The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
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  1. #126

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    Quote Originally Posted by Stringswinger
    I bet that is the Dearmond 1100 rhythm switch
    could be...that was a push button originally!!

    What is the best guitar you've ever played? There could only be one..-1960s_gold_1100_in_box-jpg


    cheers

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    The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
     
  3. #127

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    Quote Originally Posted by Stringswinger
    I bet that is the Dearmond 1100 rhythm switch
    According to the website it is the lead/rhythm switch

  4. #128

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    Quote Originally Posted by petermelton
    The D'Aquisto New Yorker Lou at Guitars N' Jazz has... Unreal...
    mine is an Excel from approx. the same year, and the sweetest as well

    What is the best guitar you've ever played? There could only be one..-image1-jpg

  5. #129

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    On mine the original pickup (likely ? I think ?) was the hi-A which was later replaced with a Johnny Smith pu

    why is that dearmond pickup square on the top. I think it is a later addition also

  6. #130

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    Maybe this one wasn't certainly the best, but it was absolutely the biggest, most pleasant surprise ! I stumbled upon this at a guitar show. I didn't know Gibson ever made them. The fingerboard seemed to be in a class by itself, L-5's included.
    As I played it, those listening said it sounded better to the listener than the player, and I had to agree. With a sound port, it would've been perfect - -and it was pretty close just the way it was !

    1992 Gibson Western Sky Super 400 Honeyburst > Guitars Archtop Electric & Acoustic | Lakeshore Guitars

    Heaven help me if I ever see another !

  7. #131

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    The one I literally dreamt about after playing it and 2 weeks later bought, is my Gibson Legrand. Wayyyy more guitar ($+quality) than I will ever need or use but the "tone" I've been chasing for years. Stumbled upon it at Elderly's in Lansing when I dropped off my Guild X175-B for an input jack repair. Couldn't believe anyone would ever pay that kind of money for a guitar - and "used" at that. After a hour or so of playing, I just couldn't get it out of my mind. Thought about it solid for 2 weeks and when I went back to pick up my repair, it was still on the wall. Dare I play it? After 15 minutes I wasn't leaving without at least making an offer. Nothing I have ever played in the last 55 years has the feel and soul of this instrument. Very grateful for a retirement gig that can accommodate an acquisition like this one. Very happy.

  8. #132

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    I'd have to go with a late 30's L5. Incredible sound.

    And, I've played a lot of great guitars over the years, including multiple D'Angelicos, Benedettos and other great makers.
    But, my memory of that L5 ....

  9. #133

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    My opinion is probably worth what it costs, but

    A few years ago, at the Jimmy Bruno Guitar Workshop gathering/clinic, Bill Comins had some of his guitars there for us to check out. He had a used 7 string that he was selling for a client who was having a new guitar built. It was the best. I don't own a 7 string guitar, have no desire to own one, and have not played one since, but that thing was absolutely amazing. If I had money, I'd certainly trust Bill to build me something with 6 strings.

    FWIW I have not played any classic Gibsons, D'Angelicos, D'aquistos, or any of the other current highly regarded builders' guitars. I did play a $17,000 Benedetto in Howard Paul's office that was not as good as the Comins. (again, just my opinion)

    ...but then again, I'm about a $500 guitar player and don't need a $10,000+ instrument.

    Cheers.

  10. #134

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    It was my Larriveé acoustic, 1st gen parlour guitar, that I bought when I got back from a deployment to the Middle East. Got it on clearance for half-price from Musician’s Friend (we all called it “The Fiend” back then). Larriveé was moving from Vancouver Island to California and MF was selling everything at ridiculous prices. The actions was just high enough to play slide cleanly (with a WIDE nut!) and yet not so high that it lost intonation. I could strum, pingerpick, dlatpick, slide, or whatever, and while it never boomed, it always got out the message I was giving it. My Hamer does a pretty good job responding to my play, but not like that Larriveé

    I sold it because I had to pay some bills, and it was either take a loan or sell an asset. It lasted less than 24 hours on eBay before someone in California bought it. I still miss that thing. I keep jonesing to buy another, but finding a Vancouver Palour model at a good price + shipping is not easy.

  11. #135

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    Quote Originally Posted by zcostilla
    It was my Larriveé acoustic, 1st gen parlour guitar, that I bought when I got back from a deployment to the Middle East. Got it on clearance for half-price from Musician’s Friend (we all called it “The Fiend” back then). Larriveé was moving from Vancouver Island to California and MF was selling everything at ridiculous prices. The actions was just high enough to play slide cleanly (with a WIDE nut!) and yet not so high that it lost intonation. I could strum, pingerpick, dlatpick, slide, or whatever, and while it never boomed, it always got out the message I was giving it. My Hamer does a pretty good job responding to my play, but not like that Larriveé

    I sold it because I had to pay some bills, and it was either take a loan or sell an asset. It lasted less than 24 hours on eBay before someone in California bought it. I still miss that thing. I keep jonesing to buy another, but finding a Vancouver Palour model at a good price + shipping is not easy.
    Was it similar to this: Larrivee Guitars - Products ?

    I've wanted a parlor guitar for the longest time! I found a Bedell Parlor guitar in Guitar Center once... Oh man, I was so tempted to just walk out with that guitar--It was used, but it played like a dream and sounded like a dream. Honestly, whoever bought that beauty better be playing her every dang day! She's the one that got away.

  12. #136

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

    Attachment 45180
    Attachment 45181
    Lou had a back room? WHAT?!? He never showed me that?!?

    What a guy. I think he's the nicest guy I've ever met in the guitar sales business. A true gentleman!

  13. #137

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    Quote Originally Posted by Irez87
    Was it similar to this: Larrivee Guitars - Products ?

    I've wanted a parlor guitar for the longest time! I found a Bedell Parlor guitar in Guitar Center once... Oh man, I was so tempted to just walk out with that guitar--It was used, but it played like a dream and sounded like a dream. Honestly, whoever bought that beauty better be playing her every dang day! She's the one that got away.
    just about. I can’t recall if the nut was actually 1 13/16” or 1 3/4”. Seems to me it was extra wide, which was great for bottleneck slide because I could easily single out the individual strings for lead runs. And the mahogany was darker. I am pretty sure I paid $499 new on clearance from The Fiend.

  14. #138

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    That would be my Herb Ellis. I fitted it with a hand wound Kent Armstrong 12 pole floater and a black chicken head vol knob.
    Attached Images Attached Images What is the best guitar you've ever played? There could only be one..-20190722_172426-jpg 

  15. #139

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    For me it was the (most of a) day I spent with the 1943 D'Angelico non-cutaway New Yorker in my avatar. There was also a 1950s Stromberg cutaway in the same place which was very nice, but the New Yorker was perfect for me. Well, except for the price...

  16. #140

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    Best build quality, acoustic, electric, best sounding, prettiest, easiest to play? Not sure there's a single answer to this. To me, best was my '68 Tele that I bought used for $120 in about '72 and played for over 30 years - it would do anything and everything that I asked of it from hard country to rock to chord melody to orchestra pit (Evita, Jesus Christ, Superstar, Little Shop of Horrors) and everything in between. Been trying to build one like it for 20 years.

    Presently, it's my 2013 Brook Torridge acoustic made in Devon, England. Gorgeous Sitka top over some really old salvaged mahogany from the doors of an old public building in Exeter. My Martin sits in the corner.
    What is the best guitar you've ever played? There could only be one..-brook2-jpg

  17. #141

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    Well, here we are two years later and my picks have been supplanted. A while back I got this 1952 Levin Deluxe. The frets were worn nearly flat and the fingerboard needed to be planed. I had my luthier, Darrell Guinn, take care of the work, including installing Jescar EVO Gold fretwire.

    I also had him repair the lead wires on an original Kjell pickup that I already had and install it. The guitar had one on it originally, but it was missing when I got the guitar.

    After the work was done, I was completely astounded by this guitar. I find it satisfying in every way. The tone, both acoustic and plugged in is amazing, and the playability is second to none, despite my worries about the neck having a thinner profile than I usually prefer.


  18. #142

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    In the 70s, I was fortunate to be able to make a living playing guitar, supplemented by giving lessons at a small music store in NC. One day, a teacher at UNC stopped by with a guitar that he wanted to leave at the store for safe keeping while he was out of town during his summer break. He graciously said that I could play it during breaks between students, and it was the nicest guitar I have ever played - a virtually brand new D'Aquisto New Yorker. Truly a fine instrument; it was the most well balanced guitar (volume/tone wise), perfect neck and and beautiful sound/looks. I had never heard of Jimmy D'Aquisto, but I called Manhattan information, got his number and gave him a call. At that point he was charging $5K to make a New Yorker, and there was a 5 year wait. Unfortunately, I didn't have $5,000 to my name, and didn't have the foresight to give him a deposit and get on the list...

  19. #143

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    Quote Originally Posted by Ray175
    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.
    Two years on and I've just acquired a 2008 Custom Shop 1961 Stratocaster NOS that is everything I remember about my first quality guitar.
    What is the best guitar you've ever played? There could only be one..-2008-61-sonic-1-jpg

  20. #144

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    I see I last commented on this thread 2 years ago already. Since then I've tried a bunch of guitars, bought a couple, traded/sold a couple. I've been unimpressed by expensive archtops, pleasantly surprised by obscure flatops, impressed by high-end factory-made acoustics.

    I'm not sure it's a fair question for an electric guitar- after all, the amp is a big part of the sound. The strings and set-up, too. Maybe that's why people often say the best guitar is one they own! It's dialed in to their style.

    When I want to really enjoy the sound and feel of a guitar I tend to gravitate to acoustic guitars, or at least playing unplugged. I think it tells you the most about how good a guitar it is.

    One of the best guitars I've tried recently is a Taylor 814ce-dlx. It's a GA-size flatop, not a guitar I would used for jazz, and it doesn't even have the acoustic sound I prefer. It's bright, even, and loud for it's size. It's very comfortable ergonomically, very playable and in-tune. Usually when I try a strange guitar it's a little awkward, I have to get used to it. This one, it just felt like I couldn't play a wrong note.

  21. #145

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    my first L5. because it was the first guitar I owned that had it all...the legend, the looks, and the smoke.

    thx RP!




  22. #146

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    Maybe in my honeymoon phase, but honestly I'm pretty sure my new (2009) Ibanez Gb10 is by far the best guitar I've ever played
    Just unbelievable playability, consistency in notes played all over the fretboard, perfect fit and finish, punchy sound.. Just wow
    I can compare with a few very good guitars by the way, 58 Gibson Es125, Guild Capri 1973, good Avri 57 Stratocaster..
    The Gb10 is a music weapon

  23. #147

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    Quote Originally Posted by rpjazzguitar
    I'd have to go with a late 30's L5. Incredible sound.

    And, I've played a lot of great guitars over the years, including multiple D'Angelicos, Benedettos and other great makers.
    But, my memory of that L5 ....
    Weren’t those were still 24 3/4 scale that far back?

  24. #148

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    Hmmm. I dont think in those terms. Each guitar I have is unique and each "speaks" to me in different ways. Also, my set up plays a huge role.

  25. #149

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    For me, this is easy, but would not have been during the period of most of the responses to this thread. My 1995 Gibson Citation is, for me, simply breathtaking. There are a lot of fine guitars owned by folks in this forum that I have not had the experience of playing as well as many more around the world, so my comments are limited to the best among the guitars I have had the opportunity to play, which is admittedly a rather narrow selection.

    Tony

  26. #150

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    Years ago, Howard Paul let me try his Benedetto 7 string that was given to him by Jimmy Bruno. The action was incredible! Super low, no neck relief and not a dead spot anywhere. The sound was typical Benedetto; sweet, punchy and perfectly balanced.
    I have heard that he retired it.

    While nowhere in the same category as that guitar, my Ibanez AF-155 comes surprisingly close in action and sound.