Close up - Wes Montgomery's fingers

**r_cc_c** · 03-03-2016, 12:03 AM

**vintagelove** · 03-03-2016, 12:06 AM

Worth noting, his action is quite low.

**sgcim** · 03-03-2016, 03:08 AM

Yeah, heavy strings, low action and worn down frets.

**Guitarbean25** · 03-03-2016, 03:11 AM

Jesus...anyone else notice the amazing production...

And the fact that it's Wes Montgomery?

**55bar** · 03-03-2016, 03:51 AM

Originally Posted by r_cc_c

Amazing, almost like he's wearing a head cam, looks HD? Wonder how they did that?

**jazzbow** · 03-03-2016, 04:05 AM

Originally Posted by r_cc_c

Note the upstroke of the thumb @ 0.47"

Such long fingertips and nails!

I saw this vid a couple of years ago and then forgot about it, thanks for posting.

P.S. That's Ronnie Scott introducing at the beginning.

**jazzbow** · 03-03-2016, 07:14 AM

More thumb technique...

Jim Mullen

**djelley** · 03-03-2016, 09:46 AM

I'll always be amazed by two things: that Wes can play like that with just the thumb, and that Django could play like that with basically two fingers.

I used to think Yngwie was amazing. I used to be a complete moron. I'd like to think that I'm only a partial moron now.

**Woody Sound** · 03-03-2016, 09:48 AM

Originally Posted by sgcim

Yeah, heavy strings, low action and worn down frets.

Can't be absolutely sure, but it looks like flatwounds.

**electricfactory** · 03-03-2016, 10:30 AM

Low action, and Wes' hands are H-U-G-E. By contrast look at Jim Mullens 'normal' sized hands.

**MarkRhodes** · 03-03-2016, 10:38 AM

His hand is turned in a way that would make 'classical' fingering hard----notice that his index is not parallel to the frets but crossways to then. His pinky is further from the neck than his index is. His ring finger is too but in this case it allows for a nice stretch.

Great video quality. Thanks for posting this!

dortmundjazzguitar · 03-03-2016, 10:45 AM

Originally Posted by jazzbow

Note the upstroke of the thumb @ 0.47"

yes, that's an upstroke. good catch.

**Dave70** · 03-03-2016, 11:37 AM

Originally Posted by 55bar

Amazing, almost like he's wearing a head cam, looks HD? Wonder how they did that?

Good chance that was video tape, there's a few episodes of the Twilight Zone that have that look. Cool vid! Nifty to watch him play at half-speed too.

**lawson-stone** · 03-03-2016, 11:38 AM

Originally Posted by jazzbow

Note the upstroke of the thumb @ 0.47"

Such long fingertips and nails!

I saw this vid a couple of years ago and then forgot about it, thanks for posting.

P.S. That's Ronnie Scott introducing at the beginning.

are we not a sick crew! We're watching a genius make music and thinking, Hey is that an upstroke?

I do it too! We're hopeless geeks, but still, it's kinda sick too, in a good geeky kind of way

**Bebop Tom** · 03-03-2016, 12:54 PM

Originally Posted by Woody Sound

Can't be absolutely sure, but it looks like flatwounds.

duh

**helios** · 03-03-2016, 01:11 PM

On my favorite Wes Video ('Round Midnight), there's some close-up fretboard footage starting at 2:44.
I like his easy-going relaxed style as well!

**grahambop** · 03-03-2016, 01:23 PM

Originally Posted by lawson-stone

are we not a sick crew! We're watching a genius make music and thinking, Hey is that an upstroke?

I do it too! We're hopeless geeks, but still, it's kinda sick too, in a good geeky kind of way

To be fair, I think this is because there's always some debate about this point, and it's rare to get any footage which throws some light on it. I always thought that Wes did a few upstrokes now and then, just by the sound of some of his lines.

By the way, this whole concert is on the Jazz Icons DVD of Wes, so is the whole session with Wes and the Dutch guys (Pim Jacobs trio), and another concert of Wes' own band on Belgian TV. An essential DVD.

**lawson-stone** · 03-03-2016, 01:44 PM

Originally Posted by grahambop

To be fair, I think this is because there's always some debate about this point, and it's rare to get any footage which throws some light on it. I always thought that Wes did a few upstrokes now and then, just by the sound of some of his lines.

By the way, this whole concert is on the Jazz Icons DVD of Wes, so is the whole session with Wes and the Dutch guys (Pim Jacobs trio), and another concert of Wes' own band on Belgian TV. An essential DVD.

I was just kidding around, not at all seriously intended.

Check batteries in Acme® Irony Detector ;-)

**Doctor Jeff** · 03-03-2016, 03:21 PM

Just curious if flatwound strings were widely available at that time. When did they first appear?

**Bach5G** · 03-03-2016, 03:25 PM

Very cool.

**oldane** · 03-03-2016, 03:40 PM

Originally Posted by Woody Sound

Can't be absolutely sure, but it looks like flatwounds.

Gibson Hi-Fi flatwound 14-58 (not available any more). I used them in the 1970s. Our local dealer had a box full of them. They didn't sell - it was when slinkies was the big thing - so I bought the whole box for the price of one set. If I remember correctly, they were nickel wound.

**oldane** · 03-03-2016, 03:41 PM

Originally Posted by Doctor Jeff

Just curious if flatwound strings were widely available at that time. When did they first appear?

I think they were introduced by LaBella in the 1950s.

**mr. beaumont** · 03-03-2016, 03:44 PM

Flats were definitely around. 1950's, I think, they became widely available, though not everybody used 'em, at least right away. If you listen to Jimmy Raney from the mid-50's, for example, you can hear little squeaks on slides...

I always assumed Wes used flats. Sliding is a big part of his style, and I never hear a round wound "squeak" when he does.

**Greentone** · 03-04-2016, 11:07 AM

Pretty sure he used flats. Still, a lot of the old guys, before flats, rubbed their strings on candle wax to fill in the valleys in the windings and quash the string sound. Couldn't have helped intonation, but...

I was fooling around with "Twisted Blues" last night and consciously trying to hold both my right and left hands as Wes would. His approach to the guitar _lends_ itself to speed on bluesy, jazzy, bebop--it seems to me. Nice little chart, by the way.