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Hey guys,
I'm interested in picking up a thinline hollow guitar...
How well do these tend to do for getting a solid jazz tone for more contemporary jazz? Do they feedback very easily with distortion?
I really like the sound here, but I think it's a full body:
Can I get that sort of sound with a thinline hollow?
So far I'm looking at an ES-175T, but that's running about 3k or a used ES-125TC or TCD, which is a little cheaper...
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07-16-2015 02:01 AM
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Check out the new Guild T50
Guild Guitars | T-50 Slim
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The general consensus around here seems to be: "You can get a good jazz sound (especially "contemporary jazz") on any guitar!"
A thinline (eq'd properly with your amp) shouldn't feedback with distortion (see Scofiled, Monder, et al. for lots of examples).
Unless you just want a "Gibson," there are so many other less expensive, high-quality choices out there! Look around, and have fun!
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Agreed with above. There is absolutely nothing wrong with Gibson quality... but unless you just want a Gibson, there are less expensive alternatives. Guild is a way to go for sure. Heritage has some options out there. D'Angelico (modern, of course). Lots to choose from.
If it were me... I'd probably try a Guild M-75 Aristocrat along with Jazzbow's recommendation of a T-50.
Heritage has the 530's and 525's that could likely be had used at $2k.
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Just gotta throw in a plug for the Sadowsky SS-15. Pricey, but if you can get your hands on a used one (less pricey), don't think twice about it! Love mine
The Seventy Seven Hawk Jazz also seems very nice, but I've never played personally
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Also depends on if the thinline is fully hollow or not.
Originally Posted by marcwhy
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i don't get my sound warmth thunk etc
out of a thinline .....
used to play an old sorrento
nice but no cigar
you gotta try one it's just personal taste
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yeah its full depth .... Originally Posted by Dioxic
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Originally Posted by Dioxic
If you really like THAT sound on the clip then IMO you won't quite get it from a thin line. But I do think that you can get a good jazz sound from a thin line.......just not that fuller bodied sound. Others may disagree.
Here's that guitar again and it even sounds better on this more produced and well recorded clip....
But here is a great sounding thin line.....and quite an amazing player.
Last edited by Philco; 07-16-2015 at 09:03 AM. Reason: added a clip
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I like hollow thinlines and would like one myself. Very comfortable to play and perhaps more versatile than a full depth hollowbody. But it won't sound like a full depth hollowbody, it's its own thing. Look up some Grant Green when he played his 330 for example. Great tone. So obviously there's the Gibson ES330 and Epiphone Casino. A couple very affordable options are the Epiphone Sorrento and the Loar models (LH301, LH302 LH304).
Last edited by monkmiles; 07-16-2015 at 10:51 AM.
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Wow, some great clips to listen to! I get some decent tones out of my 335 style guitar, but my logic was that a thinline fully hollow guitar might bring me closer to the full jazzbox sound. If a 335 is inbetween a hollow and a les paul then maybe a hollow thinline is inbetween a a 335 and a hollow basically. I'll listen through the clips you guys have posted. Thanks for the input so far.
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Modern jazz tone out of a thinline hollowbody.
I have an ES125T and love it
I wish I had an ES125TC (or TDC)
Otherwise, as already stated, you can check Heritage H525, Epiphone Sorrento (I didn't like it, but it's probably me), the new The Loar 30x, Guild, 77HawkJazz ... and Peerless Sunset... and maybe many more !
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Here's a Gibson 330 played by the master. You can judge.
Here's a couple of pix of my Heritage 525. It sounds very much like a Gibson 125 I had years ago, but the Heritage is better built. With heavy strings it competes nicely in the amplified archtop world. It's a very basic instrument yet all you will need.
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I picked up a 1961 Guild T-100 for the price of a new American Standard Strat. Hard to beat at that price. Great jazz tone.
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That is a beauty! Man I want an H525 badly myself. Originally Posted by Marty Grass
Here's a couple of pix of my Heritage 525. It sounds very much like a Gibson 125 I had years ago, but the Heritage is better built. With heavy strings it competes nicely in the amplified archtop world. It's a very basic instrument yet all you will need.
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A big +1 on the Heritage H525. I'm pretty new at the jazz thing, but not guitar in general. More and more, it's P-90s that get me going. And thinner hollowbodies. So even though I've not yet tried the H525, seems like it could be perfect. Same with the latest custom shop ES-330 ... especially given how fine Grant Green sounded on that guitar. (I know it was him, not the guitar, but still.)
Slightly thinner bodies would be just a good. So the Heritage H575 is also on my radar. Even the Gibson ES-195 - somewhat thinner body (vs. a deeper hollowbody type), plus sorta P-90 pickups.
MD
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I play an ES-339 PRO from Sweetwater ($450). It's definitely more suited towards blues, very twangity. But on the neck pickup with the tone knob rolled off it's great. With it up (and maybe a little distortion :P) it's got a great fusion sound.
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Spotted this on my facebook news feed from Premier Guitar:
Will Ray's Bottom Feeder: Jay Turser ES-125 Copy | Premier Guitar
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I just got a Guild t-50 Dynasonic Black open box for $750. from allusedguitars on ebay. I bought the case also which added $135. Some years ago I turned up my nose at a es 125t for $400. kicking myself in the ass for that mistake. That said I have all the fantasy guitars I wanted including a couple 575s (which I love) but I wanted something like a 125t and cheap(er) I went down the same road most of you have. I never played anything but a 12" radius neck and I prefer medium towards thin. I also am ok with a non cutaway in this case. So I took a shot at the T50. Heres the story. AUG got it out rocket fast and Fed Up didnt screw up the shipping so I had it in a few days. As I said I opted for the case, it was advertised as open box never played. It came in the Guild box and had been opened and retaped at one end. First, the case is very high quality in fact superior to any OHC thats come to me since my 70s ess&ess. The guitar had some extra padding added at the headstock and was seemingly untouched. When I inspected it I could not find one flaw. Its pretty simple painted black single body and neck binding. I opted for the Dynasonic model which are not as plentiful but same price as the SB w p-90. The hardware is very good Grover 18/1 open tuners bone nut substantial G tailpiece high quality TOM bridge and a Dearmond Dynasonic pickup. Ebony fretboard real MOP inlays. I always plan to take any new to me guitar to my tech upon arrival (even one that was just pleked) Im very picky about my setup and he always nails it for me (or it goes back) I like 2/64 at the 12th and it must work with any guage or type, you can always go up. So after looking it over I gave it a strumm, lo and behold it was playable in tune. After getting it on pitch I checked their setup. 4/64 dead on e-e. It had DaD 11 rounds so I played it without doing anything. I know this sounds like hyperbole but I was blown away by the setup the frets were meticulously dressed polished and fret ends nicely eased and the acoustic sound was very surprising. The real test was dropping the action to 2/64 and it played perfectly, no buzzes effortless fingering, I never played anything but a 12" and this is 9/1/2" radius. I dont think I would have noticed the difference other than I think it made the neck seem thinner. The frets are thinner than my 575 frets but feel the same hight. Pickup taste is personal and I could easily see someone preferring p-90 like say for blues. Just my taste but this Dyna is perfect for me and this box. Acoustically its about the same loudness as my 175 which is a pretty resonant lighter build than later models. Exactly what I needed for couch playing. Light as a feather its a joy to play and I havent been able to keep my hands of it since it hit the door. I can say without hesitation this one I have hits all the boxes and its the first guitar that didnt go directly to the "spa" for the treatment. I even threw a 10 on high E to see if it would buzz, no prob and this is right out of the box nothing done but lowering the bridge. Plays as well as anything I have. Is it a 125t? Hopefully Ill never know!
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This thread is 9 years old and the topic is like 60 years old, but some people are still wondering.
When we don't know we tend to use untouchable blanket statement like "everything matters". It's just that some things matter more, but not necessarily in the way we think.
Everything we know about guitars is the sum of what we've been told and our personal experience; a mix of scientific facts, empiric studies and myths. The complication is that most of it depend on context and the fact that people use gear in different ways for different purposes.
Some myths are hard to kill because we want them to be true, some myths die hard because nobody was able to present scientific facts to prove them wrong.
In this OP there's a reference Youtube clip representing a "sound in the room", but not just any room, but a room that appears to be a church. Unless you live in a church and unless you intend to record your playing, this reference is not going to help you to find out what the guitar sounds like at home, neither unplugged nor plugged into some random device.
-Would a thinline sound like that?
Definitely not unplugged outside the church and not even when plugged in inside the church as long as you intend to rely on a mix of the acoustic and amplified sound.
The logic in this comment is not solid:
Any 335 is not in-between any Les Paul and any hollowbody. And any thinline is not in-between any 335 and any hollowbody. Originally Posted by Dioxic
The body construction is but one of several parameters that influence the acoustic sound. And for the purpose of amplification the body construction is less important than some of the other design elements. For all practical purposes, a stop tail ES-335 is much closer to a Les Paul standard than any guitar having a trapeze tailpiece. A wooden bridge doesn't sound like a ToM bridge and a P-90 pickup doesn't sound like a humbucker or some other single coils.
A thinline ES-125T is very much closer to a full depth ES-125 and far from an ES-335.
A hollow archtop projects acoustics loud enough that amp volume would have to be turned up fairly high to completely overpower the acoustic sound, meaning it's all about the context; how loud you want to be and if you want acoustics to be heard or not.
The louder the amplification of the magnetic pickup, the less influence of the acoustic sound, up to a point you'd want a solidbody to prevent squealing feedback. There's more than one way to pick up acoustics if you want that sound to be amplified and then it would depend on acoustic pickup/micing if you would hear any difference between a thinline and a full depth guitar.
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I realize its an old thread but thin archtop guitars are getting more and more popular and this is a more recent alternative to a 125t. Just pointing out this could be a good fit for a little more than a 3rd what a Gibby would cost and for me does the job just fine.
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That's cool Ricko, I like thinlines myself. Originally Posted by Rickco
On a rainy day you could try a wooden bridge on your Guild to find out what it does to your sound...
-Is it possible to slide the bridge foot for intonation purposes or is it pinned to the top?
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I havent checked that yet, been to busy playing it but Im going to change strings soon. Ill report. Intonation is spot on as it came but I have wooden saddles I might try.
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