HELP Leaning more and more towards my Gibson ...

[Rathmann]

Started studying a while ago with this cat in town who in turn studied with one of my heroes, Robben Ford.

He is showing me a bunch of things that boggle my small mind, like how to extend the fifth of a key by building chords on each note of the fifth -- and playing out of guide notes of the changes.

He got me playing tunes like BLACK ORPHEUS, which is a cool tune, but man, I can't seem to get my fingers to play those chords on my FERNANDES tele. They fit on the wider neck of my Gibson 135.

I am wavering -- steer me towards the truth and the light that is all things TELE ... tell me that this jazz stuff might be INTERESTING but perhaps is the DARK PATH -- because frankly while there is stuff in it I can use it makes my small brain hurt ...

AIIIIIIGH

[Rich Rice]

You may want to replace your current Tele neck with a wider/flatter board, but I love to play jazz on my Tele. The tone is awesome!

[MojoRex]

....there is always room in your soul for a Gibson. It can only make you a better artist. Go for it, your Tele's are trusting fathers and are happy to let you explore where you need to go. They know you will be back, and with a new voice.

[freshmattyp]

I feel your pain. I'm currently going through a Rickenbacker phase. Embrace it.

You could always make a Gibson-esque Tele, with a flatter radius, 24 3/4' scale and humbuckers. There are plenty of examples here to be inspired by.

[Pete Galati]

If I was going to play Jazz, I'd probably go looking for a good Strat. The Strat always sounded like a Jazz guitar to me.

I've never spent any time on a Tele Thinline with humbuckers, but that might work well for Jazz.

Gibson? Sorry, I'm pissed at them right now because they're busy getting rid of all their small dealers.

The old Gibson designs were great IMO, but the new Gibson company selling them, I don't want anything to do with them. I refuse to be seen holding one of their guitars right now.

Pete

[stevedenver]

this isnt an either or deal

and my first impression is that youve found an application your present 'tool' doesnt perfrom to your satisfactoin-'nuff said

Gibsons are, by and large, great guitars-they are unquestionably, historically, the pillar of American orchestral and jazz guitar-gibsons have thier own sound and using a polytone -its pretty much THE classic jazz sound-a 175, L-5, super 400, etc

this is not to imply there arent current better jazz boxes-or that it is the exclusive realm of Gibson

Gibsons are more costly than many other types and brands -they are often more complex construction and more ornate-this makes them cost more than a bolt on tele or strat-and it has a name -and you shoudl be aware too that a true jazz box like a super or L-5 is not a production guitar-its way more (ive been to the shop and ive seen em)

production and custom shop Gibsons for some time have needed attention to details that they shouldnt-and its not consistent- notably nuts and frets, sometimes much bigger items-but generally are great jazz guitars that can be adjusted to be tremendous

if youve only had red wine for many months, a beer will taste great-likewise if youre in the current state of mind to play a gibson-do so-

you will come back to all the other instruments that you like and are part of your tonal pallette-i played a gibson for about thirty years, have gone tele, but come back to gibsons for certain music-like jazz

and if youre like me, you may well gain inspiration of using a certain instrument for certain music-sort of like dressing the part .....not nonsense at all-i dont pick country on my les paul and i dont play metal on my d-28 (although i had modest success playing some metal on my F-5-but its not a regular interest...)-im not saying you cant-you can play anythin on anything-but some are more suitable than others-

go for it
its your music-youre clearly growing and thats way cool-perhaps you should just follow your feelings-

if you MUST have a tele-the will ray has a very flat (15")wider board and neck with jazzmaster coils and its sounds kinda jazz -es 175s are also quite wonderful -and if you want more punch like a 335 -look into a johnny a model-a kinda 335 with a 25.5 scale and very classy IMHO

[Mik]

You can rely on Robben Ford buildin' chords on his early 60s Tele 8)

Damn, I missed Robben at Yoshi's last week, I was out of it with a spring cold!

Mik

[Ed Bickert]

Ed Bickert comes to mind (pun intended). The man got an amazing jazz sound from his Tele. And it's not hyper modified. Has a Gibson PAF in the neck and that's it. The rest is Tele. And of course there's Ted Greene, again with the bucker in the neck. Mike Stern too...the list just keeps going.

When it comes down to it there are far more famous people playing (played) jazz on a Tele than a Les Paul. The numbers don't ad up, I agree. I play all jazz and wanted a solid body. My L5 was too big and just not fun (for me personally) to play. So naturally I gravitated towards the Les Paul. I tried 5 of them. A 59 RI Custom Shop aged. A 60's classic. An 87 LP Custom. A 77 LP Custom. And another custom shop LP custom. They all said "jazz" with the ebony fretboard and warm humbucker, but it just never did it for me. The killer thing is I WANTED it to. LPs just look so classy.

So I gave in. So many jazz greats have made a career on their teles. Not the least of wich was of course Ed Bickert. I tried three telecasters before i landed this one (2005 NAMM 52 RI with factory installed Seymour Duncan bucker in the neck). The guitar looks sparse, but my God this was the sound I ALWAYS wanted. So warm, clear, happy and full of life. The guitar begs to be played and sound so beautiful.

Now being the NAMM it's not really a reissue spec-wise. 9.5" radius, med-jmbo frets, and a "57 V Style" neck profile. Mammoth. And a maple neck would, by tradition, be brighter. But it simply works.

My brother went and bought the exact same guitar as i did. Now he has a buscarino and this tele. And he uses them both to gig with. The Tele is classic enough that you can still pull it off at a jazz gig wearing a suit/tie and still not look garish. ...Some of the flashier LPs are almost out-of-place in a jazz setting.

Anyway, there's my bid. I always try to stick my neck in when jazz and teles come about. Before I got the NAMM tele I tried the standard 52RI that's on the shelves now. If I didn't by the NAMM I would have bought this. Granted it's too 'vintage" for me though. 7.25" radius, small vintage frets, and a rather uncomfortable (for me) neck profile. But the sound was really clean. Not too bellish on the neck (is that even a word?).

In the end it ultimately comes down to what you personally like or dislike. Obviously. But make sure you try some various teles. Get a 52 and route a Duncan Antiquity bucker into the neck. If you sample some Ed Bickert or some Ted Greene and really like that sound you'll be able to get pretty close with that setup.

Andy Summers also got a very smooth tone from his tele though i wouldn't call it a traditional jazz tone.

Play on dudes!

[Blues Hurler]

I've got 2 electric guitars: a 135 and a Tele, and I couldn't be happier. I recently read a study that concluded that men who own both are more attractive, smarter, and are better in bed. Really. Or maybe I just made that up, but anyway, I play them both regularly, but sometimes go through a stage where I'll play one more than the other, but I never want to give up either of them. I think they're both fantastic guitars, and both quite versatile, even though in terms of construction and appointment, they're total opposites. That's what's so great about having them both. Enjoy!

[collinsman]

Originally Posted by Rathmann

Started studying a while ago with this cat in town who in turn studied with one of my heroes, Robben Ford.

He is showing me a bunch of things that boggle my small mind, like how to extend the fifth of a key by building chords on each note of the fifth -- and playing out of guide notes of the changes.

He got me playing tunes like BLACK ORPHEUS, which is a cool tune, but man, I can't seem to get my fingers to play those chords on my FERNANDES tele. They fit on the wider neck of my Gibson 135.

I am wavering -- steer me towards the truth and the light that is all things TELE ... tell me that this jazz stuff might be INTERESTING but perhaps is the DARK PATH -- because frankly while there is stuff in it I can use it makes my small brain hurt ...

AIIIIIIGH

Just do what Robben does, he plays a Tele on some songs, and a Les Paul on others. When I've seen Robben live he usually plays 2/3 rds the set on the tele, but that was a couple of yrs ago.

[Cat]

Aah the Gibson phase, I know it well :) I am currently going through some Gibson lust right now. The think I always find though, is that I inevitably come back to my Fenders and the guilt passes.

Enjoy your Gibbie and good luck with your studies.

Cat