Uninspiring Gear

[Campbell_jazz]

I am sure most of us have played objectively great guitars that, for whatever reason, we just did not connect with.


I have just had that same experience with an objectively great amp for the jazz guitar community. I really wanted to like this amp, but I just am not vibing.

I was wondering if anyone else has had that same experience? Did you say why bother and moved on? Or did you eventually get that connection?


[Note: I am purposely not mentioning brands, sizes, tube or solid state, etc. because amp choice (like guitar choice) is personal and different for everyone.]

[Stringswinger]

I don't care how much others may laud certain gear, if it doesn't inspire my playing, away it goes.

On the flip side if I discover some gear that I dig and others pan it, too each their own. I do not need the validation of others to enjoy what I enjoy.

[osloutah]

Did you say why bother and moved on? Or did you eventually get that connection?

Unless you're really stuck with something, it either clicks or it doesn't. If I'm thinking about the gear then I'm thinking about the wrong thing.

[Alter]

Usually if you dislike something it's relatively easy to eventually move on. Where I've seen many miss the boat is with inspiring gear, when they get something they really connect with, and for one reason or another they sell it and then they realize what they had.

Never underestimate a piece of gear because it's cheap, off-brand, uncommon, etc ..

[rpjazzguitar]

I once sat in high end guitar store with the owner playing a vintage D'Angelico and waxing rapturous about how great it sounded. He was asking $80k for a guitar that had had its top broken and repaired. He made a point about not disguising the repair.

I thought it sounded ordinary. That guy wasn't a great player. Presumably, it would have sounded better in different hands.

OTOH, I heard years ago that not every original D'Angelico is a masterpiece. Some were better than others, according to one contemporaneous player.

[mr. beaumont]

My favorite guitars are my most expensive...and my cheapest.

Never discount anything.

[NSJ]

Unless the action is really bad or there is there is something really wrong with the guitar (damaged, lemon, total clunker, rotting wood, sunken arch) or the guitar is not setup properly or can’t stay in tune, I think almost any guitar should do the job. It’s not the instrument, it’s the person playing. When you feel like music is not only the “best” (Zappa), but a real blessing, almost every instrument (caveats above) can be inspriing.

We’re lucky to have potential access to so many quality instruments, these days. Many at affordable prices. Hell, an Esquire would do.

[Sam Sherry]

I heard years ago that not every original D'Angelico is a masterpiece. Some were better than others, according to one contemporaneous player.

In 1984 I was working at a nice mom-and-pop shop. The guitar lead, Tom Baxer, said this: "Sam, everybody leaves the store feeling that they have just bought The One. And every one of them is correct . . . for a while."

[Cunamara]

I have found a number of times instruments and equipment that sounded inspiring in the hands of somebody else, but did not sound inspiring in my hands. I think that is the nature of the beast sometimes.

[Spook410]

In spite of many notable exceptions, more expensive gear is usually functionally better. Better design, better workmanship, better materials. And that certainly matters with music gear simply from an engineering point of view. That and consistency. I've never played a mediocre Collings. Then there is the pleasure one can find in the art and craft which is hard to quantify.

But yea.. if it aint got that zing. Made more good music on a $400 Alvarez Yairi than most anything else and I enjoy my Chinese archtops on a daily basis.

[pauln]

I self taught to play with a 27 dollar solid body piece of junk from Montgomery Ward (department store chain) over 50 years ago. It would be six years later that I got my first amplifier (also cheap junk) - that guitar was gone by then, for all I know it might have not even functioned through an amp. I guess I self inspired, too.

[rpjazzguitar]

I regularly use two guitars. One is a Comins GCS-1. The other is the Yamaha Pacifica 012, their cheapest model. At the time I bought it maybe 10 years ago, it sold new for $179 with a gig bag, amp, cable and maybe a book. Marketed to beginners.

The hardware has mostly been replaced, but the wood has been great. I love the way it feels. Doesn't sound as good as the Comins, but I've gigged with it many times and it was good enough.

[rolijen]

This has happened to all of us--high expectations then disappointment. It may be blasphemous to many here, but I had this experience with a certain jazz amp. I won't say the brand name, but it rhymes with jolly cone. Tried for a couple years to connect with that ss 1x15" amp but it made all my guitars sound dull and sterile. Sucked the life out of them. Ended up being ok for bass gigs but I eventually sold it to a very appreciative colleague and never looked back. Hopefully you didn't spend too much and can return it or sell it for a negligible loss. Consider it a tuition payment.

[JCat]

A brief moment of inspiration leads to a long period of hard work... Strong bonds develop after many years of dependable partnership.

Many years ago I bought a cheap guitar to be used as a "beater" for certain occasions, i.e. no big deal if it got damaged or was stolen. It's not objectively a great guitar and I didn't care about it much. Then one day it occurred to me; This is my old beaten guitar and we go back a long way. It's dependable and serves its purpose.

I once bought an expensive "dream guitar". It took 20 years of playing and maintenance and then one day it occurred to me; This is my guitar and we go back a long way. It's now dependable and serves its purpose.

[oldane]

I have found a number of times instruments and equipment that sounded inspiring in the hands of somebody else, but did not sound inspiring in my hands. I think that is the nature of the beast sometimes.

My late wife used to say it was the nature of my hands, not the gear. But certainly, it can't be so. Can it ....?

[docsteve]

My late wife used to say it was the nature of my hands, not the gear. But certainly, it can't be so. Can it ....?

It's never the hands.


It's all in the head. If you know what you want to sound like, your gear choices and your hands will follow.

[John A.]

I definitely don’t get along with a some of the “jazz” amps touted here, especially the ones that are voiced more like a PA than a classic guitar amp. I just played through one (rhymes with schmendrixen) yesterday. Meh. Usable, and it probably sounded fine to others, but not my thing.

[nevershouldhavesoldit]

Many years ago I bought a cheap guitar to be used as a "beater" for certain occasions, i.e. no big deal if it got damaged or was stolen. It's not objectively a great guitar and I didn't care about it much. Then one day it occurred to me; This is my old beaten guitar and we go back a long way. It's dependable and serves its purpose.

In 1998, I decided to leave a cheap guitar in my office so I could play a bit when I got the urge and had a little time. But I knew theft was a good possibility, since my office was in downtown Philly. So it had to fit in my locker and I knew I wouldn’t find a beater 7 string. I asked my dealer for the cheapest playable used solid body he had.

Fifty bucks later, I had an Epi strat clone in decent shape with almost no fret wear. And nobody stole it…..until Covid hit and our lockers were relocated during renovation. It was gone when I went back to get it in 2022.

It was my old beaten guitar and we went back a long way. I even used it on a few last minute gigs with the Pignose I also kept in my office. Thankfully, I brought the Pignose home just before Covid hit.

[rpjazzguitar]

I definitely don’t get along with a some of the “jazz” amps touted here, especially the ones that are voiced more like a PA than a classic guitar amp. I just played through one (rhymes with schmendrixen) yesterday. Meh. Usable, and it probably sounded fine to others, but not my thing.

The Bud and Blu have garnered a lot of accolades including from some great players.

And, currently, I'm looking for an amp that's a little less harsh on chords than my Little Jazz or Jazz 12. I've been gigging, when space permits, with a cumbersome system (pedalboard, LJ as a preamp, Mixer (for additional EQ) and powered speaker).

So, I'm thinking about the Blu or Bud, but they're a lot more money.

Can you talk me out of it?

Or, at least, go through the arguments against, if any.

Thanks

[wintermoon]

"Jolly cone" Polytone. "Schmendrixsen" Henriksen

What's the big secret?

[John A.]

"Jolly cone" Polytone. "Schmendrixsen" Henriksen

What's the big secret?

Sssh! Don't tell them!

[John A.]

The Bud and Blu have garnered a lot of accolades including from some great players.

And, currently, I'm looking for an amp that's a little less harsh on chords than my Little Jazz or Jazz 12. I've been gigging, when space permits, with a cumbersome system (pedalboard, LJ as a preamp, Mixer (for additional EQ) and powered speaker).

So, I'm thinking about the Blu or Bud, but they're a lot more money.

Can you talk me out of it?

Or, at least, go through the arguments against, if any.

Thanks

I don't know if I can talk you in or out of anything, but I can try to explain my preferences. I like to have a little bit of "hair" (as Peter Bernstein calls it) with my tone, i.e., a touch of softening of attack/compression/sustain, accentuated mids, and some high end shimmer. Basically, Fender cleans pushed a little past purely clean, but not patently distorted/crunchy. Could be blackface, tweed, or something in the Blues/Hot Rod family (all a bit different from each other, but all cool); could be something like a Peavey Classic 30, could be a solid state or modeling amp that shoots for that sort of tone.

Where the super-clean flat-response amps like Henriksen and AER fall short for me is with the high strings. They have a sharper attack without the sense of sustain or compression that I like, though I find this this less so with heavier string gauges. I use 13's on my archtop, and these amps are OK with that. But my semi and strat have 10s, and the super-clean amps bug me a lot more with those.

For me, the best small/light grab and go amp has turned out to be a small Fender modelling amp (Champion 20). My "big" amp is a Princeton Reverb, and is my favorite sounding amp ever. These have been loud enough for what I do, but sometimes just barely (and my guess would be not loud enough for you if you find the LJ too quiet). If I needed louder I'd probably go for a Quilter Aviator Cub, which is 50 watts, and about the same size/weight as the DV Mark 12 Jazz. If you want something as small and
light as a Blue or Bud with as much power/loudness as one of these, I don't think there's anything else that really does that. I would probably stick some sort of color-preamp in front of one to warm it up (e.g., a SansAmp or Joyo American Sound). I guess I'd recommend trying that with your DV Jazz 12 before recommending you buy another amp (the Joyo American sound is only about $50).

[skiboyny]

I am sure most of us have played objectively great guitars that, for whatever reason, we just did not connect with.


I have just had that same experience with an objectively great amp for the jazz guitar community. I really wanted to like this amp, but I just am not vibing.

I was wondering if anyone else has had that same experience? Did you say why bother and moved on? Or did you eventually get that connection?


[Note: I am purposely not mentioning brands, sizes, tube or solid state, etc. because amp choice (like guitar choice) is personal and different for everyone.]

I'd go with why bother. There are no right or wrong choices when it comes to your perception of sound and or inspiration. It's totally personal. No amount of reviews can change that.

[rpjazzguitar]

I don't know if I can talk you in or out of anything, but I can try to explain my preferences. .

Much appreciated!

[Archie]

My late wife used to say it was the nature of my hands, not the gear. But certainly, it can't be so. Can it ....?

She should know. She married you!