Sadowsky "Jim Hall" Guitar - from my wife

[petterse...@shure.com]

On 12/27/04, I received a Sadowsky "Jim Hall" guitar as a gift from my
wife. The gift was to celebrate our 15th wedding anniversary
(9/29/04). Yes, I know, I don't deserve her.

As this model has been previously discussed by this User Group, I
wanted to add my first impressions of the instrument. This will not
be a long post.

For my taste, the guitar is a masterpiece. The workmanship is
impeccable. The styling is understated and elegant. It plays like a
dream. The sound is warm, detailed, and completely even over the
entire fingerboard. Roger Sadowsky set up the instrument perfectly for
my playing style after asking just a few questions of me via email.

Before my instrument was ordered, Jimmy Bruno kindly provided his
encouraging comments about the guitar. I'd like to continue that
tradition to any fellow jazz guitarist considering the Sadowsky "Jim
Hall" model. I'll happily answer questions about the guitar, but not
about my lovely wife.

Thank you, Roger Sadowsky and associates. Please pardon me now, it's
time to practice.

Michael Pettersen
http://www.freddiegreen.org

[Jeff Lange]

Good luck and fun playing! BTW: Great site! I just found out there are
jazz greats resting in my own back yard in Pinelawn.

Jeff Lange
www.JazzSelect.com

<petterse...@shure.com> wrote in message
news:1104809907....@z14g2000cwz.googlegroups.com...

[dhn...@sbcglobal.net]

Wow, congratulations! That's great. Hope you receive many years of
enjoyment out of your new axe.

[GregD/OASYSCO]

"Jeff Lange" <Je...@JazzSelect.net> wrote in
news:%ToCd.6581$j55....@fe12.lga:

> Good luck and fun playing! BTW: Great site! I just found out there
> are jazz greats resting in my own back yard in Pinelawn.

I'm curious as to who?

Greg

[GregD/OASYSCO]

petterse...@shure.com wrote in news:1104809907.097714.42510
@z14g2000cwz.googlegroups.com:

Congrats on that new guitar and your wonderful wife!

Greg

[Mark Kleinhaut]

Oh no! GAS!
www.markkleinhaut.com

[Dan Adler]

I went over to Roger's shop to play it a couple of weeks ago. It's such
a masterpiece instrument, I almost stayed all day :-)

Roger has every amp imaginable in his shop in a nice big sealed room,
so I played the same guitar through a Fender Twin, a Jazz Chorus, a
Clarus/RE-12 and an AER 60.

I was amazed at how COMPLETELY different the guitar sounds with each
amp. It's a stunning experience to A/B so many different amps. I had no
idea how different the same guitar can sound with different amps.

But, the most amazing is how the guitar sounds acoustically. It's as
responsive (and loud) acoustically as any flat top. You can play Pat
Metheny style strumming on it and never guess that it's not a high end
flat top. That comes through on Jim Hall's live CD, but when you hear
it yourself it's even more noticable.

-Dan
http://danadler.com

[j...@jackzucker.com]

Cool man...

I got an Ibanez Pat Metheny (PM120) from my wife for Christmas but she
doesn't know she got it for me yet... :-)

[Mark Kleinhaut]

But what about feedback? If it can play loud, well then.......hmmmm.

[Jeff Lange]

Dead guys include Coltrane, Freddie Green, Count Basie as per the

site: http://www.freddiegreen.org/gravesite.html

Jeff Lange
www.LangeTech.net

"GregD/OASYSCO" <nowhe...@nowhere.com> wrote in message
news:Xns95D43E80...@68.1.17.6...

[Joe Finn]

<petterse...@shure.com> wrote in message
news:1104809907....@z14g2000cwz.googlegroups.com...

> On 12/27/04, I received a Sadowsky "Jim Hall" guitar as a gift from my
> wife. The gift was to celebrate our 15th wedding anniversary
> (9/29/04). Yes, I know, I don't deserve her.

Michael: Good luck with your new guitar. I tried one of these myself and it
was really nice. It's something Roger can be really proud of.
......joe

--
Visit me on the web www.joefinn.net

[petterse...@shure.com]

Dan:

Thank you for your observations about using different amps. I had not
given the choice of amp much thought. I use an AER Compact 60
amplifier and really like the sonic results. This is the closest I
have been to recreating the unique Jim Hall timbre.

I find the guitar to be quite resistant to acoustic feedback.

I agree that the acoustic sound of the guitar is very similar to Hall's
D'Aquisto. Roger installed his Pure Nickel Jazz strings (011 - 052)
and I am very impressed with the sound and the feel.

I love the neck contour, the ebony fretboard, and the ease of movement
up and down the neck. The neck design lends itself to the type of
gliding melodic lines that Jim Hall creates along the length of the
neck.
I believe he refers to this as "the no-pick sound" or something like
that.

Michael

P.S. Many months ago, you posted an audio file of "My Funny Valentine"
recorded at your home (I think). If I didn't tell you then, I tell
you now..."Wow"!

[Eugel Yeo]

Wow! Congrats on your new guitar!
My wife gave me a reading lamp....
Sigh.

<petterse...@shure.com> wrote in message
news:1104809907....@z14g2000cwz.googlegroups.com...

[GregD/OASYSCO]

"Eugel Yeo" <clean_...@yahoo.com> wrote in news:crfhl6$i95$1
@mawar.singnet.com.sg:

> Wow! Congrats on your new guitar!
> My wife gave me a reading lamp....

Now you can *read* about guys whose wives buy them new guitars!

Greg

[Kurt Shapiro]

You are a truly lucky man -- A Sadowsky "Jim Hall" and wife who buys it for
you. I don't see how it could ever get any better than that.

[Bill Ribas]

she could have got him an amp too . . .

"Kurt Shapiro" <kurtWITHOUTT...@hotmailNOSPAMTHANKS.com> wrote in
message news:ssadnU-NVr6...@comcast.com...

[Scott Woolgar]

I can see the letter now:

Dear Downbeat Forum,

I'm a middle aged man in a midwestern city. My life is pleasant, but
ordinary, as I play jazz guitar with a tried-but-true laminated
archtop. However my wife gave me a surprise over the holidays that I
only thought happened in books and movies...
Signed,

Fat Toned and Happy

[petterse...@shure.com]

Dear Kurt:

I am indeed a lucky man.

My main reasons for the original post was not only to thank my wife
publicly in a forum that can truly appreciate her gift, but also to add
my praise for Roger Sadowsky's Jim Hall guitar. He has created a
world-class jazz guitar that is relatively affordable ($3,900 with
case) in a market where $5,000+ guitars are commonplace.

And for the email following yours: I already have an amp that I like a
great deal, and it works very well with the Sadowsky. The amp is an
AER Compact 60.

Michael
http://www.freddiegreen.org

[Eri...@ether.net]

On 4 Jan 2005 06:57:58 -0800, "Dan Adler" <d...@danadler.com> wrote:

>I went over to Roger's shop to play it a couple of weeks ago. It's such
>a masterpiece instrument, I almost stayed all day :-)
>
>Roger has every amp imaginable in his shop in a nice big sealed room,
>so I played the same guitar through a Fender Twin, a Jazz Chorus, a
>Clarus/RE-12 and an AER 60.
>
>I was amazed at how COMPLETELY different the guitar sounds with each
>amp. It's a stunning experience to A/B so many different amps. I had no
>idea how different the same guitar can sound with different amps.

This is good to know.
I had a chance today to try out a Jim Hall. Without question the best
playing jazz archtop I've ever tried. The construction was impeccable.
The setup and ease of play was astounding. From the lowest to the
highest note, each was clear as a bell and even-sounding.

My only holdback was the tone, and when all is said and done, this is
what counts the most for me. I played it through just one amp, which
seemed to be faithfully (transparently) amplifying the guitar's tone.
Now I know the guitar's character can change dramatically with another
amp.
Thanks. Eric