PlayJazzGuitar.com Forum

[LarryB]

What would be the best, or a good, acoustic steel string flat top guitar suitable for jazz?

[randyc]

The beautiful elliptical shape of the lower bout reminds me of those pretty flat-tops that Guild once produced. It's a unique shape and other manufacturers never quite got it right esthetically (for me) although little influence on tonal quality is suggested by subtle differences in contour.

[Jazzy]

Amazing!!! ( although a bit too expensive for me. )

[LarryB]

Whew. Those are pricey. Maybe I should just change my qualifier to "acceptable."

[voodobop]

If I had to get a flat top I would look into the Collings OM or 000 series, which are less expensive and very good flat tops (I think archtops are more buscarinos forte) and I dont know what makes that flattop particular to jazz anyway.

Also a Taylor auditorium or concert model if your budget is small.

[Jazz Playa]

Wow with flatop acoustics there are so many that would work. Takamine, Martin, and Taylor all have nice selections of models that would work. You could also try a Godin steel string if you're into the hybrid thing with reduced feedback issues to worry about.

[gibson175]

what about one of those gitane selmer replicas. They play easy, plenty loud and of course that style of guitar has a long jazz tradition.

[mr. beaumont]

Anything OM or similar (or smaller) should work fine. I've played some jazz on a drednaught, but felt the dred's claims to fame (big bottom, sparkly high) were kind of the opposite of what my jazz chording wanted (nice mids)
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“For the guitar is the most unpredictable and least reliable musical instrument in existence...and also the sweetest, the warmest, the most delicate, whose melancholic voice awakes in our soul exquisite reveries.”

Andres Segovia

[greentone]

You can play good jazz on just about any flattop guitar--steel or nylon string. For traditional sounds, however, you don't really want lots of sustain. Thus, a nylon-string guitar is closer of the sound of an archtop than is a steel-string flattop. The note envelope decays sooner.

Believe it or not, some of the Ovation guitars excel in this capacity, which is why Al Dimeola and Larry Coryell used them. They are loud, with a punchy attack and less sustain than Martins, Taylors, etc.

That said, Lenny Breau got great mileage out of the Gibson Mark series flattop.
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Soul Jazz & Blues

[Jazz Playa]