-
In the never ending quest ( for me anyway) to find a great jazz tone - I have only budget archtops, I seem to hear a hint of what I would call a slightly 'honky/chirpy' quality to the tone on all of them, particularly when playing notes fretted fairly high up on the middle strings. It's a tone I don't much like.
I found a Youtube clip which I believe demonstrates this tone to the extreme (all over the board) and it's really not to my taste. It is the tone the girl has. Please note, I am in no way being critical of the clip - I think the playing is great.
How would you describe this tone? Do you like it? Do you think it needs EQing? I had an Attila Zoller floater that, to me, had that sound and I changed it for a low priced Ibanez which is a lot better. Thanks.
-
01-01-2021 12:32 PM
-
I agree, she is an awesome player.
It sounds to me like there is very little fundamental and a lot of overtones in the tone with a sharp attack. Like almost bridge pickup-y (but she is using the neck). It could be the pick she is using. Very pointy and stiff but thin pick can sound this way.
-
Sounds to me like there is some light chorus going on. It's a pretty tone. It may be just the ticket for the very talented young lady in larger ensembles.
-
What can i say tone-wise? It was probably recorded with a phone.
The playing is great!
-
From what can be gleaned from a poor recording I thought the guitars sounded clear but lifeless and dead. There was no resonance or chime. Just an electrified chunk of glued together laminate further constrained by the limitations of a basic guitar speaker with no help from the amp section. Not interesting or pleasant. Though the rhythm guitar was very even sounding. That being said, the playing was very nice and seemed to overcome the bland tones coming from the instruments.
-
Phone tone.
-
Despite the phone issue, I think it's actually a tone sort of like what many players seek. I often use the term "boxy" or even "reedy" to describe it. I hear several players on Jazzradio.com's "Guitar jazz" channel who have a tone like that, except well recorded of course.
-
Originally Posted by lawson-stone
To me regardless of how it was recorded there is a clear difference between the tone of the two guitars. I prefer the 335 type. Some may say that's because (may be) the 335 has a centre block but I've heard fully hollow archtops with a similar tone.
I agree with your description of boxy and reedy and that some people like it. Do you think, though, the boxiness can be dialed out. Cheers.
-
I don't know how this guitar is actually constructed, but it's the characteristic sound of x-braced construction + brightly voiced pickup. It's essentially the opposite of the mid-range "thunk" of guitars built along the lines of Gibson laminated guitars. Let's call it knuht.
John
-
Originally Posted by garybaldy
-
Here is a better recording of a demo of that guitar.
-
Originally Posted by John A.
-
It sounds like a bridge pickup because that's what is in use. Notice the selector switch pointing down. A bridge pickup is always going to sound trebly, regardless of the amp, strings, guitar, or anything else.
-
Originally Posted by garybaldy
In fairness , it's difficult to tell from the vid; she might have been plugged into a SS Marshall amp with bass set at zero and midrange at max, for all we know; that would make even an L5 sound bad. At least, to me.
As a general rule, and with exceptions no doubt, cheaper hollow guitars will tend to sound more mid-rangey in a nasal way ( whereas eg a 175 or 335 sounds midrangey in a good way IMO)
-
I think there's a few things conspiring here to produce a tone that I don't enjoy. Amp, pickup selection and EQ mainly, but also look where she's picking compared to the guy.
Like Lawson, I have to think that I could get a more pleasing-to-me tone out of that guitar. It might not be thru the same amp. (is it marshall?)
-
Just an observation: the phone's mic is obviously picking up a lot more of the full hollow body's acoustic tone than the semi's.
-
EQ pedal m8. Boss GE7 is fine.
Also notice where she is picking. You get a warmer sound over the neck pickup. I think she likes the cut, but I don’t think the guitar helps in this case. Force of habit maybe; She plays different guitars normally?
-
Originally Posted by sgosnell
Last edited by lawson-stone; 01-01-2021 at 06:17 PM.
-
I hear the tone as having a component of "thud".
1. Go to neck pickup
2. See if dialing down the treble helps.
3. Turn the amp up and pick more softly. If that helps, redo the setup, you're fretting out.
4. If those were flats, go to rounds.
5. Add a little reverb.
6. It reminds me just a bit of the sound of my D'angelico EXDC, which could sound a little lifeless in the middle of the neck. I think that was the construction of the guitar rather than anything adjustable. To be fair, it sounded terrific in the upper register, thick, warm and clear.
-
Originally Posted by lawson-stone
-
Originally Posted by sgosnell
-
Originally Posted by Franz 1997
-
Originally Posted by Peter C
-
Originally Posted by garybaldy
-
Originally Posted by Franz 1997
mid-ranginess?
Today, 05:42 PM in Guitar, Amps & Gizmos