[jazz_guitar] Solid Body Guitars and Jazz Standards

[RONALD VITARELLI]

Greetings and happy new year to all!

Has anyone (age 50 and older) tried using a solid body guitar for straight-ahead jazz? I'm referring to those of us who are steeped in standards and like to work solo.

RonV
CT/USA

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[rock...@aol.com]

Yes, I use a 52 reissue telecaster with mods including a humbucker in the neck, all the time. In fact Ted Greene used this type of configuration as well. I even liked it before the humbucker. I use a Jazzkat and an Evans amplifier and get beautiful tone. 11s flatround also help.

Mont

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[Will]

Same for me, I had a host of semis and also my
LP recording. I have sold most of my semis now.

For solo work I use an Admira with a piezo pickup
which I fitted. The only electronics I use between
the classical and the small amp I use is a vol
control that I fitted to the guitar. Currently I
am stuck on Savarez strings.

Will

>
> I used a solid body for many years, playing standards in groups. Now I use a semi hollow similar to a 335. For solo playing, I prefer nylon.

[Brian Kelly]

I've recently been using my Tele' on gigs. It has a Lollar humbucking in the neck position and reasonably light D'Addario Half Rounds for strings. I love it. I can still get a pretty decent traditional jazz sound out of it by turning down the treble. So far I like using it. I won't say it's a one for one swap with any archtop I own but there are definitely things I like about using it. The band members like it and have encouraged me to use it more.

Brian

----- Original Message -----
From: RONALD VITARELLI
To: jazz_guitar
Sent: Sunday, January 03, 2010 4:12 PM
Subject: [jazz_guitar] Solid Body Guitars and Jazz Standards

Greetings and happy new year to all!

Has anyone (age 50 and older) tried using a solid body guitar for straight-ahead jazz? I'm referring to those of us who are steeped in standards and like to work solo.

RonV
CT/USA

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

------------------------------------

[rguitarjj]

I used a solid body for many years, playing standards in groups. Now I use a semi hollow similar to a 335. For solo playing, I prefer nylon.

[r.]

--- In jazz_...@yahoogroups.com, rockerdoc@... wrote:
>
> Yes, I use a 52 reissue telecaster with mods including a humbucker in the neck, all the time. In fact Ted Greene used this type of configuration as well. I even liked it before the humbucker. I use a Jazzkat and an Evans amplifier and get beautiful tone. 11s flatround also help.
>
> Mont
>

> I love Teds sound..I would like to try a tele..what is the deal
with the prices?...Are the necks on the cheaper models the same as
the expensive ones?...The prices are all over the place..I think
Ted used a Norcaster...Really pricey!....I tried out a squire and
I thought the neck and feel was better then the tele..and dirt cheap.
I know there is the collector issue....

[JVeg...@aol.com]

I have a Mexican Tele w/ a Lollar Charlie Christian p/u in the
neck position that I use for straight-ahead jazz all the time.
Like Brian mentions, it's not a one-for-one swap, but most of
the time it does the job just fine. I have it strung w/ D'Addario
ribbon-wound 12s. I get lots of comments about what a good
"jazz" sound that guitar gets...

Cheers,
JV

Juan Vega

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

------------------------------------

[Michael]

I recently switched from a semi-hollow to a tele.

[intellegentmusiciangolfer]

Yes, I used a Tele with aBill Lawrence Humbucker for several years. I usually play an old Byrdland now. Check out Ed Bickert for Canada. Great player, used a Tele his entire career. He used flat-wound strings, got great sustain. Ben C

--- In jazz_...@yahoogroups.com, RONALD VITARELLI <ronald.vitarelli@...> wrote:
>

[Brian Kelly]

I forgot to mention that I sometimes used my Tele' 25 years ago on gigs but it wasn't very well accepted and on one particular gig I did the bandleader had a fit about me using it and never hired me again. Can you imagine my shock when I found out later that Jack Wilkins has used his Tele' on several of his recordings.

Brian Kelly

----- Original Message -----
From: intellegentmusiciangolfer
To: jazz_...@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Monday, January 04, 2010 12:44 PM
Subject: [jazz_guitar] Re: Solid Body Guitars and Jazz Standards

Yes, I used a Tele with aBill Lawrence Humbucker for several years. I usually play an old Byrdland now. Check out Ed Bickert for Canada. Great player, used a Tele his entire career. He used flat-wound strings, got great sustain. Ben C

--- In jazz_...@yahoogroups.com, RONALD VITARELLI <ronald.vitarelli@...> wrote:
>
> Greetings and happy new year to all!
>
> Has anyone (age 50 and older) tried using a solid body guitar for straight-ahead jazz? I'm referring to those of us who are steeped in standards and like to work solo.
>
> RonV
> CT/USA
>

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

------------------------------------

[Brian Kelly]

My Tele' is a Mexican import. I bought it on purpose because I like some of the features on the cheaper import better. For example I like the import tuning keys better and I much prefer the reduced finish they use on the necks. The electronics can be a problem but not is every case. I've seen Mexican guitars with nice pots and and some with junk. The switches and input jacks are almost always a problem in my experience. The pickups don't sound bad but they are wound on bobbin style pickups rather than having the wire wrapped directly on the magnets. Years ago we tried to wrap a regular strat pickup and a bobbin pickup exactly the same and even with identical wiring they sounded slightly different and the traditional pickup sounded slightly better in my opinion. Still, the import Tele's are a hell of a bargain and I would strongly consider it again.

I also have an American made strat which I like as well. It costs more but everything is better and the guitar I bought was so ready to go compared to the Mexican I could have walked out of the store and right into the gig with it.

Brian

----- Original Message -----
From: r.
To: jazz_...@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Monday, January 04, 2010 9:10 AM
Subject: [jazz_guitar] Re: Solid Body Guitars and Jazz Standards

--- In jazz_...@yahoogroups.com, rockerdoc@... wrote:
>
> Yes, I use a 52 reissue telecaster with mods including a humbucker in the neck, all the time. In fact Ted Greene used this type of configuration as well. I even liked it before the humbucker. I use a Jazzkat and an Evans amplifier and get beautiful tone. 11s flatround also help.
>
> Mont
>
> I love Teds sound..I would like to try a tele..what is the deal
with the prices?...Are the necks on the cheaper models the same as
the expensive ones?...The prices are all over the place..I think
Ted used a Norcaster...Really pricey!....I tried out a squire and
I thought the neck and feel was better then the tele..and dirt cheap.
I know there is the collector issue....
]
>

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

------------------------------------

[Will]

I have noticed that the American Teles don`t
include a treble bleed capacitor any more but
are supplied with a "Vintage tone" capacitor for
the owner to solder in themselves. This "Vintage tone"
capacitor is not a treble bleed one and makes
not-a-lot of tone difference.

However, the Japanese and many Mexican models still
include the original wiring which gives that snappy
Tele sound. Also, to me the Japanese and Mexican build
quality is very very good.

Anybody wanting to fit their own treble bleed capacitor
should check out my website where there is an explanation
of how they work.

Will

excellentleads.com

--- In jazz_...@yahoogroups.com, "Brian Kelly" <bkelly@...> wrote:
>
> My Tele' is a Mexican import.

------------------------------------

[grahambop]

I normally play on an archtop (ES175) but when practising late at
night, my wife and kids could hear it (even unplugged!). I dug out my
old solid guitar which I hadn't used for years (an Ibanez Artist), and
found it had a pretty good tone for jazz. So now I use that for my
late night playing. (I run it thorugh one of those Pandora gadgets
with headphones).

It has humbuckers and is a bit like a Les Paul with 2 cutaways. Quite
heavy for a solid. For playing solo I probably prefer the ES175
because the larger body is a bit more comfortable for me, however the
Ibanez has a great tone and being solid sustains a lot more.

Graham

www.youtube.com/grahambop

[Moderator Note: Moved from Google Mirror Message Queue:
http://groups.google.com/group/jazz_guitar ]

[Brian Kelly]

It's pretty clear that at least on the American made guitars Fender is trying to get away from the traditional Tele' sounding instruments. Today Tele's are selling to rockers as often or maybe even more often than to country artists so I think that Fender has voiced the new guitars to suit that audience.

Brian Kelly

----- Original Message -----
From: Will
To: jazz_...@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Tuesday, January 05, 2010 4:09 AM
Subject: [jazz_guitar] Re: Solid Body Guitars and Jazz Standards

I have noticed that the American Teles don`t
include a treble bleed capacitor any more but
are supplied with a "Vintage tone" capacitor for
the owner to solder in themselves. This "Vintage tone"
capacitor is not a treble bleed one and makes
not-a-lot of tone difference.

However, the Japanese and many Mexican models still
include the original wiring which gives that snappy
Tele sound. Also, to me the Japanese and Mexican build
quality is very very good.

Anybody wanting to fit their own treble bleed capacitor
should check out my website where there is an explanation
of how they work.

Will

excellentleads.com

--- In jazz_...@yahoogroups.com, "Brian Kelly" <bkelly@...> wrote:
>
> My Tele' is a Mexican import.

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

------------------------------------

[Brian Kelly]

One of the best guitars I ever played was a top of the line Ibanez Artist with active pickups. An incredible guitar.

Brian

----- Original Message -----
From: grahambop
To: jazz_...@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Tuesday, January 05, 2010 7:56 AM
Subject: [jazz_guitar] Re: Solid Body Guitars and Jazz Standards

I normally play on an archtop (ES175) but when practising late at
night, my wife and kids could hear it (even unplugged!). I dug out my
old solid guitar which I hadn't used for years (an Ibanez Artist), and
found it had a pretty good tone for jazz. So now I use that for my
late night playing. (I run it thorugh one of those Pandora gadgets
with headphones).

It has humbuckers and is a bit like a Les Paul with 2 cutaways. Quite
heavy for a solid. For playing solo I probably prefer the ES175
because the larger body is a bit more comfortable for me, however the
Ibanez has a great tone and being solid sustains a lot more.

Graham

www.youtube.com/grahambop

[Moderator Note: Moved from Google Mirror Message Queue:
http://groups.google.com/group/jazz_guitar ]

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

------------------------------------

[Marc Leduc]

Happy 2010 to All !

> One of the best guitars I ever played was a top of the line Ibanez Artist
> with active pickups. An incredible guitar.

Apparently Ibanez reissued the same (2007?) : $6000

Marc

[Chris Smart]

Hi Brian.

What tuners came on your Mexican tele? Mine came with ones with
plastic buttons that are very stiff to turn.

[Brian Kelly]

They are chrome and work nicely. They look a little like the Fenders but they are slightly bigger and brite chrome. You can buy them all day long on eBay cause guys take them off thinking that the traditional Fenders are better. Not to me though.

Brian

----- Original Message -----
From: Chris Smart
To: jazz_...@yahoogroups.com

Sent: Tuesday, January 05, 2010 10:16 AM
Subject: Re: [jazz_guitar] Re: Solid Body Guitars and Jazz Standards

Hi Brian.

What tuners came on your Mexican tele? Mine came with ones with
plastic buttons that are very stiff to turn.

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

------------------------------------

[Brian Kelly]

Ouch!!! That's nuts!!!

Brian

----- Original Message -----
From: Marc Leduc
To: jazz_...@yahoogroups.com

Sent: Tuesday, January 05, 2010 10:06 AM
Subject: Re: [jazz_guitar] Re: Solid Body Guitars and Jazz Standards

Happy 2010 to All !

> One of the best guitars I ever played was a top of the line Ibanez Artist
> with active pickups. An incredible guitar.

Apparently Ibanez reissued the same (2007?) : $6000

Marc

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

------------------------------------

[Blake Wilson]

I too own a Mexican Tele. It's the Ensenada "Custom Shop" (or perhaps
"Tiende Hecho de Encargo") "Baja" Tele (about $800). Tuners are the vintage
all-metal Kluson replicas, and the 4-position pickup selector is modified
by a switch on the volume control that offers quite a few tonal selections
absent from the standard Tele configuration. I played the American Standard,
and felt that the $200 difference in price was mostly due to the "made in
America" stamp and the included SBK case. Shoot, being made in Ensenada,
this is practically American-made....

--
Regards,

Blake Wilson
http://www.odysseysounds.net/

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

------------------------------------

[guit...@comcast.net]

Over the years, I've had all sorts of "jazz" guitars,fincluding a late 40s Epi Zephyr Deluxe Regent, an Ibanez 175 clone, several Guilds, currently an X-170 and an Artist Award, often played through "jazz" amps-what would now be vintage -Twins and other tube amps from the 60s. I was playing in a country band in the early 70s, had a Telecaster with a humbucker at the neck played through a Twin with a 15" cabinet in place of the original speakers, and occasionally through a very large Standel (?) solid state bass amp (our bass player's backup). It produced a great sound that I would call strait jazz. Today, if my economic state dictated that I could only have one electric guitar, I would seriously consider another Tele with a neck humbucker. I think it was the most versatile electric I've ever owned.

Just my 2 cents.
Brad

[JVeg...@aol.com]

Ditto.

Cheers,
JV

Juan Vega

In a message dated 1/5/2010 1:46:13 P.M. Pacific Standard Time,
guit...@comcast.net writes:

[if] I could only have one electric guitar, I would seriously consider

another Tele with a neck humbucker. I think it was the most versatile electric
I've ever owned.

[trapperjamie]

Has anyone used the ESP Ron Wood model in a jazz setting? I haven't seen one around to try, but looks like a tele style. There is a model with rosewood fingerboard (as well as a maple one), passive humbucker in the neck.

Thanks, Jim

--- In jazz_...@yahoogroups.com, RONALD VITARELLI <ronald.vitarelli@...> wrote:
>

[rguitarjj]

Interesting question.

Since I'm a 24 3/4 scale player, I can't pick a Tele, although I love the sound.

I've had a number of guitars. I'd say the most versatile was probably a 335. I play the D'A version now, EXDC, although I wish the body was an inch or two smaller in the lower bout.

[Chris Smart]

Don't forget that third-party companies like Warmoth sell 24/34"
conversion necks for telecasters.

[Mike Detlefsen]

rguitarjj wrote:
> Interesting question.
>
> Since I'm a 24 3/4 scale player, I can't pick a Tele, although I love the sound.
>
> I've had a number of guitars. I'd say the most versatile was probably a 335. I play the D'A version now, EXDC, although I wish the body was an inch or two smaller in the lower bout.
>
>
>
>

I play mostly nylon string, but my electric "go-to" guitar for a nice
warm sound is my Les Paul clone, partially because it's got a 1.75" wide
nut. Easier to get those chord forms for old hands like mine. I have
several archtops, but the solid body is a better form factor for me
because of the comfort issue.

Mike