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I've played some nice archtops - even an older non-cutaway D'Angelico acoustic ($35K!) at a small shop in Manchester, VT - but the most awesome guitar I've ever played was a Collings 00-2C (12-fret cutaway) at The Music Emporium in Lexington, MA.
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07-23-2017 11:25 AM
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I went to High School with Bob. He had the entrepreneur gene even back then. We were great pals and spent many, many hours together cutting school and driving down to Hollywood to visit Guitar Center on Sunset in the 70's. Some SoCal vets will remember when it was a small shop on the Northwest corner of Sunset and Gardner, then they moved to the South side a block East. OMG we thought that was the Valhalla of guitar shops! When they bought the Theater across the street and remodeled it-well, by that time I was on the road playing. Bob was a excellent skier also-we tore up the Cornice and Climax at Mammoth on a regular basis. I miss Bob. RIP. Gone too soon.
Originally Posted by nopedals
The best guitar I have ever played? Anyone who follows my posts on the forum won't be too surprised by my choice. Hands down it's my Bob built 1990 Benedetto Cremona. She's no case queen. It's my working instrument and allows me to express what I hear in my head without fail. In fact we gigged last night and I always drive home feeling extremely blessed and fortunate to be her caretaker during this part of her career making music.Last edited by SierraTango; 07-23-2017 at 12:24 PM.
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SierraTango, Really? I didnt expect that..
im kidding of course..
what I set out to do with this post, was try and pull us together and have us share feelings about this thing that creates so much passion in our lives, our guitars. There may be some younger folks out there who have not made it to a point in life where they can afford to chase and catch a guitar that fulfills there every dream in an instrument. Hearing us spill our feelings about it might give the future of guitars an added boost.
How someone can live without the ability to make music in their life is a sad thing. I was sitting on my couch this morning thinking about Patrick. Not long before he left us (just about two years ago) I remember him telling me, "if you ever really want to know what a guitar sounds like, listen to Lush Life on it. Then he popped in a CD by Vinnie Corrao and we listened to the song. Now 2-1/2 years later, I get it. A great guitar that is unlocked by a capable player can create the most beautiful and most versatile collection of music in the world. I am learning Lush Life for you Patrick. We are still thinking about you buddy.
Joe D
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JD, Originally Posted by Max405
Everytime I play the D'Angelico II New Yorker, a guitar once owned by Patrick and yourself, I think about Patrick and his love of jazz guitar. Those of us who hang out here have this passion and this is a great place to share it and learn from like minded folks.
There is more to life than music, jazz and the guitar to be sure, and for those of us who play music, I am not so sure that we had a choice in doing so. I think perhaps, we were chosen to be musicians by some higher power. Our instruments, like our friends and spouses are all part of our journey, a trip that is as individualistic as each one of us. This has been a fun thread. I could not choose one from my three vintage DA's, and truthfully there are three more guitars in my toolbox that, when in my hands are "the one".
There is the D'Angelico II that once belonged to Patrick and yourself:
There is my 97 ES-175:
And there is my L-5WESMO:
To paraphrase the great author Edward Abbey, being true to one guitar means being untrue to all the rest.
And yes, I hope that threads like this get a younger generation into the hunt for the "right" guitar. After all, when us older folks exit stage right, someone will need to take over the responsibility of being the caretaker of these amazing instruments!
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That is one slick mofo right there fellas..
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About 25 years ago, I played a Hermann Hauser Sr. guitar for about 45 minutes. My fingers still tingle when I think about it. The experience of playing that guitar has never been surpassed.
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Reading your post got me a bit choked up. Youngsters, if you have parents or loved ones that support your love of music, cherish and honor them. I was so lucky-my Dad told me if I passed the audition for Studio Band he would take me out and buy me a new Les Paul. I did and he did-true to his word a brand new Les Paul Black Beauty was my first "real" guitar. Originally Posted by Max405
Lush Life is on our playlist. Always amazes me how a 16 year old could come up with that. Brilliant work.
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A Taylor 814CE. That guitar simply reported what I played with great tone, and without a single issue that impeded the process of getting what was in my mind's ear out of the soundhole.
A close second was my old Les Paul DeLuxe, my #1 for 15 years. When I asked it a question, it had to answer, and it did. Wonderfully playable and incredibly versatile.
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beautiful!! (what more can be said?)..the essence of why we are here on this forum...true love!!! Originally Posted by Max405
cheers
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ps- strayhorns "lush life" was also a tune of study for the great bucky pizzarelli...in fact, he's said ( my paraphrase!!!) after you learn a tune like lush life how can any other simple tune matter
cheers
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Probably I'll catch some flack for this, but I just did a playthrough of my guitars the other night and this Warmoth Partscaster has me thinking "well damn, maybe it's time to sell a few." I just don't even want to play anything else since putting the finishing touches on it a few months ago. At least for my purposes right now, it is exactly what I need from a guitar.
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Pedigree is not the essence of musicality. You clearly get that, and really don't have to worry about it. We don't play the brand-name or headstock. We play the strings, neck, pickups, and amps.
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Best guitar I ever played? My custom built air guitar. Nothing can ever match the stuff I can do with that baby.
David
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It's what feels right to you, in your hands.
I played a tele once a couple of years ago. It was nice. Not too much different to me than my Strat, which I like. I even play jazz with it. I'd prefer a 339 or a Les Paul because I need a finger rest so I can anchor my picking hand.
If tele is your favorite, then ride it. No judgements here.
Joe D
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I bet it plays like buttah. Originally Posted by TruthHertz
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interesting joe D...so you pivot your right hand pinky on pickguard?.... Originally Posted by Max405
i've watched (and loved) all your posted videos... but right hand placement didn't register b4....
cheers
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Appreciate it. I didn't mean to sound snarky, if I did. Just the no name guitar of parts that came together on my kitchen table feels out of place in a list like a lot of what's above. It just feels like the guitar I never knew I needed so badly. And of course that's what really matters to a player, is that the guitar itself stays out of the way while providing comfort and tone that inspire us to play more passionately. Figured wood and pretty inlay work are nice to look at, but (besides making the player feel pleased upon seeing their guitar) aesthetics are kind of pointless from a musician standpoint. Don't get me wrong, I love a pretty guitar as much as the next guy, but it is kind of funny how especially jazzers (who are in many ways more serious about musicianship than many other genre players) tend to have some of the flashiest guitars. You don't see many beaters in a jazz club, but most other genres have famous musicians known for playing an old beat to hell guitar. I don't really have a point, just an observation. Originally Posted by Max405
As a side note, I too stabilize with my right hand pinky when not using it for hybrid picking, but I find that the small distance down to the body doesn't hinder that practice. I just rest it on the pickguard.
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I had a midnight epiphany.....
[QUOTE=jazzbow;790097[I]]The perfect guitar, number 1?.
The Squier Jazz Tele has the sound I want but the neck is 42mm nut width and quite thin. My right hand index finger mid joint compresses into an acute angle when playing double stops and is painful after a session. I'm going for a new neck on that guitar hoping it will settle in. If it does then this will be the[/I] 1.[QUOTE]
Dammit, last night I spent 2 hours playing guitar and once I got to the Tele I realised she's my #1.
What made me reach this conclusion? Just the way I can feel each string vibration through the neck as I play, the pickup tonality and the way the neck is in the right place (the Jazzmaster neck is pushed out, much like an SG).
Gosh, the knuckle didn't hurt as much tonight but hey ho, Vincent cut his ear off for love, a little knuckle pain is nothing!
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While better known as a flattop maker, the Santa Cruz archtop I once played at a guitar show in Marin County is the best guitar I have ever had in my hands. Fantastic sound and playability. I think the price was around $10,000 several years ago. Their flattops are, of course, spectacular too.
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Pants, not at all. You are totally cool. Originally Posted by pants
There is something about something that you construct on your own. You play it with a n added sense of pride.
Cool.
JD
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Gut and Skin Indeed!! Pure bilss... Originally Posted by Mark M.
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For me it's really two guitars, perhaps a single musical soul inhabiting two physical bodies?
Gibson ES165 Herb Ellis, bought from Joe D himself. His mojo is soaked into that guitar and so whenever I play it, it just sounds better than I am actually playing!
My most recent: Gibson L5ces. This guitar fulfilled all that I ever hoped from an L5. It just "is" that beautiful playing queen of archtops.
Both of these guitars sound way better than I play... I'm dating out of my league here, but I love it.
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Music Man Axis Super Sport, awesome for rock of course but also for jazz and blues. Best neck you can play
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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The diversity of responses is interesting, from flat tops to Strats as well as archtops. To me, the "best" depends on what you're using it for, and I think the best guitar for the kind of jazz I play is an archtop. The best archtop I've played lately was one of the new master luthier-built D'Angelico's at their showroom.
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My Trenier Magnolia...
Found a Google image of it played by previous owner Kamlapati!
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