Archtops to get the sound of jim hall , wes

[mooncef]

what archtops in the market can get me close to wes , jim hall sound ? for a 2000$ budget

[jazzguy100]

well which jim hall sound are you referring to? old or modern? in any case, I'd suggest a 175.

[jazzimprov]

Sadowsky Jim Hall Model---

[jaco]

Sadowsky Jim Hall Model---

Good luck finding one for $2,000.00

[jazzimprov]

Right, used would be around $3600 although there was one passing thru here that was at $2600 --an older version I think

[neatomic]

jim hall with sadowsky accounts for maybe 10% of his career output...es-175 with single p90 was his bread and butter for years

then the d'aquisto/s..which he used until he was afraid to travel with it..wanted a replaceable guitar..hence the sadowsky



cheers

ps- wes wasn't beyond a little 175 action himself

[Stringswinger]

+1 on the Gibson ES 175. A used one can be had for 2K and it is all the jazz guitar anyone really needs. And it will deliver old school jazz tone (through a competent amp) aka Jim Hall/Wes Montgomery tone.

[pubylakeg]

Laminate 16" hollow body, P90, 11 gauge flats, roll back the tone control and easy on the pick attack, for the Jim Hall sound.

[lawson-stone]

Perhaps we could say a 16" laminated archtop with routed humbucker(s)? You can find some absolutely wonderful examples of such guitars well within a $2000 budget. One of the old "lawsuit" Ibanez ES175 copies would be fun to have. Or the new Epiphone ES175 Premium.

For the "Wes" sound, you are not getting an L5-ces for $2000. But you can get a superb copy of an Epiphone Elitist Broadway (made at the Peerless factory) for that, and even upgrade the pickups.

Or you could look at a Peerless Monarch with a single set-in humbucker which is solid top and back. Not carved, but solid wood formed into an archtop shape.

Solid-top, set-in pickup archtops would also include some species of Eastman, maybe the AR-503ce.

You won't get the "exact" Jim Hall or Wes Montgomery sound unless you use their exact guitars, their exact amps, their exact strings, their technique, and then have yourself recorded on reel-to-reel tape (don't ever forget the effects of tape compression on recorded music tone!) and only listen to the recordings.

But the general vibe is out there for well within your budget.

Then again, an L5-ces would be ultra-wonderful!

[Jehu]

In the 16" laminate P-90 department, don't overlook the Godin Kingpin. I'm of the opinion that better value for the money cannot be found. Check out some of Mr. Beaumont's videos to hear how good these guitars can sound.

And you could put the savings toward a kick-ass amp!

[Doctor Jeff]

I'm a big Kingpin fan--used to have one and currently have a 5th Avenue with a floater. However, I don't think they really give you a dark, smokey sound. They have a grittier tone and bring in more acoustic and string noise to my ear. It's more of an old-school sound.

In any event, a very versatile guitar at a great price. The Composer (single set-in HB) and Jazz (floater) have a more modern sound.

[lammie200]

Completely different guitar, I know, but I have an D'Aquisto-based Jimmy Hagstrom HJ800 coming my way someday. $850 USD shipped to my door. There are a few decent youtube videos that are worth checking out for this model.

[Greentone]

Gibson ES-175. Gibson ES-175. Gibson ES-175. (The Heritage Eagle Classic, though not a laminated guitar, is a great "Wes" guitar and can often be had for about $2K.)

[mooncef]

Gibson ES-175. Gibson ES-175. Gibson ES-175. (The Heritage Eagle Classic, though not a laminated guitar, is a great "Wes" guitar and can often be had for about $2K.)

well the heritage eagle classic i've seen gor for 3500$ and above on reverb

[Dylanfan424]

If you can find one a Gibson es-125c is what I have and it is great basically a 50's 175 without the binding and dot inlays. It nails that jim hall tone, especially through a nice polytone type amp.

[Greentone]

The Gibson ES-125 (cutaway or non-cut) is a great suggestion for the Jim Hall/Wes sound. For many years I used a 125 in places in which I didn't want to gig with my 175. Truth be told, the 125 sounded _just_ as good and was much less expensive.

[Cunamara]

The ES-125 suggestion is great. There were several non-cutaway ones for sale locally about a year ago for $1300-1500. One had the P90 replaced with a Classic 57, the others had the P90. The non-cut version is very well proportioned, nice looking instruments. I was tempted to check one out but I have no more practical room for guitars in my house...

[sgcim]

My Borys B-120 can really capture that 175 JH sound. i had a session the other day with a pianist who is basically a living Bill Evans.
He always lets me use his Crate Acoustic amp when we play together. I i had a new set of TI bebops on and it really sounded like JH's sound from the 60s.

Since the B-120 is handmade by one person, there aren't a lot of them available, but if you wait long enough on Ebay, you could get one for about 3K. New, they're up to 5K

[neatomic]

wow beautiful guitar..b-120..very jimmy d'aquisto

i'd bet it sounds jim hall-ish...(or hellish...depending..haha)



cheers

[sgcim]

wow beautiful guitar..b-120..very jimmy d'aquisto

i'd bet it sounds jim hall-ish...(or hellish...depending..haha)



cheers

That's my baby!
It looks Jimmy D-like, because it was designed by Jimmy, Roger and Barry Galbraith.
Roger was in business with Jimmy for five years, until Jimmy signed the contract with Fender, which forbade Jimmy to have any contact with Roger.
Roger said they still called each other on the phone regularly.

[Arnesto]

D'aquisto jazzline (aria reissue) I have one and its great!