You Don't Need a Jazz Guitar - Here's Why 

I do need a Jazz guitar....

The jazz guitar sounds way better to my ears

Any guitar is a ‘jazz guitar’ if you can actually play jazz

Are you serious? That comparison blew the Parker out of the window.

But I want a big fat beautiful old Gibson jazzer whether I need one or not!

Not sure if I totally agree here. Archtops (good ones like yours anyway) do sound markedly different acoustically and plugged in. If you want that Archtop sound for clean, Bepop era jazz, the Archtop does it best IMO. For modern jazz through pedals with a bit of gain, string bends and sustain, anything goes.

It's not about "need" it's about to have something that inspires you once you pick it up

I’m not the one who thinks jazz must be played on a jazz box exclusively, but that Parker just does not sound right imho… great playing though!

The jazz box here absolutely destroys the Parker Fly in achieving a decent jazz tone. I actually thought the Parker was using a piezo pickup at first because of the very extended high end. It didn't offer the same warm, round, and smooth tone that the Gibson did. Not even close.

If Julian Lage plays a Tele, nobody “needs” a Jazz guitar. That being said, that Jazz Box sounded AMAZING!

There's no comparison between the Gibson and the Parker

It's not the guitar, it's the guitarist I play jazz with my strat, telecaster, gibson 335 and prs custom, it doesn't matter

Some of the Finest use Telecaster like Ted Greene I myself have used a Yamaha Strat will a dual blade Bill Lawrence hummbucker in the Rythm. happy birthday!

It's for aesthetics. Like you say just put flat wounds on a normal electric. You might just raise eyebrows for the traditionalists.

You can play Jazz on a basic Squier Affinity Telecaster with a basic clean amp. It's the least demanding sound.

in my humble opinion,after 40 odd yrs of playing, guitars all sound pretty much alike (single c's sound alike as do HBs) it's the amp/amp settings, guitar knob settings and playing style that make it sound 'jazzy' or 'rocky' or 'country'

I didn't think I needed a jazz guitar. Now I do.

Your drum loops are usually great, but that brush is brutally fake sounding.

Ever since hearing the late, great Mick Goodrick play jazz through a shitty Hohner G3T with those awful stock pickups, I know it's the player, not the instrument.

The “Jazz Guitar” has got that jazz vibe and the sound, the Parker sounds ok but no vibe. Parker is ready to shred or play Pickle Ball with. Would Wes Montgomery or Joe Pass use just anything with flat wounds and come up with all the masterpieces, and yeah they used them live. Got to have that vibe.

The unguarded joy you displayed when your daughter spoke was beautiful.

This is honestly the first time i actually hear a distinct difference when you A/B both options. The jazz guitar still sounds distinct between the 2 even though you got it really close with the other guitar. I still plan to eventually get a Gretsch G5427TG because i love how it sounds.

Would like to see that single neck pickup Gibson used for alt rock, or jangly shoegaze ambient style music.

"I feedback (in love) too easily" -I guess.

This will save people a ton of money because typical true jazz guitars are very expensive.

jazz guitar is fuller.. fatter

this video proves I need a jazz guitar

Nice. And that is a beautiful Parker! I've never played one but I've often lusted for one. Seems like it would be ultra light. I prefer 1 7/8" nut widths, though.

Man, this ES165 Herb Ellis has just a killing sound ! So yes, not an obligation and you can play jazz on many guitars, but my gosh, i love this sound !!

The thickness and weight of the Gibson was so much better for the style while listening on a little Avantone mix cube in mono. I also have a 165 that doesn't get much action these days for basically the same reasons as you... from education thru to feedback! I love the 165 a lot though and will probably never get rid of it, even if I only pull it out once a month...

Try some flat wounds on a Telecaster with a hummbucker in the Rythm

I would assume a 24.75" scale would naturally give more jazzy tones than any 25.5" scale (if everything else was pretty similar). Am I wrong?

Absolutely love seeing other players use Parkers. Lovely stuff

This was a great comparison. Nicely done. Very thought provoking. Obviously. 😏

Good evening John, and Happy Birthday. I just wanted to thank you for the time gand dedication you put into the excellent content on your channel. Not easy these days especially with a young family. Keep up the great work and it’s all down hill after 35 you know 😂

I guess having to think up content everyday is hard.

why does everybody assume that you have play jazz on an archtop, have you never heard of rockabilly?

Les Paul is the ultimate jazz guitar

So interesting, it’s been a really long while since I’ve even tried a “jazz guitar” but I do have several I wouldn’t mind putting flat wounds on and giving this a go. One maybe bizarre question here for you John. What else can you do with flat wounds besides Jazz? If you went and changed up I dunno a gretsch or another guitar, have you known anybody to call for flats to do something I dunno experimental ?

hey JC is this your other channel ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-Yui0cd2oF6U.htmlsi=sv9gioZk_P-uO4yE is this you ?

.......all my jazz guitar heroes played the big box guitars.....Wes...Grant...Barney....Charlie....George.....etc .etc....but Ed Bickert and others showed that a solid body guitar can get a warm sound as well

flat wounds just dont resonate as much as i want. pretty sure most of the modern guys you just mentioned play round

Hey John I always enjoy your videos, I wanted to comment on something you said on this one. You said the Gibsons ES-175 and 165 are difficult to gig on, but if I remember correctly, that was Pat Metheny's preferred guitar (he's my favorite guy, if I had to pick one) to gig and record on for years, until he got together with Ibanez and came up with the fantastic Ibanez PM-200. However I have to agree with you, I have a Jeff Beck Strat and a Tele Ultra and I can get some really good jazz tones, even without flat wounds. All I really need is my Fender DeLuxe amp and its reverb. Love that combo.

The nicest jazz guitar I've owned was not an expensive guitar - it was an old Samick archtop, hollow body guitar which sounded really lovely. However, I confess that I never even tried to gig with it - largely because I now suffer from tendonitis in my right shoulde, meaning that I have to have smaller body guitars which are also thinnner. So now my No. 1 choice of Jazz guitar would be the D'Angelico Mini DC Tour - but I'd put my own Seymour Seth Lover pickup in the neck position. I'd either use D'Addario Cromes or perhaps D'Darrio Half-Rounds. But I agree with John, other guitars can sound great for jazz as well - such as the Fender Jazzmaster, which ironically is seldom used by jazz guitarists. Or try the Les Paul Special - or a facsimile thereof - as in this video of an Edwards LP Special, and the tone is great for jazz - the P90 soapbar pickups are really sweet sounding: ru-vid.com?search_query=Edwards+Les+Paul+Special+P90+Jazz+Tone+kharchenko_guitar

The players you mentioned that - at the moment - do not use hollowbody/archtop guitars for their contemporary Jazz but if one's preference goes more toward the music of the 30's to Sixties then the vast majority of your recording guitarists were using just that, the traditional acoustic/electric archtop guitar. When the shape and feel of the instrument you have at hand does inspire you to practice and play jazz (oriented) music then all is good - it's the notes and the feel that make the difference to the listener. I myself have used my partscaster Tele (made in 1993) on countless jazz gigs , just as regularly as I've used any one of my archtops. No one "needs" a LesPaul for heavy rock (listen to Ted Nugent) just as no one "needs" an ES-175 for jazz (listen to Ted Greene and Lorne Lofsky).

Love your jazz guitar tone and playing. I have an 81 es175 I bought in 84 for 400 bucks. Check out the Joe Pass quartet album called Joy Spring, and another called Swing it Lightly.

I’m just an amateur player who plays out a bit. I own solid (strat), semi-hollow (Hagstrom), and hollow (Eastman), and IMO my inexpensive Eastman jazz box sounds much better for jazz and standards and such no matter which amp (I own several of those as well), settings, pedals etc. are employed. I can get a pretty good jazz sound from the semi-hollow but it’s not the same, in addition to the fact it’s a rather heavy guitar, which also annoys me (I may soon buy a smaller, lighter one). With fully hollow, feedback is real, but experienced jazz players know how to dial up and position amps to avoid it - I have a local guitar instructor who is a big time jazz player who has played hollow body guitars in very big spaces such as outdoor jazz festivals and with our symphony orchestra in a very big symphony hall. I know the skill is by far the most important factor in playing jazz stuff, but when even relatively simple playing gets one those beautiful, round jazz tones, it pleases the ears.

I only own a jazz guitar. I don't primarly play jazz. I think that in most cases, once you own one passable electric guitar (construction, playability...etc), there's no other style of electric that you actually need. That being said, I want many guitars and would likely enjoy most of them.

Guitar models are more like clothing. You can play any genre on any model (as long as you put in the right pickups), but in some cases you still need to look the part

Happy Birthday! Your playing was great!!! Not sure what it is, but those Flys do not sound good to me at all. Something about the sound - almost artificial (maybe a piezo?) - seemed to be in that tone. The 175 is waaaaaay better. God Bless!

Yes, big archtops are great for Jazz, but depends on the gigging volume. To limit feedback, you should avoid playing in front of your amp, try to play to one side or have the body of the guitar to the side of the amp. IMO, carved Archtops sound much better acoustically than any 175's or other laminates, but you can only play them at low volume, due to feedback.

You don't need a jazz guitar but what you definitively don't need is a piezzo pickup... not for a jazz tone at least, sounds horrible.

I've had my eye on a 50s ES-175 for a bit but ended up going with an ES-775, looks a lot like yours. It's essentially the LP Custom of the ES-175, ebony board, bigger cutaway, a little more overbuilt than the L4-CES. I like it, but a little big to play all the time. However, the PRS Hollowbody II is great. It gets 90% of the way to that jazz tone, much more than an ES-335. And it's super lightweight and stays in tune. Super pricey, but it's a "buy it once, be done" type of guitar.

Your absolutely right John. You don't have to have a Hollow Body Archtop to play Jazz. Their are many Semihollow Body and even Solid Body Guitars that can sound great for Jazz especially with the right Humbucker in the Neck Position and Flatwound or Semiround strings. Ted Greene, Ed Bickert, Mike Stern, Tim Lerch and Julian Lage all play/played Telecasters. Usually with a Humbucker in the neck position and Roundwound not Flatwound strings. If you think Flatwounds are too dull and Roundwounds too bright, then try Halfround strings. Thanks.

Is it just an optical illusion or does the bridge sit forward on the bass strings?

Oh and I gigged it with Lionel Hampton. I transitioned to using an 87 335 later to get more flexibility so you can play jazz and other genres.

He defeats himself from the start by naming "jazz guitar" in the vid title. Admitting there is such a thing gives him away. Some guitars are called "jazz guitar" for a reason.

TI Flats on a Tele work great. I gig with that or an Eastman semi-hollow. I have a '53 ES-175 that I play mostly at home and it is inspirational.

Glad I never considered a Parker. Played one and put it back. Incidentally does Ted Nugent play jazz on his arch top?

I don't like flies in the House.

um, no comparison - the ES165 wins - plus, the feel of the guitar and some fat flat wounds inspire more

The thing is about playing traditional jazz - hardly anyone knows or cares about those very old tunes.

It’s good in the arsenal. What I hate is where the strap peg is on a 335 style guitar it’s in your way on the back of the neck.

Definitely not sound the same , but with the music the differences are never always has huge as a lot of musicians seems to care , but I don’t have a problem with that . We love the detail

Ibanez GB10 is a great hollow body for gigging at higher volumes.

The Jazz guitar just sounds soooo much better (although you made an effort to make it sound similar)

The Fly gets away with it tonally. The archtop HAS that plummy sound.

I've got an Herb Ellis Gibson ES-175. Flat Wound Strings make all the difference to getting that Jazz tone. I tried Round Wound Strings on it - Had to get a Tune-O-Matic to properly intonate the Wound G-string. The Jazz "tone" immediately vanished. Many great Jazz players have used a Tele, and I think that's way more practical for Live/loud gigs to avoid feedback.

If you start playing jazz on the guitar you’ve already got, then it’s a “jazz guitar.”

You need one to find out that you don’t really need one. But then playing jazz standards on a big old archtop with flatwounds is such a blast…….

Izzy Stradlin has used es135 back in the day with GNR, might be nce to see how he did it.

But why the masking tape on the neck pickup? 🤔

The Parker sounded good, the Gibson sounded like a real jazz guitar.

”Jazz gigs are poorly paid” 😂 The best reason of all. 😂 Seriously?

Cause it's all in the amp and neck pickup.

Here's why: and he shows you exactly why you need a jazzz guitar

For me it's not just musicianship it's tone and melody. Jazz can be played on a banjo or ukulele but the archtop more than symbolizes jazz guitar but has that soft sweet tone that touches my soul.

A proper solid-state amp will solve your live feedback issue.

Great playing, fugly guitar……….es 175…

Are you trolling? That Gibson blew the Parker away.

Yasmin and Herb crying in ballad swing

why is there a rubber on the pickup of the jazz guitar ?

Telecasters and Les Pauls make amazing jazz guitars

Gotta steal "jazz adjacent"... 8-) -Tom

The jazz guitar sounds very much better to me.

If Jazz is a steak, that Parker was a butter knife.

I got an Aria for $500 and it plays so well and sounds good. Plus now that I have a “jazz” guitar people take me more serious even if I’m a decent rhythm player and not a lead improviser.

I used to gig my L4 and found if I set the amp with minimal bass it was less likely to feedback. And the biggest thing was putting the amp behind me on the left so my body essentially separates the guitar from the amp a bit. It helps but ultimately I got sick of it so now play a 335 type guitar or my AR520 which is like a mini 335 for when I need that tone

You don't Need one, but I like them. Lee Ritenour plays slide on an L5. Tom Johnston and Ted Nugent and so many others play(ed) rock and roll on Gibson Jazz boxes. Just givin' you the business. You can play any style on any guitar.

Pat metheny played his solid body roland guitar synth for years!

Think the solid guitar sounds extremely thin. My Tele is much better for jazz!

When I see Parker, l hit like 🎉

I miss my 175 so much.

What does "need" got to do with it?

I think one of the main things is maybe about the sustain of the note? Just done a quick, non-scientific test and a fretted note (DI'd into the DAW) on my Les Paul lasts for 11 seconds whereas the same note on my 175 lasts for 6 seconds. Also I have a feeling that the envelope/ASDR characteristics are different - that the hollow 175 has an an initial slightly percussive attack which decays quite quickly whereas the Les Paul has a smoother, slightly more compressed arc. I think this aspect might be even more pronounced with a P90 pickup? - mine has humbuckers. I think these factors might have an impact on how we play/approach a piece of music. Eg, to use a fairly extreme example, it's hard to imagine Bill Frisell would play in his signature style (long sustained notes & chords) with his 175 versus his telecaster? I think a lot of jazz players who use a solid body guitar probably in some way & to some extent use this sustain/different envelope aspect as part of their style to eg ring out chords? It could reasonably be argued that this sustain thing is much more of an aspect of the acoustic properties of the guitar - but then, I think quite often jazz guitar recordings mix in some of the acoustic sound, arguably to accentuate the percussive nature of the hollow body guitar?* Maybe the most famous example of this is Joe Pass's Virtuoso album - that technique (mixing the pickup and the mic'd guitar) seems to have been the aim but for some reason the pickup wasn't recorded - except on the 3rd track 'Here's that rainy day', which is the only one to have the blended sound. All the other tracks (apparently unintentionally) feature only the percussive, short decay sound of his acoustic instrument.

Happy Birthday!

Just a good neck pickup with the tone rolled off. I think there was once one of these made as a signature for a guy named Les Paul. But in the modern era, because you want zero hindrance, it's a PRS core or better with 58/15LT pups. To each his own. Concur, Lerch sounds incredible on a tele.

I bought an Ibanez AK45 and put 57 Gibson on it and made it a lovely jazz guitar. I started playing and learning jazz all the books etc recommended and eventually gave up as I do not have an ear for it nor was inspired, in fact the guitar spent a long time in the case and then was sold slight loss. I agree you do not need a jazz guitar, but I believe a nylon acoustic is also giving those sounds having watched Pat Methany.😊😅

Jazz aside, Steve Howe, per his autobiography, solved the Feedback problem straight away. You just back off the bass EQ. And I have to say, I have his signature ES 175, and the experience of playing that guitar is second to none. Clean or dirty, second to none for me

Beautiful.... p.s...all my electrics (my tele and strat even my. baritone ) have flat wounds. Love them ! Tim Lerch uses a Tele as a jazz artist...