Lesson #22: My Jazz Guitar Tone http://allegedartist.wordpress.com

6 Tips for getting a Jazz Guitar Tone 1) Turn off your effects, set all your EQ knobs to the middle, and set your amp to a clean channel (if you have one). Jazz guitar tone is usually very simple and clean. Players like John Scofield might play with distorted tones but most jazz groups will want a sound that blends into the mix better. You aren't playing a lead role like you might in a rock band, so get ready to back down your master volume too.

2) Set your guitar's controls.

The volume and tone controls on your guitar are there for a reason and it's not to be rolled all the way up all the time. Set your guitar volume around seven or eight (if you don't have marked knobs, just estimate) and set the tone around halfway. You'll be adjusting as you go but this is a good way to hear the basic sound of your guitar and amp.

3) Play your guitar a bit and listen. Play some lead lines and strum some chords. Is your tone too bright? Too distorted? Figure out what you want in a guitar tone and what you don't like about your current sound. 4) If you're too dirty, turn down the gain and low/bass frequencies. If your amp has a lot of headroom, you can get away with a higher gain setting but if your amp distorts quickly you'll need to turn that down. Depending on your speaker size, lower notes can make your speaker distort too. 5) If you sound too bright, roll down your guitar's tone and your amps high/treble frequencies. Don't go too low or you’ll be inaudible during solos. Try out different settings and see what works. Consider playing with your fingers if you're a fan of Wes Montgomery's tone. 6) If it sounds dull or weak, try adding a hint of reverb at the amp or with a pedal. You don't want to sound like a rockabilly player but a bit of reverb can give you a fuller tone and make you sound better in an acoustically dead room.

My Set-Up Jazz III Picks D’Addario XL .010-.46 Gauge

Lace Sensor Pick Ups

A Lace Sensor "Dually" is effectively a double-coil unit combining two Lace Sensor single-coil pickups in a Humbucker configuration. Both coils of the pickup are wired individually and left that way, so that the user may choose whether to wire them up as a Humbucker, or one of several other ways.

The humbucking Lace Sensors were used as a standard equipment material on the original Jeff Beck Stratocaster, the Telecaster Plus/Deluxe Plus and the Stratocaster Ultra, manufactured by Fender in the early '90s, as well on some Custom Shop models such as the Set Neck and Contemporary Stratocaster guitars.

Usually a Humbucker needs to comprise at least two coils with equal output, in order to produce the noise-cancelling effect. Lace Sensors are able to use mismatched coils because as single-coil pickups they are low in noise.

Standard American Stratocaster

* I made mistake in my first attempt at dating my guitar. A serial number inquiry revealed this:  

Guitar Info Your guitar was made at the Corona Plant (Fender), USA In the Year(s): 1997 - 1998 Fender: Corona Corona factory was opened in 1985, Corona California, with major guitar production starting in 1987. With the addition of a custom shop in 1987 the plant currently employs about 700 workers. Apart from general and Custom Shop Fender instruments and amplifiers, it also encompasses Guild acoustic & electric guitars.

Vintage Fender Twin Reverb

Twin Reverb Reissue

Roland Jazz Chorus

Vintage Polytone:

Sample Settings

Amp

Compression

EQ

Boss RV-3 Pedal