I inherited my Grandpa’s 1960 Gretsch 6124 single anniversary guitar. He put a ton of psychedelic stickers on the case. The case handle broke and he made one out of an old leather belt. It is so cool.
I bought one less than a year ago off of Reverb for the same reasons. Man these Epiphone's are a sound beast! You found some good sounds off yours. Way to go.
I had no interest in them when I was young, but over the years became interested And at one point I bought one. I mostly play blues and rock on it. It does make you play a bit differently It has a different attack and decay than a solidbody And rhythm parts really can come alive on one.
That intro reminds me of old Mutemath when they would go into jams. Were you using any Darren King drum samples? Because I swear that snare and hi-hat bark sounds just like him
I'd love to see an in depth video of you making an intro track by yourself, especially some recommendations on laying down drums without drums or a drummer.
My dude, do you ever turn these intros into full fledged songs? They are amazing, and a different vibe from what you play with your band. What do you do with them?
I find it funny that guitar choice in different genres was mostly due to what the artist had access to or could afford. Then that style of guitar is the “right kind” for that genre for future generations. (Bringing a double neck SG to jazz jam night - from a Kieth Williams 5 Watt World story). 😂
I was thinking the same thing. I was also thinking how incredible some of those greats from the past would have sounded given the choices that are available now. People are always fawning over vintage guitars, but in large part, they sucked in many ways… including tone. Even this big box Epi (and I mean BIG) sounds kind of blah.
Jazz guitars feed back easier, are "wooly" in terms of tone and rock n roll guys like treble and cut. They just didn't appeal to rock and roll and electric blues guys as much. They're also not nearly as comfortable to play for extended periods on stage.
I mean that’s absolutely the case for punk, artists like the sex pistols used what they could get their hands on, and to this day, juniors and specials are integral touchstones for the genre.
Absolute truth - most if not all of my favourite players made use of what they had available, including in a more extreme example, part of an old fireplace for the Red Special, the rare case of a guitarist building their own from the ground up. Rarely do they ever covet pristine vintage remortgage your house type guitars; the closest I could find was Graham Coxon buying something from Vintage & Rare in London and remarking it was cheaper because it was badly refinished etc. Coveting gear can be fun, but not if it's at the expense of playing what you have. All those hours spent online gear hunting and not buying, are hours that could have been used to practice and get better sounds that way, from your fingers using better technique. I'm sure most players with access to the Internet have been down the GAS rabbit hole, and to be honest less really is more, the 5WW Keith maxim "the most music with the least gear".
These types of Guitars were popular for Rockabilly, similarly the recently deceased Duane Eddy Also if you've seen the film "Concert At Big Sur," everyone in CSNY were playing similar guitars.
Just what I was thinking. One could do a whole episode on guitars used in Rockabilly and by the incomparable Duane Eddy. And good catch on CSNY at Big Sur. Stills and Young are crushing it with their big Gretsch's. Same during Buffalo Springfield. And Ted Nugent still rocks hard with Gibson Byrdlands.
electrified archtop guitars were indeed "all [jazz guitarists] had access to," but they also partially exist because of jazz guitarists! big band music was getting popular and with bigger and bigger ensembles being put together, jazz guitarists started getting drowned out, especially when it came time for them to solo, so there was a growing demand for amplified guitars, met by companies like gibson who basically just slapped a pickup on the archtops the jazz players already used. plus it should be noted that part of why they're still considered jazz guitars is because jazz guitarists prefer the more subdued and "woody" tones you tend to get compared to a solid body as you mentioned, which is the same reason 1920s jazz guitarists preferred the archtop acoustics over flattops
As already noted, Killing Joke's sound was centred on a Gibbo ES295, and then there's The Cult with Billy Duffy playing a Gretch White Falcon. Surprised that these examples (and others) didn't get a mention, Rhet, as it would help better illustrate the broad range of usefulness that you were trying to explain! 🤷♂️ BTW, I have two Antoria "Jazz-Star" guitars (the 'poor-man's L5' made in the 1980s), I switched the pickups for Irongear "Rolling Mill" PAF-style pups (poor man's Seymour Duncans 😄), cut down and drilled the hardwood bridge to take a tuneomatic and put Grover tuners on. They are awesome guitars, and the pair of them together probably only owe me about a grand!
First player that came to my mind: Geordie Walker, guitarist for Killing Joke, who played a hollow Gibson ES-295. It wasn’t Jazz 😎 May he rest in peace 🙏🏼
1. Two minute intros rule. 2. Epiphone is really killing it lately. 3. If you don’t like Epiphones, D’Angelico make absolutely fantastic big body guitars. As a lefty, buying sight unseen is simply the way things will always be, and having been disappointed at 3 NAMM shows, because no one carries lefties at their booths, D’Angelico always have a wide selection of lefties to play at their NAMM booths! Fantastic guitars, if the Epi isn’t your thing, or if left handed models aren’t available 4. Great video, as always!!
Plus D'Angelicos are regularly blown out at near half price or even less. I picked up a Bedford SH recently for $479, little more than half its "normal" $899 price tag, and it's a fantastic guitar. Indonesian built, flawless finish and workmanship, sounds great with a wide range of all usable palettes and plays even better. I'm thinking now that my next may be a D'Angelico hollow body, as I have several semis but no true hollow body. (Well, one old Greco but it needs more work than I can do.)
🤘🏻😝 SURLY UNDERSERVED LEFTIES UNITE !!... 10% of the U.S. population is left handed... 1% of guitars produced are lefty . Fully half of Fenders total lineup, only comes Right handed.
@@kevinmackfurniture the thing that drove me nuts about NAMM shows was that the companies who produce left handed guitars, ESP, fender, Gibson, dean, Ibanez, etc., none of them bring lefties to their shows. I think it’s an esthetic choice- having all the pretty guitars going the same direction- but, man. Can’t try out amps, pedals, modelers, nothing. That’s why i loved the D’Angelico booth so much. They always had at least five different lefty versions of their models. I will say, in 2016, Fender really put in the effort; one strat, one tele. Ugh!!
Yes and due to his setup and rig and playing, it sounded awesome. He was right - semi-acoustics can be huge for heavier kinds of music. I believe any guitar can work for anything if you're resourceful enough as a player.
That is quite intriguing. I haven’t listened to that band in forever … like decades. So, obviously I will now spend a couple weeks obsessing, again, on a band I loved during my college days (finally past the Sundays and the follow up of trying to figure out where the heck they went … seriously, that band just disappeared completely).
I'm a luthier and I'm starting to see a pattern.......necks that are set deeper into the guitar body not height wise but length wise seem to sound better......im going to try something and see what happens
My design was a bolt on neck that was securely bolted to a center block. I think center block hollow bodies are probably the best sounding and most versatile.
Beautiful, Rhett. Some of my favorite archtop players who aren't specifically jazz: Eric Gale (with the band Stuff); Freddie Stone (with Sly & The Family Stone); and Leo Nocentelli (early recordings with the Meters).
Timely! I just bought a Gretsch and agree with all you said. These guitars are limited only by your imagination! Surprised you didn't even mention Scotty Moore, Chet Atkins, George Harrison, etc.
Things I learned about guitars: 1. The genre is defined by the equipment. 2. Equipment is not defined by the genre. 3. Genres are not a "tone." (e.g., there is no such thing as a blues "tone." "What Strat pickup should I get for a good blues tone? questions drive me crazy. SRV certainly left his mark.
Most forget that some of the most Iconic guitar parts were made on these types of instruments. Think about Izzy Stradlin with his ES-175 on AFD, Alex Liefson with his ES-335 in early Rush, even Steve Howe used his ES-5 SWITCHMASTER on Roundabout.
Steve Howe played an ES175 I think you will find - it was Frank Zappa who played an ES-5 Switchmaster until the gigs got too loud and feedback became a problem.
I have an Epiphone Zephyr Blues Deluxe. With the fully hollow construction and three dog ear P90s it is a very different beast than any other guitar I own. It’s acoustic resonance is halfway between my semi-hollow and acoustics. It’s action and playability is very much electric guitar style. When the strings are brand new and bright, it really has an acoustic guitar flavor. When the strings are dead, it has a wooly Jazzbox flavor. I think that more than with any other guitar, the string type and condition affect the sound of this guitar. I haven’t played my Epiphone Zephyr Blues Deluxe at all recently, but I’ve been meaning to. Your video is inspiring me to pull it out again. Great video promoting the flexibility of the hollowbody electric guitar, and a breath of fresh air in the RU-vid video world of solid body and semi hollow videos. Thank you. Ps: It would be great if you A/B demo/tonal comparison between the original and the current recreation, considering that the pickups have different construction??? Thank you.
Hooker did play a Zephyr sometimes, but he played his Epiphone Broadway much more. By the way, Rhett, your bass playing is getting better and better- you sound like a real bass-player now, as opposed to a guitarist who thinks he is a bass-player!
Being a collector since 1971, I am down-sizing my equipment. I am not so sure one needs any more than an acoustic and an electric. I do like jazz boxes, which are also Blues boxes and have had three for over thirty years. But I also do not play them often and fortunately did not mortgage my house on a L-5. My feeling these days is that one guitar is a luxury and more than one, more luxurious. Collecting guitars is clearly better than collecting guns, ( I have many friends into that). These days I am reducing having more stuff. More is not better it is simply more. I played with the Meters, they did not have much equipment, just talent.
I was lucky enough to inherit a 78 Ibanez FA-100 from my grandfather when he passed, love that guitar it’s by far my favorite instrument I own and play. I play a lot of rock, punk and folk on it and absolutely love it
The Decemberists were the band that got me into hollow body guitar originally. Shakey Graves brought a lot of new ideas to the instrument also when he was a one-man band.
And then there's the Motor City Madman who has been playing straight forward rock on a big archtop for what? 55 years? Steven Still's White Falcon? Steve Howe?
I was scrolling through the comments to see if anyone would mention Nugent. Him and Alex Lifeson are the reason I reach for semi hollow/hollow body guitars for heavy tones.
Before it got stolen, I used to own a late '50s Epiphone Windsor. It had one of those New Yorker pickups. And before I gave the pickup to Mark Knopfler, I took it apart to see what made it tick. I don't have DNA evidence but those ivory surrounds probably *were* ivory in the older unit. The one I took apart certainly showed indications of being organic matter and not simply molded plastic like humbucker pickup rings. And, speaking of humbuckers, those pickups may kinda sorta LOOK like mini humbuckers, but they are single coils. Don't let the row of adjustable screws on the older unit fool you. Look long and hard enough, and you realize there is absolutely no room for a 2nd coil under them. And you're right. The New Yorker pickups have much in common with gold foil pickups, in that the base plate is folded upwards along one edge and that's what the screws go into.
@@ChuckNicholsonTRM That may be why they don't have a row of adjustable screws. Moving them further away from the edge, in order to make room for that second coil, would have looked odd and (pardon the pun) "blown their cover". That said, as different as the New Yorker pickups were, when you have a guitar with that overall construction, the specific pickups only make a small contribution to any distinctive sound. I'm sure the mini-buckers sound just fine, even if they aren't historically accurate.
@@markhammer643I think the pickups can make the plugged in sound of an archtop drastically different. I’m not a fan of the original NY Tone Spectrum pickups, so I have no problem with the use of minihumbuckers.
When I see those giant Gibson Hollow body electrics, I immediately think of the big loud rock of Ted Nugent in the 1970s! I have my 1989 Gibson 335 dot for the same reasons, I know it's no Byrdland, Les Paul, but it's the biggest Gibson Hollow I could afford. I love it because it inspires loud rock as well as pretty acoustics through the amp. Hey Rhett Shull, these hollow bodies can feedback easily, maybe it's worth an episode of how to avoid feedback at high volume, and also perhaps how to sculpt feedback, à la sonic youth, etc.
Glad you demo'ed it with a fuzz pedal! Been hearing rockers jamming out on White Falcons, lots of noise, very musical feedback...just always sounds great.
Always thought I wanted an ES335... until I wrapped my hands around a Gretsch. 4 of them around the house now. I play almost 0 jazz on them and they absolutely scream. Been waiting for one of the large guitar voices on here to make this vide. THANK YOU!!!
I put phosphur bronze strings on mine 👍 warmer tone as the humbuckers only pick up the steel core on wound strings. Had mine over 20 + yrs now.. personally best of both worlds between acoustic & electric.. more versatile. Wouldn't have another solid body guitar. I have that exact style of guitar but mines an old Gould 355. Try it with Martin phospur bronze strings... i think you'll be pleasantly surprised 👍🤗
Used to own a Casino and need to re-buy it sometime. Such a great unplugged sound and the P90s are always great. Tom Petty talks in a documentary about how most of his sitting around playing and a lot of his studio playing was actually a Casino. I've never really wanted the big jazz box style, the Casino always felt like a better in-between.
I wanted to buy something like that years ago when I couldn't afford to. My guitar of choice was a Gretsch because of various people but mainly Duane Eddy. They were also one of the rockabilly guitars of choice as well as being jazz boxes. Anyway, one day I was feeling down so I walked from my office to Regent Sounds in Denmark Street (I chose them because the Rolling Stones recorded their first album there) meaning to play a guitar with no intention of buying it an picked up one of the Indonesian Gretsch hollow guitars with Broad'Tron pickups instead of Filter'Trons. Of course I fell in love with the sounds I could get without using pedals so I bought it. It is the best decision I ever made as far as guitars go. I also quit the job that was making me depressed so, win-win! Like you, every time I look at the thing I want to pick it up and play it and it is something that can be played without being amplified and which sounds good even unplugged.
I have a single pickup Howard Roberts with two tone controls .. it really has too much bass. It kinda scares me! Ha! It belonged to my grandfather who loved L-5s and the players that played them so I'm glad I saved it but I really have no business playing it.
Back in the early 80s these guitars were so out of fashion, you could find wonderful Gibsons at bargain prices. Unfortunately, I didn't. Jump ahead forty years and I bought an older Samick. It's a great addition to my guitar sound pallet. Thanks for showcasing this type of guitar!
Hi Rhett. As you ask, I have an Eastman AR380CE HB John Pisano, excellent jazz guitar, that I use for other kinds of music. It's excellent with fuzzy or distorted sounds and also for ambient.
Figured every guitar guy had at least one arch top hollow body. Usually neck humbucker with the tone rolled off for jazz. I'm not even a guitar guy and one of the few guitars I play is a Godin 5th Ave. Kingpin II CW (P90s). And yes, it's also my acoustic guitar.
Holy f...king s... Rhett! This thing is "FIRE"! What a track and opening to this feed. Wow! Where there is smoke there is fire my brother. This has it all dude.
People who chose an archtop in the 50s 60s or 70s, the Golden Age of jazz guitar, did not choose it because it's all they can afford or it's whatever was around. It's because of the sound. Wes Montgomery, Joe Pass, George Benson, Grant Green, Mundell Lowe, Kenny Burrell, Jim Hall, and Johnny Smith all could have had a strat or telecaster for way cheaper than an archtop. Jazz players choose the archtop because of it's sound, not because it is more cheap or more readily available.
Cool track Rhett. I bought a Gibson es175 with p 90’s with a bixby. It was right in this sweet spot. I got it back before I knew anything and it was sold to me as a es295. But turned out the seller lied. Still a cool guitar blues and rock and swing
Love the intro jam! I appreciate the historic notes woven into the video and the sound checks you run the equipment through. The recording of the Acoustic/Electric sound definitely brings a different level of engagement in the overall mood! 👏👏👏
Pete Townshend composed and recorded the Album Who's Next and parts of Quadrophenia on a 1959 Gretsch 6120 Chet Atkins hollow body. Yes Won't get fooled again was recorded using that Gretsch hollow body through a Fender bassman amp. Live of course he used a Gibson SG or an LP along with his customary 100 watt Hi-Watt amps. The Gretsch was given to him by Joe Walsh. The story goes that he initially hated the guitar because of it's orange color. He took it home let it sit for a while then took it out and plugged it in and started playing it and fell in love with it.
I just bought a Guild Manhattan 175B, from Sweetwater by the way. and I can't put it down. I've always wanted a big box guitar since I saw Scottie Moore playing one when I was a kid.
I built a few dozen basic solid body electrics from '08 to 12 or so. Recently I saw Sweetwater had several Guild models on clearance, including a hollow body with really nice binding, two things I never tried (I'm not that skilled). Also had a Bigsby and DynaSonic pickups, two other things I always really wanted on a guitar but never had. So between all these features and the $650 discount, I guess I felt justified buying it. I got a Starfire III Dynasonic for under $900, it had retailed at $1499. I have hardly touched any other guitars since.
I realize you cannot cover all of the greats, but Steve Howe deserves a mention. voted best guitarist for 5 consecutive years in the 70s by his peers, and still going strong. I have his signature ES 175SD, and it's amazing and powerful. Checkout South Side of the Sky off of the Fragile LP, where he is using an ES-5 Switchmaster with 3 pickups. Amazing tone! Thanks for the video.
Sister Rosetta, NOW that Woman Could Play some Geetar for sure!!! Epiphone has that new White 3 pickup model which they could have labeled the THARPE model for sure.
Nice guitar and I absolutely agree with your praise of the hollowbody - an Ibanez Artcore AF75 was my main guitar for 9 years. It was great fun to watch the odd looks and then play RATM's Killing In The Name Of with it.
Hollowbodies are a great - they can do not only jazz, but credible rock tones (and I don't just mean low gain rock tones). You just have to know how to handle the feedback. I say this from first hand experience. My main electric is a big old 17" wide bodied Gretsch Country Club, and believe me I don't use it for twang banging.
I REALLY wish you would play more stuff like this when you demo gear - I get it, the blues licks drive engagement, but seriously, is that anybody's average playing style that isn't in an old guy bar blues band? A bunch of high pentatonic bends and a Maj7 chord strummed slowly at the end tells me nothing about what a guitar/amp/pedal/whatever sounds like when it's playing an actual song. This in particular is a great application, that opening jam has a really cool unique tone that reminds me of a vintage danelectro, but a lot more open and woody. Jazz boxes and even semi-hollows seem like they're really out of fashion lately, but I get amazing fuzz/RAT-style distortion tones out of mine.
Nice to see hollow body guitars getting a little air time. So many to chose from. Don't forget the Godin 5th Ave Kingpin and Kingpin II. Kingpin P90s have a very unique sound and the Cherry body is truly beautiful. There are also a few variants.
I have the Epiphone John Lee Hooker Zephyr 100th anniversary. Very close to this one with mini humbuckers. Excellent guitar, nothing to complain at it.
Not really a jazz box, but I love my Gretsch 5410. Probably not as good acoustically as this and having filtertrons it’s got its own sound. But still something very different to the usual Les Paul or even a 335.
Definitely not helping the GAS Rhett! My wife isn’t gonna let me watch your channel if you keep showing awesome gear😅. But seriously cool idea about the “jazz box”!
Yeah, but those reasons are outweighed by how ugly they are, and the fact that there's a finite amount of space in my house and the guitar looks like it'll take up as much room as a Lazyboy recliner. I will admit, being able to mic the guitar itself and run it through the amp is a cool option. I haven't done it myself, but I've heard it done and it always sounds cool. Acoustically they remind me of a thin bodied Ovation Elite i owned back inl 🤔… Christ, 1995 or 96. 😮💨
Excellent video Rhett, if I didn't have the John Lee Hooker 100th anniversary model you would have convinced me to buy one of these models. 👍Great playing by the way.
I agree it looks pretty dang cool, but for such a massive instrument, it sounds pretty weak. Personally, I can’t imagine picking up this big, bulky wooden box instead of a Tele, Strat, or even a 335.
You already have a hollow-body guitar, unless you've recently gotten rid of your Casino. I'd be interested to know how different a thick jazzbox hollow-body really is from a thinner Casino style guitar. Obviously the pickups are different, but i bet you could get pretty close between the two.
A little late to the comment party. I dig your content, have for some time now, blah blah blah. That was really cool period, great playing and awesome information on jazz boxes that I have always believed in. That was fun, thanks Rhett. 👍🏻🤘❤️
Saw the thumbnail this morning and first thing in my mind was, "Oh lord, Rhett's gone all Ted Nugent on us". Happy to see you didn't go that far. Another good choice would be an Epiphone Joe Pass. They are great guitars that play in the same team as the Zephyr Regent.
