Jazz guitar recomendations

Hi,

I've joined my school big band where we play blues and jazz. I want a guitar for this, but I don't really know much about jazzey guitars. My price range is probably about $600 to $900 USD. Any suggestions for a guitar that would play well?

Thanks

i would look at epiphones liek the wildkat for the low end of youre range, especially the koa one nice dark brown and gold, there swingsters are also good and around 700 ish

another one is d'angelico they run 700+ but they have some crazy good jazz guitars especially if you are willing to splurge and spend a little more tan youre budget

thirdly look for used yamaha semi hollows theyre are some gems on reverb for 700 ish

Awesome thanks. Do you think that they would be able to play the blues stuff we do? Our most sort of rocky blues song is probably sweet home chicago https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m0zyuc_2UVg

CONGRATS! some of my best musical experiences were in higschol jazzband! You will elrn a lot if you put in the effort and ask lots of questions...

I found that for a band that does some blues/funk/fusion the best guitar for the jobw as a blocked thinline like a 335. A full solid body tends to offend the band leader while most fully hollow guitars will feedback and even the bluesier charts in a abg band don't have room for controlled feedback. You wanna be in a position to play on your neck pickup at half voume until its time for a solo and ten yo'll wanna switch to a full up bridge bucker or blend the 2 picups for more fo a wes mongomery sound. The 335 platform is ideal for this. In affordable current production 335 style jazz guitars look at Eastman first, they're imrepssive for a chinese product and have really jazzy kent armstrong humbuckers in them stock that will get you the right tone for big band stuff. In old guitars look at an old Yamaha SA series.

If you think you're just going to play rhtyhm you can get away with a fully hollow guitar. Guild's starfires were always good vntage bets being thin but hollow and jazzy as fuck and I ehar the korean reissues are okay. Any fully hollow yamaha is usually a winner, there's one with P90s that's a real winner, good for rock too, the guys from QoTSA like them. Stay away from recent Epis and Ibanezes (by recent I eman post-95ish). Also, get a really good clean amp. I aways used a fender princeton reverb or an old ampeg gemini for more volume... but you can't go wrong with a Roland jazz chorus, they make a small 2x10 now or you could get an old 70s Yamaha that looks like a fender twin, those will jazz it up and like the JC120 they will double as a new wave amp for jamming out to the cure and joy division when you wanna imrpess a goth girl. Do theys till have goth girls? I guess they must. I'll report back on the quilter micro45 when I get it in the mail. It cost 149 bucks, has 3 controls and is hosues in an mxr pedal enclosure. Demoes sounded great so I bought one. All solid state.

i would look at epiphones liek the wildkat for the low end of youre range, especially the koa one nice dark brown and gold, there swingsters are also good and around 700 ish

I wouldn't pay 7 dollars for an epi, chinese crapfest

another one is d'angelico they run 700+ but they have some crazy good jazz guitars especially if you are willing to splurge and spend a little more tan youre budget

my friend decided after a lfietime of flirting with ajzz tog et a jazz box and take some leassons, elarn to read etc.... he got a 700 dollar entry level d'angelico single-cut full size archtop and its a nice ass guitar but I still prefer the fully hollow yamahas for some reason. They are soemtimes a bit more than 700 though. I als WAY rpefer my Yamaha SA1000 for jazz. Very ajzzy 335 style guitar.

thirdly look for used yamaha semi hollows theyre are some gems on reverb for 700 ish

YES THIS

or try a greco SA500, its an old 70s mini-335, nasically a 339/336 ;-) But old and awesome. I flirted with getting one for a while and got a good deal on one with a stop abr recently. I might sell it on for 700 bucks and if I do I will sell it to the OP, okay?

both epis are geared for jazz and blues, the d'angelico would just depend on the model and yamaha's are all rounders

Wow you really don't like Chinese guitars Jim!!! So what I'm getting is For lead big band, a semi-hollow, with a good clean amp A few questions, could lower range Gretsch and Hofner be good, as I looked at their price and they seemed okay? Also a High end Squier or low end Fender Tele? It seems to be okay at Jazz and really good at blues?

Thanks for the help guys!

if you're going fender, then you're going a really high end strat probably, woth noisless pups. or aa jaguar, because low output.

gretsch makes a semi-affordable electromatic that's like a smaller es335 and they also make some kind of hollow lo-end duo jet if I recall, you'll have to look them up.... the 335ish one got very good reviews, but I don't have much experience with electromatics.... I think the models I am thinking of have TV jones fitlertrons of some type too. They will eb twandy for a lot of ajzz run wide open but good for stuff like the blues brothers style big band chicago rhythm andblues and soul.... aretha's hosue band at Fame studios for her most iconic records featured a white country player doing soul licks on a gretsch chet atkins into an ampeg gemini II, a twangy guitar into a classic 60s jazz amp with a 15" tot ame the top and it worked great for Respect and her other iconic tunes.

I think Jazz guitar I think thick hollowbody.... thins like 335's and the like just dont do it justice.

In having a quick look around, have you considered an Ibanez Artcore? The AF55; AF75 and AF95 all fit within your budget and they really look the part.

Sadly, I have not played one to recommend, but they sound delicious in reviews.

and they are! they are just too... ibanez-y

http://www.mooloolabamusic.com.au/ibanez-af55-tf-artcore-hollow-body-electric-guitar

This finish!!!! It looks like this guitar could tell a million stories.... all made up because it is brand new of course.. but it somehow LOOKS more jazzy.

I think Jazz guitar I think thick hollowbody.... thins like 335's and the like just dont do it justice.

but they aren't practical when you need to cut a big band and deliver searing, voerdriven blues licks when isntructed by the band leader.... trust me. Somehow Setzer makes his Chets work in his big band with fairly overdriven and loud bassmans, but he ahs a guitar tech or two and a live sound team doing mnitors and FOH.... my big band experience was that my guild hollowbodyw as killer as long as I was just chopping away at chords with the rest of teh rhythm section but when i ahd tos tep out it got tricky with feedback and when I had to deliver anything overdriven? forget it, HOOOOOOWWWLLL.... a semi solved the problem and also allowed me to cop the funk stuff better because I had one with coil taps. If your big band is not strictly traditional jazz music? Then emualte Larry Carlton and be Mr 335. It does everything well enough and has pretty controlled feedback for how hollow it sounds in practice.

the problem is that udner that thousand-year-old new finish there's an Ibanez artcore, arguably the worst line of hollowbodies in tis class. Don't do it! they ruined their jazz reputation when they started that line and it has actually GOTTEN WORSE! The 90s ones were better. knew lots of other highschoola nd college big band players who ahd these. Just stay clear. Awful guitars. Get a Yamaha.... actually the OP should go on google and search, there are whole websites devoted to entry elvel jazz boxes for school bg band guitarists scratching their heads as to what to buy to appease their band director. Seriously. So muche asier than when Iw as a kid just trading stuff around with anyone I knew who owned a guitar with some F-holes LOL.

You need to set a budget though. Is it 600 or 900? just decide if you can afford 900 bucks and then get the ebst 900 dolalr guitar you can find. Or stick to 600 or 700 and go with that. It will anrrow what you look at to put a tight price cllamp.

if I were in your shoes I would say 700 pre-shipping (you are not likely to find a good jazzbox at a good price in person, sorry, i live in a big city and you have t dig for student guitars that fit your criteria and theya re overpriced and lucky finds -- although i saw a few in DC/baltimore when i lvied there, but I digress -- you lvie in australia, so you will wanna go online, try reverb and ebay, on ebay look for japanese dealers, i can help you if you need)

I think if you say 700 without shipping it allows you wiggle room to talk to japanese and other overseas dealers who have expensive international shipping but are generally the keepers of many a fine gibson copy and lots of cool and unique new guitars from their country too that you will enver see in America unless they already belong to another player --- even in the USA where I have way more guitar access than you australians have (I live next to Ibanez USA, 2 horus form the martin plant for isntance and used to live 30 minutes from PRS HQ too, ic an walk into a company buy a factory 2nd if I make an appointment) I STILL LIKE TO GET STUFF FROM FOREIGN DEALERS, they have different stuff than we do. Europe and Japan have enat stuff all the time, don't count them out, just set aside a couple hundred for long distance shipping

haha New Zealand NOT Australia Jim!!! Thanks for the help, I have a pretty good idea about jazz guitars now! Heres what I've got so far (sorry theres lots, and some of them are 'chinese crapfest): Pre-95 335 Yamaha Semi-hollow http://dangelicoguitars.com/guitars/premier-series/premier-dc/#DAPDCSWHCTCB https://dangelicoguitars.com/guitars/premier-series/premier-exl-1/#DAPEXL1SBKCT http://www.epiphone.com/Products/Electrics/Archtop/Sheraton-II-PRO.aspx http://www.epiphone.com/Products/Archtop/Ltd-Ed-Wildkat-KOA.aspx http://www.epiphone.com/Products/Archtop/ES-339-PRO.aspx http://shop.fender.com/en/intl/0302000500.html#prefn1=refinement-body-shape&prefv1=Jazzmaster%7CJaguar&start=1 http://www.gretschguitars.com/gear/build/center-block/g2622-streamliner-center-block-with-v-stoptail-broadtron-pickups-walnut-stain http://www.gretschguitars.com/gear/build/center-block/g2655-streamliner-center-block-jr-with-v-stoptail-broadtron-pickups-torino-green http://www.gretschguitars.com/gear/build/center-block/g2622t-streamliner-center-block-with-bigsby-broadtron-pickups-flagstaff-sunset http://www.gretschguitars.com/gear/build/center-block/g2655t-streamliner-center-block-jr-with-bigsby-broadtron-pickups-black

Also with regards to pedals for jazz I'm thinking: Guitar-Tuner-Compressor?-Light drive/boost?-Chorus or Uni-vibe?(we are doing what a wonderful world)-Amp

Does that sound about right?

Thanks for all the help guys- I really love this website!!

I used to just use a wah wah in case I ahd to do soemthing modern and funky like fireshaker. otherwise jazz in a big band is just run straight in usually. Same with chicago blues, tehre were no pedals abck then, they turned up and controlled amp drive with guitar vplume.... doesn't hurt that you neeed to be really loud tos tep out and solo over a horn section. you're playing a wide enough variety of stuff that i don't have an amp recommendation for you. play what you like as ;long as it soudns clean and warm with your guitar volume turned down so those big chords voice without a bunch of overtones that will clash against the piano.

Speaking of which, tune off the piano with rest of teh rhythm section. Get close with your tuner but temper your tunign with the piano player trust me.

Yup cool thanks. Is the tuning off the piano so that if the piano is out of tune the n its okay?

teh pianois never out of tne or rarely... rocknroll type tuners are evenly divided tempered tuning which is not how pianos are tuned nor are horns... pay attention to your midrange.