Happy New Year! 🙂 Hope you got into the new year well! Two Questions: 1 - Would you like more videos on tone, effects? (and what are you looking for) 2 - Do you think it is possible to get a Jazz Tone on a Strat`? Content: 0:00 Intro 0:47 Jazz-Tone what is that? 1:18 Ideas about Jazz and Guitar Tone in General 1:41 The different topics covered in the video 2:16 A Quick Overview of what you hear in the video 2:43 My '92 SRV strat 3:01 Pick Choices - The Sound of the different pickups 3:42 Why I prefer the Neck Pickup 4:17 Different combinations of Pick up and tone settings. 5:58 The most important part of the Guitar Tone 6:48 Picking Hand Position 8:14 Amp - Setup and AX8 - Signal Chain 10:25 Low FrequenciesThe Amp Bass Settings 11:27 Mid FrequenciesMid and Boost Settings 13:03 High FrequenciesTreble Settings 13:44 Fender Amps andtheir Mysterious EQ 15:23 Using Effects to geta Better Jazz Tone 15:40 Overdrive Pedal Trick 17:18 Overdrive Pedal #2 19:04 Compressor 20:39 EQ-Pedal 22:53 Like The Video? Check out My Patreon Page!
@@JensLarsen thank you, really glad you made this video(I only have strat). Looking forward for other tone, effects vids. From my experiance picking position around neck is a musthave. Regarding picks Dinlop Big Stubby 3.0 mm are good for soloing but don't last very long and not great for comping. I use Tortex 1.0 mm. They are pretty univeral. Also string gauge is worth mentioning. I think 12s are required minimum if you play single coil solid body.
Hi Jens, excellent video once again, and to answer your questions: 1) Would love more videos on tone/gear, etc. Personally I listen to more fusion than pure jazz so if you're experienced in that area, I would appreciate your opinion. The other thing that I would appreciate is some composition lessons, which could be done in a few ways. One would be to have people submit music to you and you review them, another is to review some of your choices in jazz, and third (which is kind of related to two) is to review some of your own pieces; 2) Close enough for rock 'n' roll I guess. XD Tusind tak for din lektioner!
Some cultures do it here in the US. Actually many people in the South grew up during a time where a child COULDN'T address ANY adult without something before their first name.
I really appreciate you taking the time to explain this information to us. I hope you are being successful doing this, because it's a gift to the jazz guitar playing world!
This is the best solid body jazz video on TH-cam. Actual useful info. It would be great if you made a similar video on use of effects in modern jazz guitar, like e.g. delay.
Excellent information and details. I play a 1979 stratocaster using it for jazz standards. The tone is sparkling and rich, I like your idea of adding a touch of gain, which to my ears gives a pseudo Charlie Christian esque "fuzzy timbre" .
It’s bit a process to do , but my parts National Stratocaster, which was a gift , is a combination of Warmoth neck , Killer Components gold bridge, Sperzel tuners , bone nut , jumbo frets on a ebony fingerboard fat neck ala SRV . Pickups are custom rewound by Jim Rolph , great guy to talk to . We talked like we were old friends. Anyway two of the pickups were the original Fender types and one real Fender . I had them all rewound to 9.2 , somewhat like the Texas Specials , with reverse wound middle. Controls , here I customize them myself. After trying every kind of Stratocaster wiring configuration, I have the controls so that I can use all three pickups at once if I choose. Master volume detent potieometer , middle tone is a Dan Torres Super Mid Controls, passive . I changed the caps values to taste. Bottom control is a Fender TBX . The standard switch is wired for three positions control . Forward is neck alone, Rear is bridge alone , Middle is all three , and with the detent volume control I can blend the pickups and have tone anyway I like . The TBX control has a sweet pot that I can make in between dark and bright . I have those Fishman Fluence Stratocaster pickups, but they are for another partscaster . For my Warmoth Stratocaster I still have some Killer Compents , brand name look ‘‘em up . That’s gold hardware, pricey , and a reverse pick guard from Carvin , now Kiesel, that has that bridge pickup location with the treble goes toward the neck side giving more bass , less treble . And finally I will be replacing all the wiring with vintage cloth covering . That is a major project, but it will cleanup my somewhat ugly looking wiring under the hood and quiet things down. The cavity is shielded, along with some Dirk Wacker weights on the back of the pickups. Look him up . He writes for Premier Guitar magazine and has a website. Phew ! !
Great subject Jens! When I was in school in the 90s, everybody had a Strat so we definitely used those techniques in getting jazz tone. One of my classmates would also pick with the fatter corner of his pick to get a rounder sound.
Metheny does that too. Conversely, I'm only at ease with a Dunlop 1.14 mm (the purple pick) with one of the extremities sanded into a fine point. Works well with Gibson H (black) or even Dunlop jazz III (red) picks. Oddly enough the Stylus (remember that one?) didn't work for me at all.
@@JensLarsen I don't know if they still make them. www.styluspick.com/. I quickly realized it was not for me. If you dig deeply you risk catching the string beyond the cone shaped part, and simple strumming was as good as impossible. I think I gave it away.
its purely for practice and only for lead practice, not strumming. It trains you to not dig in too deep which, as you say, causes it to get trapped- thats the whole point! ( no pun intended). Its not for playing shows or to be used as a main pick. I found it very useful!@@hubertvancalenbergh9022
@@JensLarsen I've been considering some Les Paul type with P-90s, but I notice now that you can get a very similar tone from a Strat if you crank the mids and trim the "worst" high end :) And I love the ergonomy of the Strat.
What I did was route my own strat pickguard for 2 neck pickups. Then I install 2 neck pickups wired in series with a phase switch as the selector switch and a spin a split to control how much of the other pickup is active in series. This gives it a boost, boosts the low mids, and also retains the upper mid and high chime. It's possible to not use a tone at all with this method but you can use a tone with a small cap as well. It also gives you the option of choosing between 2 neck pickups. Great system, I recommend it if you like wiring and modding.
This is great. I have been using my Les Paul to start my journey while I decide on an ES type. Also, for compression - the key is to have one with a blend knob to keep dynamics while compressing some of the signal. Empress Compressor for me these days.
jens, really enjoyed this discussion, mainly because i'm studying how to be a better recording engineer in my home studio. everything you said ties right into recording. one other tip i find is to not only boost mid range on EQ but do a low pass filter which really decreases the lows nicely
I set my neck tone knob around 7.5/8. Anything beyond that, I lose definition. I take some highs off with the volume knob, in fact I usually set around 6-7. That gives me some head room for solos as well. If the sound is too thin, I use a keeley katana or really any FET boost to bring out the mids. My pick ups are also flush agains the pick guard. On a strat with low output pickups, I find the more magnetic field with 11s gives it a fuller “woody” tone. But I can get close to a “traditional” jazz tone with all the above. Nice channel!
I have been playing Jazz on a Strat for over 10-years. It is how you play that makes the difference. As for setting-up the guitar - we each have our own individual way. I think that going into great detail about amp settings and pickup settings is rather pointless if you are a player. More videos? Keep them shorter, less detailed and more concise. Apart from the lengthy and what I found boring set-up of equipment - I enjoyed this video. Thank you for making it.
Been playing Jazz on a Strat for a long time. I prefer it to the more typical "jazz guitars" like Gibsons, Ibbbys, Hofners. You can get the same warmth out of the neck pickup if you dial in the amp/guitar tone knobs right but you still get that extra clarity from the single coils.
I played sterile clean for a long time until I purchased a "Dumble-Like" effects pedal. I find using that pedal adding just a small amount of distortion (just barely detectable on a 1+5 "Power Chord") adds what seems like "life" to my tone. I enjoy it.
Neat trick I picked up from Scofield 20 years ago was the bridge pickup on his Ibanez through a Pro-Co Rat w/ the tone rolled off on the pedal. Barely crack open the distortion control for round horn-like tone. This works very well with the Fender Twin.
Followed up on this after getting your advice earlier today and I now feel I fully understand how to get the tone I want. The big thing for me is the EQ pedal as my Supro combo amp only has a tone knob rather than a full set of EQ settings. And I did have one lying around! Thank you again!
Thanks Jens! This looked like a fun video to make. To me the key is to know your gear and spend time experimenting with it. That way you can get the sound you want when you want it.
Just for anyone’s information whom is interested, that Texas Special was put stock in numerous fender strats, not just the SRV. It was put in a very similar American guitar called a lone star strat, and a custom shop guitar that was confusingly also called a Texas Special Strat. Now those pickups are in a Mexican version of the lone star strat, and sold al a carte.
Joyce Cooling has a great sound and she uses a Strat-style guitar. Her “major” modification is a piezo under the bridge for a more acoustic sound. She also doesn’t use a pick when playing.
Really interesting video. I'm using a Jazzmaster but a lot of the tips you've mentioned work on it as well, it's just that the tone pots tend to be more powerful so I usually leave mine on 3-4 for a jazzier sound.
Brilliant video. It’s so exciting to see new modern ideas for tone. I am so happy you discussed overdrive as it has been something I want to incorporate in my sound.
I remember when I ranted on an online forum about not being able to get a jazz sound on my strat(my only guitar at the time) the first answer I got was a link to SRV's Chitlins con Carne and a note to let go of the bridge pickup and get heavier strings and a compressor. Of course I was not able to replicate SRV's tone, much less his playing, by just doing that to my cheap off-brand strat, but it did give me something decent enough to practice with. Just some random memory that came to me when I saw the SRV strat you're using.
I think the clue is with the tone of the first section of SRVs ‘Lenny’, which is just delicious. He’s using jazz chords but with very Strat , non jazzy, tone. And, he’s not shy with the whammy! I just wish more jazzers would go in this direction, as the young ‘ neo ‘ players have. BTW, I noticed Birrelli playing a Strat recently also BTW, although I have archtop and semi , 335 style , guitars I seldom play anything but a Strat these days - for virtually everything.
Hey, Pete Hinkle uses Strats and Teles. Teles are an almost standard jazz guitar. Bill Frissel does some interesting stuff with the treble and phase pickups. It can slow down the phrasing of your jazz licks though. He does use a lot of compression. Maybe that helps. Thanks Jens
Hi Jens, I love your vids and have learnt so much from them, and liked your one on Jazz tone from different amps. Still, I must respectfully suggest that 90% of jazz tone comes from the player's hands (you actually nailed this in a way at 00.59ish). I had the joy of being in a workshop some years ago with Adrian Ingram, who turned up off the train with a telecaster in a gig bag, plugged straight into a Fender twin that was in the workshop room and without adjusting a thing immediately produced fabulous jazz tone on single lines and chord melodies. That evening he gigged with the same set-up in a guitar trio with guys playing a D'aquisto and a Bennedetto through polytone amps. Likewise, many of Pat Martino's iconic recordings were done on solid body guitars (most notably the Koontz) - fabulous tone. Finally, listening to your jazz amp vid, it is clear (to my ear, at least) that it's your touch and lines that make most of the difference, not the diddling with the settings. I should add that I now only play acoustic guitar and am very particular about the kind of tone I get when I'm plugged in, mainly because I need all the help I can get. My acoustic heroes and mentors seem to fall into two camps: those that are as picky as me, and those that don't care what guitar, what pa, etc. Oddly, it's the second group I end up listening to the most. Maybe there's a message there for me as a player. I do think finding your tone is the keystone to finding your musical personality, what a pity I'm just finding mine after 50 years of playing. Many thanks.
Lucky to find an ol Ibanez in a pawnshop years ago, the scale and neck were so useful for jazz chords, as far as feel went. Not the tone one might expect, but more the heart, the feel, being able to truly express.
I appreciate the video as it addresses my specific situation, which is how to get a nice full "jazzy" sound out of my strat. Thank you for the insights. I would be interested in your thoughts regarding string choice as well, I like the fuller sound of heavier strings but find they are harder to play, to bend, and to use hammeron-pulloff technique. Thanks!
Excellent Video. Searched for Jazz on a Strat and was happy that one of your Videos popped up. Exactly what i was looking for, since i have a bit of Strat Period now, as it seems :) Greast to hear what it sounds, when played by a Maestro :)
Your Strat gives a very nice `Jazztone`,but it is so much more!Fender did a good job!At least it is you that makes it!!Brain,Fingers,Hearing,Understanding.....6Strings are 6 strings......nice video!I´m flashed!T H X !!
Great video :) I was just wondering last night why so many jazz guitarists feel the need to get basically the same tone. I get that it works for comping, but I often find that it's very same-y (i.e. everyone sounds the same) and that a super mellow tone doesn't stand out in the mix when the guitarist is playing lead. Why fear the treble? Punch through that mix and play like you're playing a muscly electric! 🤟
Well, they don't sound the same at all, but they do sound like Jazz Guitarists. It's just like there is no huge difference between Meshuggah vs Periphery, MegaDeth vs Metallica, AC/DC vs Deep Purple. Unless that happens to be your genre, then they are worlds apart 🙂
Gear and tone videos are always cool Jens. I would like to see more of this. I'm going to try that mid boost trick with an OD pedal you suggested it sounded great. Thanks for another great video.
@@JensLarsen Hey Jens. Your video completely changed how I set up my amp and I really couldn't be happier. My previous EQ settings were way to Bass heavy. That got me a fat sound in the bed room but my band mates always complained about it. Now I've significantly lowered the Bass level and increased the mids it sounds so much better at bedroom levels and at full on heavy drummer levels. The mid boost from a pedal made my neck humbucker a little to bright for my taste in a jazz context but I see that trick working to cut through a mix during a solo or for other types of music where I may want a brighter sound. This video was so helpful thank you so much. Keep up the good work.
Before I got my hollow body, that's all I had to use was my Strat; worked pretty well. (But I still like a hollow or semi-hollow for jazz) Still use the Strat for some of the more funk or fusion oriented stuff!
In response to gauge, maybe special 11's or 12's, been a long time ago since I've used heavy semi , and semi flatwounds. Arthritic hands. best thing for bad hands is to keep playing, no matter what. With respect to you Jens.
Pat Martino for many years used a set starting with a 14! Looking at his website tonight, it seems that he's now upgraded to a 15. Not bad on the hands for a 74 year old, eh?
The neck pickup on a strat is really unique, i mean there is almost no limit. You can use this setting nearly in every Genre, and when it comes to jazz that is of course the best pickup setting! :D
Happy new year and thanks for your videos. I was always wandering whether or not that was a SRV. Pickguard is not engraved, but the left-handed tremolo gave it away :)
At my work (I’m a guitar teacher in Kungsbacka, Sweden at Kungsbacka Kulturskola) we always wanted a ”proper” Jazz guitar instead of all Fender Stratocasters that we got. A colleague and I converted it so the pickups were configured as two Humbuckers (the rear and the middle pickup for rock and the middle and the neck pick up for jazz sounds) I think Jeff Beck did this first, but I’m not sure. It is done by changing the polarity of the middle pickup (swithing the cables that connect it to the other pickups) I may show such a guitar on Facebook, when I get back to work.
Greetings Jens. Subscribed. Man that was cool. Good info. I like the Tube Screamer idea for the cuts. I like keeping my strat sound audible cause everyone knows what you're playing and a Strat is an ear change for people used to arch tops. Best Regards!
Great point about turning the tone down too low. A lot of people have that misconception about jazz tones, that the tone is completely gone. Listen to someone like Pat Metheny: no way his tone is turned down to 0! But neck pickup is a must. My favorite aspect of my Fender Strat is the 5 way pickup select: its a great aspect of Fenders. You can get even more tones out of a Jazzmaster
Thanks Stephen! Yes I think many people really turn down the tone a lot. I actually think Pat also has his tone pretty low? But I could be wrong of course
A little something I hope you can enjoy, Out of 3 brothers one passed, I'm now the oldest, and the only one that pursues jazz, my younger brother is the " Ronnie Douglas Blues Band" If you can Find him online, I hope you enjoy. Not to get into his business, just very proud of my brothers who play better than I, just makes me happy.
Thank you Jens! Was adviced to look here. Was about to buy an extra guitar. Guess I don't need it now. I also added some Gibson ES335 impulse response to some recording and it works very well to get closer to the archtop sound. I didn't know they made IR for electric guitar and not just acoustic instruments and cabs. Thanks again!
Hey there Jens. Happy New Year! On most guitars not modified otherwise, and for a variety of reasons, volume knob settings may drastically change tone... This is not obvious to most folks, especially some jazz folks, so I mention it here. Can save some tweaking on the AxeFx side to find the volume pot sweet spots. With thanks, my two cents. Best, Daniel
That's very true! The volume pot tends to work as much as a tone know as it does a volume. I don't use it like that too much on my Ibanez or the strat, but I do use that on the Yamaha and on the ES335.
I found this very useful - thanks. I enjoyed the recent video about your $400 guitar and the mods you made to it. I'd appreciate a whole video about replacement pickups if you haven't done that already. Cheers.
I spent a long time looking for the right metal string jazz guitar. I finally found a sound that I liked -- a big, heavy, clunky $550 Dean archtop (nice neck though). I don't play it much because it's too big and heavy. I wondered whether I had fallen in love with the sound of the guitar or with the thick 12 gauge strings. When the strings got old, I put them on a $100 really awful guitar -- sweetened it right up! It was the strings that I had fallen in love with. I wonder how many jazz people would discard all of their effects if they'd just stop using those tinny, small gauge strings. Small gauge is easier to play, but it sounds so irritatingly thin and needs compensating effects. When I practice, I rarely plug in. I wouldn't be able to tolerate the small gauge strings when unplugged.
@@JensLarsen I don't know. I like your sound. I want to buy a small, light, metal string guitar with a jazz sound. I usually practice with a small, light, nylon travel guitar, but it's not a cut-away. This is why I have special interest in this episode of yours. I was creeped-out when you played with only the bridge pickup (fingernails on a chalkboard). I'm thinking of buying a Strat; reversing the wires of the middle pickup like you stated to make it like a humbucker; and replacing the bridge pickup with a Roland GK-3 Divided Pickup.
@@JensLarsen Thank you. Yes, I'm planning to go to a guitar shop and try Teles with humbuckers, JazzMasters, etc. It's interesting for me to hear that you use 13s. I falsely assumed that 12s were the biggest. Possible ideas for future videos, but with no obligation for you: (1) fret varieties (2) fingerboard radius (3) tuning down a whole step [D G C F A D], or more, with large strings, for example, 13s, 14s. You've made so many videos that maybe you've already covered these topics. I'm trying to catch up to you! :-) All the best to you!
I think you can get 14s too :) Be adviced that a jazz master does not have humbuckers, they are single coils. I think those topics are too guitar specific for me, I just play the instrument, I don't actually know anything about guitars.
Happy new year as well Jens :) 1. As I told you before, a hundred of channels on YT are already talking about effects and that stuff, but I think that it'd be interesting analyzing some iconics tones in jazz world (e.g Kurt, Metheny, Allan, Jens haha) and see how they get their sound. 2. Everything is possible on a Strat haha Take care :)
Thanks Mila! I don't think the idea of analyzing peoples gear is going to be realistic. I simply don't know what people use and even if I did I could not reproduce that without spending tons of money on gear and even then not really getting it right :)
Man, i have an american standard and some solid state amp, try rolling the tone of the neck to 5 and the middle to 3 and then experiment from the middle tone and then over the neck one, and you got some sweet spot! love the video tho, nice nice sounds :)))
Really interesting this, thanks :) - I recently saw an interview with Michael Angelo Batio and he also talked about the importance of the MIDs and rolling off the Bass and backing off the treble.
Loving the video, Jens! I'd love to see and hear you discuss tuning your amp to the room you're performing in- this is an area i feel i lack confidence in
Tuning to the room is difficult to talk about, but that could make a good topic :) I do indeed keep my volume on full most of the time. I sometimes lower it a little as a subtle cut of high frequencies.
![Jocelyn Gould Talks Jazz Guitar Playing & Tone [Plus Benedetto & Two-Rock Tonal Bliss!]](/img/n.gif)
Happy New Year! 🙂 Hope you got into the new year well!
Two Questions:
1 - Would you like more videos on tone, effects? (and what are you looking for)
2 - Do you think it is possible to get a Jazz Tone on a Strat`?
Content:
0:00 Intro
0:47 Jazz-Tone what is that?
1:18 Ideas about Jazz and Guitar Tone in General
1:41 The different topics covered in the video
2:16 A Quick Overview of what you hear in the video
2:43 My '92 SRV strat
3:01 Pick Choices - The Sound of the different pickups
3:42 Why I prefer the Neck Pickup
4:17 Different combinations of Pick up and tone settings.
5:58 The most important part of the Guitar Tone
6:48 Picking Hand Position
8:14 Amp - Setup and AX8 - Signal Chain
10:25 Low FrequenciesThe Amp Bass Settings
11:27 Mid FrequenciesMid and Boost Settings
13:03 High FrequenciesTreble Settings
13:44 Fender Amps andtheir Mysterious EQ
15:23 Using Effects to geta Better Jazz Tone
15:40 Overdrive Pedal Trick
17:18 Overdrive Pedal #2
19:04 Compressor
20:39 EQ-Pedal
22:53 Like The Video? Check out My Patreon Page!
picks, along those lines, because few do, very personal thing.
Ok! Didn't think about that one :) That could be interesting!
@@JensLarsen thank you, really glad you made this video(I only have strat). Looking forward for other tone, effects vids.
From my experiance picking position around neck is a musthave. Regarding picks Dinlop Big Stubby 3.0 mm are good for soloing but don't last very long and not great for comping. I use Tortex 1.0 mm. They are pretty univeral.
Also string gauge is worth mentioning. I think 12s are required minimum if you play single coil solid body.
What gauge of strings do you think it sounds like I am using? 🙂
Hi Jens, excellent video once again, and to answer your questions: 1) Would love more videos on tone/gear, etc. Personally I listen to more fusion than pure jazz so if you're experienced in that area, I would appreciate your opinion. The other thing that I would appreciate is some composition lessons, which could be done in a few ways. One would be to have people submit music to you and you review them, another is to review some of your choices in jazz, and third (which is kind of related to two) is to review some of your own pieces; 2) Close enough for rock 'n' roll I guess. XD
Tusind tak for din lektioner!
In my country, even for non-family members, when use Uncle or Aunty before a name, it is a sign of respect. Thank you Uncle Jens.
Thanks Anwyll 🙂
Nice :) Definitely deserved!
Southeast asian?
Some cultures do it here in the US. Actually many people in the South grew up during a time where a child COULDN'T address ANY adult without something before their first name.
It’s that way here in Hawaii too!
Only have 1 thing to say... I LOVE JAZZING ON A STRAT 🎸🔥
Of course! :)
Yeah gtfo with this Tele everywhere business.
i read that "A" in JAZZING a little wrong..
That strat on the neck pick up sounds just as jazzy as anything else when played and set properly. Thanks for showing us where to start.
You're very welcome! I am glad you like it! 🙂
That Cmin11 at 5:37 takes me straight to Easy Living - George Benson
I really appreciate you taking the time to explain this information to us. I hope you are being successful doing this, because it's a gift to the jazz guitar playing world!
Glad it is useful! :)
This is the best solid body jazz video on TH-cam. Actual useful info. It would be great if you made a similar video on use of effects in modern jazz guitar, like e.g. delay.
Excellent information and details. I play a 1979 stratocaster using it for jazz standards. The tone is sparkling and rich, I like your idea of adding a touch of gain, which to my ears gives a pseudo Charlie Christian esque "fuzzy timbre" .
Glad you found it useful! 🙂
As somebody who owns a stray (copy) and is just exploring jazz this is really helpful and encouraging. Thank you.
Glad to hear it Martin! See you in the course 🙂
Thanks Jens! I can defer an archtop purchase for a little while with these tips and tricks...
Glad it was helpful! I really appreciate that you want to support the channel 🙏
Yes Sir, Always thought a Martin acoustic would make a nice jazz box, but learned from a late brother, it's the hands, and soul,
It ain't the arrow...it's the Indian.
It’s bit a process to do , but my parts National Stratocaster, which was a gift , is a combination of Warmoth neck , Killer Components gold bridge, Sperzel tuners , bone nut , jumbo frets on a ebony fingerboard fat neck ala SRV . Pickups are custom rewound by Jim Rolph , great guy to talk to . We talked like we were old friends. Anyway two of the pickups were the original Fender types and one real Fender . I had them all rewound to 9.2 , somewhat like the Texas Specials , with reverse wound middle. Controls , here I customize them myself. After trying every kind of Stratocaster wiring configuration, I have the controls so that I can use all three pickups at once if I choose. Master volume detent potieometer , middle tone is a Dan Torres Super Mid Controls, passive . I changed the caps values to taste. Bottom control is a Fender TBX . The standard switch is wired for three positions control . Forward is neck alone, Rear is bridge alone , Middle is all three , and with the detent volume control I can blend the pickups and have tone anyway I like . The TBX control has a sweet pot that I can make in between dark and bright .
I have those Fishman Fluence Stratocaster pickups, but they are for another partscaster . For my Warmoth Stratocaster I still have some Killer Compents , brand name look ‘‘em up . That’s gold hardware, pricey , and a reverse pick guard from Carvin , now Kiesel, that has that bridge pickup location with the treble goes toward the neck side
giving more bass , less treble . And finally I will be replacing all the wiring with vintage cloth covering . That is a major project, but it will cleanup my somewhat ugly looking wiring under the hood and quiet things down. The cavity is shielded, along with some Dirk Wacker weights on the back of the pickups. Look him up . He writes for Premier Guitar magazine and has a website. Phew ! !
Great subject Jens! When I was in school in the 90s, everybody had a Strat so we definitely used those techniques in getting jazz tone. One of my classmates would also pick with the fatter corner of his pick to get a rounder sound.
Thanks RJ :) Yes that thing with using a rounder pick works too, my picks are already like that actually :)
Metheny does that too. Conversely, I'm only at ease with a Dunlop 1.14 mm (the purple pick) with one of the extremities sanded into a fine point. Works well with Gibson H (black) or even Dunlop jazz III (red) picks. Oddly enough the Stylus (remember that one?) didn't work for me at all.
What is Stylus? is that a sort of pick?
@@JensLarsen I don't know if they still make them. www.styluspick.com/. I quickly realized it was not for me. If you dig deeply you risk catching the string beyond the cone shaped part, and simple strumming was as good as impossible. I think I gave it away.
its purely for practice and only for lead practice, not strumming. It trains you to not dig in too deep which, as you say, causes it to get trapped- thats the whole point! ( no pun intended). Its not for playing shows or to be used as a main pick. I found it very useful!@@hubertvancalenbergh9022
I have no idea how I missed this the first time around, but I am glad you linked to it in your latest video
apparently i didn't 😂🤔🤷♂️
Hahaha! Glad you enjoyed it (again..)
Love the emphasis on the mids. That's where the core of the guitar tone is, after all.
Exactly! 🙂👍
@@JensLarsen I've been considering some Les Paul type with P-90s, but I notice now that you can get a very similar tone from a Strat if you crank the mids and trim the "worst" high end :) And I love the ergonomy of the Strat.
What I did was route my own strat pickguard for 2 neck pickups. Then I install 2 neck pickups wired in series with a phase switch as the selector switch and a spin a split to control how much of the other pickup is active in series. This gives it a boost, boosts the low mids, and also retains the upper mid and high chime. It's possible to not use a tone at all with this method but you can use a tone with a small cap as well. It also gives you the option of choosing between 2 neck pickups. Great system, I recommend it if you like wiring and modding.
This is great. I have been using my Les Paul to start my journey while I decide on an ES type. Also, for compression - the key is to have one with a blend knob to keep dynamics while compressing some of the signal. Empress Compressor for me these days.
Just watched this and applied the ideas with Amplitube - I think it worked pretty well! Thanks so much
Great to hear!
jens, really enjoyed this discussion, mainly because i'm studying how to be a better recording engineer in my home studio. everything you said ties right into recording. one other tip i find is to not only boost mid range on EQ but do a low pass filter which really decreases the lows nicely
So true! I cut low frequencies on guitar so often :)
I would love to see more tone videos. Your opinion is one I highly regard!
Thank you Seth! Are there other gear or tone videos you are looking for? 🙂
I like the versatility of a strat. You can do it all. I’ve always had a use for one.
Gibson SG 61 reissue + Markbass jazz amp. Perfectly fine jazz tone.
That's great! I have never really played either so I wouldn't know :D
you could give me that exact strat with the exact tone settings and I could make it sound like a kids ukelele
That is quite impressive :)
I set my neck tone knob around 7.5/8. Anything beyond that, I lose definition. I take some highs off with the volume knob, in fact I usually set around 6-7. That gives me some head room for solos as well. If the sound is too thin, I use a keeley katana or really any FET boost to bring out the mids. My pick ups are also flush agains the pick guard. On a strat with low output pickups, I find the more magnetic field with 11s gives it a fuller “woody” tone. But I can get close to a “traditional” jazz tone with all the above. Nice channel!
I have been playing Jazz on a Strat for over 10-years. It is how you play that makes the difference. As for setting-up the guitar - we each have our own individual way. I think that going into great detail about amp settings and pickup settings is rather pointless if you are a player. More videos? Keep them shorter, less detailed and more concise. Apart from the lengthy and what I found boring set-up of equipment - I enjoyed this video. Thank you for making it.
Been playing Jazz on a Strat for a long time. I prefer it to the more typical "jazz guitars" like Gibsons, Ibbbys, Hofners. You can get the same warmth out of the neck pickup if you dial in the amp/guitar tone knobs right but you still get that extra clarity from the single coils.
Fender Champion 100 has a jazz setting dial position. I'd imagine it also helps to get that sound.
got out my solid body and revisited this video. Also strings and picks make a big difference. Playing with fingers and thumb changes a lot.
I played sterile clean for a long time until I purchased a "Dumble-Like" effects pedal. I find using that pedal adding just a small amount of distortion (just barely detectable on a 1+5 "Power Chord") adds what seems like "life" to my tone. I enjoy it.
Which pedal?
Neat trick I picked up from Scofield 20 years ago was the bridge pickup on his Ibanez through a Pro-Co Rat w/ the tone rolled off on the pedal. Barely crack open the distortion control for round horn-like tone. This works very well with the Fender Twin.
Nice! I will give that a try :)
Jazz on a strat is always cool. The most ergonomic guitar ever. I play Strats exclusivly though marshall plexi amps and have a woderfull jazz tone.
Followed up on this after getting your advice earlier today and I now feel I fully understand how to get the tone I want. The big thing for me is the EQ pedal as my Supro combo amp only has a tone knob rather than a full set of EQ settings. And I did have one lying around! Thank you again!
Great Martin :) Glad it worked out!
YESS JENS! I personally only have a strat and I've been waiting for a video from you on this!!! Wonderful!
Great! Are there other gear or tone videos you are looking for? 🙂
@@JensLarsen Best Amps? Cheap Archtops? I could always use suggestions for an affordable jazz box😂😂
You can use any EQ section on a pedal or device to cut low end and add mid frequencies. Its about boosting the signal and add EQ.
Thanks Jens! This looked like a fun video to make. To me the key is to know your gear and spend time experimenting with it. That way you can get the sound you want when you want it.
Thanks Jume! It certainly was :)
Just for anyone’s information whom is interested, that Texas Special was put stock in numerous fender strats, not just the SRV. It was put in a very similar American guitar called a lone star strat, and a custom shop guitar that was confusingly also called a Texas Special Strat. Now those pickups are in a Mexican version of the lone star strat, and sold al a carte.
If you are ever in Canada, you will be most welcome, Thanks!
Joyce Cooling has a great sound and she uses a Strat-style guitar. Her “major” modification is a piezo under the bridge for a more acoustic sound. She also doesn’t use a pick when playing.
Really interesting video. I'm using a Jazzmaster but a lot of the tips you've mentioned work on it as well, it's just that the tone pots tend to be more powerful so I usually leave mine on 3-4 for a jazzier sound.
In my experience The Jazz Master is just a more extreme version of a strat so it makes sense you put the tone lower and get the same effect.
try to use the rhythm circuit if you're not!
Brilliant video. It’s so exciting to see new modern ideas for tone. I am so happy you discussed overdrive as it has been something I want to incorporate in my sound.
Glad it was helpful!
I remember when I ranted on an online forum about not being able to get a jazz sound on my strat(my only guitar at the time) the first answer I got was a link to SRV's Chitlins con Carne and a note to let go of the bridge pickup and get heavier strings and a compressor. Of course I was not able to replicate SRV's tone, much less his playing, by just doing that to my cheap off-brand strat, but it did give me something decent enough to practice with.
Just some random memory that came to me when I saw the SRV strat you're using.
Actually I don't think he used his strat on that tune? I think he used a jazz box :)
But I don't know for sure of course...
I think the clue is with the tone of the first section of SRVs ‘Lenny’, which is just delicious. He’s using jazz chords but with very Strat , non jazzy, tone. And, he’s not shy with the whammy! I just wish more jazzers would go in this direction, as the young ‘ neo ‘ players have. BTW, I noticed Birrelli playing a Strat recently also BTW, although I have archtop and semi , 335 style , guitars I seldom play anything but a Strat these days - for virtually everything.
Hi Jens. I'm sorry I gave you a hard time in a previous comment. You are a really good teacher.
No worries!
A really interesting video. Beautifully played throughout.
Thank you very much 🙂
Hey, Pete Hinkle uses Strats and Teles. Teles are an almost standard jazz guitar. Bill Frissel does some interesting stuff with the treble and phase pickups. It can slow down the phrasing of your jazz licks though. He does use a lot of compression. Maybe that helps. Thanks Jens
Bill Frisell does indeed use a tele, but I would not really say that he has a conventional jazz tone?
Hi Jens, I love your vids and have learnt so much from them, and liked your one on Jazz tone from different amps. Still, I must respectfully suggest that 90% of jazz tone comes from the player's hands (you actually nailed this in a way at 00.59ish). I had the joy of being in a workshop some years ago with Adrian Ingram, who turned up off the train with a telecaster in a gig bag, plugged straight into a Fender twin that was in the workshop room and without adjusting a thing immediately produced fabulous jazz tone on single lines and chord melodies. That evening he gigged with the same set-up in a guitar trio with guys playing a D'aquisto and a Bennedetto through polytone amps. Likewise, many of Pat Martino's iconic recordings were done on solid body guitars (most notably the Koontz) - fabulous tone. Finally, listening to your jazz amp vid, it is clear (to my ear, at least) that it's your touch and lines that make most of the difference, not the diddling with the settings.
I should add that I now only play acoustic guitar and am very particular about the kind of tone I get when I'm plugged in, mainly because I need all the help I can get. My acoustic heroes and mentors seem to fall into two camps: those that are as picky as me, and those that don't care what guitar, what pa, etc. Oddly, it's the second group I end up listening to the most. Maybe there's a message there for me as a player. I do think finding your tone is the keystone to finding your musical personality, what a pity I'm just finding mine after 50 years of playing.
Many thanks.
Wow you're monster with stratocaster so beautiful playing would love to see more of strat playing and lesson...😊😊
Thank you! 🙂 Glad you like it!
Lucky to find an ol Ibanez in a pawnshop years ago, the scale and neck were so useful for jazz chords, as far as feel went. Not the tone one might expect, but more the heart, the feel, being able to truly express.
As long as it works! A guitar is just a tool!
I appreciate the video as it addresses my specific situation, which is how to get a nice full "jazzy" sound out of my strat. Thank you for the insights. I would be interested in your thoughts regarding string choice as well, I like the fuller sound of heavier strings but find they are harder to play, to bend, and to use hammeron-pulloff technique. Thanks!
Glad it was helpful! I play 11s on the strat, and I have 13s on my other solidbody. I don't think there is a massive difference in sound.
Thank you, extremely helpful. And I agree that neck tone around 5 was fantastic. nice and mellow but still kinda straty.
Glad you like it 🙂
Excellent Video. Searched for Jazz on a Strat and was happy that one of your Videos popped up. Exactly what i was looking for, since i have a bit of Strat Period now, as it seems :) Greast to hear what it sounds, when played by a Maestro :)
Glædeligt nytår, tak for videoen!
Jamen velbekomme og i ligemåde!
This is a great video and explains so much. You explain things so well and simply. Thank you for sharing this with us.
Glad you like it 🙂
Mr Larsen Born to teach !
Thank you 🎸
Thank you
Your Strat gives a very nice `Jazztone`,but it is so much more!Fender did a good job!At least it is you that makes it!!Brain,Fingers,Hearing,Understanding.....6Strings are 6 strings......nice video!I´m flashed!T H X !!
Thank you! :)
Thanks for your advices, Jens ! I also noticed you can get a better and fuller jazz tone by using higher string gauge and a thick pick made of wood.
You are very welcome! I certainly agree that those two things help 🙂
Just take my like, dude. Awesome demos and explanations.
Thank you very much, Joao! Glad you liked the video!
Great video :) I was just wondering last night why so many jazz guitarists feel the need to get basically the same tone. I get that it works for comping, but I often find that it's very same-y (i.e. everyone sounds the same) and that a super mellow tone doesn't stand out in the mix when the guitarist is playing lead. Why fear the treble? Punch through that mix and play like you're playing a muscly electric! 🤟
Well, they don't sound the same at all, but they do sound like Jazz Guitarists.
It's just like there is no huge difference between Meshuggah vs Periphery, MegaDeth vs Metallica, AC/DC vs Deep Purple. Unless that happens to be your genre, then they are worlds apart 🙂
That Eternal Love overdrive thing in the AX8 is probably based on Lovepedal Eternity. Great video, thank you Sir!
Yes, that makes sense :) Glad you like the video!
@@JensLarsen love your channel, and your book! Check out the Eternity when you have a chance, it is an amazing pedal.
Gear and tone videos are always cool Jens. I would like to see more of this. I'm going to try that mid boost trick with an OD pedal you suggested it sounded great. Thanks for another great video.
Thanks Jed! Glad you like them! I am curious if you get the mid boost thing to work? 🙂
@@JensLarsen Hey Jens. Your video completely changed how I set up my amp and I really couldn't be happier. My previous EQ settings were way to Bass heavy. That got me a fat sound in the bed room but my band mates always complained about it. Now I've significantly lowered the Bass level and increased the mids it sounds so much better at bedroom levels and at full on heavy drummer levels. The mid boost from a pedal made my neck humbucker a little to bright for my taste in a jazz context but I see that trick working to cut through a mix during a solo or for other types of music where I may want a brighter sound. This video was so helpful thank you so much. Keep up the good work.
@@jedmarsillo That's really great Jed! It's true that low volume and high volume are two very different things when it comes to EQ :)
Before I got my hollow body, that's all I had to use was my Strat; worked pretty well. (But I still like a hollow or semi-hollow for jazz) Still use the Strat for some of the more funk or fusion oriented stuff!
THat's what I do too mostly.
Thank you for this awesome video! Many of your videos are invaluable and I hope you are being successful.
Thank you! Actually these videos are really getting a fantastic positive response!
Please keep making these types of videos! Great content!
Thank you Jake! I will try to do that :)
Super helpful, thank you !!
thanks for this very helpful
You're very welcome! I am glad you like it! 🙂
Thanks for interesting video! Happy new year, mr.Larsen, cheers!!!
Happy new year to you too! Glad you like the video! :)
In response to gauge, maybe special 11's or 12's, been a long time ago since I've used heavy semi , and semi flatwounds. Arthritic hands. best thing for bad hands is to keep playing, no matter what. With respect to you Jens.
Yes I am using 11s :) Great that you can keep playing just the same! 🙂
Pat Martino for many years used a set starting with a 14! Looking at his website tonight, it seems that he's now upgraded to a 15. Not bad on the hands for a 74 year old, eh?
The neck pickup on a strat is really unique, i mean there is almost no limit. You can use this setting nearly in every Genre, and when it comes to jazz that is of course the best pickup setting! :D
Very true 🙂
Thank you very much Jens... All your vídeos are very helpfull!! Happy new year!!!
Thank you! Happy New Year to you too!
Very informative Jens. I learned a lot about tone shaping from watching this video and thanks.
Regards,
David
Gig of Dodrv
Gig of Dodrv
Okay 👍🏽 I’m doing doing good 👍🏽 I got you 😉 I was going back and you doing good 👍🏽 but but that’s why what’s going hurt
Okay 👍🏽
Information on tone, amps and any effects that work well in the jazz idiom would be very great.
Thanks Ed! I will keep that in mind! 🙂
Hi Jens love your strat sound! I have a fender strat that looks exactly like yours and sounds like your neck pickup...nice sound..enjoy your post!
Awesome as usual Jens, waited too long for a video like this.
Thank you very much Lucas! Are there other gear or tone videos you are looking for? 🙂
Thks Jens Happy new Year!!!! All the best for you !
Likewise Andru! :)
Very nice sound with good definition yet warm. Happy New Year!
Thank you! You too!
Great, informative video. Thanks.
I have always admired that Gibson ES hanging on the wall.
There are two ES guitars on the wall but thanks 🙂
@@JensLarsen My bad, no insult meant to the 335. I just have a thing for L and ES model archtops. :)
@@timmartin8191 no worries! 🙂 I was just curious
Thank you for this great recipes. Very, very interesting! Happy new year! Playing a Fender Strat Hendrix version with Roland Street cube ex + pedals.
Thank you Pierre! Glad you like it!
Happy new year and thanks for your videos. I was always wandering whether or not that was a SRV. Pickguard is not engraved, but the left-handed tremolo gave it away :)
Indeed! An SRV strat :) My first "real" electric guitar 🙂
At my work (I’m a guitar teacher in Kungsbacka, Sweden at Kungsbacka Kulturskola) we always wanted a ”proper” Jazz guitar instead of all Fender Stratocasters that we got. A colleague and I converted it so the pickups were configured as two Humbuckers (the rear and the middle pickup for rock and the middle and the neck pick up for jazz sounds) I think Jeff Beck did this first, but I’m not sure.
It is done by changing the polarity of the middle pickup (swithing the cables that connect it to the other pickups)
I may show such a guitar on Facebook, when I get back to work.
That's interesting! I have heard about those types of wirings, but never tried any :)
@@JensLarsen How about specialized acoustic pickups mean't for solid and semi- hollow bodies, pursuing that type of thinking for a decade or two.
Never tried any of those. I take it you mean piezos and similar?
@@JensLarsen Yup, invisioned years ago, based on what was comfortable at the time.
Even though not every guitar is jazz instrument, the hands tell the tale, with a little help.
Greetings Jens. Subscribed. Man that was cool. Good info. I like the Tube Screamer idea for the cuts. I like keeping my strat sound audible cause everyone knows what you're playing and a Strat is an ear change for people used to arch tops. Best Regards!
really helpfull videos! i love ur tone settings here. im more into bernstein sound that have some acoustic sounds!
Great point about turning the tone down too low. A lot of people have that misconception about jazz tones, that the tone is completely gone. Listen to someone like Pat Metheny: no way his tone is turned down to 0! But neck pickup is a must. My favorite aspect of my Fender Strat is the 5 way pickup select: its a great aspect of Fenders. You can get even more tones out of a Jazzmaster
Thanks Stephen! Yes I think many people really turn down the tone a lot. I actually think Pat also has his tone pretty low? But I could be wrong of course
Quentin Warren got a nice jazz tone from a Strat. It's hard to travel abroad with a jazz box. Geo Benson used a Les Paul
It's all in the amp !
Brilliant thank you
A little something I hope you can enjoy, Out of 3 brothers one passed, I'm now the oldest, and the only one that pursues jazz, my younger brother is the " Ronnie Douglas Blues Band" If you can Find him online, I hope you enjoy. Not to get into his business, just very proud of my brothers who play better than I, just makes me happy.
Thank you Jens! Was adviced to look here. Was about to buy an extra guitar. Guess I don't need it now. I also added some Gibson ES335 impulse response to some recording and it works very well to get closer to the archtop sound. I didn't know they made IR for electric guitar and not just acoustic instruments and cabs. Thanks again!
Really useful - thank you.
thanks , today i use plugins almost, and i put switch at lowpass , i wish a happy new year .
Plugins have indeed become really great! My setup still has too much lag to use it when playing (but my PC is pretty cheap...)
what a great sound and like we all know its in the fingers great video
Hey there Jens. Happy New Year! On most guitars not modified otherwise, and for a variety of reasons, volume knob settings may drastically change tone... This is not obvious to most folks, especially some jazz folks, so I mention it here. Can save some tweaking on the AxeFx side to find the volume pot sweet spots. With thanks, my two cents. Best, Daniel
That's very true! The volume pot tends to work as much as a tone know as it does a volume. I don't use it like that too much on my Ibanez or the strat, but I do use that on the Yamaha and on the ES335.
Yesss, please more videos like this
Thanks! I will give try to come up with something :)
I found this very useful - thanks. I enjoyed the recent video about your $400 guitar and the mods you made to it. I'd appreciate a whole video about replacement pickups if you haven't done that already. Cheers.
Thank you! I am not really an expert on pickups or have a lot of experience with it, so I don't think I am the one to make that video 🙂
I spent a long time looking for the right metal string jazz guitar. I finally found a sound that I liked -- a big, heavy, clunky $550 Dean archtop (nice neck though). I don't play it much because it's too big and heavy. I wondered whether I had fallen in love with the sound of the guitar or with the thick 12 gauge strings. When the strings got old, I put them on a $100 really awful guitar -- sweetened it right up! It was the strings that I had fallen in love with. I wonder how many jazz people would discard all of their effects if they'd just stop using those tinny, small gauge strings. Small gauge is easier to play, but it sounds so irritatingly thin and needs compensating effects.
When I practice, I rarely plug in. I wouldn't be able to tolerate the small gauge strings when unplugged.
Well, what gauge strings do you think I use? Because most jazz guitarists use fairly heavy strings :)
@@JensLarsen I don't know. I like your sound. I want to buy a small, light, metal string guitar with a jazz sound. I usually practice with a small, light, nylon travel guitar, but it's not a cut-away. This is why I have special interest in this episode of yours. I was creeped-out when you played with only the bridge pickup (fingernails on a chalkboard). I'm thinking of buying a Strat; reversing the wires of the middle pickup like you stated to make it like a humbucker; and replacing the bridge pickup with a Roland GK-3 Divided Pickup.
@@fifthape2119 These are 11s and my Ibanez is with 13s :)
Why not just get a guitar with a humbucker, something like a tele?
@@JensLarsen Thank you. Yes, I'm planning to go to a guitar shop and try Teles with humbuckers, JazzMasters, etc. It's interesting for me to hear that you use 13s. I falsely assumed that 12s were the biggest.
Possible ideas for future videos, but with no obligation for you: (1) fret varieties (2) fingerboard radius (3) tuning down a whole step [D G C F A D], or more, with large strings, for example, 13s, 14s. You've made so many videos that maybe you've already covered these topics. I'm trying to catch up to you! :-) All the best to you!
I think you can get 14s too :)
Be adviced that a jazz master does not have humbuckers, they are single coils.
I think those topics are too guitar specific for me, I just play the instrument, I don't actually know anything about guitars.
Happy new year as well Jens :)
1. As I told you before, a hundred of channels on YT are already talking about effects and that stuff, but I think that it'd be interesting analyzing some iconics tones in jazz world (e.g Kurt, Metheny, Allan, Jens haha) and see how they get their sound.
2. Everything is possible on a Strat haha
Take care :)
Thanks Mila!
I don't think the idea of analyzing peoples gear is going to be realistic. I simply don't know what people use and even if I did I could not reproduce that without spending tons of money on gear and even then not really getting it right :)
Maybe Gypsy sound too lol
Man, i have an american standard and some solid state amp, try rolling the tone of the neck to 5 and the middle to 3 and then experiment from the middle tone and then over the neck one, and you got some sweet spot! love the video tho, nice nice sounds :)))
If it works for you then that is great! :)
I'm having trouble getting these tones with my Friedman half stack and B.C Rich warlock.
Just kidding. Happy New Year
Heavier strings and turn up the bass! :D
Really interesting this, thanks :) - I recently saw an interview with Michael Angelo Batio and he also talked about the importance of the MIDs and rolling off the Bass and backing off the treble.
Great! That is, I guess, always true for guitar even if we don't have anything near the same ideal for sound :D
SRV would be proud 👍🏼
Loving the video, Jens! I'd love to see and hear you discuss tuning your amp to the room you're performing in- this is an area i feel i lack confidence in
oh and do you tend to keep your guitar volume pot on full? i might've missed that in vid but seems you keep it on full. Same on your Ibanez?
Tuning to the room is difficult to talk about, but that could make a good topic :)
I do indeed keep my volume on full most of the time. I sometimes lower it a little as a subtle cut of high frequencies.