PlayJazzGuitar.com Forum

[draqza]

why is fusion not jazz?

[Nohands]

Point #1 I play Jazz on a Les Paul Classic. When I first started playing Jazz I slapped a set of Flat Wounds on a LP Studio and played thru a Fender Princeton. Sounds wonderfull for practice in my home. But, is terable for gigs. I play on my LP Classic and a Line 6 Spider 212 or a Fender Twin now and I have never had anybody say. (Hey man that does not sound like Jazz)

Point #2 I would defy anybody go to Miles Davis's grave and say that his albums "Bitches Brew" or "Aura" are not Jazz. I bet you would leave with a Coronet bruse on your noggin

Jazz is a Feeling, a State of mind, an extention of you.

Most Record distrubtors classify Kenny G as Jazz. But, I would venture to say most of us here would never be caught dead saying. ( Hello ladies and Gentilmen, I would like to start off the night with a short from Kenny G) We would get tossed into the street and never be allowed to sit in on an open mike night again.

In short, Play what you like and what you feel. (I do) But know who you are playing with and know your audience.

(A). If it is a smokey, Dimly lit pub. DON'T PLAY KENNY G.

(B). If it is an upscale Hotel or Airport Lobby. DON"T PLAY COLTRAIN.
_________________
"Do not fear mistakes, there are none"
Miles Davis (1926 - 1991)
"First you imitate, then you innovate"
Miles Davis (1926 - 1991)

[Skyhawk]

And Les Paul played a solid body, and Eldon Shamblin played a tele. Right now I have a thin body 'semi-archtop' with a block under the bridge, and I think it has too much sustain. I sat in with some guys for a set the other day and the sax and trumpet players said "wow that sounds good. what kind of guitar is that?"

Would Joe Pass sound good on a Les Paul? Probably. He sure did on a nylon string....

[Nohands]

_________________
"Do not fear mistakes, there are none"
Miles Davis (1926 - 1991)
"First you imitate, then you innovate"
Miles Davis (1926 - 1991)

[C. OSullivan]

Joe Pass's first guitar, which he played in his first live shows:

Fender Stratocaster.

[SD_Scott]

I'm playing an American strat HSS. The one with the pushbutton in the volume knob. The pushbutton really fattens up the sound in the "neck/middle" position. I'm playing that through a Carvin legacy head with the two outside power tubes pulled and the inside two are NOS Philips 6L6's. I also swapped out the 12AX7 in the front end to a 12AT7. The 12AT7 has a lot lower gain. I use a Boss eq pedal into the amp, and a Boss reverb pedal in the effects loop. I'm using a Hotplate attenuator and one open back cab with a celestion vintage 30. I can get every sound I like by adjusting the gain knob on the amp and/or pickup selection.

[thorsthrill]

I get the feeling this discussion ain't goin' where it was goin' when it got goin'.

*disclaimer* I do not absolutely agree with KB. I recognise jazz as, well... I dont recognise it, the genre is just too diverse. I know what I like though. There is a ceretain sound associated with jazz guitar, and it is usually to be found in archtops. Can Strats get that sound? NO,Can you use Strats for Jazz? YES, but you could use any guitar for jazz if that archtop sound didnt matter.

I personally am in love with an old gibson archtop fitted with a p90. I forget what its called, but it was sweet. Plugged it right into a badcat cub II amp and immediately had the jazz sound I wanted; that I recognised immediately as a "jazz sound".

I think this is the core of this discussion; how do you get that sound that just instantly puts you inn a jazz frame? To be more specific: How do you get that tone from a strat?

Well, frankly: I dont. I think the "jazz tone" in my standard american strat is shite. Theres none of that definition or the sweet sound of the aforementioned gibson archtop. That doesnt stop me from playing whatever I want on the strat though. And i use it for jazz a lot. And as long as I've played well... Ill tell any archtop purist who complains; that if he thinks its such a big deal, he should give me an archtop guitar.

-thor

[darylcd]

Hey, its a Strat! You can play anything on it. Also on a Telecaster, or Les Paul (Les Paul does it!), or SG (especially the SG Custom with the ebony fingerboard, I know because I used one for years), a PRS (I use a hollow body), The last time I saw Russ Freeman he was using a Brian Moore.

But, none of these (including my PRS hollow body) will sound like an L5 or an old New Yorker or even a Gretch. No better, no worse. But if you want that big box sound, then it calls for a big box guitar.

This is when you reach the epiphany that you need more than one guitar, so indulge yourself and expand the old guitar collection

[alfonso]

Guest,
This is not to offend you in any way and I hope you hang onto your Strat, but as far as playing jazz with a Strat? I look at it in terms of women, supposing your a thin man would you rather sleep with Jessica Alba or Rosanne Barr?

That to me is the difference between playing jazz on a rock guitar or a jazz box. Keep your Strat but when you can, get a nice jazz box to play jazz on.

Oh, and I know I came in on the end of this thread so I hope I didn't miss too much, and to look at it from a different angle with all the new modeling amps that are available today you can definitely get a nice tone off that Strat of yours.

[namaste]

Just discovered this site. Regarding the strat contraversy, it really doesn't matter what instrument. I'm getting a little tired of the jazz stereotype (gotta be a box). I've had archtops and I got rid of them because of my tendonitis. I now play only jazz on my strat and couldn't be happier. Joe Pass could play jazz on anything and it would sound like Joe Pass. In fact he once said that if you're concentrating on the type of instrument you play you're concentrating on the wrong thing.

[ed norton]

Watne Krantz is a strat man. Ed Bickert, Ted Greene, Mike Stern, Danny Gatton, Eldon Shamblin all play the tele.

[darylcd]

I remembered this post so I had to add to it and mention that I went to see Spyro Gyra (for the 3rd time) the other night and Julio Fendandez was playing a Stratocaster. Jay Beckenstien is one of my jazz heroes and if its good enough for his guitar player, then I guess it will do.

Actually the Strat is great all around guitar. I had 65 Strat that was stolen from me. Ouch, that hurt especially now years later when I realize how much it has appreciated. At the time I didn't know how much had actually been stolen from me.

Daryl

[darylcd]

I remembered this post so I had to add to it and mention that I went to see Spyro Gyra (for the 3rd time) the other night and Julio Fendandez was playing a Stratocaster. Jay Beckenstien is one of my jazz heroes and if its good enough for his guitar player, then I guess it will do.

Actually the Strat is great all around guitar. I had 65 Strat that was stolen from me. Ouch, that hurt especially now years later when I realize how much it has appreciated. At the time I didn't know how much had actually been stolen from me.

Daryl

[jokron]

Why not try a Line6 Variax...?

After a while you will discover what sound you like and then buy a "real" guitar...

I know the look of the Variax isn't very fancy, and playing on a modelling guitar isn't the real thing according to purists, but you get a fairly good idea of the different kinds of sounds from Tele, Stratocaster, Les Paul, ES-335, ES-175, Gretsch, Rickenbacker...

As I'm a beginner and have no idea of what direction my guitarplaying is taking in the future, this is the perfect choice for me...for now...

/Jan Olof

[Gorecki]