Which school of thought are you from as far as tone.
Stan Fong
seems to be 2 schools of thought on this. There are those who like the dark
smokey warm sound and those who like the bright modern sound.
I use to be from the old school of thought where I liked my tone dark and
warm. That was when my main axe was my ES 175. I remember some other guys
use to call it the "blanket over the amp sound."
Now that I have a couple of carved tops my ears seem to like a brighter
sound, but I'm not completely on the other side of the spectrum. I still
like the warmth and fat sound of the unwound strings but not the muddiness
of the wound strings. I don't like it so bright that the unwound string have
an edge but I like the clarity and separation of the wound strings. I prefer
to be somewhere in the middle having all the qualities I like. That's warmth
but not getting lost in the mix, and clarity. Having a good balance of both
ends of the spectrum is my preference as far as tone goes.
What's your preference for a jazz tone?
Stan
Stan Fong
<myles...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1155166431.0...@m79g2000cwm.googlegroups.com...
>> What's your preference for a jazz tone?
>
> probably amounts to about 5% of my listening now anyway though.
>
> Myles
Pat Martino is a phenomenal player but I thought in his last CD "Tribute to
Wes", his tone was too dark and got lost in the mix. Stanley Jordan who's
another phenomenal player but his tone can be a little harsh at times. It's
just my opinion. It's not right or wrong. It's just my own preference.
Stan
Joe Montgomery
> >> What's your preference for a jazz tone?
Joe Pass's tone on Apassionata.
Bucky Pizzarelli's tone on his solo stuff
Any tone Wes ever got except the one that sounds like an out of phase
tele.
jm
LarryV
of the newer players tone, too sterile and shallow sounding, no warmth.
I don't like muddiness, but I do like a fat, warm, clean sound that's
not just the sound of the guitar itself. Some coloration from the amp
is desirable imho.
ott...@hotmail.com
sound of the old days, and like Larry says, H.R.'s sound is close to
the Grail for me. I like Clarity on chords, as well as Not interfering
with the Bass Player's sound/Range.
Bg
Mark Guest
U-2 "Pro" model today for cheap. The lipstick PU's and semi-hollow body
work well for me. I'm not sure it will replace my L5/blanketed amp
sound on gigs, but I really like hearing the seperation between the
notes. I'm more inspired to play around with close voicings with the
Dano. My preference for others' tone is usually in the trad
camp...Kenny Burrell is a tonal icon for me. OTOH, Lenny Breau's
playing on a Gibson 125 seems wasted when compared to the sounds coming
out of his solid body guitars. An earlier poster nailed it when he said
the playing is more important than the tone.
I'm really enjoying the Dano. Nice wide fingerboard, the neck is comfy
enough...though the profile is a little flat. The Pro version has
better tuners and a bridge closer to a tele than the primitive block of
wood that the older and reissues offer. And tearing it up with
alternate PU's etc, won't damage the resale value ;-)
Best,
Mark Guest
Michael L Kankiewicz
>
> I don't care either way if the playing is good. I think jazz guitar
> probably amounts to about 5% of my listening now anyway though.
But what % of your usenet reading?
:)
Mark Cleary
that is going too far. I prefer a bighter tone like Pass some of his trio
things or Intercontinetal. I much prefer a carvetop with a floater and make
the adjustments with the amp. A single volume control is all I really want.
This is a brighter sound than Burrell or even Pass in the early 60's. Martin
Taylor's sound on his stuff is the close to this sound. Clarity and warm
response is the best.
--
Mark Cleary
Hollenbeck Jazz Guitars the Finest
Handcarved Jazz Guitars
http://members.cox.net/ruthster/hollenbeck/
"Stan Fong" <skin...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:8--dna6o8-tj80fZ...@comcast.com...
ken
Stan Fong wrote:
> Pat Martino is a phenomenal player but I thought in his last CD "Tribute to
> Wes", his tone was too dark and got lost in the mix. Stanley Jordan who's
> another phenomenal player but his tone can be a little harsh at times. It's
> just my opinion. It's not right or wrong. It's just my own preference.
>
> Stan
I used to prefer a warm, dark tone too... But these days for whatever
reason (maybe because I've been playing with a really loud band in
noisy studios (Kiss cover band in the studio next to us etc...)), I'm
really into a really bright sound.
I seem to not have to work so hard to get through... The only problem
is I don't want to start sounding like Scofield (I play really
legato-ish too cuz I'm too lazy to pick every note...).
Oh, and me getting so lazy that I always use my $300 Steinberger clone
might have something to do with it too...
Ken
ES175_Player
As far as tone I've got several axes..
>From Gibson Blues Hawks, ES345, Strat, Tele, LP, etc....
My favorite axe is my ES175...
I'm under the opinion to acheive certain tones different axes definitly
make the difference.
So I keep a few around.. (Secretly I'm a gasaholic)..
As far as pure tone though, I think Johnny Smiths recordings are just
killer. What he gets coming out of his axe on "Moonlight in Vermont",
"Shenendoah", etc. is just so sweet. (Guess you can tell I dig Johnny
Smith)....
Nate Najar
everyone. It's perfect for him though! My favorite tones are the real
clear ones, not bright but not real dark either. Jim Raney and Barney
both cometomind as a real clear tone and my favorite because you can
hear everything so clear is Howard Roberts (especially those 2 albums
color him Funky and Dirty Guitar player). It's just so clear and
round. He has such precision in his facility that helps too.
Nate
Jeanmi
jazz tones
Nate Najar a écrit :
Sean
> (snip)
>
> What's your preference for a jazz tone?
>
> Stan
Larry Carlton, Johnny A.
Maybe they don't qualify as "jazz."
thejazzguitar
really when it comes to the best tone, a lot depends on what else is
going on in the song and what we're refering to as jazz. Ed Bickert
also has a real nice sound in the context that I've heard him in,
although it's 20 years since I've heard him and he was playing a tele.
But then again there's Ralph Towner and he plays nylon and in 'that'
musical environment it's perfect. Of the new players Jacob Young is
very sweet tone wise. The Joe Pass virtuoso stuff was fantastic as was
Mick Goodrick on one of the albums he realeasd 'round about 1980.
I used to have a nice ES 175 but was silly enough to trade it for a
Gibbo with a carved top, and although the newer guitar sparkled more,
over a period of time I realized that for me it wasn't as good as the
175. It was sort of like giving up a wonderful woman that had a lot of
goodness for one that looked cute from a distance at a party that
turned out to have no depth of character.
I bought myself a cheap Ibanez AF105N , it's real nice, I've only had
it for a few months but it is good and at times I can't believe the
textures, but it took a little while to stop trying to make it sound
like my old guitars, then it's beauty came out. My friend Ike Isaacs
had the second Johnny Smith guitar ever made, that had a very nice
sound. I liked Howards sound very much and also Jimey Raney.
But something very worth listening to is Pat Martino on side one
(vinyl) of 'We'll be together again'.
Tony
charles robinson
that he changed them every time that he played.He came in early, took his
old strings off and then used a tuning crank to put the new ones on. While
doing that he muttered that although he didn't have perfect pitch he could
always tune to an E because he knew how the crank felt when it was
there.Then he took some pages from a newspaper and put them between the
strings and the fingerboard an proceed to spray some oil on the strings
saying that it helped to keep them from deadening too fast. His only warmup
was to strum an open string chord in a tremolo type pattern for a few
seconds. After playing three tunes at the clinic he started talking about
his strings and how he liked them to be fresh sounding remarking "Listen to
them now, they are already slightly deader than when I started".
Charlie
"LarryV" <lar...@rcn.com> wrote in message
news:1155170272.4...@p79g2000cwp.googlegroups.com...
Graham
check out 'Willow Weep For Me' for example. Perfect combination of a
rich, warm sound with clarity and even a touch of distortion in places.
The way he can make a single note 'pop' out louder than the others to
create an accent in a fast run is wonderful.
Also Kenny Burrell for similar reasons, i.e. really deep warm tone yet
you can hear every note clearly in chords because his notes seem to
have a well-defined 'edge' to them. I once saw Kenny at Ronnie Scotts
and I think he was just using the house Fender Twin, but his tone
really sang out rich and full just like on his recordings.
If you exclude the plectrum, then Wes is the man. (Though of course
Benson is a mean thumb player too).
Graham Thomas
tom walls
skin...@yahoo.com says...
wouldn't be focused on it at all. Nevertheless. I love the single-note
sound of a heavy, flatwound string, and it really doesn't matter so much
to me dark or bright -- it seems to have a full, deep tone regardless.
But I don't like the tone of the heavy flatwounds for comping; I much
prefer the sound of lighter roundwounds. And probably single coils.
Again, bright or dark doesn't seem to be the issue. So I guess I'm off-
topic. Never mind!
--
Tom Walls
the guy at the Temple of Zeus
tom walls
robins...@comcast.net says...
>
> I saw Howard Roberts at a clinic years ago.He was obsessive about strings in
> that he changed them every time that he played.He came in early, took his
> old strings off and then used a tuning crank to put the new ones on. While
> doing that he muttered that although he didn't have perfect pitch he could
> always tune to an E because he knew how the crank felt when it was
> there.Then he took some pages from a newspaper and put them between the
> strings and the fingerboard an proceed to spray some oil on the strings
> saying that it helped to keep them from deadening too fast. His only warmup
> was to strum an open string chord in a tremolo type pattern for a few
> seconds. After playing three tunes at the clinic he started talking about
> his strings and how he liked them to be fresh sounding remarking "Listen to
> them now, they are already slightly deader than when I started".
> Charlie
>
>
bob r
at tw...@cornell.edu wrote on 8/10/06 8:33 AM:
> I'm currently agonizing over this. I suspect that if I had a gig I
> wouldn't be focused on it at all.
LOL! I think you're onto something there, TW...
--
Bob Russell
Web - http://www.bobrussellguitar.com
CDs - http://www.cdbaby.com/all/bobrussell
Soundclick - http://www.soundclick.com/bobrussell
dave@redstone
I really hate to hear this. HR is my hero, but with around 40 guitars,
i like to average 3 - 5 yrs per set of GHS BriteFlats per guitar.
Seriously, I like the brightness of the GHS BF, but I sure do like the
smoothness of the TI flats (12-50). The BFs start to get that smooth
about the time they go flat. Hmmmmmh.
When I was a kid, I learned that I could loosen up the Black Diamonds
on my Silvertone overnite and they would be bright for an hour or so
after I tuned them up the next day.
dave
Brian Barthelt
dark but not muddy. Kenny has a bluesy/tube-amp quality in his tone
that I just love.
Derek
I don't like the idea of having just one default tone. I think that
contributes to some people being bored with jazz guitar, when a player
sounds pretty much the same song after song. I like the dark, smokey
tone of an ES 175 with flats, love the woody sound Joe Pass got, and I
also really like the bright, bouncy tone of gypsy jazz guitars. Like
other dynamics, I think the guitar tone should fit the song.
ray
> I saw Howard Roberts at a clinic years ago.He was obsessive about strings in
> that he changed them every time that he played.He came in early, took his
> old strings off and then used a tuning crank to put the new ones on. While
> doing that he muttered that although he didn't have perfect pitch he could
> always tune to an E because he knew how the crank felt when it was
> there.Then he took some pages from a newspaper and put them between the
> strings and the fingerboard an proceed to spray some oil on the strings
> saying that it helped to keep them from deadening too fast. His only warmup
> was to strum an open string chord in a tremolo type pattern for a few
> seconds. After playing three tunes at the clinic he started talking about
> his strings and how he liked them to be fresh sounding remarking "Listen to
> them now, they are already slightly deader than when I started".
> Charlie
I attend a clinic Howard did in the late 80's, and he said basically the
same thing. He would change strings half way through a gig on on break
sometimes if the sound wasn't right. I saw the classical guitarist,
Jorge Caballero, perform earlier this year, and he changed nylon strings
at the intermission! Jorge said if he put strings on the guitar too
early in the day, then they would feel like rubber bands by an evening
performance. He liked to have a tight response time of the nylon
strings. Jorge's playing was awesome beyond belief, so no one had any
intention on arguing the point!
Ray
charles robinson
guys, especially those from the mellow end of the sound spectrum will tell
you to leave them on until the intonation goes. I forgot to mention that on
that day he was using a Gibson lab series amp which he kept raving about.
Charlie
"ray" <kel...@austin.rr.com> wrote in message
news:oRHCg.2653$iW1...@tornado.texas.rr.com...
Peter Huggins
I saw Howard Roberts at a clinic years ago. He was obsessive about
strings in that he changed them every time that he played. He came in
early, took his old strings off and then used a tuning crank to put the
new ones on. While doing that he muttered that although he didn't have
perfect pitch he could always tune to an E because he knew how the crank
felt when it was there.Then he took some pages from a newspaper and put
oil on the strings saying that it helped to keep them from deadening too
fast. His only warmup was to strum an open string chord in a tremolo
type pattern for a few seconds. After playing three tunes at the clinic
he started talking about his strings and how he liked them to be fresh
sounding remarking "Listen to them now, they are already slightly deader
than when I started". Charlie >>>
Howard had a condition wherein the oils or sweat from his hands and
fingers would cause his strings to go dead especially quickly. Mitch
Holder discussed this at his recent seminar at CA Vintage Guitar, which
was centered around his new Mel Bay book "The Jazz Guitar Stylings of
Howard Roberts". It was well known in the studios that if Howard played
your guitar you would then have to change the strings....
BTW, Mitch compiled a CD of the original recordings by Howard that are
transcribed in the book, but he was unable to get it licensed to include
it with the book. However I was able to listen to it, and was impressed
how Howard`s tone remained consistent through the years despite changes
in guitars, pickups, etc.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
" I`d dance with you Maria, but my hands are on fire " - Bob Dylan
" We had a knob, and all we had to do was turn it." - Les Paul
Grins, Peter
http://community.webtv.net/guitarmaniax/THISISTHE
http://community.webtv.net/guitarmaniax/unfinished3
charles robinson
consistent sound. Thanks--
Charlie
"Peter Huggins" <guitar...@webtv.net> wrote in message
news:1602-44DB...@storefull-3313.bay.webtv.net...
ray
least 3 or 4 months!
amost
"charles robinson" <robins...@comcast.net> wrote in message
news:BMGdnVj3T4-UiEbZ...@comcast.com...
>I saw Howard Roberts at a clinic years ago.He was obsessive about strings
>in that he changed them every time that he played.He came in early, took
>his old strings off and then used a tuning crank to put the new ones on.
>While doing that he muttered that although he didn't have perfect pitch he
>could always tune to an E because he knew how the crank felt when it was
>there.Then he took some pages from a newspaper and put them between the
>strings and the fingerboard an proceed to spray some oil on the strings
>saying that it helped to keep them from deadening too fast. His only warmup
>was to strum an open string chord in a tremolo type pattern for a few
>seconds. After playing three tunes at the clinic he started talking about
>his strings and how he liked them to be fresh sounding remarking "Listen to
>them now, they are already slightly deader than when I started".
> Charlie
>
He also played alot of commercial recording sessions which may or may not of
had something to do with his fondmness of fresh strings...I dunno
--
gtrmon
the strings. I have a buddy who has become a dobro player because of
this. If he were to try out a guitar it wouldn't matter how nice it
was, any piece of crap that he hadn't played would sound better within
a half hour or so. Guitars in music stores are subject to this
condition, something to keep in mind. A "bad" Martin, Hofner, or Gibson
just might be a fine guitar that has suffered from a previous player.
amost
"gtrmon" <gtrm...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:1155228876.6...@q16g2000cwq.googlegroups.com...
No chit main...I also have a friend and I am not lying..he can kill a set of
strings in minutes. I mean it is bad. I hate when he plays my guitars.
charles robinson
Michael L Kankiewicz
> >>>sometimes if the sound wasn't right. I saw the classical guitarist,
> >>>Jorge Caballero, perform earlier this year, and he changed nylon strings
> >>>at the intermission! Jorge said if he put strings on the guitar too
> >>>early in the day, then they would feel like rubber bands by an evening
> >>>performance. He liked to have a tight response time of the nylon
> >>>strings. Jorge's playing was awesome beyond belief, so no one had any
> >>>intention on arguing the point!
That just amazes me. Nylon strings usually take a couple of hours to
really settle into stable tuning.
MK
ray
He apparently puts the strings on and tunes them all up sharp, then when
he walks on stage he tunes them back down to pitch. He also made quite
a few adjustments while playing. Not for the faint of heart! ;)
Ray
Pat Smith
Him Funky is my favorite. I also like pretty much every note Lenny Breau
ever played. Wes' tone is great too. Ack it's a hard question because I
so admire so many players. But of course what you enjoy hearing and what
you choose for yourself can be very different. I love Jim Hall but I
can't play with my tone control on 0. I always made fun of the sound of
the Joe Pass Ibanez till I realized it had become part of what I enjoy
in solo guitar, so I bought one and I love it for solo guitar, almost
hate it playing with a band, go figure
diym...@excite.com
especially with the floating Pu.....no floater ever sounded that good.
I have been thinking of putting an old rhythm chief on my JS to see if
it helps...but it was likely 'just Johnny' making all the tone.
I also LOVE kenny burrells sound for electric...hard to beat.
Xman
hear my sound clips at http://charliex.org
Greger Hoel
wrote:
>Stan
I like that green sound, y'know
googledawg
Derek wrote:
....I don't like the idea of having just one default tone. I think
that
....contributes to some people being bored with jazz
yeah, that "smoky" (?) "dark" (?) sound (blanket over the amp is very
descriptive) sounds flat and dull ....after too much of it....
i like to get a little "sting" to my notes, sorta like jalapeno in the
salsa - eh?
God put the treble knob on amps to be used...and they can be turned
either way.
thejazzguitar
just changing nylon strings
gtrmon
The rhythm chief has high output and the tone is not "warm and dark" at
all. It's a straight through tone and cuts well in a band situation. I
think the tone is warm. Then again, I think calling treble rolled off
"warm" is just about as arbitrary as naming can get.
floreth
clearly hear, and enjoy, everything he plays.
personally, I like flatwounds. I like a Clarus amp with tone controls
at 12:00 o'clock with a quality speaker cab like RE or Leonardo (any
size). I use a thick pick along with right-hand fingers, sometimes just
my thumb, to pluck the strings. A humbucker or a Charlie Christian
pickup, vol and tone wide open (sometimes volume rolled back). It's a
straight ahead, simple, neutral kind of set up. From there I get a wide
range of sounds by using my two hands.
Stan Fong wrote:
> Since we're on the subject of tone pots and tone circuitry in amps, there
> seems to be 2 schools of thought on this. There are those who like the dark
> smokey warm sound and those who like the bright modern sound.
>
> I use to be from the old school of thought where I liked my tone dark and
> warm. That was when my main axe was my ES 175. I remember some other guys
> use to call it the "blanket over the amp sound."
>
> Now that I have a couple of carved tops my ears seem to like a brighter
> sound, but I'm not completely on the other side of the spectrum. I still
> like the warmth and fat sound of the unwound strings but not the muddiness
> of the wound strings. I don't like it so bright that the unwound string have
> an edge but I like the clarity and separation of the wound strings. I prefer
> to be somewhere in the middle having all the qualities I like. That's warmth
> but not getting lost in the mix, and clarity. Having a good balance of both
> ends of the spectrum is my preference as far as tone goes.
>
> What's your preference for a jazz tone?
>
> Stan