I need a good jazz guitar that can also do blues: Les Paul Studio

[freemusicno34]

Really? For me, he is... anyway I just got a kick out of the idea that a guitar designed by a jazz guitarist to be used by jazz guitarists wouldn't be OK for jazz. But as you said, a Tele works too, or I guess anything if you have the chops (wish I did.)

 

 

Don't get me wrong, I have nothing but respect for Les (i've seen him at the iridium) but his influence, while vast and far beyond the guitar carrying his name, is certainly not jazz.

 

Also, just cause a guitar was designed with a purpose in mind doesn't mean it actually does that job well. See: jazzmaster (not a jazz guitar), telecaster (not a cheap guitar), etc.

 

 

I will say as long as you got the chops, you can get any guitar (actually any instrument) and play jazz. But i'm guessing you'll find it more enjoyable if the instrument lends itself well to jazz.

[Chunkytele]

So, I would like a guitar for jazz, with the option of blues and blues rock stuff. I'd like to use it as a slide guitar too. My slide influences are Derek Trucks and Duane Allman. So thinking about what guitars to get their tone and good jazz tone, I though of the Gibson les Paul Studio. Does anyone how plays jazz use the guitar? How are the pickups for what I want?

 

 

What type of jazz are you going to play? I have an LP studio and a Roland Chorus amp. I can play some jazz classics with that combo. T Monk or any version ''night in tunisia' this works fine. There is a sacrifice in tone however. For contemporary jazz i.e. Weather Report any solid body guitar can work tele, strat and Lp. I use my tele on Herbie Hancocks headhunters covers. IMO the problem with the solid body is soloing. I use a heavy gauge picks with the short solo progressions.. phrases , bebop,etc these peices play too harsh with a soild body guitar. A semi hollow body offers enough airyness to consistently give you the jazz tone. Also if you use a tude amp the pick dynamics are more of a issue to control.

 

I am still learning how to play jazz. More recently I am learning a piece with an uprigt bass, piano and small drum kit. I am using a Ibanez artcore in that effort. It a cheap guitar but perfect for jazz. Meduim output PUPs really allow you to get a more natural sound for accompliment. The neck pup with a hint of chorus and reverb is awful jazzy. I have a Fender deville amp. Its awful for jazz because even the clean channel once it good and warm will break up and give you unwanted distortion. I understand some jazz players will use a Fender twin. I personally believe solid state amps are perfect for jazz.

 

In summary like any genre jazz requires different tools depending on what type of jazz ypu decide to play. Its no different then tweaking your rig for metal or classic rock. I would recommend a es-335 type guitar to put you right in the middle of that great jazz tone.

[Alecto]

The Gibson LP Studio is fine for jazz. The big thing is to replace the pickups with vintage-toned PAF type pickups, because the standard Studio pickups are designed for rock tones.

- The Seymour Duncan Alnico II, the Seth Lovers or the Gibson Classic 57's should get you in the right territory.

- Derek Trucks uses the Duncan Antiquity pickups in his SG, which are also great for jazz tones.

If you want a guitar purely for jazz sounds, it's best to grab a hollowbody archtop and slap on some flatwounds but if you want a guitar to do both blues and jazz, the Studio will do you fine, once it has more vintage pickups loaded in.

- The Ibanez Artcore is a stunning jazz guitar for the money. I know guys who blew off Gibson L-5's because they could get a similar tone off the Artcore for far less $$$.

[Treborklow]

Pretty much any guitar will do jazz and blues. Heck, I play jazz on a Tele. It's in the notes and your fingers.

[guitarbilly74]

get the vm studio.. it's chambered, it has lower output pups and it's cheaper.

[mcinku]

Here's another option...

Godin LGXT or LGX-SA.
Blues sound just use those beautiful Seymour Duncan Custom Humbuckers and when you want jazz sound, dim the tone knob and blend it with a little acoustic... amazing tone :eek:

[leopardstar]

you really should go out and play a few different guitars to see what FITS you and your playing

[renier]

all it takes for a certain guitar to be accepted for a genre is that it be used by a competent player.....

 

 

agree completely.

[aloha]

Get a BFG...

 

It has a P90 in the neck and a Burst Bucker 3 in the bridge, it has chambers, and it will piss everyone off. Or, you can get the pretty version with a plain black paint job, if you don't feel like sticking out too much.

[aloha]

Also, if you are thinking about different designs...

 

The Carvin Fatboy sound great. It's completely hollow. More importantly, it has an amazing neck.

[csm]

 

See if you can find an older (70s 80s) Ibanez Artstar. Its like a hollow Artist. And if you can find one with super 58 pickups all the better!

 

 

That would do it. I have a 1981 AS50 -- downsized 335-alikes have been around longer'n you'd think -- retrofitted with Wilkinson PAF-alikes and coil-splits -- and it can deliver most blues, jazz and rock tones short of serious metal. There were two runs of the AS50: mine was from the first lot which came with Super Distortion-style V2 Pickups, which were just WRONG for what I wanted, but Ibanez fitted the far more suitable Super 58s to the second version. (There was also a third version, made in Korea with a bolt-on -- as opposed to set -- neck; these should be avoided at all costs.)

 

Further up the AS range from that era (which was a quality high-point of Japanese guitar-making) you find the As80, AS100 and AS200, which were full-size 335 clones, albeit with a slightly less 335-ish body shape, presumably for legal reasons, with a higher bling factor on the latter two.

 

AS50s are comparatively rare (the bad news), but generally very reasonably priced when you CAN find 'em (the good news). If you can lay your hands on one, it should give you everything you need for relatively painless buckage.

[GarysBlues]

Look for a 333 and save a few bucks.

[rslowr]

I have a Studio that I use for jazzy sort of stuff. The neck position, tone dialed down, into a flat solid state (Tech 21) works pretty well -- good articulation, etc. But I'm seriously thinking about swapping out the neck pup for a Seymour Duncan jazz, which I used in an earlier LP style guitar. The standard pups feel a bit too hot; dialing the neck down thins out the sound a tad too much. I can still find the sweet spot, but I'd like a pup that had more of a sweet range.

 

That said, I really like the neck for jazz chords (fat 50s style) -- better than Fender necks at least. So w/ a little experimentation, I think you could make a go with the LP.

[Burgess]

Perhaps a Gibby 335 style?

Absolutely!

[Tom LP]

So, I would like a guitar for jazz, with the option of blues and blues rock stuff. I'd like to use it as a slide guitar too. My slide influences are Derek Trucks and Duane Allman. So thinking about what guitars to get their tone and good jazz tone, I though of the Gibson les Paul Studio. Does anyone how plays jazz use the guitar? How are the pickups for what I want? What do you guys think?

 

 

 

Theres no reason why a Les Paul wouldn't work fine for this application, Les Paul uses one. You will get a more focussed tone than you would from a hollow or semi hollow body, but a Les Paul can certainly deliver the woody tone. 57 Classics or the 490/498 combination pickups should get the job done. The LP will also get you the Duane tones you are looking for. Of course a semi hollow would work fine also.

[C-4]

As stated earlier in this thread, a 335 of some type is your most versatile choice.
However here are a couple of options to think about.
If you have the cash, get your LP Studio for rock and blues and a Yamaha AES 620HB for jazz. This is a Yamaha LP size and type semi-solidbody with "F" holes with the 24 3/4 scale and two hummers that wll get you the jazzier tones with a bit more depth as a semi would give you. It sells at MF for only $599. I just got one as a beater. My other guitars are a CS 356 F-59 and a AAA Standard LP chambered. While my Gibsons can easiely do all types and styles of music, this guitar is just a tad mellower, yet still can rock hard when called for. I used it for the first time at a concert for 5,000 people last Sunday, and the sound man told me I had a tone to die for. Just a suggestion.
Happy hunting!

With an extremely resonant semi-hollow mahogany body, figured maple top, and a set mahogany neck, you know this guitar has tone that goes on for days. Premium pickups include an original Yamaha humbucker at the neck and a Seymour Duncan JB at the bridge. Also includes AES-series chrome hardware, Grover die-cast tuners, and T-O-M bridge.

Yamaha AES620HB Hollow Body Electric Guitar Features:

Semi-hollow mahogany body
Figured maple top
Set mahogany neck
Rosewood fingerboard
Yamaha humbucker at neck
Seymour Duncan JB humbucker at bridge
T-O-M bridge
AES-series chrome hardware
Grover die-cast tuners
Limited lifetime warranty

[whit townsend]

So, I would like a guitar for jazz, with the option of blues and blues rock stuff. I'd like to use it as a slide guitar too. My slide influences are Derek Trucks and Duane Allman. So thinking about what guitars to get their tone and good jazz tone, I though of the Gibson les Paul Studio. Does anyone how plays jazz use the guitar? How are the pickups for what I want? What do you guys think?

 

 

Well, old Les himself played some pretty sweet jazzy licks on a Studio.

Blues-heck you can play the blues on any old thing. Slide too, for that matter. So yea, a LP Studio would work fine. So would just about any LP.

So would just about any other kind of guitar made, including Teles and Strats.

 

But the obvious choice if your a Gibson man is a 335 or a LP to bring the rock to the blues-rock.

[Rocktoe]

Perhaps a Gibby 335 style?

 

 

I'd go this way too, 335 seems to do all those styles well.

[Karma1]

I have a Les Paul Studio, and after installing a Seymour Duncan Seth Lover in the neck, it can easily cover jazz, as well as rock, blues, etc.

[Jkater]

As stated earlier in this thread, a 335 of some type is your most versatile choice. However here are a couple of options to think about. If you have the cash, get your LP Studio for rock and blues and a Yamaha AES 620HB for jazz. This is a Yamaha LP size and type semi-solidbody with "F" holes with the 24 3/4 scale and two hummers that wll get you the jazzier tones with a bit more depth as a semi would give you. It sells at MF for only $599. I just got one as a beater. My other guitars are a CS 356 F-59 and a AAA Standard LP chambered. While my Gibsons can easiely do all types and styles of music, this guitar is just a tad mellower, yet still can rock hard when called for. I used it for the first time at a concert for 5,000 people last Sunday, and the sound man told me I had a tone to die for. Just a suggestion. Happy hunting! With an extremely resonant semi-hollow mahogany body, figured maple top, and a set mahogany neck, you know this guitar has tone that goes on for days. Premium pickups include an original Yamaha humbucker at the neck and a Seymour Duncan JB at the bridge. Also includes AES-series chrome hardware, Grover die-cast tuners, and T-O-M bridge. Yamaha AES620HB Hollow Body Electric Guitar Features: Semi-hollow mahogany body Figured maple top Set mahogany neck Rosewood fingerboard Yamaha humbucker at neck Seymour Duncan JB humbucker at bridge T-O-M bridge AES-series chrome hardware Grover die-cast tuners Limited lifetime warranty

Nice to hear that it worked well for you. So those mid-range Yamahas are a good choice? We mostly hear of their excellent entry level guitars and of the few MIJ top end ones but less often of the mid-range stuff. That one has an interesting look that I like.