Wonderful sounds from StringSwinger (Marc) ES175 and Blu

**rhoadsscholar** · 06-18-2019, 10:43 PM

Had the pleasure to hear Marc play at a Winery in Santa Cruz and talk guitars. Very impressed with the Amp, the ES175, and the player.

I captured this video while I was there on my iPhone. There is some background noise from folks having a good time but the combination of the ES175 and the Blu was great. Some Jim Hall, Johnny Smith, a little bit of Misty, what's not to like.

**MarkRhodes** · 06-18-2019, 11:12 PM

Very nice. Good sound and playing.

**sgcim** · 06-19-2019, 12:04 AM

Originally Posted by rhoadsscholar

Had the pleasure to hear Marc play at a Winery in Santa Cruz and talk guitars. Very impressed with the Amp, the ES175, and the player.

I captured this video while I was there on my iPhone. There is some background noise from folks having a good time but the combination of the ES175 and the Blu was great. Some Jim Hall, Johnny Smith, a little bit of Misty, what's not to like.

Also some of Wes' solo from Misty. Nice playing, Marc!

**neatomic** · 06-19-2019, 12:17 AM

tuning into the guitar... as it should be..despite the racket...nice...

showin'em who's boss! hah

cheers

**Stringswinger** · 06-19-2019, 01:45 AM

Originally Posted by rhoadsscholar

Had the pleasure to hear Marc play at a Winery in Santa Cruz and talk guitars. Very impressed with the Amp, the ES175, and the player.

I captured this video while I was there on my iPhone. There is some background noise from folks having a good time but the combination of the ES175 and the Blu was great. Some Jim Hall, Johnny Smith, a little bit of Misty, what's not to like.

Thanks for stopping by. The 175/Blu rig has become my go to rig for most public events. I carry the guitar in a gig bag on one shoulder and the amp in its gig bag on the other shoulder.

In my gig bag I bring a strap, cord, spare strings, clip on tuner and a guitar stand. The business cards are in my wallet. The tunes are in my ears.

Getting paid to play jazz is a true blessing, but these days most gigs are pretty noisy. My job is to create ambience. The right gear helps.

A big thank you is always due Gibson guitars and Henriksen amps.

**Stringswinger** · 06-19-2019, 01:48 AM

Originally Posted by sgcim

Also some of Wes' solo from Misty. Nice playing, Marc!

Thanks. Very cool that you noticed. Wes gave me a lantern and showed me the path. I am forever grateful for that.

**Gitpicker** · 06-19-2019, 02:50 AM

Beautiful playing Marco!!

**Max405** · 06-19-2019, 03:13 AM

Well... it doesn’t get better than that.
Class all the way. I really wish there wasn’t 3,000 miles between us. It didn’t stop Rhoadscholar though. And considering the things he went through and still got there.. God bless you big fella.
My hats off to you guys. That made my day.
Great playing and great sound. SS, you are still and have always been the real deal.
JD

**silverfoxx** · 06-19-2019, 03:59 AM

Very tasteful Marco. the 175 & Blu produce a great tone, unperturbed
by the flapping parasol behind you. You would have received a hearty
round of applause if there had been more JGF members present ,at least
Roadscholar did you proud. congratulations my friend.

007

**medblues** · 06-19-2019, 08:47 AM

Very inspiring ! Thanks rhoadsscholar and stringswinger !

**lawson-stone** · 06-19-2019, 10:13 AM

Love it and heard an undercurrent of Joe Pass

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

**ESCC** · 06-19-2019, 10:32 AM

Beautiful! All aspects, playing, tone & taste.
Stringswinger, for the next recorded gig please take a Marshall and set to 11 to drown out the chatting in the background.

**vinnyv1k** · 06-19-2019, 01:29 PM

Monster CHOPS !!! Really sweet Marco. You are a bad ass jazzer.

The whole story goes Rhoadsscholar hooked up with me first. I was buying back the 175 I sold him last year. He brought it with him on the plane. Delta Airlines broke off the headstock. Another Booboo horror story. I felt like puking as did he.

Marco I am sorry I couldn’t hook up with you guys. My son came up to take me out for Father’s Day. I would have got a spanking if I showed up with my axe.

Bob let me know the Delta outcome. That was a really great 175.

That was one of the best versions of Misty I ever heard. Bravo !

**pcsanwald** · 06-19-2019, 01:37 PM

Sounds great! I regret we never got to play when I was living out in the bay.

**wintermoon** · 06-19-2019, 01:52 PM

and the crowd goes wild....well, we've all played our share of those background gigs

I'd have clapped anyway, sounds good!
Is it some sort of reissue 175? maybe a '58?
I ask because of the lack of rubber grommet around the switch, I think they intro'd the grommet in '59
also, is that some kind of string damper under the t.p.?

**Stringswinger** · 06-19-2019, 02:34 PM

Originally Posted by wintermoon

and the crowd goes wild....well, we've all played our share of those background gigs

I'd have clapped anyway, sounds good!
Is it some sort of reissue 175? maybe a '58?
I ask because of the lack of rubber grommet around the switch, I think they intro'd the grommet in '59
also, is that some kind of string damper under the t.p.?

The crowd almost always goes mild at today's jazz gigs.

The guitar is a 2017 ES-175 Figured (last year of 175 production). When I got it, I thought it was one that I would not keep as it is a tad on the bright side with it's Grover tuners and Titanium saddled TOM. Plus it is a tad heavy with it's full neck profile and modern build (7 pounds 10 ounces). But she has grown on me and become a keeper. The heavy build means tuning stability on outdoor gigs (like the one in the video) and the bright tone adds "cut" , a useful attribute on noisy public venue gigs. I do keep a piece of foam under the unwound strings to act as a damper as I find that TOM's combined with a trapeze TP leads to unwanted overtones on the E and B that bug me.

For me, the right tool for the job always inspires me to play my best. In the 70's (when I was first starting to do jazz gigs) my main rig was a 175 with a Polytone. Now it is a 175 with a Henriksen. For all intents and purposes, not much has changed, though my playing has improved some. And seeing that there has been some improvement, I'll keep playing. I am bound to improve a bit more before my final act.....

**ronjazz** · 06-19-2019, 04:07 PM

Good move, misty in D, using the open basses. nice arrangement, good sounds!

**D'Aquisto Fan** · 06-19-2019, 05:43 PM

Great playing and tone, Marc! Thanks, rhoadsscholar for sharing.

**wintermoon** · 06-19-2019, 05:43 PM

SS,
I'm sure you know this, but if you replace the titanium saddles w/nylon it'll warm it up a bit.

**Stringswinger** · 06-19-2019, 06:00 PM

Originally Posted by wintermoon

SS,
I'm sure you know this, but if you replace the titanium saddles w/nylon it'll warm it up a bit.

I have tried both a Rosewood saddle and a bridge with Nylon saddles and indeed it warmed up the tone considerably, but some sustain was lost. This 175 (I have two others) is working out very well with the titanium saddles for use in noisy public venues.

The right tool for the job.

**v281** · 06-19-2019, 07:02 PM

Beautiful playing! Thanks for the performance Marc/Stringswinger and rhoadsscholar for posting :-)

**archtopeddy** · 06-19-2019, 10:54 PM

It's great to see you playing what you love the most, Marc. The GJ we did back in the day was fun, but I can see this is where your heart's at. You're also looking dapper and healthy. Glad to see that too! AE

**Stringswinger** · 06-19-2019, 11:12 PM

Originally Posted by archtopeddy

It's great to see you playing what you love the most, Marc. The GJ we did back in the day was fun, but I can see this is where your heart's at. You're also looking dapper and healthy. Glad to see that too! AE

Thanks Ed! I dig Django, Bireli and all of those great Gypsy guitarists, but Wes Montgomery and Joe Pass are my true inspirations.