Fusion Jazz Guitar Gear?

**jzucker** · 03-29-2018, 02:37 PM

What gear are you using?

**mitchelyoung** · 03-29-2018, 02:53 PM

I like fusion, in the late 70’s to early 80’s I used to watch the Dixie Dregs at university of Miami all the time (along with other venues but they played at lunch outside the student union every Friday and sometimes other days too)

Brings back great memories, Steve Morse was and is in my opinion awesome.

I don’t play fusion often but when I do it’s usually with my Gibson es-135 or my Jazz Master (bone stock 1963 although refinish from sunburst to Olympic White). Usually using my Rivera Thirty/Twelve, My blues Deville 410 or my supersonic twin 100 on the vintage twin setting depending on my volume requirements.

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**Woody Sound** · 03-29-2018, 02:57 PM

Originally Posted by jzucker

What gear are you using?

4th. Having trouble pushing it into 5th.

**BComp61** · 03-29-2018, 03:47 PM

The Dixie Dregs were awesome! Got to see Steve Morse live in Austin back in '84. He and Eric Johnson were opening for Al DiMeola, except Al was sick so we it was just Steve and Eric...still an amazing show!

**Thumpalumpacus** · 03-29-2018, 04:28 PM

I like listening to it, don't enjoy playing it much except on rare occasions, and even then it's pretty much Jeff Beck's fusion stuff, not terribly sophisticated harmonically. Those times, I usually grab a Strat on the 2 or 4 selector positions through an amp that's sweating. Ride the volume to address different tonal needs.

**jzucker** · 03-29-2018, 04:32 PM

Originally Posted by Thumpalumpacus

I like listening to it, don't enjoy playing it much except on rare occasions, and even then it's pretty much Jeff Beck's fusion stuff, not terribly sophisticated harmonically. Those times, I usually grab a Strat on the 2 or 4 selector positions through an amp that's sweating. Ride the volume to address different tonal needs.

i love beck's fusion stuff. I still occasionally play this one:

But I think guys like Tim Miller have taken "fusion" to a new level.

**Greentone** · 03-29-2018, 04:38 PM

jz,

I play that one, too. Great chart by JB. Saw him do it on a Les Paul. It was tough for him to get behind the nut for the pull. Easy-peasy on the Stratocaster (what I use for that song).

As I recall, he had to pull the G-string towards the floor on the behind the nut pull on the (black) Les Paul. On the Strat, all you have to do is push towards the headstock.

**bluemusic4us** · 03-29-2018, 04:40 PM

Originally Posted by mitchelyoung

I used to watch the Dixie Dregs at university of Miami all the time (along with other venues but they played at lunch outside the student union every Friday and sometimes other days too)
Brings back great memories, Steve Morse was and is in my opinion awesome.

Big Steve Morse fan also. I used to play with a violin player (Doug Raguse that went to Miami with Steve). He's a violin bow maker.
I think Steve always had a guitar in his hands.

**Boston Joe** · 03-29-2018, 04:43 PM

Haven't played fusion in a while, but when I was, I was using a Mesa-Boogie Lone Star Special, a volume pedal, TS-9, and a modded Dyna-comp in front, and in the loop was a Line6 Delay modeler and a Line6 Modulation modeler. The combo of the Lone Star's gain channel, the TS-9 and the Comp made for that creamy, smooth gain sound, which I love playing. Or I could just use the gain channel for something a little more raw sounding. Chorus or vibe were usually used on the clean channel. My guitars at the time were a PRS HBII, and a Fender Strat Plus with Kinman pickups.

When the Mesa went *poof*, I switched to a Fuchs Overdrive Supreme. No loop on that one, so I had to reconfigure the board to put all the pedals in front.

**mad dog** · 03-29-2018, 04:43 PM

Always loved fusion stuff. Not that I can play it. Used to see Larry Coryell's 11th house band all the time long ago, really liked their sounds. Appreciated David Sancious fusion albums. Beck for sure. J. McLaughlin with Miles, Sco, early Al DiMeola with Return to Forever ... the list is endless. Saw Tisziji Munoz recently, got a big shot of that old fusion energy.
MD

**Thumpalumpacus** · 03-29-2018, 04:58 PM

Originally Posted by jzucker

i love beck's fusion stuff. I still occasionally play this one:

But I think guys like Tim Miller have taken "fusion" to a new level.

Oh, sure, that, YKWIM, "Freeway Jam", they're on my jamalong stuff. Any chops I have with any sort of jazz are sketchy at best, which is why Beck's funkier and earthier take on it appeals to me. I love the more modern stuff, but it's beyond my current skillset. I'm putting together another jam disc devoted to fusion to play along with, featuring "Sophie" and "Play with Me" from Wired (Narada Michael Walden's drumming on those two just kill me, he grooves so hard), and some Sco from Agogo. I guess the funk really gets me going.

**TedBPhx** · 03-29-2018, 05:03 PM

Saw The Dregs back in the ‘80s. And I have tickets to see the original lineup in three weeks!

**mitchelyoung** · 03-29-2018, 05:03 PM

Originally Posted by BComp61

The Dixie Dregs were awesome! Got to see Steve Morse live in Austin back in '84. He and Eric Johnson were opening for Al DiMeola, except Al was sick so we it was just Steve and Eric...still an amazing show!

In the mid 80’s, my memory fails me as to what year exactly I saw Steve Morse (who was promoting his solo album introduction) in a 150 or so person bar in Fort Lauderdale called the Musicians Exchange, with Duck Dunn and I think willie hall on drums. I saw him there again in 1992, iirc our first time out since hurricane Andrew leveled my home and business, I think it was 35-40 bucks for 2 nights of music in 92

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**John A.** · 03-29-2018, 06:06 PM

Originally Posted by jzucker

What gear are you using?

I guess it depends on what you mean by "fusion". I have a blues-based band that veers off in other directions. It's mainly in a sort of Robben Ford vein, but we'll do some standards and funk/R&B tunes with kind of a fusiony edge. In other more straight-ahead jazz contexts, I'll use some overdrive on occasion. But I don't do chops-heavy Stern/Brecker/Holdsworth styles, if that's what you're thinking of as "fusion". Guitars are an American Standard Strat and D'Angelico EX DC semi-hollow. I have a Princeton Reverb, but I mostly play in rehearsal studios or other spaces with backlines, so I typically use whatever is there. For effects, I only use overdrive (Fulltone OCD) and reverb.

John

**krusty** · 03-29-2018, 06:24 PM

Currently, my most-used gear consists of a Parker Fly Deluxe through a Quilter OD200 into a 2x12 loaded with Eminence EJ1250 speakers. Pedals include a Suhr Dual Boost, a Wampler Super Ecstasy (only because I've never been able to sell it - useful, though), and in the loop, a Red Witch Titan delay and a Mad Professor Silver Spring Reverb. That's all I need for straight up jazz or screaming fusion or anything in between.

**jameslovestal** · 03-29-2018, 09:43 PM

Originally Posted by TedBPhx

Saw The Dregs back in the ‘80s. And I have tickets to see the original lineup in three weeks!

They are playing here in So Cal at the Coach House in a week or so. Was thinking of going but wasn't sure.

Now I think I will.

**cosmic gumbo** · 03-30-2018, 04:09 AM

10 minutes of Yamaha Pacifica into a screaming Crate amp is enough to quench my semi-annual fusion jones.

**jzucker** · 03-30-2018, 06:06 AM

this is my current "fusion" inspiration:

**mad dog** · 03-30-2018, 07:37 AM

Tim Miller was just in NYC. Shoulda been there. Here's another cool cut. Great band!

**kris** · 03-30-2018, 07:55 AM

**Fusionshred** · 03-30-2018, 10:45 AM

Hey Jack!

Oh, yeah, Tim Miller and I'm sure you're a fan of Tom Quayle too. These guys are mindblowing. They have the shredding chops, but also the ability to play tasteful, soulful things.

Both just got deals with Ibanez and have signature models based off of the new AZ series. I've not had a chance to touch an AZ yet, but like you and I both know, you really need a flat board (at least 12" radius if not greater) and I like the wider string spacing of the Ibanez Wizard neck. I'm not sure if the AZ is as flat or as wide, but I think it's a rounder profile than the Wizard, and probably feels closer to a Suhr modern C. . . I don't think there are any AZ models with a fixed bridge, which is a shame because that might work out really well for you.

There's this other guy, too, named Jack Zucker who's pretty amazing. But I don't know what he plays these days (LOL!!!)

Hey, by the way, Kiesel has some new pickups (Beryllium or something like that) which are supposed to be, I think, more vintage sounding than their others. I'm really curious whether they cure the sterility and/or brightness I've found the Carvins to have. I don't like having to wait for a build, but a Kiesel Aries 6 (which is a bolt with a nice neck heel) with the new PUs and a fixed bridge might be interesting and not that costly. And they do play well for fusion.

I'm also talking "FUSION" in the vein of Gambale and Holdsworth, as opposed to Beck or Henderson or Sco (great, but different. . . .)

**TedBPhx** · 03-30-2018, 12:01 PM

Al Dimeola with Return to Forever will always be the first sound that I mentally hear when I think of fusion.

**newsense** · 03-30-2018, 12:04 PM

Originally Posted by Fusionshred

Hey Jack!

Oh, yeah, Tim Miller and I'm sure you're a fan of Tom Quayle too. These guys are mindblowing. They have the shredding chops, but also the ability to play tasteful, soulful things.

Both just got deals with Ibanez and have signature models based off of the new AZ series.

I believe it is Martin Miller that, along with Tom Q, that has the Ibanez deal.

.

Easy mistake to make, but all three are great players !

We've heard Tim above, so here is Martin (& Tom):

**wengr** · 03-30-2018, 12:12 PM

Originally Posted by jzucker

What gear are you using?

I hope do do something that might be called fusion in the future, so I have been considering appropriate gear. Current preferences are: 2001 335, PRS 212 cab with english G12H 70th anniversary celestions and still unsure about the head. I'm thinking about getting a Swart st45.
But the most interesting thing is this I think - I wanted a way to vary some gain beyond simply on or off.
So I have this little box called One Control Mosquite Expressio blender. It's just a little pedal that provides an effects loop that you can blend in. I put my Tim in the loop, and then blend clean signal vs Tim with an expression pedal. I like the results.
I had this idea for a while and was considering how I could build such a thing, but it turns out that the gear was already available.

**TedBPhx** · 03-30-2018, 12:17 PM

Originally Posted by wengr

... It's just a little pedal that provides an effects loop that you can blend in. I put my Tim in the loop, and then blend clean signal vs Tim with an expression pedal. I like the results.
I had this idea for a while and was considering how I could build such a thing, but it turns out that the gear was already available.

Tim?