The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
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  1. #76

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    The Strat can do,and can do it good,I have one from the 80's...
    but i prefere this baby,when it comes to solid bodies "jazzin' around"

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    The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
     
  3. #77

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    Since I started playing again I have had no use for strats. I have tried quite a few and just cant get jazz vibe that inspires me. My own strat (a 76 Ibanez challenger actually) sat in pieced for years while I tried to find the time to refin/refret the neck. Finially finished it up and replaced the stock pickups with SD ssl-2 pickups. I couldnt believe a) how much nicer it is than any other strat I have played. Light and resonant. The new pickups actually make the whole thing usable. It still just sits in the case because it is not the best tool for the job but in a pinch it will do.

    I love Carls playing on the link above but tone wise I feel.. meh.

  4. #78

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    This guy has a nice sound and playing. Here he explains the jazz tone he obtains with his Am std strato.


  5. #79

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    While I'm not a huge fan of Smooth or Fusion, I do occasionally dig that style of playing in the Loeb link. A relaxing "city-at-night" feel to it.

    Rexi, wow man, love your playing! Back then I was debating Little 59 or CR, and went with the 59 on a coin toss pretty much. Sounds like the CR is beautifully mellow. The 59 didn't so much mellow the sound of the Strat as it warmed and fattened it up.

    Even though I later switched to 175 style Archies as the jazz weapon of choice, I always like to have at least one Fender around, for their unique personality and history if nothing else. Incredibly versatile guits for something so simple.

  6. #80

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    The strat played in the JHJS videos seems to have a neck pickup with a bar instead of individual polepieces.
    Last edited by gcb; 01-05-2013 at 09:46 AM. Reason: error

  7. #81

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    I mainly played teles and love them for any style of music. I recently got a Strat I like, but I just can't get into them for jazz. Part of the strat sound is that plinkly note attack from its vibrato system, I don't like that in a jazz sound.

  8. #82

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    Quote Originally Posted by docbop
    I mainly played teles and love them for any style of music. I recently got a Strat I like, but I just can't get into them for jazz. Part of the strat sound is that plinkly note attack from its vibrato system, I don't like that in a jazz sound.
    You could always "block" the trem system . . . in effect, making it a "hard tail".

  9. #83

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    Here is Mordy Ferber playing Stella on a Strat. Unreservedly sounds like jazz guitar to me:
    .

  10. #84

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    Strats are one of those guitars that sometimes need their fundamental character wrestled with and manipulated in order to achieve a traditional jazz tone. There's nothing wrong with that if you own a Strat, enjoy its playability, and want a more traditional jazz tone from it. I personally prefer to let my Strat be itself. I keep 10's on it and the trem floats. It sounds best just like that, and since I have lots of other guitars for jazz, it doesn't need to serve me that way.

    So the question is not if a Strat can be a jazz guitar (it can), but whether you want to potentially compromise its essential character in order to make it one.

    That said, I can get a fine jazz tone from my Strat "as is" by using the tone control, my amp, my choice of pick, and my touch appropriately.

  11. #85

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    I keep my strat setup for pop/rock/fusion type styles. I don't really like the tone-knob rolled down sound, so for a darker tone on my Teles, I have WRH's in one and some very dark P90's in the other. I keep the tone and volume knobs on the guitars wide open and adjust the tone on the amp instead.

    The main difference I've found between my archtops (admittedly cheap ones) and my solid bodies is what happens when I really smack the high E string up around the 10th fret. All my guitars use 12's and fairly high action and I use the same 2.5mm Wegen picks for all of 'em as well. On the archtops, the tone remains full but on the solid bodies, it "plinks" or "spanks". I've observed this effect on 335/Les Paul type guitars as well, so I think it's the difference between solid bodies and (fully) hollow bodies.

  12. #86

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    I think part of it is the extra body cavity and the strings. I have a tele so will leave the strat for non-Jazz or practice.

  13. #87

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    You guys have inspired me. A co-worker just gave me a slightly neglected Peavey Predator. I'm going to get it set up, and if it's playable, install a Coolrails and make a new pickguard. Nice playing and tone from Rexi and Heavyblues. Thanks!

  14. #88

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    I just built a Warmoth hardtail Strat with a 4 lb alder body and a one piece maple neck. I finished it with 2 coats of Tru-Oil and it's quite the versatile player with a set of 11's.

    Blocking the trem is not quite the same as a true hardtail, which is essentially the same setup as a Tele (string through, fixed mount bridge). Of course the Strat bridge has a smaller footprint than a Tele bridge, and the pickup does not mount within it, but it's the same principle.

  15. #89

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    Quote Originally Posted by rpguitar
    I just built a Warmoth hardtail Strat with a 4 lb alder body and a one piece maple neck. I finished it with 2 coats of Tru-Oil and it's quite the versatile player with a set of 11's.

    Blocking the trem is not quite the same as a true hardtail, which is essentially the same setup as a Tele (string through, fixed mount bridge). Of course the Strat bridge has a smaller footprint than a Tele bridge, and the pickup does not mount within it, but it's the same principle.
    I had a custom hard tail strat and liked it a lot had amazing sustain and none of the strat plinkiness.

  16. #90

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    Quote Originally Posted by aPAULo
    I do love the feel of strats, but I dont really like single-coil pickups. They, IMO, sound too flat and dont have that depth that I like, especially for jazz. You probably can play jazz on them, but I certainly cannot.
    I think it all depends on how the pick up is built. More winding and the tone fattens up but you lose the sparkle and that elusive sound that sounds like you are really hearing the inner workings of each string. I have a strat with Seymour Duncan PUs with very low resistence and Alnico 5 poles. It sounds uber glassy and somewhat like the old Rickenbacker toaster PU. Its just such a musical sound that nobody couldn't like it.

    But I also have a humbucker loaded Guild S300A that equally sounds great - just different. I guess its about choosing the right PU for each song. I'd be happy with any quality sound for jazz, including a good piezo.

  17. #91

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    I saw a Youtube of Les McCann in Germany and his guitar player was playing a run of the mill American Standard Strat with 3 single coils and he sounded really good. Of course, he played really good so I think that is the key.

  18. #92

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    I know this is an old thread. But this topic has been on my mind a lot lately as I want to stop the guitar merry go round I've been on.

    I have been trading up and trading down guitars for a long while. My latest go to axe is a Fender Blacktop HH. The two humbuckers with the five way switch makes for a very versatile guitar. The neck pickup is wonderfully sweet. I keep it just a little higher than the way it came to me in it's stock setup. Currently it is strung with GHS David Gilmour red set 10.5-50. I have been toying with the idea of flatwounds and will be trying them this weekend.

    One of my favorite sounds are Hammond trios. My favorite Hammond trio: Jimmy Smith's trio that included Quentin Warren.

    Exhibit #1:


    Nice tone coming out of that vintage axe with single coils.
    Last edited by Bob_H; 10-11-2014 at 05:16 PM.

  19. #93

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    Never too late to post about an awesome guitar, & definitely not too late to post a Jimmy Smith vid: the guitarist I'm not familiar with, but like you say, nice tone! I liked the uniqueness of the drummer: he had my attention b4 the first 50 secs went by.

    Thanks for posting!

  20. #94

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    I've been a Strat man for 30 odd years. I love the sound of a good Strat and I think they're the most flexible electric guitar ever designed. They can be unforgivingly articulate though...

  21. #95

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    I am an incurable Strat man. But not a jazz guitarist. I wish. I play almost everything else (from classical guitar to punk), but not smart enough to play jazz.

  22. #96

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    I think, unless you are doing just one or two songs, then comfortable playing is very important. So my first consideration on a gig lasting say for two one hour sessions is comfort. All the necks and action on my guitars is within something like a millimetre - so that's sorted. Then it comes down to sitting or standing. You want something that balances and doesn't do that nose dive thing most bass guitars do - the neck wants to drop all the time and you kind of support it with your left hand. (Modern built guitars seem to do that more than old ones. ) So balance is more important standing than sitting where you can sort of adjust in the seat. Controls - do you know where they are and what they do - I am constantly surprised at how many players don't really know the knobs and can't adjust on the fly whilst playing.

    Only after all the above would I get onto tone. And you knwo, in my experience of playing for 50+ years, I think you can pretty much make a guitar and amp pretty much sound like ant combination in the middle 80% zone of guitar tone. There are some extremes - but mostly you can make the combination sound like what you want.

    But lastly there is "theatre". If you are playing in a well light swing band centre stage, I would suggest there is a requirement to wear a dinner suit and bow tie or something like a brown, double brested suit and tie and a guitar that fits that era. If you areplaying in the "Strictly Come Dancing" band ( in my dreams!) then you are background and in the 'dark' - who knows and who cares what you play? The audience can't see you anyway. And lastly, if you are doing a solo gig where you get to talk to the audience, you can explain what instrument you are playing if you think it looks odd, and you are up and running again with whatever you want to play personally.

    The bottom line in my opinion is that the instrumnet is a bit of a side issue - learning and playing jazzy stuff well is the real challenge. Most great players have been through times when they have been playing instruments that don't fit the jazz ethos - they would probably listen to this conversation with a wry smile of inner wisdom and think - "whatever!"

  23. #97

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    I have a Highway1 Strat. Set up with a blocked tremolo and medium flats, it produces a very nice jazz tone from the neck PU - not twangy at all.

  24. #98

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    Of course you can play jazz on a Strat. Over the years, I have owned three. I have a gig next week at which I will be playing a Strat. Stratocasters are lovely guitars--Telecasters, too.

  25. #99

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    I have an American Deluxe w/S1 switching: In the neck and next-to-neck pickup positions, it is incredibly warm, and I love the variety of tapping the switch w/o having to move the slider all the time. I rarely use mid or bridge pups, by themselves, but always the neck, or neck and mid pickups.

  26. #100

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    This topic never gets old, so I'll put my two cents in. Stratocasters are awesome jazz guitars, and I don't understand why more jazzers don't play them regularly. My three "go to" guitars I use for jazz are not considered traditional jazz guitars: my Fender Strat, my Fender Telecaster and my Gretsch 5122:

    Fender Stratocaster for Jazz?-imag1063-jpgFender Stratocaster for Jazz?-imag1058-jpgFender Stratocaster for Jazz?-imag0877-jpg

    I like the Strat and Telecaster for their clarity of sound, which I don't quite get with a lot of hollow bodied guitars. I never understood the attitude that you need to have a muffled, boomy sound to play jazz. For example, Wes Montgomery is my favorite guitarist, but I hate the dull, muddy sound he got on his "Guitar On the Go" album. I think a Telecaster or Strat in his hands would have solved that.

    I actually play 10 gauge roundwound strings on my Strat for jazz (never tried flatwounds on a Stratocaster). I get a great jazz sound from using the middle pickup alone, with the tone knob on the guitar rolled down to about a 4, and the treble on the amp set half way. It has a nice dry, woody tone that provides plenty of crisp definition between notes, and sounds plenty "jazzy" to me.

    I also love the Strat and Telecaster for practicing new licks because I find them to be really comfortable and easy guitars to play.
    Last edited by shamu1; 01-01-2015 at 11:32 AM.