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06-05-2019 10:04 PM
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I was at rehearsal tonight, getting ready for a jazz gig Friday. My band has seen me play quite a few guitars. I asked if they had a preference? They said that all of them sounded pretty good, but that the 17" archtop afforded me instant cred with audiences.
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Originally Posted by mr. beaumont
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Those comparisons have been done. To my ear, the LP and 335 don't sound much different, assuming both have humbuckers.
For that matter, the 175 may not sound all that different either, by the time the sound reaches the audience.
OTOH, I think the L5 sounds different, or, at least can. But, it's a longer scale instrument.
I play a Comins GCS-1 which is a semi that's a little smaller and has a single cut. Why? It looks good. It sounded great when Jack Wilkins played it. When I played it in the store, surprisingly, it still reminded me of Jack's sound, proving, once and for all, that the sound isn't in your hands, it's in the equipment. Which is why, if I had an L5, I'd sound like Wes.
Sure, most of that was BS, except for the part about why I play the Comins.
I also play the cheapest Yamaha Pacifica Strat copy. That's a terrific guitar for several reasons. The best one is that people are pleasantly surprised if you can play at all. The exact opposite of showing up with an L5 and sounding average. "What's that noodler doing with an L5?".
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LOL!!!!
Thanks for posting that - a jazz cat dreaming of a 335?
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Originally Posted by rpjazzguitar
I think an LP would have more sustain than a tele, let alone my 175. 335 too.
The guitar has more 'snap' to it too. Comes from the hollow body I think. It's cool to leave the treble full open. I don't think i could do that with a 335.
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Ok so ...
when end I was an itty bitty boy
I heard this UK single version of ding-a-ling
audio on here
That exact version
it had video with it on top of the pops ....
I know it sounds like bs , but the guitar playing
and the sound of the guitar really chimed with me !
he was playing a dark coloured maybe black 335 shaped gibson
i think with a varitone 345 355 ??
cant find the video of that actual performance on utube now unfortunately
I just loved that chunky funky sound on the chords
Later on I did get a Black '63 335
so if you have a listen , I think it has a distinctive 335 sound
a bit of chunk from the air in the body when you strike it hard for rhythm
i don't think a tele or strat would chunk like that
That's a big reason for me playing the guitar
a bit sad really , "what were your early influences"
"oh my ding-a-long by chuck berry"
not that cred .... But hey , what can you do ?
addendum
Later on I started finding the 335 uncomfortable sitting
i dug in my ribs
and felt better with a bigger hollow body strangely
and found I got even more of that chunky thumpy goodness
from a laminated hollow body ....
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Originally Posted by dlew919
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Originally Posted by FredC
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
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Grenade!
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Originally Posted by Greentone
It's a fair comment. There's lots of options available these days, lots of different tones in use....
I mean, to be honest, any guitar a pick up through any clean amp tends to sound like that, so it's a gear thing for me. In my case I have found that an ES175 through a clean amp (or even DI'd) always sounds good and always has a hefty midrange cut. TBF, I'd probably find the same thing with any Gibson electric.
The particular 175 I've got has a a good tone for swing rhythm guitar, which is useful as I still play a fair amount of that stuff. You can get it to sound quite banjo-y with the right pick attack.
It's not like I'm trying to emulate x tone... I just play a bit like that anyway.
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My response was due to the fact that we cherish the sounds of Wes, etc., on this forum.
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I wouldn’t want to be seen with a 335!
That’s why I got the 333..... muuuuch better!
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Originally Posted by Greentone
The players I listen to have an original sound and voice on their instrument anyway. Usually their sound is part of this in one way or another.
OTOH, while it is arguable that many of the classic players sounded of a piece tonally - but I think Charlie Christian, Wes, Grant Green and Jim Hall had very distinctive tones and that's why they stand apart for me... Jimmy Raney too...
Of course, many people say stuff like 'I don't want to sound like the 50s guys' and instead end up copying modern guys.
I am of course intimately acquainted with these problems - it's very hard to get in touch with and value your own voice and gear is part of that.
But that's another thread!
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Wes was trying to copy Charlie Christian, and along the way became Wes.
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Originally Posted by Little Jay
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It seems like nobody is willing to come out and declare the love that dare not speak its name, so I'll do it. I play a semi-hollow (not literally a 335, but something very similar in size, shape, configuration, and sound). It's my main electric guitar. I have two others because, why not? I use them. Sometimes for the sake of variety, sometimes because I think it fits the context better, sometime for no particular reason other than that I feel like playing one or the other that day. But I could very happily function with just my semi-hollow, not because it's a compromise, or because I need an f-hole beard to play jazz. I play it because I really like it in itself because of how it sounds and plays. I also really like the form factor -- I find the shape and size very comfortable to play, either seated or standing. When I got it, I felt like this was the guitar I had always wanted, it was the sound I had always had in my head but had never quite gotten out of other instruments.
John (not that there's anything wrong with that) A.Last edited by John A.; 06-07-2019 at 11:04 AM.
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I play whatever guitar the voices in my head tell me to.
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Originally Posted by Greentone
If all you can hear is how you don't sound like your hero(s) you will never come into your own. At some point you have to stop being a music fan and start being a musician, and look at what you do as having some validity.
This is very hard, and there are significant social factors acting against you in some ways.
It would have been easy for Wes to reject the thumb thing as silly, just a compromise necessary to squeeze a bit more practice in. But he didn't.
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I'm with Lawson, and sometimes my inner voices say "play the semi-acoustic."
The very first Gibson guitar I ever saw or played was our next-door neighbor's ES-335, when I was about seven. It was a late-50s model, and I thought THAT was the embodiment of an electric guitar.
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Originally Posted by John A.
Well - a couple of posts ago I was about to post something along these lines as well, but anyway here's my coming out:
The ES 335 model is by far my favourite style of guitar - there: I said it!
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Christian,
Sure. OTOH, my understanding is that Wes started out with a pick, but used his thumb at night out of consideration to his neighbors--it kept the volume of the guitar down at home when he was practicing. Of course, it gave rise to _his_ voice that the rest of the world has tried to copy.
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Now that a couple of 335 lovers have fessed up, I can also come out. In my case, my desire for a 335 was sparked by Bill Nelson and this album in 1976.
I was 19, so probably more inspired by the cover than the contents. Some 40 years on, I have never owned a 335, but I am on my 5th thin-line semi. I have never felt inspired to actually part with heard-earned cash for a Gibson, so my current squeeze is the Yamaha SA2200, with which I thought I was happy until Christian started sowing the seeds of doubt in my mind The symptoms of GDS (guitar divestment syndrome) are creeping up on me. I keep telling myself that the Yammie ears are more Wile E Coyote than Mickey Mouse, but I still keep straining my own ears for hints of nasality in the tone. My Tele and Godin archtop are seeing much more of me than usual. Hell I've even found myself looking at PRS ads for a potential solid body replacement ...and, that's just sick.
Christian - what have you done to me ?
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Just because:
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Originally Posted by Greentone
It’s interesting that many of the older musicians would at some point strongly discourage younger players from continuing with imitating a model when they felt that enough progress had been made...
RIP Nick Gravenites
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