Johnny Smith's Amps?

[SandChannel]

I have a few of the Moasic box sets, including the Johnny Smith Small Group Sessions and The Complete Capitol Recordings Of The Nat King Cole Trio. These two sets are the cornerstones of Jazz for me. You should set up some alerts on eBay and see when they pop up. A lot of times you can Make Offers and get them much cheaper than how they were listed. I doubt that you will find them very cheap because all Mosaic sets are extremely limited.

[Gitterbug]

Brooklyn, NY jazz guitarist Greg Ruggiero is an early adopter of the TOOB ultra-light cabs. The 12J (for Jazz) model now comes with removable steel wire legs for playing in upright position, which Greg calls a "revelation". How well it works in a given venue depends on the ceiling, which reflects and spreads the sound. In this position, you can even keep the cab in front of you, enabling you and the bandmates to hear it better. Playing with several blowers, I placed an upright cab in the middle of the back row, so everybody could hear the comping, and another facing the audience for solo work. Double bass players were the first to discover the merits of the upright speaker.

[skykomishone]

Michael Biller, SoundIslandMusic, has taken a seriously thoughtful approach to capturing the 'sound' that is being discussed in this thread. I've played through some of the 'Sequel' amps, and have been really impressed. Enough so that I recently acquired the Skoter prototype that Michael had been using. I couldn't be happier with it, especially the fact that it ended my search for the perfect amp for me. He brought it to a session and when I heard it my first reaction was 'I want to buy your amp'! Anyway, he has a description of the Johnny Smith version on his website SeQuel VERMONT [to Johnny Smith] - SeQuel Jazz Amplifiers that I wanted to add to the discussion.

[sgosnell]

I think Johnny Smith was onto something with his fountain of sound amp. I became curious about the concept, so I decided to try it out with my RE Stealth 10. It's not possible to put it directly on its back, because of the plug on the speaker cable. That's the case with almost every cabinet, and most combos, too. But I dug out a small moving dolly that was doing nothing, and put the cabinet on that, with the cable connection inside the frame, and it fit well enough, with the cabinet raised 4" or so off the floor. Turned it all on, and it sounds really great, better than with the cab tilted, and the sound isn't so directional. With the speaker facing forward, the sound all goes straight ahead, and there isn't much volume off to the sides. Firing at the ceiling, the sound is dispersed evenly, and the tone is excellent. With a rear ported cab, I think the dolly gets the cab high enough off the floor for the ports to work, although I don't have one of those to try, only the sealed back RE cab. But I think I'm going to leave the dolly in place, and play with my own fountain of sound setup. I like it.

[Cunamara]

Acoustic Image also offers an up-firing speaker.

Acoustic Image

[Cunamara]

Hey, there's a short video bio of JS here with a few photos I'd never seen before:

https://colomusic.org/video/johnny-smith/

[lawson-stone]

Does anyone have any favorite Johnny Smith albums they'd like to recommend?

Just throw a dart blindfolded at a list of all his albums. Thats my favorite!

[Max405]

C, Thank you for posting that. It was a real treat for me.
The video contained the only 2 pictures I’ve ever seen of Johnny playing the Heritage Johnny Smith.
i screen shotted them, here they are.

Hey, there's a short video bio of JS here with a few photos I'd never seen before:

https://colomusic.org/video/johnny-smith/

[Cunamara]

C, Thank you for posting that. It was a real treat for me.
The video contained the only 2 pictures I’ve ever seen of Johnny playing the Heritage Johnny Smith.
i screen shotted them, here they are.

You're welcome, bro! Smith-heads gotta stick together!

[Freddels]

I know this is an old thread, but . . .

Back in 1983, Johnny Smith came to NTSU when I was there. He brought along his own Walter Woods amp. He plugged it into the speaker of a guitar combo (Ampeg).

Here's the video from way back then.

Skip to the 39 minute mark for Johnny Smith.

[58flame]

I know this is an old thread, but . . .

Back in 1983, Johnny Smith came to NTSU when I was there. He brought along his own Walter Woods amp. He plugged it into the speaker of a guitar combo (Ampeg).

Here's the video from way back then.

Skip to the 39 minute mark for Johnny Smith.

Wow. Thank you.

[Cunamara]

That is amazing video, arguably the best performance video of JS available.

[sgcim]

Even after all these years, there's no one that can approach JS.
Was that his Excel?
Thanks for posting that!

[Cunamara]

I'm pretty sure that was the 17" 1955 New Yorker Special, with a JS pickup and finger (Otten?) tailpiece added. Same as he played on the "What Are You Doing For The Rest Of Your Life" video.

I did not know he ever used a Walter Woods amp.

[sgcim]

I'm pretty sure that was the 17" 1955 New Yorker Special, with a JS pickup and finger (Otten?) tailpiece added. Same as he played on the "What Are You Doing For The Rest Of Your Life" video.

I did not know he ever used a Walter Woods amp.

He probably used the WW because it was easy to carry around. You're probably right about the NYer Special, but we'll have to get a consensus from some of the D'A guys. Thanks!

[bratistofeles]

It's worth noting that some of his solo recordings on Roost were done with no amp at all. From the notes on the back of the 1957 LP "The Johnny Smith Foursome" that Johnny Smith himself wrote:

Let me make known the fact that owing to the string noises of the guitar, the solos on this and other albums were recorded with the guitar connected directly into the recording console, thus eliminating the majority of these extraneous sounds

[GuyBoden]

I've only recently discovered that JS had the tip of his finger cut off in a freak accident and then surgically reattached.

[wintermoon]

Even after all these years, there's no one that can approach JS.
Was that his Excel?
Thanks for posting that!

Cunamara is correct, that's his '55 NYer Special w added oettinger t.p. I guess he liked the precise individual string tuning capability as opposed to the rigid stock stairstep DA t.p. His ears were so good he could probably hear things only a dog could!
I also agree w him that it might be the best example of his playing on video along w the what are you doing vid we all know.
It's priceless as far as jazz guitar goes, look at that subtle vibrato, he had such control, maybe the best jazz guitarist that ever used a pick imo and probably the best technique along w Breau.
Thanks a million for posting!

[ruger9]

It's worth noting that some of his solo recordings on Roost were done with no amp at all. From the notes on the back of the 1957 LP "The Johnny Smith Foursome" that Johnny Smith himself wrote:

Let me make known the fact that owing to the string noises of the guitar, the solos on this and other albums were recorded with the guitar connected directly into the recording console, thus eliminating the majority of these extraneous sounds

Well that's a new piece of info I've never heard before!

[Dennis D]

I know this is an old thread, but . . .

Back in 1983, Johnny Smith came to NTSU when I was there. He brought along his own Walter Woods amp. He plugged it into the speaker of a guitar combo (Ampeg).

Here's the video from way back then.

Skip to the 39 minute mark for Johnny Smith.

I know JS introduced each piece, but I can't seem to hear those intro's. Does anyone have the titles of this solo performance please ?

Thanks .

[Dennis D]

I'm pretty sure that was the 17" 1955 New Yorker Special, with a JS pickup and finger (Otten?) tailpiece added. Same as he played on the "What Are You Doing For The Rest Of Your Life" video.

I did not know he ever used a Walter Woods amp.

Those WW amps - talk about a 'mystique'.

Years ago I asked a local pro why he used them and what they even were, he said ' The notes just seem to jump out of them '. I'm not so sure he didn't have two, not knowing how long WW would keep building them.

I've always hoped someone here would start a thread about those amps. I'd bet there'd be some good stories.

[58flame]

There aren't enough video recordings of this man playing. This video is a true gem. Absolutely fantastic stuff and now I need to get back to practicing.

Here's another video of him I've seen recently.

Enjoy.

[stringmaster]

I think Johnny Smith was onto something with his fountain of sound amp. I became curious about the concept, so I decided to try it out with my RE Stealth 10. It's not possible to put it directly on its back, because of the plug on the speaker cable. That's the case with almost every cabinet, and most combos, too. But I dug out a small moving dolly that was doing nothing, and put the cabinet on that, with the cable connection inside the frame, and it fit well enough, with the cabinet raised 4" or so off the floor. Turned it all on, and it sounds really great, better than with the cab tilted, and the sound isn't so directional. With the speaker facing forward, the sound all goes straight ahead, and there isn't much volume off to the sides. Firing at the ceiling, the sound is dispersed evenly, and the tone is excellent. With a rear ported cab, I think the dolly gets the cab high enough off the floor for the ports to work, although I don't have one of those to try, only the sealed back RE cab. But I think I'm going to leave the dolly in place, and play with my own fountain of sound setup. I like it.

Jimmy Vaughan also rigged up one of his Grammatico amps utilizing the Fountain of Sound concept.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[bratistofeles]

I know JS introduced each piece, but I can't seem to hear those intro's. Does anyone have the titles of this solo performance please ?

Thanks .

His solo pieces are:

1) Norteña by Gómez Crespo
2) Scherizino Mexicano by Manual María Ponce
3) Black is the color - Traditional
4) I don't know this one
5) Sevilla by Isaac Albéniz

Numbers 1, 2, and 5 are classical guitar repertoire.

[Dennis D]

His solo pieces are:

1) Norteña by Gómez Crespo
2) Scherizino Mexicano by Manual María Ponce
3) Black is the color - Traditional
4) I don't know this one
5) Sevilla by Isaac Albéniz

Numbers 1, 2, and 5 are classical guitar repertoire.

Thank you !