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Speaking of Kenny Burrell's gear, I find this picture really interesting: Looks like an L5 with a Florentine cutaway, Charlie Christian pickup, and Super V "fingers" tailpiece!
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01-07-2017 01:27 PM
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Has anyone ever just asked KB straight up what guitar, amp, etc. was used on "Midnight Blue?" I mean, he's active, articulate, and a very fine gentleman who likely would be very gracious in response to a player's inquiry.
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Kenny mentions this guitar in his "Vintage Guitar" magazine interview:
Originally Posted by lawson-stone
Speaking of Kenny Burrell's gear, I find this picture really interesting: Looks like an L5 with a Florentine cutaway, Charlie Christian pickup, and Super V "fingers" tailpiece!
Worth Reading!
"Earlier, you had a Gibson ES-175 and then a custom L-5 CES with a Florentine cutaway. That was years before the Florentine cutaway on the L-5 and Super 400. How did it come about?
Gibson made me an L-5 with a deep cutaway in the late ’50s. They did it reluctantly. I played that guitar for a while, but it was too heavy. It had a much bigger block; they thought the body wouldn’t hold the neck with the deep cutaway otherwise. The 175 was too small and always felt clumsy; I couldn’t grab it comfortably with my arm. The Super 400 feels perfect for me."
Kenny Burrell | Vintage Guitar(R) magazine
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3 pages and not one concise answer (did i miss something?)
isnt it a Super 400 thru a 50's Fender tweed Deluxe?
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Originally Posted by feral guitar
Hi,
The answer is in the previous post showing a link to the "Vintage Guitar" Interview:
Kenny Burrell | Vintage Guitar(R) magazine
"A Living Legend’s Primary “Weapons”
The Gibson Super 400 has been your trademark guitar for many years. When did you first begin playing one, and what attracted you?
It was probably in the late 1960s. I’d been using a D’Angelico New Yorker, which was the same size as a Super 400 (18″ body). I like that body size – and where my elbow rests. What I like about the Super 400 (CES) is the humbucking pickup. I originally used the Charlie Christian bar pickup; that’s what I had in my L-5 and L-7 guitars [in the late ’50s/early ’60s]. But the humbuckers had no noise and worked better, especially when I had to turn up the volume with people like Jimmy Smith. They are more “utilitarian,” if you will. I prefer the Super 400 model with two humbuckers and a Florentine cutaway. With that cutaway, I can get my whole hand up there.Earlier, you had a Gibson ES-175 and then a custom L-5 CES with a Florentine cutaway. That was years before the Florentine cutaway on the L-5 and Super 400. How did it come about?
Gibson made me an L-5 with a deep cutaway in the late ’50s. They did it reluctantly. I played that guitar for a while, but it was too heavy. It had a much bigger block; they thought the body wouldn’t hold the neck with the deep cutaway otherwise. The 175 was too small and always felt clumsy; I couldn’t grab it comfortably with my arm. The Super 400 feels perfect for me.
You’ve gone through a number of Super 400s over the years. Do you still have them all?
I have two – both have two humbuckers and the Florentine cutaway. I got my main one in San Diego many years ago. I wandered into a shop – maybe for some strings – and saw it. It was from the ’60s and felt very good. I did have another at the time, but that one became my primary instrument. Before that, I had a Venetian-cutaway Super 400 with a DeArmond pickup, like my D’Angelico.
Do you do anything special to your Super 400 to personalize it?
I adjust the action at the bridge so the strings are lower on the bass side. And I have done things to cut down on feedback. I placed some foam rubber inside the body at the top f-hole and also put a surface plug on the f-hole. It deadens the guitar just enough to reduce feedback. I also screwed a little piece of plastic into the top to hold the bridge in place. Sometimes, I play hard and the bridge moves a little. I cover the plastic with a piece of tape. I also installed tuning keys with peg-winder handles.
(LEFT) Burrell’s iconic late-’60s Gibson Super 400CES Florentine, heard on countless recordings.(RIGHT) The Heritage Super KB has a solid/carved spruce top, solid/carved maple back, maple rim, multi-bound top, single-bound back, bound f-shaped sound holes, five-piece maple neck, multi-bound headstock veneer with mother of pearl inlay, and an ebony fretboard with mother of pearl split-block inlays.
Heritage Super KB image courtesy of Heritage Guitar, Inc.
Is your signature Heritage Super KB based on your Super 400?
Yes. Heritage did a nice job of capturing the qualities I like. The Super KB is a little different. It has a slightly thinner body and shorter body (3″ deep x 207/8″ long instead of 33/8″ x 213/4″); the 18″ width is the same. The body has a little more curve-around; they did it by making it thinner up near the neck. It has a finger tailpiece, like on my custom L-5. I love the way it looks and that I can adjust string tension for each string separately. I set it medium and occasionally loosen a string a little bit here and there.
What are using for amps these days?
I prefer a Fender Twin for the most part. I was one of the first to use a Twin; I got one in Detroit and liked the extra bite. I like a fat, warm sound, so I set the Treble lower, the Bass medium, and pump up the Middle. I sometimes use a Roland JC-120 Jazz Chorus as a substitute. When I don’t have to play loud, I might use an old Polytone or Heritage Kenny Burrell amp. I am also checking out the new Fender George Benson 1×12 for smaller gigs. – Wolf Marshall"
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No! No! What would we do with 3 pages of the finest internet speculation if we heard the truth as easily?!?! Originally Posted by lawson-stone
I too think that the secret sauce is the tube recording board of the studios in 1963. That's why there is 'hair' not only on guitar but on all instruments.
(Good year, btw, some of us did born that year!)
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Ha ha ha, love this thread! Been listening to "Midnight Blue" a lot myself lately, but I think I like "Blue Bash" more.
Been listening to that one since 1968, and still never tire of it, my favorite.
Also really like "God Bless the Child" from 1970? on CTI.
The thing is that, all 3 albums have that great KB tone of the early years. Recording techniques, amp, guitars, p/ups, or just fingers??? Bet that things changed for him throughout that period. I have to say that those recordings seem to have a lot of compression maybe due to tape saturation. It's consistent and I never heard it when I heard him play "Live". I missed that tone when hearing him. Some of his runs are just liquid sounding. Speaker fatigue(his) or tape saturation?
Heard a recent recording of his, not the same! Great playing though.
I sure do think about getting a CC pickup for my L5 and using my 1960 Deluxe type (DeArmond) more often.
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What stunned me most is how a thread on Kenny Burrell tone can derail into a tubescreamer comparison.
But that aside, thanks for the input. I didn't realize Kenny is still with us - I might actually give that a try and get back to you guys. Thanks for the suggestion lawson-stone!
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There's a version of Body and Soul by Kenny Burrell on a compilation CD called Introduction to Jazz Guitar. There is definitely some sort of analog compression that sounds, to my ear, like an overdriven mic or console input, but man it sounds great. Furry and saturated and glorious.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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To me KB has always sounded like himself no matter what guitar he used. That goes even for the flattop (Yamaha?) he plays on a clip on YouTube (All Blues).
Last edited by oldane; 01-11-2017 at 05:02 AM.
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KB has _always_ sounded fantastic. There is a classic period, though--driven as much by material as by equipment, I suspect--that runs from his early-60s days with his Gibson (Charlie Christian pickup equipped) L-5, through his 80s period with his D'Angelico New Yorker (with DeArmond 1100 pickup) that just sounds SUPER.
KB, of course, sounds outstanding with his Super-400 and with his newer Heritage guitars. However, his L-5 and DA New Yorker periods are iconic.
His playing has always been impeccable.
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