Quote Originally Posted by lmrizzo
So I'd like to throw a question out here in line with the OP....making a transition myself! Guitar wise I have been playing my Epi Sheraton II with tone and volume rolled back and round wounds and I get flubby bass. Instinct says use a compressor - thoughts?

I think John's suggestion is a good one. Do a recording and we will be able to give tailored advice. It's very easy to be arbitrary about volume and tone on the guitar and the amp rather than approaching this as the tweaks that move the sound in the direction you want. I think that until you begin to get a firm understanding of how to use the controls that it is actually safer to leave the volume and tone full on. If you ditch those highs right at the start then you can never get them back. Ditching those highs can also give you lack of note separation, wooly mids and flubby bass.

At its simplest you need to understand how your guitar sounds at its brightest on the neck pup and how it sounds at its darkest. If you can record this and listen back then that's good as you can be more analytical about the sound. Somewhere in between those two extremes exists the best jazz tone that that guitar with those strings and this pickup combination will produce. Ultimately, with an average guitar and average amp, and nothing else, you should be able to get a reasonable jazz tone for practising and learning. Archtop/flat wounds/dedicated jazz amp are your final nudges towards the sound you want. They are the last few percentage points of the tweaking.