Members cratz2 Posted February 12, 2009 Members Share Posted February 12, 2009 The only weekly gigging jazz guitarist I know plays a 70s mahogany-bodied Fender tele. Mostly plays on the neck pickup or on both through a little compressor. Favor a neck pickup, roll the volume and tone knobs on the guitar down a touch, EQ away any harshness, avoid super slinky strings, get in a jazz frame of mind and you can play jazz on just about anything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Johnny Z Posted February 12, 2009 Members Share Posted February 12, 2009 A jazz band leader reprimanded me once for bringing a classy strat to practice. Despite sounding fine - good, if you want to ignore my actual playing - he insisted that I'd never get good jazz tone out of that guitar. To jab at him a little bit, I brought a surf blue jazzmaster copy to the next practice.I'm not with that band any more. Funny how people stereo type guitars with a style of music. The Jazzmaster was originally intended for Jazz Musicians but never really caught on, it was Fender first big Fail. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Funkwire Posted February 12, 2009 Members Share Posted February 12, 2009 A friend of mine has a son who enrolled in college last year. He's playing guitar in the jazz band. The instructor told him his Strat would not work, he HAD to have a hollowbody (or semi) guitar. His dad got him an Epi Dot for a graduation present. Pretty silly, but some people still have that mindset. Ted Greene: Bill Frisell: Ulf Wakenius: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dcindc Posted February 12, 2009 Members Share Posted February 12, 2009 I call this my "Jazz guitar". With the semi hollow construction, and P90s, it gets a woody warm sound in an easy to handle package. I never woulda believed it either. It's my most rockish looking guitar with the black sparkle finish. Go figure... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Boy Posted February 12, 2009 Author Members Share Posted February 12, 2009 I call this my "Jazz guitar". With the semi hollow construction, and P90s, it gets a woody warm sound in an easy to handle package. I never woulda believed it either. It's my most rockish looking guitar with the black sparkle finish. Go figure... Nice guitar:thu: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Angry Tele Posted February 12, 2009 Members Share Posted February 12, 2009 my Tele does a mean Jazz tone with the neck pickup, if I only knew how to play jazz. You could play jazz with a pointy guitar but just call it 'fusion'..I think maybe it depends on what everyone else is playing, it might look odd to play a floyd rose strat plus if the bass player is playing a standup. But maybe not I dunno. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members metallica_00 Posted February 12, 2009 Members Share Posted February 12, 2009 Solidbodies are often used for fusionish stuff. If you are looking for a more traditional jazz sound, you probably will not be happy with a solidbody. Freddie Green style comping for example, sounds far better on my 335 than on my Strat. Same player - but the tone is much closer (and even then I'd probably want a full hollow) to the archetypical jazz tone. Same with many single note lines. The attack and decay on solid bodies isn't quite right. Of course, if you can play jazz, you can play jazz. But if you are going for a traditional jazz vibe and tone you will want at least a semi. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members moctzal Posted February 12, 2009 Members Share Posted February 12, 2009 After all, we have strings and 3 kinds of pickups (humbuckers, P90 family and single coils). The wood and shape of your guitar probably contributes about 1% to the tone and the pickups, strings and your fingers the other 99%. And don't give me that tonewood argument. I have a 1970 Gibson ES-330 and a 2001 Epiphone Casino. Both are nearly identical hollow body archtop electrics. If the wood makes a difference in any guitar, it should in those two guitars. The Gibson has stock pickups, the Epi has Duncans. Unplugged the Gibson sounds much better. It's the wood mostly. Plugged in the Epiphone sounds better than the Gibson - it's the pickups. The conclusion is the wood may have an effect on the guitar's tone unplugged, but when you plug it in, you aren't playing the wood, you're playing the pickups and that is where your tone is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members gschmittling Posted February 12, 2009 Members Share Posted February 12, 2009 do you need one? no. in fact, i'd suggest learning jazz see if you're going to put the time into it to learn in fully. if you do, you'll probably see yourself GAS'ing for a semi/full hollow body eventually. if you just dabble in it, then i'd say it's not worth picking up a guitar for. i recently ran in some hard times and had to sell off my hollowbody. when i auditioned for a jazz project i brought my tele, and i could see the trumpets and sax's giving me a "oh great, look at this guy" look. but when i played i sure shut them up. since horn players know little about a guitar, they assume if it's not hollow you're rock. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members cratz2 Posted February 12, 2009 Members Share Posted February 12, 2009 I used a Kramer Baretta the first two years I was in Jazz band in high school. Of course, the directer wanted to hide me. But I was playing through a Jazz Chorus. And it WAS the 80s so everyone had single pickup, Floyded guitars with pointy-ish headstocks. And for the record, I did NOT get a Jazz sound out of that guitar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Lester Polfus Posted February 12, 2009 Members Share Posted February 12, 2009 Crats-How did jazz work out without a tone knob? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members poolshark Posted February 12, 2009 Members Share Posted February 12, 2009 A friend of mine has a son who enrolled in college last year. He's playing guitar in the jazz band. The instructor told him his Strat would not work, he HAD to have a hollowbody (or semi) guitar. His dad got him an Epi Dot for a graduation present. Pretty silly, but some people still have that mindset. Stuff like that really bugs me, especially when critics aren't guitarists themselves. Most people just want to see the giant hollowbody. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members cratz2 Posted February 12, 2009 Members Share Posted February 12, 2009 Crats-How did jazz work out without a tone knob? Plenty of tone knobs around... just not on the guitar. Kept the volume on the knob rolled back to take the JB, had a DOD or maybe a Digitech EQ pedal, then into the Jazz Chorus. The three or four times we played out, I just had the pedal and went into our little board. I'm sure it would have failed miserably as a full time lead jazz guitar, but it was mostly horn stuff and I'd did chords 90% of the time with 5 second fills here and there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members darkwaters Posted February 12, 2009 Members Share Posted February 12, 2009 One of my favourite jazz guitarists is Ed Bickert and his guitar of choice is a "Keith Richards" Tele with a humbucker in the neck. It's in the way that you use it........ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members photon9 Posted February 12, 2009 Members Share Posted February 12, 2009 Nah you need a double-neck SG to play Jazz [YOUTUBE]jK5dzv4Wq28[/YOUTUBE] Although admittedly mahavishnu orchestra is more on the rock side of the fusion spectrum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jerry_picker Posted February 12, 2009 Members Share Posted February 12, 2009 Yes. I play jazz on a classical, dreadnaught, Tele, Strat, LP, Ric, fullhollow, semi...whatever is handy and has a fingerboard and strings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Portland1 Posted February 12, 2009 Members Share Posted February 12, 2009 I play my SRV strat for jazz type stuff at school almost every day. The tone doesnt bother me, but i think a more traditional jazz guitar's neck would feel much better for jazz. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members akapuli Posted February 13, 2009 Members Share Posted February 13, 2009 Do you find it appropriate to do this? I have played rock my whole life, but just started getting into jazz. My guitars are Fender Stratocasters and a Peavey Wolfgang, and I am pretty happy with them. I would hate to buy a jazz guitar because 1.) I do not care for the way they look 2.) Right now, I don't have the money for one. Discuss. If you just begin, it's OK to have something not so classic jazz guitar. If you seriously like jazz, you gonna hunt for real jazz guitars anyways. I play jazz on a Fender Thinline and a Gretsch Hot Rod. Not classic players, but I'm not one either. And by the way the "turn down the tone pot" move is way overrated, IMHO. You could achieve a much more classical sound if you pick closer to the neck, or/and employ flatwounds or thumb-style. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dunnoaname Posted February 13, 2009 Members Share Posted February 13, 2009 I used to use a semi-hollow with single coils for jazz. Still gets me a really nice tone for some modern creative/ free stuff. I also play in a bigband now, and i really like the sound, and mainly the feel of a hollowbody with flatwounds foor the heavy 1940's bigband strumming. The hollowbody has humbuckers... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members csm Posted February 13, 2009 Members Share Posted February 13, 2009 If I was capable of playing jazz (which I'm not, due to acute deficiencies in both the theory and dexterity departments) ... I could certainly squeeze an appropriate tone for doing so from the neck pickup of a Strat with the tone control rolled back to taste. Works for faux-jazzy blues with a few fancy T-Bone Walkery 9ths and augs, anyway ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members flanging_fred Posted February 13, 2009 Members Share Posted February 13, 2009 I use my two pointy charvels at a local Jazz/Blues workshop. I get some funny looks but it doesn't sound any worse or out of place than the guys with hollowbodies, strats, teles etc. It is actually still possible to play 13th chords on a guitar with a floyd... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members C-4 Posted February 13, 2009 Members Share Posted February 13, 2009 People today have the luxury of finding guitars specific to the styles of music they enjoy playing. However, any guitar may be used for most any style of music, save for a couple of exceptions. F'rinstance, I wouldn't used a Gibson L-5 to play shred. Get the point?! Telecasters are actually one of the most versatile guitars for most styles, and have been used as such for 50+ years now. The amp, the way it is dialed in, and your competancy and abilities will be a large determining factor in just how successful you are at accomplishing the use of any guitar for any style of music you desire to play. If you feel especially comfortable playing on a given type of guitar, do not be afraid to try other styles on that guitar. It will bring out your personal style. When I started playing in 1955, I was trained in 1930's and '40's jazz ala Johnny Smith, Django Reinhardt, Big Band swing, and classical.My parents made me play an "F" hole archtop jazz guitar. As I got older and was able to buy thinner, and different guitars, my abilities to play differing styles expanded rapidly as a result of being influenced by the guitars different feel, and how my abilities came out differently by switching guitars. Each one allowed me to play differently, and more "authentically" to a given style of music. As time went on, I found that I was able to use any guitar to play any style of music. Then, it became just a matter of the tone and feel I wanted while playing a specific type of guitar to play any style of music I was competant in playing. Today, I prefer only a couple of different types of guitars, which are versatile enough for my current tastes and financial ability to own. The amp I chose is actually able to give these guitars the multiple voices I need to accomplish playing various styles I am called upon to perform. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members darkwaters Posted February 13, 2009 Members Share Posted February 13, 2009 Yes. I play jazz on a classical, dreadnaught, Tele, Strat, LP, Ric, fullhollow, semi...whatever is handy and has a fingerboard and strings. Jazz on a nylon string sounds beautiful. I'm surprised it's not more popular.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members C-jam Posted February 20, 2009 Members Share Posted February 20, 2009 You can play jazz guitar with a strat. I do it and will continue to. I don't want my expensive archtop's to die in the -50* Celsius weather, so until I get a cheap, good sounding archtop that wont crack and die at the first sight of the cold, I have no problems using my strat. What I LOVE archtop hollowbodies for are their textures; roll off to acoustic for a bass solo, vol. pot on pickguard make vol. swells effortless, and not to mention great tones in general. For a strat: neck pick up, roll down to nearly zero tone and roll down tones on your amp. Put your amp on clean, eliminate most of the reverb, and you should have a pretty sick sound going. Tone woods do absolutely make a difference; it takes time to hear it, but any serious musician who can't hear the difference is deaf (exaggeration). In some respects, its like perfect pitch. You hear it, or you don't, though it can be developed, it takes time and a trained ear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members koti123 Posted January 17, 2013 Members Share Posted January 17, 2013 Someone should have told poor Ted Greene not to use all those telecasters all those years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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