8-String Jazzbox / Archtop / ES-175 or 335 Clone To Convert to 6-String

[nevershouldhavesoldit]

Thanks, I will check them out! Interesting that my project is perceived as "nutty." Nearly everything in my life has to be resized or is difficult to find. Try walking into a mall (if you can find one that's still open...) and go to all the shoe stores, asking for size 16. I guarantee you won't find one pair!

Despite your hand size and problems with standard guitars, you seem to be able to play a standard saxophone at a professional level. Don’t you have difficulty with the keys?

[Saxophone Tall]

Despite your hand size and problems with standard guitars, you seem to be able to play a standard saxophone at a professional level. Don’t you have difficulty with the keys?

Good observation! In fact, my saxophones have special corks on the palm, side and octave keys to make them bigger. The "in line" keys are spaced far enough apart as is (that would be the equivalent of distance between frets). A saxophone is a tube (cone, actually) with keys sticking out of it. The circumference of that apparatus can easily be made bigger with corks.

There are 4 main sizes:

soprano
alto
tenor
baritone

My main one is tenor. Baritone fits me great! Alto is a challenge. Soprano is a drag and fortunately I don't play a lot of it.

I don't play standard flute or clarinet for the same reason - really, just too small, especially due to the open holes (which fingertips must cover). Piccolo is a total joke - my fingers cover more than one key.

I am also looking for an alto flute and a bass clarinet, though. Much bigger! No open holes to cover.

Piano (my double) fits me perfectly. My fingers are not fat and go between the black keys. I can reach C to A (a minor third shy of 2 octaves).

There's probably a bass in my future....

[nevershouldhavesoldit]

There's probably a bass in my future....

If I were you, I’d check out a Chapman Stick. I’ve always been in awe of people who play them well - and long thin fingers are a blessing for Stickmen & Stickwomen. I’d try to learn it myself, but first the pedal steel.

I understand horns very well. I taught myself sax and trumpet in high school, and for a very practical reason. I was writing charts that “no one could play” because I didn’t understand the instruments. It didn’t take long for me to realize how much I didn’t know. Keeping your chops up on a wind instrument is tough, but I maintained enough over the years to play stabs and riffs through a vocal harmonizer (instant horn section!) for blues bands. I played trumpet into the mic and left hand keyboard together for several years once a few leaders discovered I could. But I bought the first decent Roland guitar synth that came along, sold my horns, and never looked back.

For me, the guitar is the king and queen of instruments - it’s all I need!

[Saxophone Tall]

If I were you, I’d check out a Chapman Stick. I’ve always been in awe of people who play them well - and long thin fingers are a blessing for Stickmen & Stickwomen. I’d try to learn it myself, but first the pedal steel.

I understand horns very well. I taught myself sax and trumpet in high school, and for a very practical reason. I was writing charts that “no one could play” because I didn’t understand the instruments. It didn’t take long for me to realize how much I didn’t know. Keeping your chops up on a wind instrument is tough, but I maintained enough over the years to play stabs and riffs through a vocal harmonizer (instant horn section!) for blues bands. I played trumpet into the mic and left hand keyboard together for several years once a few leaders discovered I could. But I bought the first decent Roland guitar synth that came along, sold my horns, and never looked back.

For me, the guitar is the king and queen of instruments - it’s all I need!

I hope they paid you double!

Why not play all three (horns, keys, guitar)? Heck, you've got me beat; I don't play trumpet. I'd like to. Like Freddie Hubbard!

In any event, it's fun to play one instrument, put it down, then play another.

[sgosnell]

Having big hands doesn't keep one from playing standard instruments. Lots of people with normal or even large hands play mandolin very well. I think you may be chasing a chimera, and a better plan might be to just learn to play a standard guitar. It's not an easy instrument to learn, and it takes time and lots of practice, but I think you could do it.

[Socraticaster]

Sure, but I'm still in search of anybody who will either (a) widen the neck on my Cort Joe Beck, (b) build me a custom wide neck Jazzbox archtop for a reasonable price (not 6 grand+) in a reasonable amount of time (not one year+) or (c) make a wide neck and put it on the Cort, etc.

Maybe the Chinese Dr. Wu, etc. crowd?

Contact Lay's Guitars in Akron, Ohio. They'd be able to re-neck your Cort.