Solid Body Jazz Guitar

[Soco]

What should I expect to pay in Us $ for a G&L ASAT Bluesboy? Is it the same as the one you have?

I have a chance to get one for about $600. Is that a fair price.

The ASAT deluxe is a bit different from the Bluesboy-it has maple on mahogany body and two humbuckers.
600 for a U.S Bluesbouy would be a great price! They are great guitars.

[Rik Jonna]

ABE RIVERA "Scepter".
FORSHAGE "Masterpiece"

2 great jazz solid-bodies bro.

[cisco kid]

I have a Carvin Bolt (strat like body no tremolo) the stock AP11 pickups (neck pickup referring to) that sounds pretty jazzy/mellow with flatwound strings..Thomastics Jazz Swing strings. The tone knob turn down a bit and it gives you a nice mellow tone. These pickups are not high output pickups.

[Bushwackbob]

Check out the Bennedetto Benny, then PM me because I have a beautiful one-off in mint condition that I need to sell (to finance other toys).

[Dad3353]

Hi,
I'm Peter Coura and I'm very new in this forum.
Thank you for your compliments on the Masaimara that we built in Kenya/Nairobi.
I wanted to let you know, that John Abercrombie is playing two of our Masaimara guitars, both with the RealizeR sensor and he sounds very "jazzy" with it.

Warm regards
Peter

Good evening, Peter, and welcome to the forum...
Congratulations on your fine instruments. Perhaps I could be first here in offering to review one of your models, after evaluating for a few months. I'm sure that my 'seal of approval' would enable you to pierce the otherwise difficult French market, and ensure your growing European reputation. Please feel free to offer me any model on a long-term loan. My redaction skills are equally impressive in French as in English, of course. I also play bass (4/6-string, fretted/fretless...)...
(Will you all please stop sniggering in the back, there; this has to be worth a try, don't you think? Just jealous 'cos you didn't get in first...)

No, but seriously, Peter, these look great. I'm just 'pulling your leg' a little (but you insist on making me an offer of a loan I can't refuse, I might be tempted...)
Nice work, love to try one (but married...).

[woyvel]

How about posting street prices for the axes? I'd like to divert my eyes from anything over a grand.

I'm standing by my Gibson L6S. You should be able to find them between $500 and $750 if you can find them at all.

[oldane]

Also consider putting one together yourself to your own specs from Warmoth parts ( Warmoth Custom Guitar Parts - Custom bass and guitar bodies, necks, pickups, pickguards and hardware ). I assembled this ideosyncratic guitar two years ago - it was fun doing it, and it's a good sounding guitar. It cost me around $1000 total.

Very clean, clear and warm jazzy tone, no shrillness at all. Excellent sustain. Amplified chord notes stand out and blend better than on my 175 and my Benedetto Fratello (with a floating PU). The strat shape makes it very comfortable to hold. Not a stunner to look at but a very functional and rugged instrument.

Solid mahogany body and mahogany neck, rosewood fretboard, 25½" scale, 12" fretboard radius, 1 3/4" neck width, Graphtech nut, smaller frets than usual these days, Vintage Vibe HCC pickup (with Alnico II magnets), Grover Rotomatic locking tuners. The chicken head knobs is a tip I picked up from Barney Kessel - their position is very easy to see and feel even in bad light. The neck is laquered by Warmoth (they don't offer warranty on unlaquered mahogany necks). The body was finished by myself with Birchwood Caseys Gunstock Oil (very easy to apply with a finger). Strung with D'Addario Chromes 12-52.

[Cooperro]

I have hear that the fender jaguar was designed for jazz. I have seen footage of really early Joe pass playing on one. Has anybody tried one?

I have an original '65 Jaguar That I bought back in 1969. I have her strung with Chromes (11 - 50) and she sounds great to me. But, she has a very short scale, which, in my opinion, makes her great for bebop like you saw in those Joe Pass videos, but a little tight for chord-melody work. My fingers get a bit tied up between the frets, and the fretboard width is a bit narrow. Those attributes make her fly for single note lines though.

Can't comment on the new ones.

[hurricanebob]

I played a Heritage Les Paul (150) for several years and liked it a lot. Either the Heritage or the Gibson LP are worth a listen. I think they are darker than the Tele, which fit my ear better.

You should play as many guitars as possible before making your decision...and take your time. If you have the luxury of time you will be suprised at how much your preference will evolve if you let it.

For me, I discovered this only because I didn't ever have enough cash to buy what I wanted right away...which, it turns out, was a good thing.

[heavyblues]

Oh man! You owe it to yourself to at least try a G&L ASAT Bluesboy, designed by Leo Fender. It's got the classic Tele body shape, with a G&L made MFD pickup in the bridge and a terrific Seth Lover Humbucker in the neck. This HB is said to be a copy of the original PAF.

G&L makes this guitar in the USA made version, and in their Tribute series, made in Asia with the same USA made electronics. Several people I know actually prefer the cheaper Tribute because of the faster neck. There is also a semi hollow version. I've played this guitar a lot, and love it.

G&L...It makes me sad whenever I think about G&L...

Guitar concepts i find amazing in a way that make me 'hate' Fender and love Leo more.

G & L COMANCHE. A guitar so hard to imagine parting with, I would almost rather sell it now to avoid the pain of parting with it in the future. I blame this guitar for taking my focus away from 'jazz'...once i dial it in on a $200 cube with just the onboard reverb...i find the tone almost forces me to play differently(has a chime that inspires me to do that b2/b6.5ish phrygian dominant-middle eastern-whole/halfstep-baroque-voodoo stuff.

I'm not sure if the Comanche is a curse or a blessing, due to its versatility.

I might dedicate a thread to this guitar here one day, as I feel it applies to this forum(you can dial in a jazzy sound afterall- ash body, maple neck, single coil rolled off, flatwounds, the right amp etc)


as for the Bluesboy classic with seth lover mojo...me likey ;-) I try to stay away from one if I can help it, hehe.


Anyway, just venting my useless G.A.S.

[bigdaddyguitar]

I have hear that the fender jaguar was designed for jazz. I have seen footage of really early Joe pass playing on one. Has anybody tried one?

Not the jaguar ,the jazzmaster . Never caught on for jazz .

[Cooperro]

Not the jaguar ,the jazzmaster . Never caught on for jazz .

Sorry my friend, but it's a Jaguar. Here are a couple of links:

One is on the DVD The Genius of Joe Pass, and the second is from "The Sounds of Synanon."

The odd thing is there's a picture floating around showing him playing a Jazzmaster at what appears to be Synanon, but all the videos and recordings have him playing a Jaguar for sure. My guess is that he got his picture taken trying out someone else's guitar while at Synanon, but ultimately chose to play the Jaguar for whatever reason.

Who knows for sure. But one thing is certain - there are videos showing him playing the Jaguar, but only one photo of him playing a Jazzmaster...

Bob

[bigdaddyguitar]

I don't doubt that Joe Pass is playing a jaguar , but the jazzmaster was fenders answer to a jazz guitar . They really tried to push it to the jazz players , hence the name jazzmaster . Check out the old ads .

[Cooperro]

I don't doubt that Joe Pass is playing a jaguar , but the jazzmaster was fenders answer to a jazz guitar . They really tried to push it to the jazz players , hence the name jazzmaster . Check out the old ads .

Sorry. I thought you were saying he was playing a Jazzmaster. Yes, I'm guessing you're right given the name.

Has anyone noticed how awesome Joe sounds playing that Jaguar? Just goes to show, if you got the skills, they all sound good. I should've given that more thought. I've owned my Jag since '69, and it appears it would be just fine for jazz. But noooooo. Instead of practicing, I spend all my time chasing the perfect guitar (gas). And guess what, all these awesome guitars and I still don't play much better...

I'm gonna go practice, er, first thing tomorrow. Yeah, that's the ticket!

[Drifter]

I just gotta jump in and say that if you want that woody L5 traditional sound, and the two guitars cost the same, I'd go with one of the world standards - the L5. Plus, you get the "feel" of that large body jazz box, which sub-consciously puts you in a different frame of mind for the way you play and the notes you choose. You walk into a club or someone's house and pull that baby out, you can just sense the oohs and aahs - no matter what anyone says about Gibson and their quality control issues - that baby screams jazz! Unless they have something like a Campellone or Benedetto, they're all gonna want to play YOUR guitar. I know that's really snobbish sounding, but nevertheless true.

I don't know. I'm a traditional guy. And I go by how many people have actually laid out all that money for this new instrument. Is the jazz world screaming this is the best guitar they've come across in decades? You'd be taking quite a chance with a lot of money. Plus, how ya ever gonna sell it if you don't like it. You'll lose your a@#!

Sorry. I'm sure there may be a lot of believers out there. Any chance to get your hands on one to try out? If not, think long and hard before spending thousands on something that may or may not work for you.

Since I'm not a millionaire I'm not in danger of buying any guitar that intrigues me (unfortunately). And I wouldn't look for an L5 tone in a solid body guitar. I just think that if the price tag is similar, the tone should be, in its own way, similarly pleasing. And I'm just not quite sure what this RealizeR technology is able to add. Strange enough, none of the demo videos picks up that USP. But I think it's an interesting approach to add something to a solid body guitar that no other has. At least theoretically.

Anyway, one day I'll buy that L5. But not to get chicks or see guys drooling , just for my own satisfaction.

[peter coura]

And I go by how many people have actually laid out all that money for this new instrument.

Dear Cooperro,
I would never go by the quantity of people (then we all would be playing Chinese Strats), but by the quality:

That's what John Abercrombie wrote 2 weeks after he got his first Masaimara (he's got 2 by now)
Dear Peter!
I'm still enjoying the guitar very much. Thanks again for such a great instrument..
All the best,
John.
Another one we are proud of is here:
hi peter,
i think the guitar is really great. i played a lot with it when i got it home. it really has a thing and is a beautiful instrument. very powerful with its own sound.
you do great work, peter.
best from pat
(Metheny) metheny

Is the jazz world screaming this is the best guitar they've come across in decades?

You're right! But the first decade is not over yet, we've started 2007!

Anyhow, your equipment-list is quite impressive!
Peter

[Cooperro]

You're right! But the first decade is not over yet, we've started 2007!

Anyhow, your equipment-list is quite impressive!
Peter

Yes, your decade's not over yet. But, lot of money to be a "tester" of new equipment. That's better left to the rich and famous.

Speaking of rich - thanks for the kudos on my equipment list. Sometimes I'm embarrassed to post it, so I just wanted you all to know that it's been accumulated since 1969 with my Jaguar. Many years to "collect." But I must confess that both my wife and I are public school teachers down here in Florida. Before you complain that we obviously make too much money, I just have to let you know our secret - NO KIDS! That's the secret for normal working stiffs like most of us. We see YOUR kids all day, every day. Then, at two o'clock, they go home to you and it's nice and quite at our house. Lots of time to practice and collect "stuff." Everything after the 1984 Roland GR-700 was bought as "DINKs!" Also, basic cable and pay-as-you-go cell phones. No Blackberry iPhone 4 - 3G network money-sucking gizmos for us.

Of course, we're both praying to God that our nieces will take care of us in old age...

Bob

[oldane]

Anyway, one day I'll buy that L5. But not to get chicks or see guys drooling , just for my own satisfaction.

To this day I have never owned an L5. I remember being close to buying one in London in 1992 - a very beautiful blonde CES. It played and sounded wonderful too. My wife said that I should buy it. I guess she could see love in my eyes. But I didn't. It was a lot of money, and we didn't have that much back then.

Whatever, the 17" L5 is IMHO the best proportioned archtop ever. Decorated, yes, but with taste and sober restraint. The same proportions are found in the ES 350 which I also like a lot for its looks.

As for the chicks, at my age, no guitar would be of any help. .

[Cooperro]

To this day I have never owned an L5. I remember being close to buying one in London in 1992 - a very beautiful blonde CES. It played and sounded wonderful too. My wife said that I should buy it. I guess she could see love in my eyes. But I didn't. It was a lot of money, and we didn't have that much back then.

Whatever, the 17" L5 is IMHO the best proportioned archtop ever. Decorated, yes, but with taste and sober restraint. The same proportions are found in the ES 350 which I also like a lot for its looks.

As for the chicks, at my age, no guitar would be of any help. .

For some reason, some of you misunderstood my "oohs and ahs" in my previous post. I meant the jazz kats, like other players and particularly guitarists, would be "interested" in the L5.

I'm sorry you couldn't spring for the L5 - next to my wife, who lets me buy all this crap in the first place, it's the love of my life. You should've "gone for it." Even though I have no idea of your situation back then. But, alas, it's not too late. I live by, "easier to ask for forgiveness than to ask for permission."

Speaking of which, to make you all even "sicker," I just received my new 345 from Sweetwater sound. I'll post pix by this weekend. Right now, I'm pretending I know how to use her properly...

Then my wife comes home this Tuesday from her vacation. She's gonna say, "what? Another guitar?"

[Jabberwocky]

How about Round Midnight:

.

[TSP]

I just picked up a chambered Heritage 150, les paul style (made in the old Gibson factory by old gibson employees). Mostly hollow inside and i find it very versatile. it never quite replicates the acoustic sound or the thud of an archtop, but pretty close, and can also go fusion, jazz-rock, blues and rock in a heartbeat. I am using it a lot in jazz contexts. it sings in a way that an archtop does not.

[cargoshorts]

Either a Telecaster or a Les Paul Standard will work fine for Jazz and just about anything else.

[marcwhy]

There's a great video of Abercrombie linked to the Coura site. Nice looking guitar, but like most great players -- Abercrombie sounds like himself! Of course, he'd sound fine on anything.

[bartvarvara]

Hello everyone! I'm new to the forum and glad to be here. I'm a mediocre jazz guitarist who uses an Epiphone Les Paul tribute plus. I know it's not a popular jazz guitar but I think it's really a great all-around guitar which popular jazz guitars usually are not. It has Gibson 57 Classic pickups which IMO are pretty good. I use 10 gauge strings which are a little thin but I like their feel. I've experimented with many guitars and I found out the hard way it's pretty hard to find one guitar that can do justice to everything. I use a Fender Pro Reverb (2000-2003) which are no longer made but a pretty decent amp. Any thoughts? Thanks. Bart

[Peter C]

This man plays Jazz on a lightly-strung Les Paul. He has a very light touch.

That said, if you've been playing Rock with lots of whole step bends etc, going up in string gauge with a wound 3rd string may help you learn new habits.