The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
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  1. #1

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    What gear does Bill Frisell use?

    Tele, couple of amps, pedals. Where can I get more specific details about his solo set up? And is the same for his trio and other ensemble work?

    And, as an aside, the style of chord-melody jazz ... what have folks been calling it? Midwestern Jazz, folk jazz? Not that it really matters, it's just amazing and beautiful.


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    The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
     
  3. #2

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    Bill Frisell, who's my biggest guitar influence, has used a lot of gear through the years, but go to this link for a lowdown on his setup:

    Famous Jazz Guitarists and Their Guitar Gear

    He pretty much uses the same setup everywhere he goes.

  4. #3

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    Thanks!

    In the vid posted, he has something sitting on top of that column (an amp, a stand?) that doesn't look like anything described in that link. It's some kind of pedal?

  5. #4

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    I think that's his looping device that he keeps up on the table there so he can futz with it when he wants to.

    He's been changing guitars a lot. Last 2 times I saw him he was using a Telecaster style guitar, but not a Fender. Then in the 90's he was playing a Klein and earlier used an SG a lot. I love his sound.

  6. #5

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    The expression I most frequently encountered was "Americana" (Wide Open Spaces) ... and there is something in it ... a special set of mental pictures and sounds.

    I love his acoustic sound on, for example, that duet with Cassandra Willson (Painted from Memory from The Sweetest Punch).

  7. #6

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    Yeah, Jake ... looper's probably it. Cool. Any take on the make?

    Bojan, Americana Jazz? I like it.

  8. #7

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    Quote Originally Posted by Stackabones
    Thanks!

    In the vid posted, he has something sitting on top of that column (an amp, a stand?) that doesn't look like anything described in that link. It's some kind of pedal?

    That looper is an old pedal called a Digitech PDS8000 Echo Plus. It is a very rare delay/looping pedal Bill has had since the early 90s.


    Bill Frisell Gear-digitech-pds-8000-echo-plus-jpg


    He also uses a Line 6 DL4 for loops. Since he has a stereo amp setup, he probably has looper for each amp, that way he has a different loop coming from one amp and another loop coming from the other amp, because if I'm not mistaken you can't have two loopers playing at the same time in the same chain.


    Bill Frisell Gear-line-6-dl-4-jpg

    If you have any other questions regarding Frisell I can happily answer them. I'm kind of an authority on his history, discography, etc.

  9. #8

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    Stackabones, I would also try and hunt down his work with Paul Motian. I own every album he's done with Motian and they're definitely worth getting.

    Have you heard his work with Motian? Have you heard his more jazz-oriented work?

  10. #9

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    Not sure if I've heard the Motian stuff. For the past few days, I've been listening to East/West (and Shostakovich, but that's another story) -- which I got from my library.

    My library has ...
    Good Dog, Happy Man
    Gone, Just Like A Train
    Rene Fleming -- Haunted Heart
    Richter 858
    Carrie Rodriguez -- Seven Angels on a Bicycle (checked this one out due to the cool title, haven't listened to it yet)
    History, Mystery

    So ... I'll request those, especially the ones you mentioned earlier.

  11. #10

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    The setup is what you might see on the other parts of this Solo Series (by Mezzo).

    Fender Telecaster
    Rat
    Digitech looper
    Line 6 looper
    Fender Princeton Reverb (for reverb and vibrato too).
    And basically that's it.

  12. #11

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    Americana Jazz...hmmm, that's kind of fitting. I've always thought of Frisell as being like a musical Garrison Keillor - soundscape vignettes telling a story.

    But less schmaltzy, obviously.

    And before anyone gets me wrong on this - I like both Frisell and Keillor, so it's intended as a compliment, 'kay?

  13. #12

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    I definitely prefer older Bill to newer/tele playing Bill. I loved his early ECM stuff and the volume pedal work he used to do. His bridge humbucker tone is a lot more appealing to me than his work on tele, which is ironic since my main guitar is and has almost always been, a hot-rodded tele.

    Bill is such a varied artist that it seems almost pointless to label him and his music. His shronkier/jazzy side definitely appeals more than his newer stuff but I still dig him.

  14. #13

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    Got to see Bill Frisell and Julian Lage perform together last night in small, maybe 300 seat, concert hall. Checked out the gear, of course.

    The stage had a smallish 335ish Collins with small humbuckers in front of a Deluxe Reverb with one unidentifiable pedal. Didn’t get that close. There was also the expected Tele, never got close enough to see the pickups, connected to a large string of pedals into a Hot Rod Deluxe.

    Had a laugh when they came out and Frisell grabbed the Collins and Lage the Tele. Julian never touched any of his pedals while Frisell constantly adjusted his one. Sounded like some kind of Delay Reverb combo.

    The music was most excellent. Mostly American Songbook. Shenandoah had me in tears. Incredible sound.

  15. #14

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    Hi Ted,

    Bill's single pedal on these dates has been a Strymon Flint (reverb+tremolo in one pedal).

    Bill Frisell Gear-strymon-flint-jpg

    Julian's pedalboard comprises a mini Turbo Tuner, JHS Superbolt, JHS Morning Glory and a Strymon Flint.

  16. #15

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    If I am not mistaken, the Deluxe Reverb that JL uses onstage these days is a Magic Amplification Vibro Deluxe.

  17. #16

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    I posted in this in another thread. From the show at UCLA last week. Looks like Julian has a P90 in his Tele.

    Bill Frisell Gear-frisell-lage-jpg

  18. #17

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    actually that might be a lollar p90 staple pickup...doesnt use screw pole pieces and bar magnets like a typical p90...uses rectangular alnico magnets as the actual pole pieces...

  19. #18

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    You've got some kind of eyes, neatomic. Thanks!

  20. #19

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    Bill was playing that Collings at a show at Jazz at Lincoln Center a few weeks back, I wasn't crazy about his tone that night, through a silverface princeton

  21. #20

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    Bill Frisell Gear-78365571_10156635020717623_6071525533819076608_o-jpg

    Bill Frisell Gear-79000707_10156635020962623_1801233958805962752_o-jpg

    Bill Frisell Gear-79731284_10156635020947623_2457803625070592_o-jpg

  22. #21

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    Caught them at the Ent Center in Colorado Springs Friday, Dec 6. Full house of around 300 and except during the applause, you could hear a pin drop during the whole performance. Songs ranged from Days of Wine and Roses, a couple of blues, Shenandoah, Seven Come Eleven, All the Things You Are, Someday My Prince Will Come and more that I can't recall or don't know by name.

    I really hope they release a live recording from one of these shows during this short tour. It really was a very special evening!

  23. #22

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    That Collings.... I-35?

  24. #23

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    Quote Originally Posted by David B
    Hi Ted,

    Bill's single pedal on these dates has been a Strymon Flint (reverb+tremolo in one pedal).

    Julian's pedalboard comprises a mini Turbo Tuner, JHS Superbolt, JHS Morning Glory and a Strymon Flint.
    I haven't seen the Superbolt on Lage's board in a while. It seems to have been replaced by a Shin-ei B1G and a Boss EQ-pedal.

  25. #24

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    Both great players and guys...

    Frisell plays with Lucinda Williams, and Lage plays with Wilco, and that's enough to vouch for them in my opinion...

  26. #25

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    Quote Originally Posted by Flat
    I posted in this in another thread. From the show at UCLA last week. Looks like Julian has a P90 in his Tele.

    Bill Frisell Gear-frisell-lage-jpg
    Julian's Tele with a P90 is a new creation from Nacho Banos.