The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
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  1. #101

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    Best neck I ever played ...
    Ibanez JP20 , should have bought it really
    Never even plugged it in , didn't the wedge at the time

    Still don't !

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  3. #102

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    Pingu,
    the JP is an amazing guitar. To me the unique pickup placement made it a great guitar. The Strat of Archtops. I really wish I could have gotten along with the shallowness of the neck.
    Joe D

  4. #103

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    What is the best guitar you've ever played? There could only be one..-img_0073-como-objeto-inteligente-1-jpg

    I logged in to the Forum after 4 hours of playing acoustically this guitar that I love, my Gibson L5 Studio Custom with BJB and bridge piezo pickups, stringed with Martin SP acoustic guitar strings. Difficult to put it down.

    I have owned some Gibsons throughout the years, all of them masterpieces: Super 400, Es 175 blonde, Es 165 Herb Ellis, Es 350T, Es 335 Cherry, 3 Les Pauls, etc.

    But ended having this guitar built by Gibson Custom direct to my specifications 15 years ago, and since then now mainly play this guitar, tap tuned by the late great master luthier J. Hutchins.

  5. #104

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    Oh yeah baby..
    I can see that that guitar never leaving my side.. BJB and a piezo blended to perfection.
    Thanks for showing that to us. Beautiful.
    Joe D

  6. #105

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    Quote Originally Posted by pingu
    Best neck I ever played ...
    Ibanez JP20 , should have bought it really
    Never even plugged it in , didn't the wedge at the time

    Still don't !
    I agree with this. A JP20 had the best neck I've played. I did plug one in and enjoyed it very much. The pickup position is great for chord melody playing and very workable for singlenote by changing your picking location. I've played 2 and both times wished I had bought them but the timing wasn't right....

  7. #106

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    I played a great Nash Tele today.

    But, a Google search turned up some controversy regarding Mr Nash and his guitars.

    Now I've got Danocaster on my brain.

  8. #107

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    I had the opportunity to play many of the instruments in Chinery's collection - D'Angelicos, Strombergs, Benedettos, Epiphones, Barkers, Gibsons, etc. (I was amazed at how light the earliest Gibson archtops were!).

    I've also owned some outstanding guitars - Gibson Super V, late 50's 175 and 125; as well as archtops by boutique builders - Megas, Ribbecke, Benedetto, Sadowsky, PRS.

    However the most outstanding of them all was a friend's Citation! Of all the guitars I played, that one left the most indelible impression. Beyond the beauty and craftsmanship, it played like a dream and the sound - both acoustic and amplified was stunning. Coming in a close 2nd is a 2008 Mirabella Jazz Moderne Non-Cutaway that is my "till death we do part" guitar.

    Albert

  9. #108

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    My 22 year old Carvin DC-127 it really is a tone beast.made out of Koa.



    Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

  10. #109

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    It's so long ago that rose-coloured spectacles probably enter into the equation.....
    In 1971/72 I was 16/17 and had been playing acoustic guitar for a couple of years (folk clubs around Manchester, UK). In the local newspaper there was an ad for a strat in one of the outlying small towns up in the Peak District National Park (Glossop). My dad had always encouraged me and put me on the back of his motor scooter and drove us 45 minutes up to Glossop.
    The guitar was a 1962 strat in sonic blue, in immaculate condition. Up to then I had never played a guitar of that quality. It was like butter, and my hands just fell naturally into position everywhere up and down the very dark rosewood neck. After a few pleas of "poverty", "give the kid a break" my dad paid £90 (down from the £100 asking price), and I carried it next to me on the motor scooter all the way home. For the next couple of years it was never out of my hands whenever I was at home, and it was the first instrument that made me really love playing the guitar.
    Three years later a 1961 ES175D joined it, and although I still have the 175 and love it dearly, the initial impact of that first strat will remain with me for the rest of my life. As a struggling student, I had to sell one of my guitars a few years later, and I chose to keep the 175, but the strat will haunt me for the rest of my days. I hope whoever has it today is giving it lots of TLC.

  11. #110

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    Quote Originally Posted by Max405
    Wow Rob. Now that's one I didn't expect. That must have been really special.
    Can elaborate a little on what made it the best guitar you've played? I need to live through you a little.
    joe D
    Joe, Sorry for the late reply, had a family issue. In 1999 or so, the Blue Guitars were exhibited at a building owned by the Savannah School of Art and Design (SCAD). I stumbled across this exhibit because it was across the street from a bookstore I visited. All of the guitars were arranged on stands on tables. I got to play these guitars because the two SACD students who were supposed to be watching the exhibition were too busy making out with each other. I asked the two students if they minded if I played the guitars and they said "Sure no problem". I had expected to be told No but they could have cared less.


    So for at least 45 to an hour it was just me, the guitars and the students. I was able to tune up the guitars but the D'Aquisto was too far out. The D'Aquisto's stings were completely slack and the bridge was not in the right location so I passed on that one. I remembered thinking what a shame this was for these wonderful instruments, especially the D'Aquisto. At the time I hadn't heard of 3/4 of the luthiers who made the collection but the one that I would have grabbed was the Monteleone. Acoustically is just rang my bell. I knew his guitars even at that time were expensive and had a long wait time but in hindsight I should have gone for it.


    It was also the first time I played a guitar with a side port and it made me a believer. It was very dynamic and well balanced tonally. At the time I was a pick player and it was very responsive to pick attack. Tonally it fit between an archtop and flattop. It was just a remarkable guitar.
    Last edited by rob taft; 08-18-2017 at 05:30 PM.

  12. #111

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    Hey Rob, thanks buddy. I hope everything is ok with your family.
    I love the side port too. I played a Ribbecke Halfling once that made me a fan too. One day I'd like to have one.
    One of our esteemed members here, QAman is very good friends with Mr Monteleone. What a genius he is. I also like Cris Mirabella too. He one of the coolest guys out there. Very similar guitars too.
    Thanks for sharing your experience. Young love.. I was thinking about my 1st kiss yesterday. Her name was Lori. I walked her home and then I kissed her and ran away.
    Joe D

  13. #112

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    Late 60s Super 400... at Guitar Center in Hollywood about 20 years ago. Totally overpriced but wow.!

  14. #113

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    Since for the most part, we seem to be the limiting the discussion to archtops, I will share my favorite(s) which I am fortunate to say I own. Other types of guitars is another discussion...

    Across the years, I have sampled a variety of vintage Epiphone/Gibson/D'Angelico/D'Aquisto/Stromberg and modern luthiers such as Steve Andersen, Steve Grimes, John Monteleone, etc. across the years. To me, both of my 16" archtops by luthier Bill Comins are simply the best that I have played.

    Bill has made well over 300 guitars across the last 20-years and his insights as a jazz guitarist and his sense of design are what do it for me. Not having an Italian last name as an archtop luthier, has likely been an impediment to Bill's notariety as a luthier (Benedetto, Buscarino, Campellone, Mirabella, Monteleone etc.)...

    My 2013 16" Comins Classic has both a great acoustic and plugged in tone. The combination of the Kent Armstrong 12-pole piece humbucker and the Barbera Soloist transducer blended together (prodominantly, the KA) is simply fantastic played through my AI Clarus + Buscarino Chameleon. It has a 1-3/4" nut and a 25" scale to make those closed voicing stretches manageable.



    My 2016 16" Comins Zelig hybrid archtop with its sloped rims tapering from 3" to 4-1/8" with a ladder braced mahogany back has acoustic bass performance beyond what I have heard from any archtop regardless of its size. It has a very flat carve and unique top bracing that preserves the clarity and fast attack of an archtop but adds some upper partials like a flat top. It also has strong fat trebles to carry the melody. I play it with 80/20 .013"-.056" strings. This guitar has a 25-1/4" scale and a 1-3/4" nut width. I find that I use this more than my Gypsy Grande Bouche now.


  15. #114

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    Both of those Comins archtops are simply stunning!! I can only imagine how they feel, play and sound.

  16. #115

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    Quote Originally Posted by iim7V7IM7
    What is the best guitar you've ever played? There could only be one..-86f7be2a-0464-4751-a551-64fd55e32e54-1226-000002bd0bcb9206-jpg
    Imm7vkjgjygjyg,
    did you know you had a broken string when you took that photo?
    Just kidding buddy.
    I played a Comins once. It really was a nice sounding guitar. It wasn't setup right for me but it had the potential to be a player extraordinaire for sure.
    Beautiful guitars you got there buddy.
    Joe D

  17. #116

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    iim, i remember when that comins zelig was incoming...beautiful guitar

    comins is top guy...was/is jimmy brunos (gods bless him) main tech recently too...

    also designed what i consider the best of the recent d'angelicos..the semi ss


    cheers

  18. #117

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    That Comins Classic is gorgeous. Hoo-wee!

  19. #118

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    Andersen Streamline. Best acoustic instrument I've owned, bar none. So responsive that it seems to know what I want it to do even before I do. Steve obviously did his homework! Sounds beautiful amplified as well.

  20. #119

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    1951 L5 with P90s. Not mine sadly.

  21. #120

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    The D'Aquisto New Yorker Lou at Guitars N' Jazz has... Unreal...

    What is the best guitar you've ever played? There could only be one..-img_6383-jpg
    What is the best guitar you've ever played? There could only be one..-img_6375-jpg

  22. #121

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    BINGO! That D'Aquisto would be THE guitar, if us mere mortals could afford it.

  23. #122

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    Quote Originally Posted by Greentone
    BINGO! That D'Aquisto would be THE guitar, if us mere mortals could afford it.
    No kidding. Maybe if we both sell our kidneys we can treat it like a timeshare and take turns with it every other month.

  24. #123

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    Peter,
    That smile on your handsome face will probably never go away!
    That is the pinnacle right there. I'd be afraid to play it at first. But after I realized it was built to last forever, that would be the only guitar I'd ever play for the rest of my life.
    One of Jimmy's babies. Oh my god.
    Joe D.

  25. #124

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    Quote Originally Posted by petermelton
    The D'Aquisto New Yorker Lou at Guitars N' Jazz has... Unreal...

    What is the best guitar you've ever played? There could only be one..-img_6383-jpg
    What is the best guitar you've ever played? There could only be one..-img_6375-jpg
    cool...whats the switch do?? on/off??...lot'a guys liked to have an on/off to quickly cut single coil hum whilst recording...(thinkin burrell)


    cheers

  26. #125

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    Quote Originally Posted by neatomic
    cool...whats the switch do?? on/off??...lot'a guys liked to have an on/off to quickly cut single coil hum whilst recording...(thinkin burrell)


    cheers
    I bet that is the Dearmond 1100 rhythm switch