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Post by Lucky Dan on Jan 17, 2023 18:36:45 GMT
The topic of what type of guitar works "best" for jazz is a hot one on the jazz guitar forum. Of course one can play jazz on a Strat, Telle, or Les Paul. I use hollow body arch tops, with a silver face Fender Princeton amp, since I like the woody sound, but the playing of jazz is about the skill of the musician and not what equipment is used. Also related to these debates is the strings. I prefer 13s which my rock friends can't understand. But since I rarely bend notes when playing jazz I like thick strings.
I read this on a Freddie Green fan site:
Action Height:
Action is the distance from the strings to the frets. Set the action as high as your left hand strength will allow. The higher the action, the harder you can strike the strings without fret buzz. This will produce more volume and let the guitar cut through the band. Typical "high" action will allow three stacked U.S. one cent coins (pennies) to be placed between the 12th fret and the low E string. This is about 5 millimeters or 3/16".
Note: As the years passed, Freddie Green kept raising the action on his guitar and eventually it was at least 10 millimeters at the 12th fret! Can't believe it? Look at some of the photos at www.freddiegreen.org that show Freddie playing.
www.freddiegreen.org/instruments/setup.html
That's ... high. At that level the guitarist would be strictly a percussionist it seems. I read where one member of Basie's band told a new guy that to keep the best time, "just watch Freddie's arm." |
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Post by jamesjazzguitar on Jan 17, 2023 18:50:03 GMT
The topic of what type of guitar works "best" for jazz is a hot one on the jazz guitar forum. Of course one can play jazz on a Strat, Telle, or Les Paul. I use hollow body arch tops, with a silver face Fender Princeton amp, since I like the woody sound, but the playing of jazz is about the skill of the musician and not what equipment is used. Also related to these debates is the strings. I prefer 13s which my rock friends can't understand. But since I rarely bend notes when playing jazz I like thick strings.
I read this on a Freddie Green fan site:
Action Height:
Action is the distance from the strings to the frets. Set the action as high as your left hand strength will allow. The higher the action, the harder you can strike the strings without fret buzz. This will produce more volume and let the guitar cut through the band. Typical "high" action will allow three stacked U.S. one cent coins (pennies) to be placed between the 12th fret and the low E string. This is about 5 millimeters or 3/16".
Note: As the years passed, Freddie Green kept raising the action on his guitar and eventually it was at least 10 millimeters at the 12th fret! Can't believe it? Look at some of the photos at www.freddiegreen.org that show Freddie playing.
www.freddiegreen.org/instruments/setup.html
That's ... high. At that level the guitarist would be strictly a percussionist it seems. I read where one member of Basie's band told a new guy that to keep the best time, "just watch Freddie's arm." My me the action level is based on what my role is; if I'm mostly playing rhythm guitar, I set it "high". I did this even on my Fender Jaguar guitar when I was in a cover rock band. But for single-line soloing I like the action "low". I still use 12 or 13 strings. This works for me on my cutaway acoustic guitar and my archtops. On my non-cutaway acoustic the action is higher since I use that to play Beatles and Kinks songs and\or to back up a singer. I.e. strumming chords sounds better when the action is higher (so we feel the same there). What I find hard to play is a hardbody electric guitar with really low action with 9 or 10 strings (which is the set-up for 99% of the rockers I have played with). I need to feel the strings (or have push-back) or I lose control of what I'm trying to do. |
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Post by Lucky Dan on Jan 17, 2023 19:02:07 GMT
Do you like higher-than-average action for jazz? What I find hard to play is a hardbody electric guitar with really low action with 9 or 10 strings (which is the set-up for 99% of the rockers I have played with). I need to feel the strings (or have push-back) or I lose control of what I'm trying to do. |
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Post by sepiatone on Jan 18, 2023 17:56:36 GMT
I don't know millimeters enough to envision how high 10 MMs is from the 12th fret. I only had one electric guitar in my life. An el cheap-o Kalamazoo ('67) with action so terrible even Ernie Ball Super Slinky's couldn't improve comfort or dexterity. My buddy had a much nicer ax( a Venture's Mosrite) with great action. He kept it at what he measured was an acoustic's bridge saddle's thickness from the frets.
Sepiatone
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Post by LZ4177 on Jan 19, 2023 1:58:32 GMT
I don't know millimeters enough to envision how high 10 MMs is from the 12th fret. I only had one electric guitar in my life. An el cheap-o Kalamazoo ('67) with action so terrible even Ernie Ball Super Slinky's couldn't improve comfort or dexterity. My buddy had a much nicer ax( a Venture's Mosrite) with great action. He kept it at what he measured was an acoustic's bridge saddle's thickness from the frets. Sepiatone
I played a Kalamazoo in 78 or 79 and I recall it looked about 20 years old then, but I haven't researched it's production history. I remember really enjoying it. Cheap doesn't necessarily mean bad, as I'm sure you know. Sounds like yours just needed some adjustment.
If you watched the Brady Bunch you might recall Greg Brady played a green Mosrite.
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Post by sepiatone on Jan 19, 2023 16:44:16 GMT
I don't know millimeters enough to envision how high 10 MMs is from the 12th fret. I only had one electric guitar in my life. An el cheap-o Kalamazoo ('67) with action so terrible even Ernie Ball Super Slinky's couldn't improve comfort or dexterity. My buddy had a much nicer ax( a Venture's Mosrite) with great action. He kept it at what he measured was an acoustic's bridge saddle's thickness from the frets. Sepiatone
I played a Kalamazoo in 78 or 79 and I recall it looked about 20 years old then, but I haven't researched it's production history. I remember really enjoying it. Cheap doesn't necessarily mean bad, as I'm sure you know. Sounds like yours just needed some adjustment.
If you watched the Brady Bunch you might recall Greg Brady played a green Mosrite.
Try as I might, I couldn't adjust the action on that sucker to where I liked it. But I managed. And the electronics weren't all that great either. It was sold as a "set" and came with a table top radio sized "amp". !967 Kalamazoo KG ![]()  Mine had a tremolo bar. Sepiatone |
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Post by sepiatone on Jan 22, 2023 17:28:19 GMT
There's been great guitarists in many different genres. Like---- Classical...... Flamenco.... And that "Gypsy" jazz stuff  Hell.... I can't do half as good with ALL my fingers.... Sepiatone |
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Post by galacticgirrrl on Jan 23, 2023 21:08:45 GMT
Yes!
Classical....
Ida Presti Walzer Tárrega (1937)
Flamenco....
María Rosario Pilar Martínez Molina Baeza (1983)
And that crazy Música popular brasileira...
Rosinha De Valença - Asa Branca
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Rick's Hard Rock Cafe
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Post by Rick's Hard Rock Cafe on Jan 23, 2023 22:43:59 GMT
John 5 plays guitars from the Hard Rock Cafe collection, including Hendrix's SG Custom, Brian Jones' Vox teardrop, Paul Kossof's Les Paul Special, Paul Stanley's Iceman, the Stones Les Paul from the Ya Yas cover, Jason Becker's Numbers Peavey, Duane Allman's Tele, and his own 67 Tele where he does his behind-the-nut bend trick.
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Post by galacticgirrrl on Jan 24, 2023 2:24:50 GMT
And on to....
Folk....
Kate Wolf - Green Eyes
Country...
Mother Maybelle and the Carter Sisters - Wildwood Flower
Bluegrass...
Hazel Dickens and Alice Gerrard - A Tiny Broken Heart
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Post by LZ4177 on Jan 24, 2023 18:16:40 GMT
I played a Kalamazoo in 78 or 79 and I recall it looked about 20 years old then, but I haven't researched it's production history. I remember really enjoying it. Try as I might, I couldn't adjust the action on that sucker to where I liked it. But I managed. !967 Kalamazoo KG ![]() Mine had a tremolo bar. |
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Post by sepiatone on Jan 24, 2023 18:33:01 GMT
Ah, but the Kalamazoo's KG only had a copy of an SG's body. No way was it anywhere NEAR the incredible guitar the SG is.
But my action issues with it had nothing to do with the whammy. No tuning issues either.
Sepiatone
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Post by LZ4711 on Jan 24, 2023 18:48:31 GMT
Ah, but the Kalamazoo's KG only had a copy of an SG's body. No way was it anywhere NEAR the incredible guitar the SG is. But my action issues with it had nothing to do with the whammy. No tuning issues either. Sepiatone
The KG was aimed at younger players; primary colours and surf styling. Early models had a Fender Mustang body shape and were available in the same three colours of the Mustang, red, white and blue. This represents the bulk of production through 1965 and 1966. As the sixties wore on, this body style changed to the Gibson SG style, with more-or-less the same dimensions, and no change in hardware. The design had became more fashionable, and was perhaps more appropriate for a guitar named Kalamazoo. However production numbers of SG styled instruments dropped - possibly more due to over-production in 1966 than lower demand in 1967. In any case, SG-style Kalamazoo guitars are seen less often than the Mustang, and are somewhat more desirable, no doubt because they seem more 'Gibsony'.
www.vintageguitarandbass.com/kalamazoo/KG.php
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Post by galacticgirrrl on Jan 25, 2023 4:25:03 GMT
Chris Spedding is still touring at 78.
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Post by sepiatone on Jan 25, 2023 17:03:56 GMT
Ah! Is there much difference from motor bikin' to motor scootin'? Sepiatone |
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