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I owned a ‘73 that was a one owner in near mint condition. It was a beautiful sunburst. It felt like a much bigger guitar than the many Super Eagles, and the L5’s I’ve previously owned. Damn, for a piano player I’ve owned some nice guitars!
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02-17-2021 03:10 PM
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well, it IS bigger than those [same width but I believe the H is thinner]
Originally Posted by 2bornot2bop
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I used to only play and own blackface Fenders. I had them all. Until I ventured into the tweed world. The only blackface I kept is my Princeton Reverb, which I still really enjoy. But I almost always plug into my tweeds now. I love them. They seem to impart more interesting and complex cleans than their blackface brethren. I personally feel archtops and tweeds are a wonderful match. [Including a Super 400.] Maybe not at blaring stage volume. But even then the right tweed should do the job wonderfully.
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I’m going to disagree with not choosing a tweed circuit for the best cleans, but it needs to be a high power tweed Twin (5F8-A). Granted, that’s a beast of an amp, but it’s my first choice at home.
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Depends what sound you're going after. I like the dark glassy tone of a blackface Vibrolux or Twin w brown/gold foil Jensens.
I had a '59 tweed Pro (side note, this one was a gift from Leo Fender to Mel Bay which was pretty cool) and it screamed/sounded great, just not the sound I have in my head.
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We are all chasing our own tones. That's the beauty of GAS. Originally Posted by wintermoon
I'm not saying a blackface can't be great. My main gigging amp for years was a blackface Vibrolux Reverb with gold Jensens. I've just come to really love my tweeds. Granted, I had a few tweeds I got rid of because they had too much of that nasally midrange honk that I don't care for. The ones I've kept aren't like that. And my very talented amp tech knows what I like, and he has the ability to dial these amps in for my tastes. They're like hi-fi tweeds.
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HFC, do you mind giving a quick review of the Eldorado? What pickup does it have? Thanks. Originally Posted by hot ford coupe
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I have and L5 and a Super 400.
My L5 is 1948. The pickups were Frankensteined into the guitar sometime in the distant past and it's been in the shop for 9 months getting cracks repaired, but I've been playing it for 15 years.
The Super 400 is a 1955, it's in good shape. It's totally stock with nothing changed.
When I get the L5 back from the shop maybe I can do a side by side comparison, but I am not sure if it's a fair comparison since my L5 is heavily modified and has been half to death.
My opinion after playing these guitars and a 175 and a few other things is that nothing comes close to the Super 400. To me, it sounds the best. It sounds better than any jazz guitar. For reference, my tastes tend towards traditional jazz from the 50s-60s, and the players that play this same sound in the 70s-today.
I'm not an expert level player and I haven't played a zillion guitars, but to me an all original 1955 Super 400 is the absolute holy grail of tone. There's nothing I'd rather be playing, I wouldn't trade it for a 100K D'Aquisto or a 300K '59 Les Paul.
Last week I played a sloppy gig and recorded it on an iphone and the guitar sounds SO GOOD, I can't even believe that's me playing.
I'd go as far as to say that the Super 400 can make a jazz guitarist sound credible, even if your skills are mediocre.
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I'll add a few comments.
1. The Super 400 was designed at a very different time as an acoustic instrument that provided essentially a percussion midrange dynamic. The previous standard included the banjo. It had to be large for volume and an archtop for the tonal spectrum.
2. Adding a pickup really changed things. The archtop didn't need to be large to be heard.
3. Tone, comfort and cost were driving concerns. The first two are really in the realm of subjectivity. Feedback also emerged soon thereafter.
Here are my opinions.
1. The Super 400 and others its size are magnificent to view and hold. There is a lot of guitar to love.
2. Acoustically, the way many of us practice, the 400 sounds bigger and richer. That's a consideration if you are the only audience for most of your playing. It also transmits its vibes against more of your body, adding to the experience.
3. Electrically, most would agree there is some difference in sound c/w a 17" body. That doesn't seem to be dramatic.
4. The comfort concern is complex. There is a real difference in feel between the Super 400 and the Super Eagle. The depth and the body length are more on the 400. It's easier for many to adjust to the SE. I also note that many people back in the day handled the 400 expertly while being smaller than me. I could adjust to the 400 after a few days. It's size disappeared from my consciousness. I note that Carol Kaye, musician extraordinaire from The Wrecking Machine, played a 400 for several years. She's not a large woman. Log into Facebook | Facebook And who's to say that comfort is that important? Many studio musicians played well past the point of comfort. Most guys would prefer to have a 335 or a Tele if comfort was the major driver. When it comes time to perform, a big guitar makes a bigger visual statement. Otherwise you may end up swinging it behind your neck or doing Pete Townsend windmills to impress the audience!
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Originally Posted by JazzIsGood
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