Jazz Guitar?

A

AustinBurrell

New member
Hey there! I'm in the market right now for a guitar specifically for jazz and maybe some very soft blues. The problem is, I have no idea what I want. A true archtop is probably out of my budget, so that's probably out of the question. I have seen Telecasters work for solid body jazz, but I'm unsure if that's the route I want to take. In terms of semi-hollow, I have never owned one and don't really know what I'm talking about. If you know anything or have any opinions on what I should be going for, please let me know!
 
Re: Jazz Guitar?

My Tele is my Jazz guitar. The lipstick pickup, a DiMarzio Area T sounds great for Jazz in my opinion. Ironically the bridge pickup in that guitar is a DiMarzio Super Distortion and it gets used more for hard rock and metal.

 
Re: Jazz Guitar?

Securb said:
My Tele is my Jazz guitar. The lipstick pickup, a DiMarzio Area T sounds great for Jazz in my opinion. Ironically the bridge pickup in that guitar is a DiMarzio Super Distortion and it gets used more for hard rock and metal.

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That sounds REALLY good. I'm not sure though. To me it sounds a little bit bluesy for what I want to do, even if it sounds like heaven.
 
Re: Jazz Guitar?

Some of the Ibanez Artcore archtops are surprisingly affordable. So are some Epiphones (like an ES-175, or Joe Pass). You don't have to spend a lot of money for righteous archtop tone.
 
Re: Jazz Guitar?

AustinBurrell said:
That sounds REALLY good. I'm not sure though. To me it sounds a little bit bluesy for what I want to do, even if it sounds like heaven.
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Thanks man, yeah it does have a blues lean.

Mincer said:
Some of the Ibanez Artcore archtops are surprisingly affordable. So are some Epiphones (like an ES-175, or Joe Pass). You don't have to spend a lot of money for righteous archtop tone.
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The Artcore is mega bang for your buck. I would go that route if I was in the market for an archtop in a second.
 
Re: Jazz Guitar?

Get something used.... There are lots of jazzers here in town that own Gibson L-5's and the like, but they gig with Ibanez, 80's Aria Pro II, Oscar Schmidt, Washburn, Eastman, and Loar archtops because beer. They all sound good, and play well. Plus.... they earn just as much per gig with the used Asian stuff as they would with vintage Gibson stuff. Get out there and try some stuff, good luck and let us know what you buy.
 
Re: Jazz Guitar?

I didn't see Godin 5th avenue mentioned, and Epiphone had a 'Century' archtop recently that had a modest price.
 
Re: Jazz Guitar?

My opinion is to get something that's comfortable for you. If that's an entry level or used hollow body then great, but it doesn't have to be. The main things for getting a dedicated jazz guitar together is a nice bassy neck pickup like the 59, A2P, or Seth, some thick strings - roundwound or flatwound are fine, and low value pots depending on how bright or dark you want it. I bought my hollowbody Dot for $300, but I usually prefer playing my HSH Strat because it's comfier. I'm playing that here:

 
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Re: Jazz Guitar?

AustinBurrell said:
Hey there! I'm in the market right now for a guitar specifically for jazz and maybe some very soft blues
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What's your budget? Are you in the US or abroad?

Without knowing that, every word spent on the subject is just an excercise in futility. ;)

/Peter
 
Re: Jazz Guitar?

A semi-hollow Tele with a Charlie Christian neck (don't know the particular model) and an Alnico II for Tele bridge was my main Jazz guitar back when I forced myself to become Jazzy.
 
Re: Jazz Guitar?

Mincer said:
Some of the Ibanez Artcore archtops are surprisingly affordable. So are some Epiphones (like an ES-175, or Joe Pass). You don't have to spend a lot of money for righteous archtop tone.
Click to expand...

Securb said:
The Artcore is mega bang for your buck. I would go that route if I was in the market for an archtop in a second.
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I have an EPI ES-175, and I'm extremely impressed with it. Huge bang for the buck.
Just yesterday took delivery of an Ibanez Artcore Expressionist AFJ95 for a budget pleasing $299 on closeout. I really want to like it, but my first impression is not too good. No problem with the appearance, apparent quality, etc. Visually great. But I'm disappointed with my brief hands on play with it. Sounded pretty lifeless both unplugged and plugged in, an the neck was not as easy to play as other thin necks I have. Seemed to not come even close to the EPI. In all fairness, that is just the first impression. My next step is to play it side by side with the EPI. If it doesn't "improve" in my perception (I don't trust everything I hear all of the time) it will be returned, even at $299. Not that it is that bad, just not good enough (for me.)
 
Re: Jazz Guitar?

I've got a beautiful Epi. Joe Pass Emperor I I already loaded with a APH-2 set for sale in the trading post? I only mention it because it's a whole lot of guitar for what I'm asking & it ships in a very nice molded hard case.

Check it out if you get a chance. I hate to see it go but better it go to someone on the forum than a random Reverb buyer?
 
Re: Jazz Guitar?

Has anyone had any experience with PRS in Jazz? I know that's a super strange guitar for it, but from what I've heard, I feel like with the right pickups it could sound phenomenal.
 
Re: Jazz Guitar?

I could see one of the semi-hollow PRS SE's being alright for Jazz with the right pickups in it....

I had one a few years ago & I loaded it with a APH-1 bridge SH-2 Jazz neck set. While actual Jazz isn't exactly my main forte by any means, I do dabble & that set sounded great in it!!!

I mostly used it for crunchy /cleans, Blues, & Classic Rock tones. For that kind of stuff it was absolutely great!

FWIT, I also dropped in a Phat Cat set for about a year before selling it to buy a different guitar & IMHO they sounded even better, especially in the middle position!

So if you're not necessarily after that "Hollow Body Humbucker Jazz" tone they might be a good choice in it for you as well?
 
Re: Jazz Guitar?

I think that would be a great choice. One of my band mates played jazz on a PRS and got really nice tones out of it.
 
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