Gear for Playing Jazz

by Chris
(Ottawa)

I'm wondering what gear you use to play jazz and what type of sound you are trying to achieve? -thanks

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Hello Chris,

Good question. I'm trying to achieve a personal guitar sound that is :

-Very clean yet punchy
-Made to respond to my playing dynamics
-Not too "muffled"
(let's say : brighter than other jazz guitarists! I don't like the "fart zone" type of sound, with tone rolled to zero.)
-"Spacey" and "airy" (reverb).

For guitars, I use mainly my Gibson ES-137 (that is a successful cross between a 335 and a 175; see pictures). It's thin and hollow at the same time, I love it. The sound is fatter that solid bodied guitars, yet not as fat as a big "jazz box".

At times, I use a Parker P-40. It acts as my personal "telecaster" sound (full solid-body with two humbuckers). Ed Bickert had a big influence on me so...

At home, I also play a Takamine ES-132 classical guitar to teach and to shed some classical / fingerstyle repertoire.

Amp wise, I've been using a Roland Jazz Chorus JC-50 for many years. I believe it was made in the early 80's and it's crystal clear. I liked it a lot, but it felt rather "bland" by itself : I needed a bit more "teeth" (gain?) in my sound.

I recently got myself a Fender Blues Junior and I think it suits my playing best : I can decide on the amount of gain in my sound. It always depends on the gig. And the spring reverb on it is fantastic! I don't always have to use my reverb pedal...


...speaking of which...

As far as effects go, my only regular pedal is the Electro Harmonix "Holy Grail Plus". For jazz, I set it to "Hall" and the two tweaking knobs are about at 6 o'clock most of the time (depends on the room). That reverb gives me all the "air" I need in my sound. It works especially well in a jazz trio / duo setting.

I also use a VOX Tonelab multi-effect unit with my Roland JC : I can get all the gain I need from such a clean amp now! The tonelab is in fact a tube preamp (with reverb, chorus, delay, etc.) and it works well in jazz and non jazz contexts. It's useful for headphone practicing and recording sessions.

That's what I use on a regular basis. I always try some other stuff but I'm also a firm believer in the saying "Tone is in the fingers".

You know that if you had given Wes a toothbrush, he would've played beautiful music on it!

So, research and refine your jazz guitar gear, but keep working on YOUR sound, YOUR personal voice that lies inside.

I hope it helps,

Marc-A