Guitar For Jazz
is a resource designed to help you buy
a good quality hollow body Archtop Jazz Guitar. ('Jazz Box').
Currently (mainly) our focus is on the abundance of (inexpensive) Hollow bodies
in the in the $100 to $1100 (US) range. (New or Used).
(For Example: Shine WNO630 under $300.
Peerless Guitars under $1100.)
I say 'mainly' because we cant resist the quality of say,
Heritage Guitars! $1200 - $4000+)
There are a number of good playing/sounding instruments in the low price range
(*).
There are also a number of instruments in this range that are of unknown
quality.
We try to find as much information as possible about the more common
guitars to play jazz on.
Makes, models, images, reviews, manufacturing information,
years, gossip, rumors, etc, to help you make a informed buying decision.
Sometimes information about a specific make or model is sparse, please bear
with us as we gather more accurate info.
*
However, sometimes we can't find any reviews or information at all
about a particular model.
You are welcome to provide us with the information we have missed, or
have wrong. Also, if you have first hand experience with a specific
model, please add a review. Let this community benefit from your
knowledge.
We say 'common', because Jazz can be played on any guitar of course.
For the purposes of this site we are more focused on the
'classic jazz tone' or 'traditional jazz guitar tone'.
Traditionally this sound is associated with a 'full' (3"+ deep) hollow body
archtop guitar.
However, we also include Grant Green in this
classic jazz guitar sound and during his Blue Note years he played a
Gibson ES-330 which is a thinline hollowbody (there is a very small piece of
wood inside which touches the top and back of the guitar, [not a full block of
wood running through the body, like on a Gibson ES-335)
Although popularized by the Beatles The Epiphone Casino is another example
of a thinline (full) hollowbody, although some refer to this as a semi-hollow,
there is no 'wood block' in the guitar.
It is hollow, save for a very small dowel post under the bridge.
(rumor/not fact alert: Apparently the Epiphone Casino was around first
and when Gibson acquired Epiphone they 'borrowed' this design idea)
We here are fans of using the
Epiphone Casino for playing jazz!
So, again, we are currently focusing mostly on hollow body guitars,
whether thinline or deep. We may also start include chambered body guitars
such as the Eastman 'El Ray'. A guitar with no 'F-holes' but which is fully
hollow inside, just like a traditional archtop. (The benefits of this design
are more resistance to feedback while still retaining much of the sound
qualities of a full bodied archtop.
Maybe in the future we will also include semi-hollow bodies.
Q:I need a guitar and amp for my school jazz band. What's a good first
jazz guitar for a reasonable price?
A: If you are just starting out, I would probably go with an semi-hollow
body guitar (you can play pretty much any style on this type) such as a Washburn HB-35 or
Ibanez Artcore AS73 and a 60 Watt solid state amp.
Maybe a Roland Cube 60, Jazz Chorus 60 or Roland Cube 80W Guitar amp
You can get a Roland Cube 30 for under $200 but a 30Watt amp is not really powerful
enough for playing with combo/group. (you'd need 60watt's as a basic minimum)
This guitar/amp combo is versatile and will 'get your feet wet', with Jazz.
Q: I need a good hollow body archtop jazz guitar (Jazz Box)
for under $1000. (well, $300, $400, $500, $600, $700,... you know,
on a budget, inexpensive, an affordable, low cost archtop)
Do they exist?
A: Yes, there are many very fine instruments in this price range.
Take a look at the Ibanez Artcore line, or the low end Epiphones', like an
new Epiphone Zephyr Regent or Washburn J-5 or J-6, Cort LCS1 and possibly the
Samick "Greg Bennett" line.
The point is, there are some fine inexpensive
hollow body archtop guitars. Hopefully this site will be useful to you in
your search, this is why we are here!
Here are some more suggestions:
rec.music.makers.guitar.jazz FAQ
Q: Is a hollow body archtop jazz guitar right for me?
A: Here is some good commentary on that.
Q: What are good some hollow body archtop jazz guitar models
above $1000?
A: There are many great quality instruments in the $1000-2000
price (Eastman, Heritage, D'Angelico, Hofner, Benedetto, Stromberg,
Peerlees, etc all come to mind). Keep in mind that once you get
into this price range, you will often be dealing with 'solid carved top'
archtop guitars.
Solid-carved top Archtop guitars, are pretty much limited to playing Jazz
(exclusively - mainly for feedback/volume issues).
Feel free to use our resources section for some handy eBay search tools that may
help in your search.
Q: Do I need a Hollow body to play Jazz?
A: No.
Here is a video of a young Joe Pass burning it up on a
Fender Jaguar
(I believe Fender originally made the 'Jazzmaster' (a solid-body)
guitar for Jazz players, hence the name ;). Ed Bickert is a well known
Jazz Guitarist that uses
a Fender Telecaster®
(with a Humbucker in front). Pat Martino has used a solid body at various times.
Pat also often uses a chambered guitar, looks like a solid body but is hollowed out inside.
Your sound is in your
head/hands/heart, develop your playing on anything and you
will sound like yourself on whatever you play.
That said, if your playing Jazz, using a hollow body Jazz box can help
move you towards that traditional Jazz Guitar Tone.
Combined with the right amp (*cough*, Polytone,...) and strings
*cough*, Thomas-Inkfeld,...)
you can get close to getting that elusive classic 'Jazz' tone
(ala, Kenny Burrell, Wes Montgomery, George Benson, Pat Martino,
Jim Hall, Barney Kessel, etc).
Luckily, now there are so many good quality hollowbody archtop guitars
under $500 (US) it makes it much easier to get decent quality Jazz box!
Q: Will a good hollow body archtop jazz guitar make me
a better jazz guitarist? or better player?
A: No.
As stated above, a guitar is only an instrument and can only play
the notes and sounds you provide. However, a good instrument can
inspire you to play better. A good instrument can enhance what
you already have.
Q: It seems there are Jazz players who don't use an Archtop guitar, right?
A: Yes, thats true.
Many modern Jazz players don't play hollow bodies at all. (or very little)
- Mike Stern (Yamaha, Solid body Signature model)
- John Scofield (Ibanez Semi-Hollow, 335 style guitars)
- John Abercrombie (Brian Moore, Ibanez, etc mostly solid bodies)
- John McLaughlin (Gibson, Godin, others, mostly Solid bodies)
- Allan Holdsworth (Carvin 'Fat Boy', +others. This guitar is interesting in that it has hollowed out chambers enclosed in the body)
- Bill Frisell (Klein, others? mostly Solid bodies)
- Etc,
Q: I'm primarily a Rock player but getting interested in Jazz,
I want a Hollow body but I'm used to very thin neck guitars.
Are there any thin necked hollow bodies?
A: Yes. The Ibanez Artcore line have thin necks.
We've heard that the new
Hagstrom Hollow body series have very thin necks.
Also the new Hofner 'H*' type series (HCTJ17 for example) have very thin necks.
The Epiphone and Samick model's we've played have fatter necks.
YMMV - Your milage may vary.
Q: What about good Guitar amps for playing Jazz?
A: We may cover this more in the future, for now check out out
Jazz Guitar Amps and Strings section
Quick answer, Polytone, Henriksen, Jazzkat,...
Q: What about good strings for playing Jazz?
A: We may cover this more in the future, for now check out out
Jazz Guitar Amps and Strings section
Quick answer, Flatwound strings, Thomastik are highly regarded.
Q: I need a good hard shell case for my hollow body guitar,
it has a 17" lower bout and a 3-1/2" body thickness.
A: We have been very happy with TKL cases
For the above specs we recommend the
TKL 8820
Specs:
| Length | Upper Bout | Lower Bout | Depth | Waist |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 44.500" | 13.000" | 17.000" | 6.000" | 11.000" |
There are also larger/other models, like the TKL 9121 and more
OK, Enough ranting, let's get a Guitar For Jazz!
* Please let us know if you have some accurate information that we have missed
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