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Talented player. Got me thinking about getting a Les Paul. Used to have an SG. Never got along with it. Sold it to a college friend who used it in his successful career as an Austin blues player. The problem was me, not the guitar.
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04-09-2022 12:58 PM
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ES-339 might be an easier transition for you!
Gibson | ES-339
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I am a fan of both the Les Paul and ES-175 for jazz. And both are represented in my collection
The 175 does rhythm guitar better as it has some acoustic "crunch". Les Paul's can be heavy for some players and the extra sustain may not suit some player's technique. So they are different. I like having both tools in the toolbox.
The 335 and it's ilk is, IMO, a crossover between the two guitars and works well for many players. For me (and I have owned many 335 type guitars) it is neither fish nor fowl. I am not a fan.
One thing that I have found is that for the jazz tone that I like, a maple capped Lester sounds better than the all mahogany Lester.
Lester or 175 for jazz? my answer is yes.
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The only solidbody I have used to play jazz recently is my'86 PRSCU24, which has a Red Maple cap. THe maple/mahogany combination does something nice with the mid-to-upper mids that lends itself to jazz and blues, to my ear. The '04 ES-175 has that chunky, thunky sound (and feel) that I find inspirational. I was long on the lookout for an L5-S like Pat Martino's but their formidable mass is more than I can handle. My first Les Paul, a '68 Custom had the cool sound with the humongous strings I used, influenced my Pat Martino (0.015 - 0.060). Plugged directly into a tape machine the jazz tone was right there!
Originally Posted by Stringswinger
Les Paul or 175? Why not both?
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I have a PRS Artist II with a thick maple cap on mahogany. Rarely play it. HOT! pickups. The only solid body I regularly play is a Strat. Had a 335. Agree it couldn’t makeup it’s mind on what kind of guitar it wanted to be.
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I've been going through my more neglected guitars recently to make sure they are still in good shape and to give them a little attention.
Doing my jazz stuff on my strat and LP has been fun. Good jazz tones can be had on solid bodies.
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Les Pauls are just fine for all styles of Jazz. Both humbucker and P-90 variations can get great tones.
One minor disadvantage for me is that a Les Paul is not as comfortable in the seated position as some other solid bodies. Notes in the high part of the neck jam your left arm right up against your body.
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Love the CS Historic Les Pauls, but I always end up selling them due to shoulder issues. Even 8 lbs is a lot if it’s not a larger build like a 335 or similar size Guitar.
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Beautiful playing, but that ain't no Les Paul. It's a Heritage H-150.
He sounds wonderful on the ES-175 as well.
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A '68 LP was my first good electric, and I was really into Martino then, everyone in my area that played jazz (NW New Jersey) was, but I could never go for the super heavy strings- I had other gigs that paid the rent that required some slinky sounds! And even now, I have a great R8 LP that sounds fine for jazz, but I still gravitate towards arch tops for that and keep the LP for more fusion/bluesy things. But I can make it work if necessary. There is something about the long sustain on the LP that just doesn't feel right to me for jazz, where I prefer a more organic, acoustic guitar type decay. Originally Posted by citizenk74
The only solidbody I have used to play jazz recently is my'86 PRSCU24, which has a Red Maple cap. THe maple/mahogany combination does something nice with the mid-to-upper mids that lends itself to jazz and blues, to my ear. The '04 ES-175 has that chunky, thunky sound (and feel) that I find inspirational. I was long on the lookout for an L5-S like Pat Martino's but their formidable mass is more than I can handle. My first Les Paul, a '68 Custom had the cool sound with the humongous strings I used, influenced my Pat Martino (0.015 - 0.060). Plugged directly into a tape machine the jazz tone was right there!
Les Paul or 175? Why not both?
Regarding the '68 LP Custom, I still have the rhythm pickup lying around here- the pickup that I learned jazz on way back when- I need to put that in something soon! I think it would still be a great jazz pickup, and Kent Armstrong told me the same thing.
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One of the reasons flatwounds work well on a Lester for jazz is actually their lack of sustain!
It is indeed a Heritage 150 in the clip, aka a "good" LP. The chordal stuff shows how nice it can sound for comping and chord melody, but sitting with it in that position is likely to induce the dreaded numb thigh syndrome in no time.
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The moment he played his ES-175 there was the relief of familiarity to me ears. That was the jazz tone in my mind. The Heritage 150 sounded good. The ES-175 sounded as jazz guitar should or so I felt.
I guess decades of habituation to countless jazz records are a pretty hard habit to break.
P.S. It was jzucker who said that Pat Martino, RIP, stuffed his Gibson L5CES with wool until it felt rock hard to the touch. That is rather different to a solidbody with flatwounds.
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I think the 175 sounded so much better.
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My interest in an LP turned out to be but a momentary GAS bubble.
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He's using a room mic. If you want my opinion, the 175 sounds better in the video because it adds an acoustic sound. On stage the drums will eat up that acoustic sound and you'll just hear the amp.
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I played the L5S for many years. Weight didn't bother me, but I did use a custom wide padded strap. Originally Posted by citizenk74
The only solidbody I have used to play jazz recently is my'86 PRSCU24, which has a Red Maple cap. THe maple/mahogany combination does something nice with the mid-to-upper mids that lends itself to jazz and blues, to my ear. The '04 ES-175 has that chunky, thunky sound (and feel) that I find inspirational. I was long on the lookout for an L5-S like Pat Martino's but their formidable mass is more than I can handle. My first Les Paul, a '68 Custom had the cool sound with the humongous strings I used, influenced my Pat Martino (0.015 - 0.060). Plugged directly into a tape machine the jazz tone was right there!
Les Paul or 175? Why not both?
Pat Martino, per one report, played it because he could use extremely heavy strings without the instrument collapsing.
I've also heard that they never got popular because they didn't sound so good -- because, according to one theory, the pickup is not under the node at the would-be 24th fret. It's a little further towards the bridge, apparently to allow room for the fancy end of the fingerboard.
I stopped playing it when I got my 2009 D'Angelico EXDC, which had a thicker sound in the upper register of the high E. So does my Comins GCS-1.
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I got mine (and one of my Strats as well) to join one of those classic rock 'dad bands' literally 3 weeks before the pandemic hit. A nice one, a Tokai Custom Shop light weight, but non-weight relieved guitar. Far cheaper than a Gibson and as nice as could be, but once that gig died on the vine I had almost no use for it. Now it sits on Reverb collecting views lol Originally Posted by TedBPhx
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Originally Posted by jads57
Levy's M4 3.5" Genuine Leather Bass Strap - Black | Sweetwater
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