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At the start of this year I dipped my toe in the solid body water with a classic vibe 50s Tele and ever since I have found myself playing it more and more often. I just seem to find playing a solid so comfortable and I really enjoy the tone. However I just can't shake the nagging insecurity that if I am playing jazz it 'should' be on an archtop!!
So anyway, I popped into the local guitar shop today as I felt I was in need of a treat after being very busy with work. Intended to have a look at archtops to assuage my insecurity, but ended up coming out with an Epi Les Paul Standard Pro! It just spoke to me more than anything else and didn't break the bank. Close second was a Squier Vintage Modified Jaguar, but I decided that it perhaps bit of a novelty and the humbucker equipped LP was something a bit different from the Tele.
I just wondered if anyone else has found themselves gravitating towards solids. I think maybe I have been enamoured with the look and feel of hollow bodies rather than the sound.
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11-06-2015 12:36 PM
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I currently own three hollow body archtops and one semi-hollow.
In the unlikely event that I ever purchase another guitar (i am very happy with my current collection) I would consider a solid body. I played a Gibson LP Studio and was impressed with the tone and playability. Could you comment on the tone/playability of your Epi LP?
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There was that jazz guitar player, I think his name was Lester Polsfuss ...
He played a solid body
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I was playing my plank a bit earlier in the week and thinking how it was a very different experience than playing my archtop. Not just because of the aesthetics but more because the instruments were so different sonically. A solid body has much more sustain, a more prominent fundamental, and a much more clearly defined note shape. The characteristics of the note are easier to shape but the attack is harder to control. They also eliminate a lot of the difficulties associated with archtops. They're more rugged, more transportable, and no feedback issues. So solid bodies and their related planks can have a great attraction, both from a practical standpoint and a musical standpoint. For a very long time I thought they were the only way to go. Now I've drifted back towards the charms of a hollowbody so I tend to see things more in terms of the benefits of both as uniquely different tools. It's almost like comparing an electric organ to a piano: both can be wonderful instruments, neither fully interchangeable nor mutually exclusive.
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I have one of those in blue, a lot of guitar for the money. rick
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It's early days, but I find the neck very comfortable its more D shaped than the C of my tele and fairly slim. Rosewood fingerboard and frets are nicely finished too.
Originally Posted by jazz.fred
As far as tone goes its very full and quite dark on the neck pup, particularly as she is still wearing the stock roundwound 10s. I'll probably try some TI flats, maybe 12s, in the next few days when I get around to it, always find changing strings a chore.
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Replace the t-o-m with a compensated wood saddle, string it up with 12s or higher. You'll become enamored with the sound too. Originally Posted by sparkhall
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Originally Posted by Jim Soloway
Interesting Jim. I also wonder if another factor for me is that a reasonable quality instrument is easier to come by at a reasonable price with solid bodies. I don't try the expensive hollow bodies in store as I don't trust myself and I quite like being married!
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Yeah there was this fella named Rhubarb Red too that played a Gibson I think...
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I'm less certain of that than I might have been a few years ago. There are some very cool archtops for pretty reasonable prices these days. I just picked up a used Peerless Wizard for under $500 US and I'm having a really good time with it. I also had a good enough time with a $500 Ibanez archtop to use it in a lesson video that was really important to me. Originally Posted by sparkhall
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No shame in jazzin' on a solidbody. I play a "fat" tele, a blacktop strat and a G&L Bluesboy semi on jazz gigs. I also play Heritage h575 a Gitane a Taylor 412e on jazz gigs. In my opinion none come close to the visual feast that is the Heritage but.... All my guitars and amps can make a jazz sound here. The history of the music and the players support this. Gabor Szabo played a dreadnought, Ed Bickert a tele, Lorne Lofsky made a dvd lesson on a strat, Django the Gitane/Maccafarri, Joe Pass and countless others the es175/H575. I pick the instrument I use based on what the gig is and what gig came before or after. Sometimes I choose the 575 because it immediately communicates " this is jazz guitar ". For as independent a person as I aim to be i too feel the "peer pressure" to fit in and sell all for a Gibson L5... But I just can't live without my teles and strat. Enjoy that Les Paul.
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Very well said Jim. Originally Posted by Jim Soloway
Last week I was recording a chord melody song to send to my son for his birthday. I was determined to play it on one of my archtops, tried 3 different amps, recoreded it on different days at different times, switched from wine to scotch . . . I was never satisfied with the results. Got out my Tele, it felt right, sounded right ended up being the perfect guitar, tone and style- except for the string squeek. I am one who enjoys hollow, semi-hollow and solid, love them all and appreciate their differences - my preference tends to be cyclical.
Enjoy the new Epi LP, it works!
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I was "raised" my my guitar teacher that jazz guitar = archtop and felt that way for 30+ years. I played an Ibanez GB10 since '86 and a carvetop since about '08 or '09. Then 5-6 years back I found out about Ed Bickert. Uh oh. I bought a Squier Affinity Tele to dip my toe in the water and really liked playing it (DO NOT tell my former teacher about this, he will hunt me down and hurt me. Maybe really).
I put together a pseudo Tele last summer- mahogany semi-hollow with maple top. Initially with a Vintage Vibe CC pickup which sounded great but I just could not tolerate the noise problems so now there is a Classic 57 in there. Since putting that guitar together it has been my main instrument. I haven't played a gig with an archtop since this summer- the tone, playability, lack of feedback (especially), portability are just wonderful.
At home I find myself pulling out the carvetop a lot- it has a wonderful acoustic sound as well as sounding very good plugged in. There is just something about a big old archtop that defines "jazz guitar" to me still, even though my Tele is a much more practical instrument for gigs.
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I was on a gig one time using my archtop. During a break it got knocked over and the headstock broke off. I usually keep my tele in the car and, fortunately, I had it this time. Grabbed it and finished the gig. Sounded GREAT! Made me totally re-think my equipment bias.
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Aaaaaeeeeeehhhh!! How did you manage to maintain your composure and focus for the rest of the gig? Originally Posted by rsclosson
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Even worse: To the black hole side. The side from where the gravity will never let you escape and all traces of you will be lost for ever.
Just kidding, of course. LPs are fine guitars. I like my Warmoth partscaster solid body a lot.
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Several factors helped me to keep my cool. Originally Posted by Woody Sound
1. It was a cheap archtop I bought used. (Ibanez AF55)
2. All my instruments are insured.
3. The Tele performed beautifully.
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oh no.... Originally Posted by rsclosson
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The .12's I got, compensated wood saddle on a LP…..really? Tell me more please, sound files, pics? I picked up a '13 traditional and am just about to swap out the Nashville for an ABR-1, never considered wood, please talk to me. Originally Posted by Woody Sound
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I've just finished a set up of a little used 2010 LP Studio in matt black with just a chambered mahogany body.
The factory set up was piss poor and I had to shim the nut due to low cut string grooves.
But...
Wow, fantastic full tone. Acoustically it was very resonant. The neck is very chunky D. I told the owner if it ever came up for sale I want first refusal.
Neck pickup is nice and the bridge quacks, this Polfuss bloke knows his eggs!
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Try nylon saddles Originally Posted by whiskey02
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I had a Gibson LP Supreme to complement my es175, but finally decided the weight standing up and the balance sitting down didn't work for me.
Sold it, bought a tele and couldn't be happier with tone or playability.
YMMV
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Lovely new guitar!
The JAZZ POLICE are watching...
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Very nice guitar. You can play jazz on any guitar.
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Who plays jazz on a Les Paul?
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