The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
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  1. #101
    It's great that people keep posting I'm very happy with my sound especially after pickup change. I tried low volume high amp volume, didn't like it much, maybe cause VOX. I like the punch of max volume, maybe for more acoustic sounds lower volume will be better, or maybe my pickups are far enough already and work better on max volume. Anyway, I still can't get myself to record something, knowing how bad the quality will be via phone, but I'll see what I can do

    So far things that helped the most (no particular order)

    1. pick change gave me that tight and dull attack sound (ESP pick)
    2. pickup change to Super 58. Huge difference in clarity.
    3. tweaking the amp, basically removing all bass and most treble, and adjusting (upping) the tone on the guitar instead, not too much, less than half.
    4. with the ceramic ACHs lowering the pickups was the most drastic change, but as I switched to these other ones, I saw that too low didn't work at all, I'm still a bit low , but with ACHs I was around 3-4mm , with alnicos it's 2.5-3 depending on the side and pickup.
    Bridge low end can be 3.5mm.
    5. this will be the last step, getting a new SS amp.

    Obviously string gauge matters as well. And well, it's not an adjustment, since I've been playing like that for ages, but one of the things that help me with my sound are upstrokes. Even with the best sound, downstrokes at standard pick angle sound wrong to me, but depends on what sound you're after. Of course I don't use only ups, but outside of alternate picking, you know , when you're just playing some melodies, most people start with downstrokes and add ups on the go, I do the opposite very often, especially with single notes that I want to emphasize.

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    The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
     
  3. #102
    Guys I have an update. Got myself a DV Mark Jazz 12. Since I needed a darker sounding amp it does the job perfectly. Anyone here owns one? Any tips on the EQ, tweaks , do's and don'ts etc?

    PS. Reverb is weird, I'm using my Line 6 verbzilla, which I underrated all this time, but it's a great great natural sounding reverb pedal.
    Last edited by ASonic; 05-28-2022 at 12:37 PM.

  4. #103

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    There are several threads here discussing the DV Mark Jazz 12, as well as the Little Jazz. The reverb on them doesn't seem to be popular, but I'm not a huge reverb fan. If I can tell the reverb is on, it's too much for me. Mostly I don't use any, but sometimes either the onboard or separate HOF Mini pedal, always turned down very low. But that's just my preference. I think you'll find that positioning makes a difference in the sound, so try tilting the amp, placing closer to, and further from, the wall, elevated, on the floor, etc, and see which you prefer.

  5. #104

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    Quote Originally Posted by ASonic
    Guys I have an update. Got myself a DV Mark Jazz 12. Since I needed a darker sounding amp it does the job perfectly. Anyone here owns one? Any tips on the EQ, tweaks , do's and don'ts etc?

    PS. Reverb is weird, I'm using my Line 6 verbzilla, which I underrated all this time, but it's a great great natural sounding reverb pedal.
    Do whatever you want, mate. Unlike Fenders, the Jazz 12 has responsive controls, so don't be afraid of using them. I like getting it up on a chair, cutting the bass a little and upping the mids a little. The only deciding factor in whether it's right or wrong is whether you think it sounds good or not. Happy playing.

  6. #105
    So a quick follow up.
    After some tweaking I found that almost flat works best for me with mids at 1 oclock. However sometimes i would get really thin sound, if I upped the mids it would get muddy, couldn't get that Jim Hall tone as he had some punch when he needed to, but when I rolled off the tone to get close to that thickness, then the punch went away. Sometimes it did sound just right though, with upstrokes mainly, and then I realized my pick angle was different with upstrokes. Now I switched to Benson style pick angle and I can keep the tone knob at punchy levels, while having that full thick sound as well. The downside of this is I can't get myself comfortable playing standing up, but I'll see what I can do, maybe an armrest? Boy did the angle change the feel of playing, it's so smooth now, I just knew it was something missing picking-wise, cause the sound from the amp was just right! Also if I go ahead and lower my arm like Benson I also slightly palm mute the very end of the strings at the bridge and that adds to the mellow goodness.
    One day I'll finally get that audio interface to record what I came up with in the end
    Last edited by ASonic; 06-27-2022 at 12:16 PM.

  7. #106

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    does anyone know how to get
    Ibanez japanese Super 58 pickups
    in the UK ?

    or do Drums etc
    supply into the UK ?

    Ibanez Guitar Pickup 3PU1J158G1 ~ | Drums Etc.

  8. #107
    I don't think they do, you can give them a call and ask. But there are a couple of German and Italian sites that had it, at least one.

    IBANEZ Pickup Super58 humbucker bridge - gold for Signature/AR/AS series (3PU1J158G2) | Pickups | E-Guitars | Spare Parts | Ibanez | MEINL Shop

    IBANEZ Pickup Super58 - gold (3PU1J158G1) | Pickups | E-Guitars | Spare Parts | Ibanez | MEINL Shop

    like this.

    Expensive compared to Drums etc., you can just get the neck pup

    Edit: Ah, seems like they don't ship to UK.. maybe you can order to one of the countries they ship to if you have friends there and have them send it to you.

  9. #108


    Updated sound, still with a shitty phone mic, but maybe the difference will be audible. Changes from the previous videos
    1. Super 58 MIK instead of stock
    2. DV Mark Jazz 12 instead of the Vox
    3. Pick angle.

    wish I could find a backing track lol

  10. #109

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    Hi ASonic
    I thought it sounds good given the constraints, definitely in the right direction. Not sure if youd like it or not, but try your neck pup lowered down. Id go half way, try, then all the way down even with the surround and try. It will darken the tone but should also give you IMHO creamier highs up around 12/14 fret. Its an easy experiment)
    Ive never played a Mark amp, but there’s enough others here who might have ideas.
    Sounds like youre having fun!
    jk
    (And good playing too)))

  11. #110
    Thanks, I'm really happy with the sound, I'll be slowly buying the audio interface so I'll post the real thing when I get it.
    Regarding the pickup height, as I posted earlier in this thread, it made a massive change with the stock ceramic pickups, but these super 58s seem to be milder and I can't say they benefit from lowering. I do play on around 8/10 volume wise so I get that darker tone. Actually I opened the tone a bit for this one, if I roll it off to 4-5 it get's pretty dark, works great for Jim Hall stuff. After a lot tweaking I found the sweet spot to be the flat EQ, bass at 11, mid at 12, highs at 11. I had mid at 2-3 pm before and didn't like it that much.

  12. #111

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    Neat! Its fun fooling around with all the possibilities isnt it?
    d

  13. #112
    It is. At the start of this thread I was thinking I'd get away with one tweak, like pickup change or amp change, but turned out there was much more to it. Not that I hated the sound back then, but it wasn't fully what I needed. Also the eq on the DV is really wide and opens a lot of possibilities, even though I'm just using this combination for now.

  14. #113
    Also the pick angle is a huge weapon. As in, not sticking to one angle all the time, but controlling the sound with it without even adjusting the tone. I use the same amp and guitar settings, and at 45 degrees it's that vintage flatwound Jim Hall -esque boomy sound, and if I go less, like 15 degrees, I can get get the highs to be more distinct like with this Pat solo. And then there are Pat songs like Travels live where it is not bright at all and the angle helps with the darkness again. Good tool to have at your disposal, fun to think that you can tweak things with your pick "on the fly", rather than thinking about other factors during playing.

  15. #114


    another demo with the sound, slightly tweaked

  16. #115

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    Just super quick as I'm teaching in a few minutes.

    I have an Ibanez AFJ85 and string preference is flatwounds 11's.

    I also have an Ibanez AS93 and am not liking the 11 flats. I have round 12's on atm and sounds better but will experiment with other gauges as well.

    Btw I'm not looking for Metheny/Benson sound but the best solo guitar sound I can get.

    Experiment with pick up heights and strings before splashing out on new pups.

  17. #116
    Quote Originally Posted by Liarspoker
    Just super quick as I'm teaching in a few minutes.

    I have an Ibanez AFJ85 and string preference is flatwounds 11's.

    I also have an Ibanez AS93 and am not liking the 11 flats. I have round 12's on atm and sounds better but will experiment with other gauges as well.

    Btw I'm not looking for Metheny/Benson sound but the best solo guitar sound I can get.

    Experiment with pick up heights and strings before splashing out on new pups.
    It's my bad , bumping up the thread like that, but I've done all the changes already, it's more like updates I'd like to share Pretty satisfied with it now. Thanks for confirming 11's though, I'm not feeling like changing the gauge yet!

  18. #117

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    Hi, I have an Artcore AF75 series. Does anyone know what locking machine heads to use?

  19. #118
    Quote Originally Posted by Meckert8
    Hi, I have an Artcore AF75 series. Does anyone know what locking machine heads to use?
    Well, I can't answer definitively. I've been using an AF55 with TI GB 14s for...I dunno...year some change, or so maybe. At first I thought locking heads would be nice, but I've not had a problem with the stock tuners.

    I'm not actually sure the lockers would be desirable with a higher gauge string set. But I'm not sure. For me, I wouldn't really want to test the neck in that way, since I haven't even bothered to turn the trussrod. Intonation's fine, action's fine....for now, anyway. And after a few days of not playing even a scale or whatever, the tuning is close enough for jazz.

    BTW, the only thing I've done with the AF55 is change strings, replace the TOM bridge with an ebony, and lower the pickups. For practicing, I just play it unplugged, no amp/effects (not that I'd subject audiences, if they exist, to my guitar "playing": I'm a pianist/organist, who put down the rock/blues guitar for about twenty years or so, and am trying to do guitar the right way this second time around). Favorite pick is the Dunlop Gator Grip 2.0mm (mostly for working on Pat Martino "pick every note" stuff), but I alternate between that and pure fingerstyle/thumb/hybrid. I'm really just a beginner, so don't take my word for anything.

    Oh, and this may not apply, but I polished the hell out of it using Meguiar's #7 and just some regular Ernie Ball "instrument polish." My particular Artcore had the "satin" matte finish, so I just scrubbed what I could of that off it. Didn't touch the neck...feels fine to me....and just a light going over of the fretboard, hardly anything.
    Last edited by jackalGreen; 06-16-2023 at 06:36 AM.