive) when you know what you want.

Hope this helps,
Cheers,

H.


Edit: I just read the rest of the thread and saw that you´re going for a Sheraton II. Definetely not a bad choice imo, if you don´t happen to get a bad one by bad luck. Have fun with it!

[mje]

A few thoughts:

1. You can play any style of music on any guitar, really. Gabor Szabo played jazz on an Ovation Acoustic with a magnetic pickup on it. Ed Bickert played a Tele. Charlie Byrd and Earl Klugh use(d) classical guitars. And so on. That having been said, I gotta say I largely agree with the 335 crowd. For a new guitarist, I'd recommend the Epiphone Dot.

2. Don't buy an old solid state amp- at least, not unless you really know what you're doing. While many are fine, repairing some is near impossible. They use parts that are unavailable, or that can only be replaced by someone who understands the circuit topology well enough to reconfigure it.

[richard vandyne]

mr charles let me put to you my recent experience because it is like your situation. i had been looking for a jazz guitar(inexpensive) for a long time and wanted something that looked great , had a mellow tone and would be good for other types of music aside from jazz. my quandry was acoustics and electric. i really liked the epi shearton 2 and heard it was good acoustically as well as electric. since i was on a budget and didn,t want to buy an amp i thought also about an epi es175 archtop. the shearton looked better and was more impressive so i bought it (600) WHEN IT GOT TO MY HOME I SOON FOUND OUT THAT IT WAS TERRIBLE ACOUSTICALLY. now i had to buy an amp. and it was the wrong one. what a mess. if i would have bought the es175 instead i could have had an axe that would play both ways and could have saved a lot of problems. semi-hollow guitars need amps. if i were you i would consider buting a guitar that is a hollowbody that you like and can be played electrically. just another thought !!!!

[oldskoolchop]

i have not been able to read all of the post that have been posted so sorry if i repeat things that have already been said, i have the ibanez artcore as73 semi, the ibanez 335 copy, it is a great semi and has some good jazz tones, great great blues tones, and some descent rock, although i recomend solid body for rock, but if you want a jazz tone first and a rock tone is secondary than a semi will do you just fine, as for the pups, in my opinion with any entry level ibanez (and most the time any other) be ready to change them, all of the artcore that i have played, my semi and others and even the full hollow, the pickups are exactly what you call entry level, and speaking for myself, I chose my guitar with the understanding the pups would be changed

[jazzsinger99]

A few tips on buying a quality archtop for a great price (at a budget of 800 Euro or about $1100$) you can actually do quite well:
1. Don't buy brand new. Just like a car, the minute you walk out of the store, the value (think ebay, Craig's list) goes down perhaps 30-40%.
2. As such, go to Guitar Center, Sam Ash or any shop that lets you try out a bunch of archtops. Find what you like best and learn how to do auto searches on ebay (daily emails) and craig's list (get their pro version phone app) and you'll eventually score your favorite at well below retail.
3. For a great price/value all solid wood archtop, check out Loar. Outstanding archtops, beautiful "remakes". I scored a used LH-550 for under $600. They now have entry models in that price range brand new.
4. For great price/value laminates, check out Peerless. I payed $700 for a used Jazz City and that model has a solid top.
5. Another way to go but this will take some education on your part is to try out some vintage archtops that normally sell at the $1,000 price point (think gibson ES 125, Epiphone Zephyr or Century...) and find one with non original parts. Now your $700 can score you something like a 1955 ES 125 but with perhaps no pickguard and "improved" tuners. I recently scored a 1940 ES 300 with new tuners and pickup swapped out for a Johnny Smith for $850 (this is a $4000 guitar if all original)!
6. OK, so you've spent say $700 or so on your Craig's List discovery archtop. Now how 'bout an amp for $400. While some folks do not like "acoustic" amps for archtops, my Fender Acoustasonic (spelling?) sounds awesome with my Loar and the Acoustasonic Jr. version can be found on Craig's for under $200. Used Fender Hot Rod Deluxe can be had for under $400, as can Cavin Nomad or BelAire. All great tube amps for jazz clean. Roland Cubes also in your price range..
Hope this helped a little.
Gerry
PS: This is my first post.

[mambosun]

I'm now considering to give a try to a "Floating full sized Humbucker" option, in order to replace my otherwise very good bartolini PU which, for my taste at least, is a bit too Hifi and faithfull to the acoustic sound of my asian Jazzbox.
I will soon question my luthier regarding this reversible conversion but would like to have your insight about which Humbucker options I have, beside the standard Classic 57 some posters found rather bright sounding?
Ideally, I'd like to keep the clean resonant sound from my Barto with a little bit more "meat" and bloom.

[Little Jay]

Aaaai.... I am afraid that Gramps put his finger on the sore spot: you are looking for something that your current guitar is not.... to walk the path of modding and changing the guitar in search for your Holy Grail might cost more in the end then to just sell it and find something more to your likings..... (I can know: been there, done that....).

[stevedenver]

my 2 cents
i support tinkering-think of it as tuition-having done it, and spent a fair amount in the process-on boutique pick ups, pots and caps and wiring mods on my les pauls and stratocasters

it is expensive-imho-hundred++ (for plain jane decent non boutique stuff) or more for picks ups, and more for caps and pots-and then perhaps another go-if you then sell the barely used old stuff, you will take a hit

-you WILL learn a lot-you might not, however, acheive your goal-think of it as the means and not the end-but then again you might-pick ups DO color the sound a great deal, but...so does the guitar -you can change light blue to dark blueish purple, but not to green or red-if you get my analogy

it does sound like the bartolini is accurate, and therefore perhaps the guitars sound, while it might be colored, is not what you like when revealed by these accurate, transparent and well respected pick ups

changing things can make a difference, but imho practice makes more-nevertheless, things can certainly be dialed in-and often, its trial and error, which makes it expensive

to answer your question-i think 57s are very nice, they are warm and middy, with huge bottom, and on some guitars muddy unless you have decent pots and cap values, which will let the top end through

and the choice of the right pick up DOES vary according to each instrument, even of the same model -the same pick up in a 2 different les pauls, may sound great in one and flat or even terrible in the other

if you can find some old gibson tim shaws, at a reasonable price-they have , as i recall 186 and 187 (or 168 167) cant recall right now-

printed on the backs-one being the neck and one the bridge-better still-a great PAF style attempt
and
without a doubt-
Seymour Duncan set lovers-or antiquities-both great quality and very affordable

imho 490s are fine too-but probably not higher out put 498s and certainly not 500t , or liekly, cermic magnet high out put type pick ups

i might also suggest that it is critical, truly, to take the time to get the pick up height where you like it , and then most importantly, to adjust each and every pole piece-make a note of where you start, and then, by quarter turns adjust up or down from your starting point, keeping notes so you can return to factory-

this last bit will adjust volume/balance of strings, it can add sparkle and reduce boominess

the other thing that you should bear in mind, if you are wishing to 'warm up the guitar'
after the pick ups,
consider both the pots and caps
500k on a humbucker will give lots of clarity and cut-i prefer audio taper over linear taper
300k is what gibson used for many decades-they have less treble-and can be muddy-but on a bright gutiar they MIGHT be fine -i have them on a stock older LP and they either have drifted, or are perfect as the guitar is not muddy at all-but not bright, not as bright as my guitars with 500k pots
and try a .022 mf cap- Hovland oil in paper-

there are other values and makes-each sound different-the wrong value, like a .011 can make a super 400 sound like a very bad pedal steel
there are ways to preserve treble too, when rolling back volume, if you decide thats what you need-
and the 300/500k and caps thing applies to tone controls as well

caps also can really make changes you will easily hear and perhaps like
caps can affect shrillness, brittleness, and bite-as well as making things round, clear, warm, and muscial
fwiw

[mambosun]

my 2 cents
i support tinkering-think of it as tuition-having done it, and spent a fair amount in the process-on boutique pick ups, pots and caps and wiring mods on my les pauls and stratocasters

it is expensive-imho-hundred++ (for plain jane decent non boutique stuff) or more for picks ups, and more for caps and pots-and then perhaps another go-if you then sell the barely used old stuff, you will take a hit

-you WILL learn a lot-you might not, however, acheive your goal-think of it as the means and not the end-but then again you might-pick ups DO color the sound a great deal, but...so does the guitar -you can change light blue to dark blueish purple, but not to green or red-if you get my analogy

it does sound like the bartolini is accurate, and therefore perhaps the guitars sound, while it might be colored, is not what you like when revealed by these accurate, transparent and well respected pick ups

changing things can make a difference, but imho practice makes more-nevertheless, things can certainly be dialed in-and often, its trial and error, which makes it expensive

to answer your question-i think 57s are very nice, they are warm and middy, with huge bottom, and on some guitars muddy unless you have decent pots and cap values, which will let the top end through

and the choice of the right pick up DOES vary according to each instrument, even of the same model -the same pick up in a 2 different les pauls, may sound great in one and flat or even terrible in the other

if you can find some old gibson tim shaws, at a reasonable price-they have , as i recall 186 and 187 (or 168 167) cant recall right now-

printed on the backs-one being the neck and one the bridge-better still-a great PAF style attempt
and
without a doubt-
Seymour Duncan set lovers-or antiquities-both great quality and very affordable

imho 490s are fine too-but probably not higher out put 498s and certainly not 500t , or liekly, cermic magnet high out put type pick ups

i might also suggest that it is critical, truly, to take the time to get the pick up height where you like it , and then most importantly, to adjust each and every pole piece-make a note of where you start, and then, by quarter turns adjust up or down from your starting point, keeping notes so you can return to factory-

this last bit will adjust volume/balance of strings, it can add sparkle and reduce boominess

the other thing that you should bear in mind, if you are wishing to 'warm up the guitar'
after the pick ups,
consider both the pots and caps
500k on a humbucker will give lots of clarity and cut-i prefer audio taper over linear taper
300k is what gibson used for many decades-they have less treble-and can be muddy-but on a bright gutiar they MIGHT be fine -i have them on a stock older LP and they either have drifted, or are perfect as the guitar is not muddy at all-but not bright, not as bright as my guitars with 500k pots
and try a .022 mf cap- Hovland oil in paper-

there are other values and makes-each sound different-the wrong value, like a .011 can make a super 400 sound like a very bad pedal steel
there are ways to preserve treble too, when rolling back volume, if you decide thats what you need-
and the 300/500k and caps thing applies to tone controls as well

caps also can really make changes you will easily hear and perhaps like
caps can affect shrillness, brittleness, and bite-as well as making things round, clear, warm, and muscial
fwiw

Thanks a lot for your long and informative reply. I already have SD Antiquity on my Telecaster and I am really happy with it.
I will soon investigate the Seth Lover and HB Antiquity options.