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Originally Posted by Tal_175
Online Tone Generator - generate pure tones of any frequency
So what makes every instrument appealing (or not) is its unique mix of harmonic content.
From that viewpoint every instrument is distorting (relative to the pure sine wave). There are a variety of ways of achieving pleasing harmonic content both mechanical/acoustic and electronic. I think guitar manufacturers use “overdrive” to refer to pedals intended for light to moderate clipping and “distortion” for pedals intended for hard clipping (which isn’t what I meant when mentioned distortion in the previous paragraph).
I think of clean vs. overdrive sort of like clarinet vs. saxophone. Either can sound very good, very bad, or out of place. A very raspy saxophone can sound great as a solo instrument, but if you want to play a chord on saxophone (say in a big band) it probably is best to play more cleanly. Otherwise the chord turns to mush. I think that’s part of the reason “power chords” (root-5) are so popular in rock.
The bottom line is follow your ear. :-)
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05-06-2019 08:14 PM
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Saturday, I played a gig with a new jazz band I am in. Piano, guitar, and a vocalist fronting the show.
I play a Strat in this band to provide lush tones on the neck pickup, with funky tones on the two-pickup settings.
There's one glitch. I like to set amp volume high and guitar volume low, providing a very rich, fat neck pickup tone. If the gig requires playing di into the venue PA, as last weekend, the sound guy insists on full guitar volume. This makes a Strat bright even on the neck pu.
I think I need a Polytone pedal.
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I just assembled a partscaster Strat. Although normally I am not a fan of Strats for jazz, this one is an exception! Indian laurel fretboard, thicker .011 flatwounds (Thomastiks), body is mist likely Agathis and an old school .1uF tonecap that makes the tone roll off a lot better suited for jazz! It has 57 custom pickups. (All parts were acquired used and the whole thing cost me $320 or so ;-)
Oh and what helped fatten up the tone a bit was putting 5 vibrato springs and a piece of foam in the spring-cavity to dampen that typical Strat-spring-ring.
Here’s some (quickly recorded) sounds:
Tone and volume rolled down a bit:
Everything full up for more bluesy tone:
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Great sounding Strat, Jay. I'll have to try that spring ring thing (my PRS has a similar system). Also, nice playing!
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Originally Posted by citizenk74
I just put a rectangular piece of foam on top of the springs so it’s wedged between the springs and the back plate. Works like a charm and doesn’t interfere with vibrato operation.
I also experimented some more with tone and volume and with tone rolled back and volume up I get a nice punchy and mellow tone for single-note soloing. I’ll see if I can record some of that too.Last edited by Little Jay; 05-07-2019 at 08:57 AM.
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This clip is pretty interesting, the Stratocaster is a very versatile guitar!
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Originally Posted by Greentone
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I play/gig with both a Heritage Super Eagle and a Bill Nash S-57 Strat. My results correspond virtually identically with those in the clip above. Strings, touch, amp and guitar settings, and voila--you get a lush, jazz sound from the neck pickup on your Strat.
_Plenty_ of times I'd rather walk in with the Strat than subject the SE to the risk of getting any, ahem, aging.
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Originally Posted by Airdale
Last edited by Tal_175; 06-16-2019 at 09:32 PM.
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Unfortunately Chuck is gone already, but he he got a great jazz/bebop tone out of his strat. As I remember this guitar had a mid boost and he rolled off the highs to get that jazz tone.
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Originally Posted by rpjazzguitar
BTW, there was nothing wrong with the tone of the clip you posted with your Strat!
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Cunamara has it. Neck pick up. 11 flats. Amp volume up, guitar volume down. Pick near neck.
I have played many jazz gigs on a Strat this way. Very satisfying.
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Originally Posted by christianm77Originally Posted by DS71Originally Posted by christianm77
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Another thing. There's something magic about a Strat played through a tweed amp. I guarantee you will get applause and comments.
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Yeah, the tweed amps seem to compliment Strats and Teles really well. I like mine with my 5e3 a lot.
With tweed amps and archtops, the bass has to be toned down to reduce boominess and feedback. The flatter response of my Polytone and Clarus are easier with the archtops. As much as I love my Cushman, gigging with the Tele or the Strat is simpler just because of the physics. But at home it's the Cushman I play (usually unplugged 'cuz it sounds so good).
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Today's Stupid Deal looks pretty good:
Stupid Deal of the Day | Musician's Friend
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just bought a Fender Squire Telecaster Affinity..budget player on a pension .cant afford mods..Tim Lerch said volume up and tone down and 12-54s...EXL145`s dadarrio....wont sound like a banjo...anyone any other advice ..do i like it...very much...smooth neck and sounds great out of the box...cheers.
Last edited by voxsss; 07-12-2020 at 10:05 AM.
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Originally Posted by Stefan Eff
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Originally Posted by voxsss
Due to the vagaries of wiring in various buildings, including my 112-year-old house, I did eventually put in stacked humbucking Telecaster pick ups (Dimarzio Area T and Wilde noiseless Telecaster pickups are both outstanding for jazz). But that being said, the stock pickups sounded fine and I used them for several years. Ironically enough, this is my quietest guitar.
I run the volume not quite all the way up (say 8-9) as that rolls off just a little of the very high end. Tone control right around half. I seem to always like to place the tone control right at about the resonant peak of the pick up, which results in small movements having a noticeable effect on the tone.
I have found that regular light gauge strings sound fine for jazz: .010-.046 or .011-.050 work great unless you have a heavy touch.
With a warm sounding amp, the above will put you right in Ed Bickert land. And I don't think jazz guitar tone gets any better than that (different and excellent, but not better).
I just realized "heck, we were talking about Stratocasters rather than Telecasters in this thread." Sorry for the diversion. I do also have a Stratocaster that sounds fine for jazz, although it does not have Strat pick ups in it and so I think that guitar would be less germane to this conversation.
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Originally Posted by voxsss
affinity tele's are good bang for the buck..they sound good with flats too!
enjoy
cheers
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Another thing about the Strat is that it emphasizes higher frequencies than a typical humbucker guitar.
To my ear, for comping, that can blend really well with the sound of a band, even a big band. Maybe especially a big band.
There's more separation from the bass and it's thin enough to separate nicely from the keyboard, again, for comping.
I think the thinness doesn't readily work so well for soloing, but, clearly it can. Doesn't Lorne Lofsky play a Strat? He sounds incredible in a big band setting.
I heard Mike Stern play a Strat with Miles Davis. There's some strat-cred in that.
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Originally Posted by Greentone
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It's nothing new- you can use any guitar for any style as long as you know how to play. A Strat is a pretty versatile instrument, go for it if you like. I love archtops but my favourite guitar is the Telecaster (or Thinline, Esquire)- To me it's the ultimate dynamic guitar.
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just bought Tim Lerchs Truefires Blues soloing..Jazzy blues....the Squire tele sounds great in the backing mix..noticed CC pickup on Tims tele...lucky man..
Debussy it? Steal that classical lick!
Today, 11:06 AM in Improvisation