-
After seeing some great videos by Fep,Ten Left thumbs and others ,it dawned on me that i would really like to try playing some jazz on an acoustic.Do you guys have any recommendations for a suitable instrument.I really am not up on the acoustic guitar side of things.Unfortunately money is a major problem at the moment,and i would probably only be able to stretch to about £300.Would this buy me a decent instrument,because if it is not enough i think i would rather wait until i can afford a bit more.
-
05-15-2012 12:54 PM
-
An acoustic archtop is the original jazz guitar, and the obvious choice! That said, I would not want to shop for one with such a modest budget, so I'll withhold any recommendations. Others will have better ideas.
-
You can play jazz on almost anything. Will this be solo or with others? I'd just suggest staying about from big acoustic guitars like dreadnaughts, which can have a boomy bass. If you are not concerned about maximum volume, I find smaller bodies guitars (O or OO) can have a sweet tone.
I'm a bit of a fool for cutaways and this one, with a 12 fret neck, sounds interesting. Recording King
It goes for around $1,000, new.
-
Steel string or nylon string?
-
£300=$480.55, approximately. Others will have better suggestions than me, just wanted to also provide the U.S. numbers. Ginger, good to see you back BTW.
-
You're in Merry Olde, I see. So it's EASY.
Buy an old Hofner Senator or Congress acoustic archtop.
Best to try it before you buy it.
They are dead easy to fix and there are tons of them around.
Ones in good working order sell all day long for £300 in your part of the world.
String it with phosphor bronze, bronze or brass acoustic strings and you wil have a decent instrument for playing jazz.
Jazz on a flattop is wrong.
(OK, I've added the missing emoticon so that no one's head explodes)
Last edited by Hammertone; 05-23-2016 at 02:48 PM.
-
I just bought a Yamaha APX 500ii. Thinline, well made. I think it's terrific.
-
Jazz on an flattop is wrong?
-
I liked the cheap Walden I played a lot...
-
Jazz on a flattop is wrong? I prefer my parlor to any of my archtops.
-
Ginger, get round to Music Room in Cleckheaton and try an Eastman if you can. They have some OM models starting at £350 or so. Played a few and they sounded great with a compact, midrangey voice-great for Jazz, Blues, fingerpicking or whatever...and for inspiration, check out Kreisberg playing Nefertiti, Laura and September Song in Night Songs or Mike Moreno doing Soul Dance in First Mind..or any Metheny acoustic tune...how wrong is that!
-
Good pointers AS100, I would also recommend some of Lage Lund's takes on his "Standards" record.
-
[H'tone] >>> Jazz on a flattop is wrong. Period.
Ooooh. Maybe some room for thought there.
[a'thread] >>> I prefer my parlor to any of my archtops.
AND, if you can find one used there is a superb (really fantastic++ sound) parlor guitar that goes for well within your budget.
Parkwood PW320M
Add some T-I Plectrum strings and you have a truly fine guitar for very low $$$.
Too bad it is seemingly no longer made.
Parkwood PW320M GA Acoustic Guitar | Musician's Friend
Chris
-
Originally Posted by Hammertone
-
I stand by my opinion.
I've played plenty of jazz on flattops, sure.
Some of them are quite nice, especially the smaller guitars (I have a lovely Martin O-18 on which chord melody sounds great).
And, yes, I've played jazz on solid-body guitars. And semi's.
And yes, some guys, like Scofield, who like to push the sound with effects, have found semi's that work best for that sound.
And some guys put so much garbage onto their sound that it doesn't matter what they play.
And yes, classicals are swell for that latin thing.
And yes, manouche guitars are special, just like their players.
And yes, if you want to be extra-specially hip, you can play jazz on your resophonic guitar.
It's all do-able.
It's all functional.
But it's not the best instrument for the job, as far as I'm concerned.
The hollow archtop is the best instrument for jazz on the guitar.
I play bass as well as guitar. It's like hearing guys playing jazz on fretted electric basses. Learn how to play fretless. Then learn how to play it on an upright bass. It wil sound better. OK, once in a generation, a Jaco will come on the scene, poppin' and burnin'. And make a new sound based on the instrument of choice. But that's the exception that proves the rule, in my opinion. Or it's a bit like the White Stripes or the Black Keys, or the Grey Poupons - I listen to some of their racket and inevitably ask myself "where the hell is the bass player that they so desperately need to make this into better music?"
So trot out all the examples - for most of them, my answer is simply "Gee, that would have SOUNDED BETTER on a really nice archtop guitar, which has sonic qualities shared by no other style of guitar. Ed Bickert was happy to admit that he used the Telecaster because it WAS EASIER, not because it sounded better.
For amplified playing, I've come to appreciate the "dryness" of plywood boxes (although I still think that they are usually a compromise) as well as the complexity of the amplified carved archtops. For acoustic playing, I've come to realize how tonally superior a fine carved archtop guitar is compared to anything else in a solo or small group setting, when it comes to playing the Great American Songbook.
But, hey, it's a free world, sort of. So play jazz on whatever turns your crank. Or whatever you can afford. It's all good. But it's NOT all the same.Last edited by Hammertone; 05-15-2012 at 04:31 PM.
-
"I stand by my opinion.
I've played plenty of jazz on flattops, sure.
Some of them are quite nice, especially the smaller guitars (I have a lovely Martin O-18 on which chord melody sounds great).
And, yes, I've played jazz on solid-body guitars. And semi's.
And yes, some guys, like Scofield, who like to push the sound with effects, have found semi's that work best for that sound.
And some guys put so much garbage onto their sound that it doesn't matter what they play.
And yes, classicals are swell for that latin thing.
And yes, manouche guitars are special, just like their players.
And yes, if you want to be extra-specially hip, you can play jazz on your resophonic guitar.
It's all do-able.
It's all functional.
But it's not the best instrument for the job, as far as I'm concerned.
The hollow archtop is the best instrument for jazz on the guitar. "
Ok, now I get you. Quite different from "Jazz on a flattop is wrong. Period."
-
Ah, I'm just ranting on the internet - isn't that what it's for?
I realize I should have put a suitable emoticon next to the statement.Last edited by Hammertone; 05-15-2012 at 04:43 PM.
-
Yes, I am just helping you!
-
Boy, that would have sounded better on a decent archtop. Originally Posted by jorgemg1984
Yes, he can play, and sometimes he even demonstrates his skill as opposed to coasting on the easy-listenting crap that made him his piles of dough, but the hair, I mean, c'mon.
Who can take a guy with hair like that seriously?
His hairspray budget is bigger than his guitar budget.
OTOH, if that's an artfully constructed rug that he removes before going home and only wears as part of his stage persona, then he has my respect, instead of me thinking he must be a vain ass.
Like I said, ranting on the internet. Woohoo!Last edited by Hammertone; 05-15-2012 at 04:41 PM.
-
Yep, missed that one...great album and some lovely acoustic tones Originally Posted by jorgemg1984
-
If you have a specific sound in your head checking the box against a specific style, I could see applying instrument constraints. As for me, I consider Ralph Towner, Al DiMeola, John McLaughlin, and even Chet Atkins to be jazz players. I look upon someone like Michael Hedges as being in-between. They often leverage(d) the strengths of different guitar platforms. Most good steel string flat tops have more harmonic content and more sustain. Also, it takes a pretty decent archtop to match them in volume (and yes.. I do know about dance bands and super unique beasts like a 1939 L5 doesn't count). And yea, we'll treat Django as an exception as well even if he did run back to his Selmer after trying an L5 during his brief foray in the states.
They are different tools with different weaknesses and strengths. No reason to constrain our view on what they are capable of. I'm enjoying my Yunzhi quite a lot but when I go back to my Goodall or Gurian, I'm reminded that there are lots of great guitars and they all have the same notes.Last edited by Spook410; 05-15-2012 at 05:11 PM.
-
Good evening, Ginger... Originally Posted by Hammertone
I second this (OK, I'm guilty of playing Hofners, too...). There are several nice instruments on offer right now on t'bay,and these models come up very often. In nice condition, they are excellent value for their price. Heed the man, and grab yourself some great fun.
A friendly warning, though; there is little 'snob appeal' in these Hofners, nor, indeed in the Hofner community. They don't have the same girl-pulling power as a Sadowsky, either (slightly more than a Heritage, though...
). You can't impress friends and neighbours by boasting of your Congress. Just wanted to dispell any illusions. Just good, solid, fun, musical instruments. No frills.
Hope this helps...
-
Spook 410:
Oh, a reasoned and thoughtful response - How dare you!
Now I'm going to have to get all reasoned and thoughtful too.
Damnit!Last edited by Hammertone; 05-15-2012 at 05:40 PM.
-
I fully disagree. Most of the beauty of the interpretation comes from the acoustic guitar sound...Oh and I couldn't care less about his hair.. Originally Posted by Hammertone
-
I found a kind of compression to the sound of the flattop on that performance that motivated my comment. Especially on the treble strings.
I meant an acoustic archtop, btw. I have no problem with his playing, that's for sure.
Reply With Quote
Raney and Aebersold - Great Interview (1986)
Yesterday, 11:21 PM in Improvisation