Chasing the elusive Jazz Guitar tone, Strings and picks!

[rio]

I find that some guitars are just fine with a standard .012 and .016 on the first two strings and others really benefit from going up a gauge or two on those strings. If you haven’t tried it then it is worth trying to see how your guitar responds.

The main thing that matters for a pick once you get to 1.25mm or thicker is the shape of the tip - how rounded vs pointy it is and what kind of bevel it has. I shape my own picks and can get a practically identical sound between any brand of picks because those two variables are what affects the sound the most.


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[krusty]

As far as picks are concerned, no single change to your equipment will make as dramatic a change in your tone as a different pick.

I have literally hundreds of different picks, and occasionally I will drag a few dozen out for a "shootout". Every time, the winner for a modern, clean Jazz tone is the Fender Tru-shell 351, and if I decide to up the gain for some fusion, the Tru-shell can still be used with fantastic available dynamics. Note separation, attack, speed and dynamics are all there. The garden variety Fender medium 351 usually gets the nod for more rock-oriented noodling and chording, though, as it gives a slightly brighter tone.

[Robertkoa]

Three picks you should try:
2 ] Dunlop Gator Grip 1.5 mm

1 ] Dunlop Gator Grip 2.0 mm

Give them 30 minutes of heavy playing to break in and they have a wide sweet spot with low noise .

The 2.0 Gator Grip actually get a hair brighter and more articulate as they break in . Score them for better grip .

The 1.5mm are more articulate but are rounder sounding after they break in.

Very forgiving for various angles and grips.

IF you pick a little softer you may like the Delrins as others have mentioned for more click attack- BUT those 2.0 Gator Grips really even out the high E and B String.

Another good Delrin which are cool are
called 'Duralin "by Planet Waves / Daddario:

>>> 3] The Black 1.5mm Duragrip are fat but articulate AND you won't have to pick as hard as with the Gator Grip 2.0mm above, probably.
and to a lesser extent the Duragrip 1.2mm

Generally the thicker picks which glide around the string as well as Pop it during pickstroke will fatten up the High E and B .

Depends upon individual's grip and Angles etc.



I would spend $ 20. and try all the picks mentioned on this thread though ...

*International Pick Audition Week Nov 20 thru Nov 27


* OK not really ...

[Skip Ellis]

I don't mean to be obnoxious about this, but when do we get away from trying to sound like someone else or capturing a tone from a record than was done in the distant past? I guess that's what keeps the accessory and string companies in business. As long as they keep dreaming up things to sell, guitarists will continue buying them in the misguided impression that they'll become better players. As has been noted, some famous guitarists can get a great tone out of thin strings (Jim Hall) and others use bridge cables to get a preferred sound (Al Martino). I just think that you should get a rig that you're comfortable with and play it a lot and develop your own sound. I agree with whoever said that tone is in the hands and mind of the player.

[Spook410]

Are you looking for an acoustic archtop tone or an electric jazz guitar tone? Looks like you're running a great guitar with what may be a mediocre pickup to an acoustic guitar amp. So you may consider some basic changes.

If you want more acoustic you'll need to pick up more acoustic tones from the guitar. The hand wound Armstrong pickups with adjustable poles sound pretty good but still electric. Might get things better with EQ but you may want to add an acoustic pickup (no good and obvious choices for archtops but a few reasonable compromises) to mix in with the main pickup.

If you want a traditional guitar/amp jazz guitar sound, try a Joyo American foot pedal (they're cheap and work well) in front of your acoustic guitar amp to give you more of a tube amp sound. Start there and might fix the whole deal for you. Would still address the pickup when you get a chance though. Armstrong's do sound good.

Other than that strings and picks are a matter of experimentation. I would start with pick materials of varying hardness in the shape and thickness you prefer. To my ears thick (1.5mm and up) in a hard acrylic sounds more acoustic. Acetal seems to be the other end of the scale and is a nice muted attack. If you don't want to get caught up in experimenting, Dunlop jazztones seem to be good at everything including acoustic.

The guitar will tell you what strings it likes. Don't see a choice but to try different things. Chrome 12's or TI 13's seem to be the starting point for electric. And if you put on some regular acoustic guitar strings on you'll see what the box will do as an acoustic instrument. At least until you want to amplify that sound and find you have opened a can-o-worms.

Good luck. Beautiful guitar. It's all kind of fun..

[sandal90]

I can recommend You one of these sets
Dâ??Addario EXP115 Coated Nickel Wound, Medium/Blues/Jazz, 11-49 Electric Guitar Strings
Sweetwater.com (800) 222-4700

[Bach5G]

Be careful. Unless I’m mistaken, this is not for a variety pack. Looks like you only get one of the size of your choice.

This is the case. Luckily I got 204s which seem perfect.

[Alter]

I agree that every guitar has an ideal way to be played, and sets of strings that are best suited for it. If you email/talk to the manufacturer (or to the builder if it's hand made) you can get an idea of what it's built, tuned and braced for.

Besides the tip, on some picks (like the D Andrea Pro Plec) the side is beveled too, which does make a difference in the sound. And then there's the material as well, different materials have different sound, celluloid, tortoise, plastic, nylon, tortex, etc.. My favorite is celluloid.

Another part of the classic sound is that most of the players play really soft and slow with the pick, meaning the pick strikes the strings pretty lightly, and travels through the strings in a slower and less aggressive way when playing chords (compared to say rock or funk playing). This results in the amps having more gain in the setup than people would think, and thus sounding more lively. Or playing (and especially recording) with amps not necessarily associated with jazz sound (Fenders 5E3 for example).

Lastly, jazz guitar is commonly associated with a dark sound, turning off the trebles etc, but that's usually not the case, most classic players have a very vivid sound with lots of treble. It's just not overdriven guitar treble.