Sunday Test - Best jazz sound

**kris** · 07-17-2022, 03:47 AM

Tell me what guitar did I play on this tune?
Hollow body,semi-hollow or solid-body?
Good Luck
Kris

Box

**tomassplatch** · 07-17-2022, 04:21 AM

Originally Posted by kris

Tell me what guitar did I play on this tune?
Hollow body,semi-hollow or solid-body?
Good Luck
Kris

Box

Great jazz sound indeed! I guess that since you are asking, there is a catch and you must have been playing a Stratocaster with 8 gauge strings or something like that... ?

Honestly, I have no idea, sounds like a hollow body to me.

**kris** · 07-17-2022, 05:29 AM

Originally Posted by tomassplatch

Great jazz sound indeed! I guess that since you are asking, there is a catch and you must have been playing a Stratocaster with 8 gauge strings or something like that... ?

Honestly, I have no idea, sounds like a hollow body to me.

I will wait for other answers. Thanks for listening to the recording.
I'll tell you what it is soon.

**hotpepper01** · 07-17-2022, 05:32 AM

Upfront: very well playing !! If you put the question like that, the answer has to be something unexpected. So I guess a solid top, actually the white Jimi Hendrix strat, the one with the piece of green tape on it. The small piece of green tape makes all the difference tonewise... just kidding of course. Sounds very warm though. No, I really have no idea. Does not sound like a ES175, the obvious guess would be a L4 or L5, so I guess it is a ES335, a semi

**kris** · 07-17-2022, 05:44 AM

Originally Posted by hotpepper01

Upfront: very well playing !! If you put the question like that, the answer has to be something unexpected. So I guess a solid top, actually the white Jimi Hendrix strat, the one with the piece of green tape on it. The small piece of green tape makes all the difference tonewise... just kidding of course. Sounds very warm though. No, I really have no idea. Does not sound like a ES175, the obvious guess would be a L4 or L5, so I guess it is a ES335, a semi

Thanks for kind words.
I found this sound yesterday - I'm surprised myself.
Soon I will reveal the secret ... :-)

**Gitterbug** · 07-17-2022, 06:01 AM

The sound is great and has the "thunk" to my ears. Speaks for an ES-175, but that sound you would have nailed years ago. Knowing how much a good speaker brings to the party, the guitar could be even a Les Paul. I get something similar from my Epi Casino Coupe with P90s. But your playing is from a different planet!

**Christian Miller** · 07-17-2022, 06:11 AM

Bc Rich Warlock

**0zoro** · 07-17-2022, 06:40 AM

Very nice playng Kris. As for the guitar I will guess a tele, but have no idea really.

**kris** · 07-17-2022, 07:14 AM

Ozoro hit on 10.
I was playing my modified Tele style guitar.
I took a chance on the hard GHS / 016-F56 / signed by Pat Martino strings.
I found these strings sound better on my Tele than on my hollow-body guitar.
The low string action on the Tele suits me very well.
Thanks for listening too.

**kris** · 07-17-2022, 07:16 AM

Originally Posted by Christian Miller

Bc Rich Warlock

I saw Bc Rich guitar on jam last week...great guitar & easy to play/I tried it/.

**kris** · 07-17-2022, 07:18 AM

Originally Posted by Gitterbug

The sound is great and has the "thunk" to my ears. Speaks for an ES-175, but that sound you would have nailed years ago. Knowing how much a good speaker brings to the party, the guitar could be even a Les Paul. I get something similar from my Epi Casino Coupe with P90s. But your playing is from a different planet!

Thanks for a nice coment...:-)
Best
Kris

**Alter** · 07-17-2022, 07:39 AM

I have tried the 14 sets from La Bella that go up to 56 on the bass (or 67 for the coated ones!).. the bass string was just too much, if you have a boomy archtop it may kill someone!

But maybe perfect on the tele? The sound is great, you could probably even get away with more treble without losing the jazz tone, which is difficult on a solid body!

**kris** · 07-17-2022, 08:25 AM

Originally Posted by Alter

I have tried the 14 sets from La Bella that go up to 56 on the bass (or 67 for the coated ones!).. the bass string was just too much, if you have a boomy archtop it may kill someone!

But maybe perfect on the tele? The sound is great, you could probably even get away with more treble without losing the jazz tone, which is difficult on a solid body!

These Pat Martino strings have better sustain on Tele.
They also have a more even sound.The bass strings sounded a little weaker - less sustain on the hollow-body.

**marcwhy** · 07-17-2022, 09:31 AM

Great playing, Kris! You already answered, but I was going to say, "Something with heavy strings!"

**kris** · 07-17-2022, 10:53 AM

Originally Posted by marcwhy

Great playing, Kris! You already answered, but I was going to say, "Something with heavy strings!"

Thanks a lot.

**Stringswinger** · 07-17-2022, 11:38 AM

The sustain gave away the solid body particularly as it did not have the heavy mids of a semi nor the fast decay of a hollowbody.

Nice playing, great tone. I would bet that a similar result could be had with a Strat with those heavy strings, particularly with a neck position humbucker.

Questions: Does your Tele have a rosewood board? A humbucker in the neck position? A 25.5 scale?

**bluejaybill** · 07-17-2022, 12:25 PM

Originally Posted by kris

I saw Bc Rich guitar on jam last week...great guitar & easy to play/I tried it/.

A BC Rich Eagle I bought during the '70's was maybe my worst guitar purchase. Very "unclassic" sounding even with all the splitting options, but worst of all, it wouldn't stay in tune particularly during weather changes. I had it at a pretty important recording date in NYC on a cold day and had to constantly retune.

Didn't exactly make the date go smoothly, and lost me a client as well. Oh, and the thick poly finish started peeling.

Not my favorite, but it could RAWK!

I replaced it with pre-CBS Fenders, those things were indestructible and stayed in tune.

**kris** · 07-17-2022, 12:42 PM

Originally Posted by Stringswinger

The sustain gave away the solid body particularly as it did not have the heavy mids of a semi nor the fast decay of a hollowbody.

Nice playing, great tone. I would bet that a similar result could be had with a Strat with those heavy strings, particularly with a neck position humbucker.

Questions: Does your Tele have a rosewood board? A humbucker in the neck position? A 25.5 scale?

Thanks.
My tele has ebony board,mahogany body,standard Tele scale and humbucers in snglecoile size....and KTS titanium saddles.
Best
Kris

**kris** · 07-17-2022, 12:44 PM

Originally Posted by bluejaybill

A BC Rich Eagle I bought during the '70's was maybe my worst guitar purchase. Very "unclassic" sounding even with all the splitting options, but worst of all, it wouldn't stay in tune particularly during weather changes. I had it at a pretty important recording date in NYC on a cold day and had to constantly retune.

Didn't exactly make the date go smoothly, and lost me a client as well. Oh, and the thick poly finish started peeling.

Not my favorite, but it could RAWK!

I replaced it with pre-CBS Fenders, those things were indestructible and stayed in tune.

A very bad experience.

**rpjazzguitar** · 07-17-2022, 01:56 PM

Great tone and playing.

I came to this thread after you posted the answer, but I think it's fair to say that I wouldn't have guessed a Tele, because the high notes are thick and warm. That's not what I expect from a Tele, but, apparently, I have to rethink that.

**Doug B** · 07-17-2022, 02:06 PM

Hi Kris-you sound like Ed Bickert on that piece-the jazz master of the Telecaster!

Doug

**wzpgsr** · 07-17-2022, 02:20 PM

I was going to guess Tele but that’s because I am used to Kris posting Tele clips. That clip sounded great—I have a chambered 24.75” scale Tele/Jazzmaster sort of hybrid that has a similar thunky attack with flatwounds.

It’s a lot harder to tell recorded guitars apart with the same player—we do a lot of obsessing over the last 5% difference tone when 95% of the time I can’t tell which guitars and amps I used on my own recordings!

**rpjazzguitar** · 07-17-2022, 02:55 PM

Originally Posted by wzpgsr

I was going to guess Tele but that’s because I am used to Kris posting Tele clips. That clip sounded great—I have a chambered 24.75” scale Tele/Jazzmaster sort of hybrid that has a similar thunky attack with flatwounds.

It’s a lot harder to tell recorded guitars apart with the same player—we do a lot of obsessing over the last 5% difference tone when 95% of the time I can’t tell which guitars and amps I used on my own recordings!

I've noticed the same thing. I use two very different guitars regularly and I record gigs and rehearsals. When I listen back I am typically not confident I can identify the guitar. That's a Yamaha Pacifica 012 with a Lil 59 vs a Comins GCS-1. Played through the same gear with the same settings is one thing, but after I've tweaked the rig to get my sound, they're a lot closer. If it's muddy in the midrange it's more likely the Comins. If it's thin in the high range, more likely it's the Yamaha, but can be close.