Ibanez GB10

**mooncef** · 01-18-2016, 06:38 PM

Hello ,
i tested a peerless jazz city archtop 17" and it sounded realy deep and had that singing voice that reminds me of the tone of wes.
my GB10 sounds great but it seems like i can't get that sound , moreover the guy told me that i can't get the sound of a big jazz box , but i'm still trying to tweak and see if i can get something with my delux reverb.
is it due to the floating pickups and size that i cannot get a deep jazz voice ?

**Archie** · 01-18-2016, 07:16 PM

Really? You must be the first person to ever ask that question

Put a set of 13 flats on and plug it in. Should do the trick :-)

**Cunamara** · 01-18-2016, 07:41 PM

My 1981 GB-10 has a pretty big deep plugged-in sound on it's own. It has always been rather bassy and the top end is fairly bell-like. I have used Chromes flatwounds (12s) alternating with various roundwounds. My current string of choice on that axe are nickel Pyramids.

**abelljo** · 01-18-2016, 07:45 PM

I think the main issue is the mini humbuckers. You can get a deep sound from just about any guitar with full size humbuckers. Pat Martino is a perfect example. Of course .015 strings will help too.

**neatomic** · 01-18-2016, 07:52 PM

floating pups vs inbody humbuckers is the issue

but

are you rolling back the guitar pots?

(cld change out tone cap)

tweak the deluxe reverb settings

you gotta dig for your tone, its not just there

cheers

**Toat** · 01-18-2016, 07:59 PM

No guitar / string combination can give you that tone. Rolling the tone knob is the only thing that gives a deep dark tone

**docbop** · 01-18-2016, 09:19 PM

Originally Posted by Toat

No guitar / string combination can give you that tone. Rolling the tone knob is the only thing that gives a deep dark tone

That's not tone that's mud, never liked that sound. Strings and changing picking position, also lowering the pickup will help get more low end.

**neatomic** · 01-18-2016, 09:58 PM

can't really lower a floater...

am always amazed at the guitar pots full up always guys...mindboggling

cheers

**Bebop Tom** · 01-19-2016, 01:37 AM

I own full bodied archtops and a GB-10 and I always get frustrated that the GB-10 cannot get that full bodied sound. I think it is the small body. Play the two guitars acoustically and you will hear the difference. FYI- I use thick flatwounds on it and roll off the tone. Enjoy the GB-10 for what it is. It is a great, easy to play modern jazz guitar with a fast response time and a bright sweet tone. It is not a Wes style guitar (or Kenny, Barney, etc). But it is loads of fun to play and is great for single-note bebop soloing.

**Cunamara** · 01-19-2016, 01:48 AM

Thinking in more detail about this. I tend to use the amp controls to roll off the highs rather that the guitar controls- having bass/mid/treble controls gives you much better shaping capability than a simple low pass filter like on the guitar. I have a Clarus 2r so because of where the centers of the controls are licated, the treble is rolled way down to cut the high overtones and the mids are rolled off to about 10:00; this gives a round top end and lets the bell-like qualities of the GB10 come through. I sometimes bring the bass up a smidge.

Other amps require different settings. With my Tweed Deluxe I use the normal channel with the tone at about 3-4, usually. Both the Clarus and the Deluxe run through a Raezer's Edge 12" cab. I also have an Alto TS110a powered speaker that I use in lieu of a traditional amp; I use a Zoom MS100bt as a DI into the Alto and it sounds great. I get a lot of compliments on my sound with that. The Zoom provides amp modeling, EQ, reverb, etc.

Since my GB10 pickups are quite hot, I roll the volume control down to 7-8 with the tone full up. With treble and mids rolled down a bit on the amp, that gets me 90% of the way there. Then I use the guitar's tone control very sparingly to get the rest of the way. Too much tone rolloff gets me mud. In a combo setting it's better to be a titch bright than too dark.

And maybe first and foremost- pick control. If I can get the sound I want with the pick while playing acoustically then it is much easier to do so amplified. This has become more and more evident yo me. I can't make up for pick technique by twisting the knobs.

**Jabberwocky** · 01-19-2016, 01:51 AM

Cheap experiment: Labella Black Nylon Tapewound. Big fat dark sounding strings. May have to cut the nut for them as they are thick gauge.

That said, can't squeeze a quart out of a pint pot, as the saying goes. Enjoy the GB10 for what it is, not for what it is not.

**Fidelcaster** · 01-19-2016, 06:12 AM

Originally Posted by Bebop Tom

Enjoy the GB-10 for what it is. It is a great, easy to play...

... rock!

No, really, it's a great, bright sounding jazz guitar!

**BigMikeinNJ** · 01-19-2016, 08:15 AM

Like they say on ESPN: COME ON MAN !!

You're trying to get a larger bodied guitar with a set in the top pickup sound out of a smaller floater.
COME ON MAN !!

Don't expect Twiggy to look like Sophia Loren.

BUT Meanwhile you have one of the more versatile jazz boxes on the planet. Here's GB playing a GB12 in Montreaux, boy I wish I had such a nice fat tone...

**AlainJazz** · 01-19-2016, 09:08 AM

Personally, I think it's the amp. I can get a passable fat tone out of almost any guitar but not through a deluxe. I never use my deluxe for jazz gigs. No amount of tweaking can get it into full jazz territory. Mine is a 67 or 68. Maybe newer ones are different. Anyways, plug the same guitar into a Henriksen or mambo and that tone is instantly there.

**mooncef** · 01-19-2016, 09:21 AM

Originally Posted by AlainJazz

Personally, I think it's the amp. I can get a passable fat tone out of almost any guitar but not through a deluxe. I never use my deluxe for jazz gigs. No amount of tweaking can get it into full jazz territory. Mine is a 67 or 68. Maybe newer ones are different. Anyways, plug the same guitar into a Henriksen or mambo and that tone is instantly there.

waw man does it mean i will have to buy more things hahah , i find the idea of a dedicated jazz solid state amp tempting .
but how would heriksen solid state surpass delux reverb ? i thought wes used to play a twin and delux reverb sometimes.

**Bebop Tom** · 01-19-2016, 11:22 AM

Originally Posted by BigMikeinNJ

Like they say on ESPN: COME ON MAN !!

You're trying to get a larger bodied guitar with a set in the top pickup sound out of a smaller floater.
COME ON MAN !!

Don't expect Twiggy to look like Sophia Loren.

BUT Meanwhile you have one of the more versatile jazz boxes on the planet. Here's GB playing a GB12 in Montreaux, boy I wish I had such a nice fat tone...

I believe the GB12 is actually wider than the GB10, so that tone in this clip is fatter sounding than a GB10.

**BigMikeinNJ** · 01-19-2016, 11:38 AM

**BigMikeinNJ** · 01-19-2016, 12:51 PM

Originally Posted by Bebop Tom

I believe the GB12 is actually wider than the GB10, so that tone in this clip is fatter sounding than a GB10.

I guess you missed the GB12 thread that ran here last week where Gitfiddler, a GB12 owner talked about how similar the tone on the GB12/GB100 and GB10 are... Check that out.

**Bebop Tom** · 01-19-2016, 03:50 PM

Well, in the above clips they aren't. The GB-12 sounds tubbier compared to the GB10, but of course the amp and other factors could be at play. I find the GB10 to be the definitive George Benson tone as far as being the most recognizable. It is a fun guitar to play and it cuts through the mix quite well when doing single note soloing in the right context. I don't like it for backing vocalists or playing with a mainstream straight ahead jazz group. I find that it sounds too small and it makes me miss my L5CES.

**lawson-stone** · 01-19-2016, 11:26 PM

I don't think the floater vs. set-in pickup is the obstacle. Sure, a set-in pickup has an advantage, I think mainly not because it's set-in, but because it's full sized. On the other hand, floating pickups that are well made, combined with the right volume/tone setting on the guitar, and with the right amp, set up right, will get you very close. Your own technique, of course, will need to be up to the challenge as well.

**Bebop Tom** · 01-20-2016, 12:00 PM

This youtube clip is about as deep and dark as I have heard a GB10. It doesn't sound like a full bodied guitar, but it sure sounds good in its own way. George Benson is so great:

**Jabberwocky** · 01-21-2016, 01:54 AM

I'd like to know where George Benson got his guitar strap...I have been looking high and low for it. Does anyone know?

Ibanez GB10. Check. Ibanez GB picks. Check. Thomastik-Infeld GB strings. Check. Fender GB amp. Check. GB guitar strap. ???.

**Fidelcaster** · 01-21-2016, 03:37 AM

Originally Posted by Jabberwocky

I'd like to know where George Benson got his guitar strap...I have been looking high and low for it. Does anyone know?

Ibanez GB10. Check. Ibanez GB picks. Check. Thomastik-Infeld GB strings. Check. Fender GB amp. Check. GB guitar strap. ???.

That's why you still don't sound like him!

**Groyniad** · 01-21-2016, 09:54 AM

Originally Posted by Toat

No guitar / string combination can give you that tone. Rolling the tone knob is the only thing that gives a deep dark tone

thats not just wrong - its important that its wrong

both my gb10 and my L5 deliver a fantastic full tone without ruining everything by turning the tone below 5. we need definition and clarity as well as thickness and fullness - and that is possible with the right guitars.

the gb10 is certainly one such guitar - which is really amazing given that its small bodied and has floaters. my guess is that the secret is the super-sized chunky fat braces hidden inside. that's why the guitar is so heavy despite its size.

i've had a number of floating pickup instruments - but none sounded or felt the way the gb10 does.

i think gb's top reason for using floaters was that they never generate pickup-noise (buzzes, rattles etc.). the guitar combines superb clarity and definition with terrific body and warmth.

perfectly illustrated in the fab. clip above - thanks!

wonderful wonderful jazz guitar

**lawson-stone** · 01-21-2016, 11:38 AM

Originally Posted by Groyniad

thats not just wrong - its important that its wrong

both my gb10 and my L5 deliver a fantastic full tone without ruining everything by turning the tone below 5. we need definition and clarity as well as thickness and fullness - and that is possible with the right guitars.

the gb10 is certainly one such guitar - which is really amazing given that its small bodied and has floaters. my guess is that the secret is the super-sized chunky fat braces hidden inside. that's why the guitar is so heavy despite its size.

i've had a number of floating pickup instruments - but none sounded or felt the way the gb10 does.

i think gb's top reason for using floaters was that they never generate pickup-noise (buzzes, rattles etc.). the guitar combines superb clarity and definition with terrific body and warmth.

perfectly illustrated in the fab. clip above - thanks!

wonderful wonderful jazz guitar

True indeed. With the right EQ on the amp I've even found that, paradoxically, putting a notch in the mid-range can do great stuff for the tone. Maybe the particular pickup has a somewhat softer treble and by cutting the middle it sweetens it all, I don't know. But I've started rolling off my tone know just enough to damp out any accidental pick noise and to take the screwdriver out of my ear on high notes (thanks to Jack Zucker for that metaphor!) which is putting it on about 8. Then I work on the amp settings.

This of course for a guy without the option of just saddling up the L5CES and the Fender Twin Reverb and riding off into the sunset like Wes Montgomery!