Thank you for your carefully considered suggestion Reg. The scale length is a small consideration, but it's there all the same. Re the death metal/shred thing - I think we both know the answer to that one really don't we? And you don't really want to be getting into all that yee-haw country stuff do you? Let's not do that to ourselves...
OK, if you don't want to get all tattooed and leathered up, here's a serious suggestion.
That Ibanez, from a casual glance, doesn't look massively different from other dual bucker guitars in your collection. From a tone point of view wouldn't any difference best be described as subtle and probably not appreciated by an audience who is listening to the totality of the band?
How about left field and going for one of the solid body acoustic types. If you fancied going out further left, perhaps even nylon strung, but perhaps not.
I think it would be equally valid for jazz, but give you a completely different sound for one or two numbers. IIRC You occasionally do a gig with just a double bassist who also sings (or I could have got that totally wrong). I think the combo of double bass and solidbody amped acoustic could sound pretty good. Not compltely solid body, but something like this (no idea of the price):
My next P90 based scratch build will have a Schaller Hannes piezo bridge as well (that made the eyes water, buying that bridge!).
Trying to get me to spread my wings and branch out a bit Reg - and it's good to be challenged I would agree. Both the clips you post sound terrific, although I think it's the amplify-able nylon string idea that appeals most to me - I do often play bossa nova or other latin kind of stuff (in a jazz context) so that could fit in.
But I do confess I'm thinking that I could sell one of my strats (it would be hard, but I don't need two strats, and I have too many guitars) and the old green ibanez, and "convert" those into an AG95, which in theory would be a much more useful thing for me to have. Of course you're right - the general audience doesn't appreciate the difference between a hollowbody archtop and a semi-acoustic or solid body, although I do think they pick up when one has a good-sounding instrument in general - i.e they may appreciate the sound, without knowing exactly why.
But re the GAS, as I have countless times before, I'll sleep on it for a while, and see if it's still there.
I'm probably just trying to impose my own thinking on you, which is naughty of me. My view of the guitar world is not to have more than one instrument that fills the same niche. So I can justify each of my guitars to myself thus:
Gibson Firebrand 335S - Classic Dual Humbucker
Sox The Baycaster - dual single coil, classic Tele, but with the four way wiring mod captures a little bit of out of phase Strat as well.
Guild D25M - Dreadnaught. Great strummer and pretty good finger picker.
Faith Parlour - Excellent finger picker, OK strummer. Brilliant as a stage guitar due to excellent Hex pick up and stereo preamp. Also good for a recording platform when using effects due to the stereo (e.g. just apply chorus to the treble strings). I know the usual advice is never to use an electric guitar amp for an electro-acoustic but I find I'm playing the Faith Parlour almost exclusively through the amp these days rather than acoustically - my old Carlsbro seems to be made for it.
So what's a gap? A good performance guitar that can switch between classic electric and acoustic sounds without swapping guitar mid song. That's what I'm aiming for with my next build, with the choice of P90s providing a halfway house between SC and HB as well.
The cittern will be up and running in a few weeks (into week four of it's six week drying period).
Then I need a bass, and a mandolin, and a cajon, and a............
I'm probably just trying to impose my own thinking on you, which is naughty of me. My view of the guitar world is not to have more than one instrument that fills the same niche. So I can justify each of my guitars to myself thus:
Gibson Firebrand 335S - Classic Dual Humbucker
Sox The Baycaster - dual single coil, classic Tele, but with the four way wiring mod captures a little bit of out of phase Strat as well.
Guild D25M - Dreadnaught. Great strummer and pretty good finger picker.
Faith Parlour - Excellent finger picker, OK strummer. Brilliant as a stage guitar due to excellent Hex pick up and stereo preamp. Also good for a recording platform when using effects due to the stereo (e.g. just apply chorus to the treble strings). I know the usual advice is never to use an electric guitar amp for an electro-acoustic but I find I'm playing the Faith Parlour almost exclusively through the amp these days rather than acoustically - my old Carlsbro seems to be made for it.
So what's a gap? A good performance guitar that can switch between classic electric and acoustic sounds without swapping guitar mid song. That's what I'm aiming for with my next build, with the choice of P90s providing a halfway house between SC and HB as well.
The cittern will be up and running in a few weeks (into week four of it's six week drying period).
Then I need a bass, and a mandolin, and a cajon, and a............
What I don't need is something I've already got
Cheers, Reg.
Well, I've slept on it, and the GAS has already faded somewhat. I too don't need something I already have - and I already have TOO MANY GUITARS - I really should be thinking more along the lines of selling the green Ibby and one of the strats, plus I have a spare dreadnought acoustic, - and then seeing how I feel - I will probably feel like I have a bit more space to move in lol.
And of course I already own a perfectly nice archtop guitar - I haven't been using my nice Ibby Joe Pass model much recently, even though it now has it's new pickup from Chris Hernandez installed (not sure if I covered that on the forum). It used to have an extra Kent Armstrong floating pickup that I mounted on a rubber pad with double-sided sticky tape. This did sound good, but was cumbersome, and slightly in-elegant. So that has gone, and the guitar now has just it's new pickup in place of the stock one. This has also allowed me to re-fit the original bound tortoiseshell scratchplate, which I think does better. Anyway, took it to a rehearsal, and after a while, I was liking it very much. The new pickup does have a certain something I like a lot, and I do think I could hear improved quality there - it's smooth and sweet, but with more detail and definition than I remember from the stock Ibanez pickup.
I've always had a nagging feeling that the pickup placement on this guitar is not ideal, but maybe it being a bit closer to the bridge is not such a big deal - just gives a slightly edgier kind of tone, which is maybe no bad thing - just different rather than worse. At first the 13 gauge half-round strings did seem just a bit tough to use - I've got too used to the easier feel with my shorter scale Shine guitars, fitted with roundwound 12s. I was fine, but I'm thinking I will probably go down to some kind of 12 gauge roundwounds on the archtop now - maybe just the inexpensive Darco jazz set I use for the Shines, or perhaps some nice pure nickel type, like the Newtone Archtop double-wrap ones i.e. these:
I really do like a good looking archtop. But I can't think of where/when I'd ever use it. To me a really well made archtop is the height of "Guitar Art". I think if I ever got one it would just hang on the wall looking lovely but unplayed.
I've probably mentioned it before, but for archtop ultimate bling, nothing subtle for me, it'd have to be a Gretsch White Falcon (if I ever had five grand or so to spend on a piece of art).
So, when you sell the green Ibanez, one of the Strats, and the spare acoustic, what are you going to buy?
One thing at once Reg - just the concept of "selling guitars" is something that will cause me difficulties, but who knows what I might buy - actually I might go for something that would improve my playing - maybe a subscription to one of those web sites where you get help and online lessons from a top guitarist. Could be another archtop of course, but I don't know. I don't need anything new at all gear-wise, in truth.
Archtop waffle follows:
Arch tops are an interesting type of guitar - the originals, as I'm sure you know, were large-bodied things, and built for projection and volume, in the days before amplification, when guitarists might have to chug out rhythm chords in a big band. Charlie Christian was about the first to have a pickup fitted to the guitar, and to take the instrument into more of a lead role, able to play single note solo lines along with the other front-line instruments. I'm sure at that point, such an amplified guitar was just thought of as a guitar but louder - I doubt people were waffling on about the finer points of "archtops" re the amplified tone then.
And only a bit later on did people like Les Paul and Leo Fender come along, and come up with the sensible step of making the body solid, and thus preventing feedback issues. Les Paul of course had his early "log guitar" which had a solid core, with cosmetic side pieces he could attach to make it look like a normal archtop. And I guess some time later on still, it really starts to dawn of people that despite the benefits of a solid body guitar, the amplified archtop does have a unique and pleasant kind of tone. Makers start to produce smaller bodied archtops - so not a big acoustic volume, but still preserving that woody sound quality when amplified, and more resistant to feedback, plus easier to handle and use.
A while back I did have a go on a 1934 Gibson L5 - a purely acoustic, carved top acoustic. It was some instrument I can tell you - amazingly responsive to variation in touch and picking strength, the sort of guitar that really can be made to "talk". Sounded absolutely wonderful anyhow. But a specialized thing really, not something a non-jazzer would be likely to use a lot in preference to a more normal acoustic guitar (and of course there are very fine examples of that type too). The most useful type of archtop for me is one that is actually less responsive acoustically - my Joe Pass has a smaller body and thicker laminated top, for example - but resistant to feedback, comfortable and not too bulky, lower action, yet still with the woody resonance coming through when used with an amp.
The likes of the Gretsch White Falcon, is of course another side to the archtop - that whole rockabilly/country thing. Not something I'm into very much, (though I don't mind a bit of rockabilly) and the idea of bolting one of those bloody Bigsby trem things on - no thanks! Might look good down the folk club though? Sequined jacket to match? No?
Yes, the thought of standing up wearing a White Falcon and singing "She moved through the fair" is quite incongruous. Same as doing it with a Jackson pointy headstock jobbie. Probably why, as much as I love it, a White Falcon would just be a piece of art for me.
The whole archtop evolution and then progression into solid bodies is interesting. In fact you can go back further with how guitars emerged from renaissance instruments, and then from nylon strung into steel strung mainly (although not exclusively) courtesy of Messrs C.F. Martin and Co. and their development of new bracing arrangements.
Then as the guitar became a non-classical ensemble piece there was a split into the resonator and archtop types in the quest for volume and projection. They then morphed into use in two separate but related genres, Jazz and Blues/Country Blues.
Double bass was already used in Jazz, and the Violin had been able to hold its own in a solo context in orchestral work for a few centuries. So those design principles of the violin family were applied to the development of the archtop.
I'm envious of you playing an original L5. I personally don't think it would be limited to jazz though given the responsiveness you describe. It's something that for good players is the holy grail of a good amp, to be responsive to digging in or a slight tweak of the volume pot to induce crunch into an otherwise clean tone for fills and runs. I think an L5 would provide a similar role (albeit without electric induced crunch) in an acoustic environment in various genres outside of jazz.
Just got offered (and accepted) a gig this Sunday - only thing is the venue is not allowed to use amplification, so it's going to be my trusty Blueridge dreadnought acoustic. Or at least I hope it's trusty - I haven't actually ever done a gig with it before. The other musicians are saxophone and drums, so hope they are able to play not too loud also. I guess it will just be strumming chords all the time pretty much, as the single note soloing isn't going to work with just a drummer for accompaniment. Should be an interesting one anyhow, will see how it goes.
Always good to do something a bit out of the ordinary and move outside the comfort zone.
The concerts I put on are usually purely acoustic. When talking about it after his previous concert for me Ray Cooper described doing the entire gig acoustically as a good challenge. He's obviously happy with the way it worked as he contacted me this time round to host him for one of the dates on his November UK tour. Audience feedback has also been nothing but positive saying how great it sounded with no PA or other amplification.
I guess in a jazz situation a guitarist will be down the bottom of the sound pile compared to other instruments. It'll be an interesting gig and a testament to the quality of the other players as to whether they let you shine through or not. If they do, then the audience will get a treat because it'll likely mean the whole thing is balanced. If the other musicians don't take your relative volume into account then they'll probably not be paying much attention to each other either and the audience will lose out. The acoustics of the room itself will also play a big part in the audience experience. If they don't use amplification as a matter of course one might hope that the venue actually lends itself to that set-up in the first place!
You can borrow my reso. But it's tuned in open G, is strung with 15s, and set up with a high action for slide playing. And there, I think, might be the problem with trying to borrow a reso at short notice. These days as they aren't used purely to provide higher volume they tend to be set up for specific uses other than playing in EADGBE.
What might be better is maybe borrow Jocko's mini Blackstar stack and just hang it round your neck like a big sad old 70's medallion. No one would know, they'd just make assumptions about you......
Cheers chaps! A banjo? Aaagh! run away! Don't know anyone with a resonator either, but I think probably best to stick with my own acoustic anyhow, as I've got the action nicely adjusted, and I know it's OK for playing jazz chords higher up on the fingerboard.
Appreciate your thoughts and experience with acoustic gigs Reg, I'm sure what you say is very true. I think the venue is actually a pretty old building (the gig is in Stamford) and that may be why there is an embargo on amplification. I think for me there will an element of having to adapt, and some experiment to find what bits of my usual way of playing will still work. It is a funny one though - I realise that I generally just take it for granted that I can play as loud as I want at any time (not that I'm into playing very loud), so this is making me think in a different way.
You can borrow my reso. But it's tuned in open G, is strung with 15s, and set up with a high action for slide playing. And there, I think, might be the problem with trying to borrow a reso at short notice. These days as they aren't used purely to provide higher volume they tend to be set up for specific uses other than playing in EADGBE.
What might be better is maybe borrow Jocko's mini Blackstar stack and just hang it round your neck like a big sad old 70's medallion. No one would know, they'd just make assumptions about you......
Cheers, Reg.
Ha ha, very good Reg - my image is bad enough already, no help needed in that direction... My acoustic has 13s on it I think, but set with a lowish action, so should do the job well enough. 15s might leave my fingers looking rather worse for wear by the end of the gig!
Also, no monitors. So again you'll be relying on pure acoustics of the band and you might need to experiment with relative positions of the band members so each can hear what they need to hear from the other band members to play their parts. You might not want to be stuck with a drummer in one ear and a saxophonist in the other if you're trying to play tight with the bass player.
No bass player Reg! Just sax-guitar-drums . So an interesting gig really. As a lineup, it would probably be better to go sax-guitar-bass and drop the drummer, but I understand he was asked to do the gig first-off (I haven't met him). So he contacted the sax player (who's band I play in) and given the choice of bass or guitar to "complete" the trio, my saxophonist friend thought guitar would be the more useful (hope he's right!). We are restricted to no more than a trio also, apparently. I'm still waiting to hear more about the gig - i.e. what kind of occasion it it etc. , but the money is good I'm told, so even if it's the worst-sounding line up of all time, I'm doing it.
As you know the saxophonist well then you should be able to work it out between you. It does sound like fun. As long as the drummer doesn't turn out to be Gene Krupa or Buddy Rich on acid (i.e. Keith Moon), you should be OK.
Gene Krupa on acid! If I get there and see a double bass-drum kit already set up, plus huge row of toms and array of cymbals, I'll know we're in trouble. If he's sensible, it will be a minimal kit, and he'll use brushes most of the time.
Thanks for the good wishes lanc and Derek, I'll take those with me tomorrow. In a way just strumming chords should make for an easy gig, but as you may be able to tell, I'm just a little nervous about this one, which is down to the untested setup of me using an acoustic guitar really.
I'm just debating whether to fit a strap button to my acoustic, or do the thing with the string tie round the neck (Wes Montgomery had his strap like that, so there is a good precedent).
An alternative is to borrow one of your mate's Sax straps. Put it round your neck with the hook just hanging. Put your guitar into position, bring the trailing end with the hook under between the upper and lower bouts, and then hook the hook on the bottom edge of the sound hole. If the Sax strap hook doesn't have a rubberised coating just pop a piece of electrical tape over the bottom of the soundhole.
Folk legend Cyril Tawney always supported his guitar like that.
Or just do the tie round the neck - that way you won't get caught out if you've gone to the effort of fitting a strap button around the heel area and it turns out neck heavy.
Thanks for your suggestions Reg, appreciated - but too late I'm afraid, as I fitted a strap button this morning. I've just put it on the back of the heel, and it seems to work well for me there. I did do a bit of prior experiment just taping the end of the strap in place, and I could tell the guitar would sit nicely and balance well like this. So, the guitar is ready to go, hope the player is also!
I find a strap button on the underside of the heel better than on the back of the heel. I first tried adding a strap button to an acoustic on my Epiphone heel back, but soon moved it to the side. A little clear epoxy adhesive in the "spare" hole disguised it nicely.
Larrivée stated in their manual that adding a strap button anywhere other than the underside of the heel voided their warranty. The guitar tech in the shop added this one for me.
What you say is undoubtedly good advice Jocko, and good that you mention it, as I wouldn't want to steer anyone thinking of adding a strap button the wrong way. The heel position is just a personal thing, not even sure I'd call it a preference, but it did seem right for the way I like the guitar to hang and for my own playing style. Rest assured I did a careful job, drilled the hole to just less than the screw diameter - with a bit of soap on the thread, the screw went in easily, but the strap button seems very secure, and I don't think any danger of damage to the guitar or the wood splitting or anything. If it was a high-end instrument like a Larrivee, I guess I would have followed their advice of course.
Just got offered (and accepted) a gig this Sunday - only thing is the venue is not allowed to use amplification, so it's going to be my trusty Blueridge dreadnought acoustic. Or at least I hope it's trusty - I haven't actually ever done a gig with it before. The other musicians are saxophone and drums, so hope they are able to play not too loud also. I guess it will just be strumming chords all the time pretty much, as the single note soloing isn't going to work with just a drummer for accompaniment. Should be an interesting one anyhow, will see how it goes.
Comments
Thank you for your carefully considered suggestion Reg. The scale length is a small consideration, but it's there all the same. Re the death metal/shred thing - I think we both know the answer to that one really don't we? And you don't really want to be getting into all that yee-haw country stuff do you? Let's not do that to ourselves...
OK, if you don't want to get all tattooed and leathered up, here's a serious suggestion.
That Ibanez, from a casual glance, doesn't look massively different from other dual bucker guitars in your collection. From a tone point of view wouldn't any difference best be described as subtle and probably not appreciated by an audience who is listening to the totality of the band?
How about left field and going for one of the solid body acoustic types. If you fancied going out further left, perhaps even nylon strung, but perhaps not.
I think it would be equally valid for jazz, but give you a completely different sound for one or two numbers. IIRC You occasionally do a gig with just a double bassist who also sings (or I could have got that totally wrong). I think the combo of double bass and solidbody amped acoustic could sound pretty good. Not compltely solid body, but something like this (no idea of the price):
My next P90 based scratch build will have a Schaller Hannes piezo bridge as well (that made the eyes water, buying that bridge!).
Cheers, Reg.
Trying to get me to spread my wings and branch out a bit Reg - and it's good to be challenged I would agree. Both the clips you post sound terrific, although I think it's the amplify-able nylon string idea that appeals most to me - I do often play bossa nova or other latin kind of stuff (in a jazz context) so that could fit in.
But I do confess I'm thinking that I could sell one of my strats (it would be hard, but I don't need two strats, and I have too many guitars) and the old green ibanez, and "convert" those into an AG95, which in theory would be a much more useful thing for me to have. Of course you're right - the general audience doesn't appreciate the difference between a hollowbody archtop and a semi-acoustic or solid body, although I do think they pick up when one has a good-sounding instrument in general - i.e they may appreciate the sound, without knowing exactly why.
But re the GAS, as I have countless times before, I'll sleep on it for a while, and see if it's still there.
Yep, best to sleep on it.
I'm probably just trying to impose my own thinking on you, which is naughty of me. My view of the guitar world is not to have more than one instrument that fills the same niche. So I can justify each of my guitars to myself thus:
Gibson Firebrand 335S - Classic Dual Humbucker
Sox The Baycaster - dual single coil, classic Tele, but with the four way wiring mod captures a little bit of out of phase Strat as well.
Guild D25M - Dreadnaught. Great strummer and pretty good finger picker.
Faith Parlour - Excellent finger picker, OK strummer. Brilliant as a stage guitar due to excellent Hex pick up and stereo preamp. Also good for a recording platform when using effects due to the stereo (e.g. just apply chorus to the treble strings). I know the usual advice is never to use an electric guitar amp for an electro-acoustic but I find I'm playing the Faith Parlour almost exclusively through the amp these days rather than acoustically - my old Carlsbro seems to be made for it.
So what's a gap? A good performance guitar that can switch between classic electric and acoustic sounds without swapping guitar mid song. That's what I'm aiming for with my next build, with the choice of P90s providing a halfway house between SC and HB as well.
The cittern will be up and running in a few weeks (into week four of it's six week drying period).
Then I need a bass, and a mandolin, and a cajon, and a............
What I don't need is something I've already got
Cheers, Reg.
Yep, best to sleep on it.
I'm probably just trying to impose my own thinking on you, which is naughty of me. My view of the guitar world is not to have more than one instrument that fills the same niche. So I can justify each of my guitars to myself thus:
Gibson Firebrand 335S - Classic Dual Humbucker
Sox The Baycaster - dual single coil, classic Tele, but with the four way wiring mod captures a little bit of out of phase Strat as well.
Guild D25M - Dreadnaught. Great strummer and pretty good finger picker.
Faith Parlour - Excellent finger picker, OK strummer. Brilliant as a stage guitar due to excellent Hex pick up and stereo preamp. Also good for a recording platform when using effects due to the stereo (e.g. just apply chorus to the treble strings). I know the usual advice is never to use an electric guitar amp for an electro-acoustic but I find I'm playing the Faith Parlour almost exclusively through the amp these days rather than acoustically - my old Carlsbro seems to be made for it.
So what's a gap? A good performance guitar that can switch between classic electric and acoustic sounds without swapping guitar mid song. That's what I'm aiming for with my next build, with the choice of P90s providing a halfway house between SC and HB as well.
The cittern will be up and running in a few weeks (into week four of it's six week drying period).
Then I need a bass, and a mandolin, and a cajon, and a............
What I don't need is something I've already got
Cheers, Reg.
Well, I've slept on it, and the GAS has already faded somewhat. I too don't need something I already have - and I already have TOO MANY GUITARS - I really should be thinking more along the lines of selling the green Ibby and one of the strats, plus I have a spare dreadnought acoustic, - and then seeing how I feel - I will probably feel like I have a bit more space to move in lol.
And of course I already own a perfectly nice archtop guitar - I haven't been using my nice Ibby Joe Pass model much recently, even though it now has it's new pickup from Chris Hernandez installed (not sure if I covered that on the forum). It used to have an extra Kent Armstrong floating pickup that I mounted on a rubber pad with double-sided sticky tape. This did sound good, but was cumbersome, and slightly in-elegant. So that has gone, and the guitar now has just it's new pickup in place of the stock one. This has also allowed me to re-fit the original bound tortoiseshell scratchplate, which I think does better. Anyway, took it to a rehearsal, and after a while, I was liking it very much. The new pickup does have a certain something I like a lot, and I do think I could hear improved quality there - it's smooth and sweet, but with more detail and definition than I remember from the stock Ibanez pickup.
I've always had a nagging feeling that the pickup placement on this guitar is not ideal, but maybe it being a bit closer to the bridge is not such a big deal - just gives a slightly edgier kind of tone, which is maybe no bad thing - just different rather than worse. At first the 13 gauge half-round strings did seem just a bit tough to use - I've got too used to the easier feel with my shorter scale Shine guitars, fitted with roundwound 12s. I was fine, but I'm thinking I will probably go down to some kind of 12 gauge roundwounds on the archtop now - maybe just the inexpensive Darco jazz set I use for the Shines, or perhaps some nice pure nickel type, like the Newtone Archtop double-wrap ones i.e. these:
http://www.stringsdirect.co.uk...-strings-12-54-p2596
When suffering from random attacks of GAS, I do find buying new strings is a fairly cheap way of alleviating the symtoms for a while...
Actually, I'm pretty sure I did talk about the changes to the guitar, but what the heck, who needs an excuse, so here are a before and after shot:
I really do like a good looking archtop. But I can't think of where/when I'd ever use it. To me a really well made archtop is the height of "Guitar Art". I think if I ever got one it would just hang on the wall looking lovely but unplayed.
I've probably mentioned it before, but for archtop ultimate bling, nothing subtle for me, it'd have to be a Gretsch White Falcon (if I ever had five grand or so to spend on a piece of art).
So, when you sell the green Ibanez, one of the Strats, and the spare acoustic, what are you going to buy?
Cheers, Reg.
One thing at once Reg - just the concept of "selling guitars" is something that will cause me difficulties, but who knows what I might buy - actually I might go for something that would improve my playing - maybe a subscription to one of those web sites where you get help and online lessons from a top guitarist. Could be another archtop of course, but I don't know. I don't need anything new at all gear-wise, in truth.
Archtop waffle follows:
Arch tops are an interesting type of guitar - the originals, as I'm sure you know, were large-bodied things, and built for projection and volume, in the days before amplification, when guitarists might have to chug out rhythm chords in a big band. Charlie Christian was about the first to have a pickup fitted to the guitar, and to take the instrument into more of a lead role, able to play single note solo lines along with the other front-line instruments. I'm sure at that point, such an amplified guitar was just thought of as a guitar but louder - I doubt people were waffling on about the finer points of "archtops" re the amplified tone then.
And only a bit later on did people like Les Paul and Leo Fender come along, and come up with the sensible step of making the body solid, and thus preventing feedback issues. Les Paul of course had his early "log guitar" which had a solid core, with cosmetic side pieces he could attach to make it look like a normal archtop. And I guess some time later on still, it really starts to dawn of people that despite the benefits of a solid body guitar, the amplified archtop does have a unique and pleasant kind of tone. Makers start to produce smaller bodied archtops - so not a big acoustic volume, but still preserving that woody sound quality when amplified, and more resistant to feedback, plus easier to handle and use.
A while back I did have a go on a 1934 Gibson L5 - a purely acoustic, carved top acoustic. It was some instrument I can tell you - amazingly responsive to variation in touch and picking strength, the sort of guitar that really can be made to "talk". Sounded absolutely wonderful anyhow. But a specialized thing really, not something a non-jazzer would be likely to use a lot in preference to a more normal acoustic guitar (and of course there are very fine examples of that type too). The most useful type of archtop for me is one that is actually less responsive acoustically - my Joe Pass has a smaller body and thicker laminated top, for example - but resistant to feedback, comfortable and not too bulky, lower action, yet still with the woody resonance coming through when used with an amp.
The likes of the Gretsch White Falcon, is of course another side to the archtop - that whole rockabilly/country thing. Not something I'm into very much, (though I don't mind a bit of rockabilly) and the idea of bolting one of those bloody Bigsby trem things on - no thanks! Might look good down the folk club though? Sequined jacket to match? No?
Yes, the thought of standing up wearing a White Falcon and singing "She moved through the fair" is quite incongruous. Same as doing it with a Jackson pointy headstock jobbie. Probably why, as much as I love it, a White Falcon would just be a piece of art for me.
The whole archtop evolution and then progression into solid bodies is interesting. In fact you can go back further with how guitars emerged from renaissance instruments, and then from nylon strung into steel strung mainly (although not exclusively) courtesy of Messrs C.F. Martin and Co. and their development of new bracing arrangements.
Then as the guitar became a non-classical ensemble piece there was a split into the resonator and archtop types in the quest for volume and projection. They then morphed into use in two separate but related genres, Jazz and Blues/Country Blues.
Double bass was already used in Jazz, and the Violin had been able to hold its own in a solo context in orchestral work for a few centuries. So those design principles of the violin family were applied to the development of the archtop.
I'm envious of you playing an original L5. I personally don't think it would be limited to jazz though given the responsiveness you describe. It's something that for good players is the holy grail of a good amp, to be responsive to digging in or a slight tweak of the volume pot to induce crunch into an otherwise clean tone for fills and runs. I think an L5 would provide a similar role (albeit without electric induced crunch) in an acoustic environment in various genres outside of jazz.
Cheers, Reg.
Just got offered (and accepted) a gig this Sunday - only thing is the venue is not allowed to use amplification, so it's going to be my trusty Blueridge dreadnought acoustic. Or at least I hope it's trusty - I haven't actually ever done a gig with it before. The other musicians are saxophone and drums, so hope they are able to play not too loud also. I guess it will just be strumming chords all the time pretty much, as the single note soloing isn't going to work with just a drummer for accompaniment. Should be an interesting one anyhow, will see how it goes.
Always good to do something a bit out of the ordinary and move outside the comfort zone.
The concerts I put on are usually purely acoustic. When talking about it after his previous concert for me Ray Cooper described doing the entire gig acoustically as a good challenge. He's obviously happy with the way it worked as he contacted me this time round to host him for one of the dates on his November UK tour. Audience feedback has also been nothing but positive saying how great it sounded with no PA or other amplification.
I guess in a jazz situation a guitarist will be down the bottom of the sound pile compared to other instruments. It'll be an interesting gig and a testament to the quality of the other players as to whether they let you shine through or not. If they do, then the audience will get a treat because it'll likely mean the whole thing is balanced. If the other musicians don't take your relative volume into account then they'll probably not be paying much attention to each other either and the audience will lose out. The acoustics of the room itself will also play a big part in the audience experience. If they don't use amplification as a matter of course one might hope that the venue actually lends itself to that set-up in the first place!
Best of luck - let us know how it goes.
Cheers, Reg.
Can't you borrow a Resonator?! They were designed to be heard over the rest of the musicians before the days of amplification. Or a banjo.
Definition of a gentleman. Someone who can play a banjo, but doesn't.
You can borrow my reso. But it's tuned in open G, is strung with 15s, and set up with a high action for slide playing. And there, I think, might be the problem with trying to borrow a reso at short notice. These days as they aren't used purely to provide higher volume they tend to be set up for specific uses other than playing in EADGBE.
What might be better is maybe borrow Jocko's mini Blackstar stack and just hang it round your neck like a big sad old 70's medallion. No one would know, they'd just make assumptions about you......
Cheers, Reg.
Cheers chaps! A banjo? Aaagh! run away! Don't know anyone with a resonator either, but I think probably best to stick with my own acoustic anyhow, as I've got the action nicely adjusted, and I know it's OK for playing jazz chords higher up on the fingerboard.
Appreciate your thoughts and experience with acoustic gigs Reg, I'm sure what you say is very true. I think the venue is actually a pretty old building (the gig is in Stamford) and that may be why there is an embargo on amplification. I think for me there will an element of having to adapt, and some experiment to find what bits of my usual way of playing will still work. It is a funny one though - I realise that I generally just take it for granted that I can play as loud as I want at any time (not that I'm into playing very loud), so this is making me think in a different way.
You can borrow my reso. But it's tuned in open G, is strung with 15s, and set up with a high action for slide playing. And there, I think, might be the problem with trying to borrow a reso at short notice. These days as they aren't used purely to provide higher volume they tend to be set up for specific uses other than playing in EADGBE.
What might be better is maybe borrow Jocko's mini Blackstar stack and just hang it round your neck like a big sad old 70's medallion. No one would know, they'd just make assumptions about you......
Cheers, Reg.
Ha ha, very good Reg - my image is bad enough already, no help needed in that direction... My acoustic has 13s on it I think, but set with a lowish action, so should do the job well enough. 15s might leave my fingers looking rather worse for wear by the end of the gig!
Also, no monitors. So again you'll be relying on pure acoustics of the band and you might need to experiment with relative positions of the band members so each can hear what they need to hear from the other band members to play their parts. You might not want to be stuck with a drummer in one ear and a saxophonist in the other if you're trying to play tight with the bass player.
Cheers, Reg.
No bass player Reg! Just sax-guitar-drums . So an interesting gig really. As a lineup, it would probably be better to go sax-guitar-bass and drop the drummer, but I understand he was asked to do the gig first-off (I haven't met him). So he contacted the sax player (who's band I play in) and given the choice of bass or guitar to "complete" the trio, my saxophonist friend thought guitar would be the more useful (hope he's right!). We are restricted to no more than a trio also, apparently. I'm still waiting to hear more about the gig - i.e. what kind of occasion it it etc. , but the money is good I'm told, so even if it's the worst-sounding line up of all time, I'm doing it.
Ha ha. You've got your priorities right.
As you know the saxophonist well then you should be able to work it out between you. It does sound like fun. As long as the drummer doesn't turn out to be Gene Krupa or Buddy Rich on acid (i.e. Keith Moon), you should be OK.
Cheers, Reg.
Gene Krupa on acid! If I get there and see a double bass-drum kit already set up, plus huge row of toms and array of cymbals, I'll know we're in trouble. If he's sensible, it will be a minimal kit, and he'll use brushes most of the time.
Good luck with the gig Megi. they may have to pl;ay in another room from you
If it was me playing that would be their preferred modus operandi anyway, not a fall back position.
I'm sure you're too modest Reg!
I always used to headline at open mics. When the landlord wanted to clear the pub and go to bed.
That'll be a cool gig, Megi. Chance to lay back and explore some nice rhythm guitar stuff.
Thanks for the good wishes lanc and Derek, I'll take those with me tomorrow. In a way just strumming chords should make for an easy gig, but as you may be able to tell, I'm just a little nervous about this one, which is down to the untested setup of me using an acoustic guitar really.
I'm just debating whether to fit a strap button to my acoustic, or do the thing with the string tie round the neck (Wes Montgomery had his strap like that, so there is a good precedent).
An alternative is to borrow one of your mate's Sax straps. Put it round your neck with the hook just hanging. Put your guitar into position, bring the trailing end with the hook under between the upper and lower bouts, and then hook the hook on the bottom edge of the sound hole. If the Sax strap hook doesn't have a rubberised coating just pop a piece of electrical tape over the bottom of the soundhole.
Folk legend Cyril Tawney always supported his guitar like that.
Or just do the tie round the neck - that way you won't get caught out if you've gone to the effort of fitting a strap button around the heel area and it turns out neck heavy.
Cheers, Reg.
Thanks for your suggestions Reg, appreciated - but too late I'm afraid, as I fitted a strap button this morning. I've just put it on the back of the heel, and it seems to work well for me there. I did do a bit of prior experiment just taping the end of the strap in place, and I could tell the guitar would sit nicely and balance well like this. So, the guitar is ready to go, hope the player is also!
I find a strap button on the underside of the heel better than on the back of the heel. I first tried adding a strap button to an acoustic on my Epiphone heel back, but soon moved it to the side. A little clear epoxy adhesive in the "spare" hole disguised it nicely.
Larrivée stated in their manual that adding a strap button anywhere other than the underside of the heel voided their warranty. The guitar tech in the shop added this one for me.
What you say is undoubtedly good advice Jocko, and good that you mention it, as I wouldn't want to steer anyone thinking of adding a strap button the wrong way. The heel position is just a personal thing, not even sure I'd call it a preference, but it did seem right for the way I like the guitar to hang and for my own playing style. Rest assured I did a careful job, drilled the hole to just less than the screw diameter - with a bit of soap on the thread, the screw went in easily, but the strap button seems very secure, and I don't think any danger of damage to the guitar or the wood splitting or anything. If it was a high-end instrument like a Larrivee, I guess I would have followed their advice of course.
Just got offered (and accepted) a gig this Sunday - only thing is the venue is not allowed to use amplification, so it's going to be my trusty Blueridge dreadnought acoustic. Or at least I hope it's trusty - I haven't actually ever done a gig with it before. The other musicians are saxophone and drums, so hope they are able to play not too loud also. I guess it will just be strumming chords all the time pretty much, as the single note soloing isn't going to work with just a drummer for accompaniment. Should be an interesting one anyhow, will see how it goes.
How did the acoustic gig go Megi?