Dick Seacup Posted June 7, 2008 Posted June 7, 2008 Anyone here have experience with both? I have a Milly DC and am looking for something that will cop the cool jazz tones of, oh, Kenny Burrell, Tal Farlow, Johnny Smith, &c. Not that I can't get them with the Milly, but...you know. So, how does the Prospect stack up against the Milly DC? I know the body is shorter and wider on the Prospect and has a floating center block as opposed to being chambered like the Milly. But...any help/input? Should I just bite the bullet and get something fully hollow?
JohnCovach Posted June 7, 2008 Posted June 7, 2008 Half of getting the sound you want will be the strings you use. If you put some flatwounds on that Milly, and roll the pickup volume off to about 8, maybe roll of highs (but just a tad), you'll get plenty of jazz sweetness. If you don't want to go all the way to flats (or half-flats), even moving to D'Addario 11's will help.
Dick Seacup Posted June 7, 2008 Author Posted June 7, 2008 Half of getting the sound you want will be the strings you use. If you put some flatwounds on that Milly, and roll the pickup volume off to about 8, maybe roll of highs (but just a tad), you'll get plenty of jazz sweetness. If you don't want to go all the way to flats (or half-flats), even moving to D'Addario 11's will help. Playing through my little Tascam Portastudio 5, I can get a pretty decent jazz tone out of the Milly by rolling the neck volume down to 7-8 and the tone to about 4 (crazy, eh?). And I'm all about the flatwounds, although right now the Milly has roundwounds on her. But, and this is the kicker, John, if I go with twiddling knobs and changing strings, I won't be able to justify buying a guitar like this one: http://www.jtguitars.be/NEW/Heritage/pics/H575body.JPG[/img] ;D
Gitfiddler Posted June 7, 2008 Posted June 7, 2008 Mr. Seacup~ Your archtop GAS is SO obvious! Sure, slap a set of flatwounds on your Milly and roll the Vol/Tone pots back to your heart's content. But we ALL know what's going on here, my friend. That is a very sweet H-575. Please give us details when you can. 8)
SouthpawGuy Posted June 7, 2008 Posted June 7, 2008 I went the opposite route to Dick, I already had a 575 Custom with glorious jazz tones a plenty but I "convinced" myself that a Millennium was a sure fire way to improve on things. I can see the same symptoms in Mr Seacups train of thought. I'm afraid that in this case GAS is gonna win the day. ;D Just buy the guitar Dick and rid yourself of those terrible GAS devils > > >, it's the only way you're gonna get to sleep at night :angel:
111518 Posted June 7, 2008 Posted June 7, 2008 "But...any help/input? Should I just bite the bullet and get something fully hollow?" Dick: I've never owned, or even played, either of these guitars, but I recognize a fellow HOC members' call for cover, so... YES. YOU ABSOLUTELY NEED A FULL HOLLOWBODY. If you try to play jazz on anything else you will be distracted by thinking about whether or not your guitar is appropriate, rather than opening your mind to the free entry of the muse. It's not about guitar greed, it's about freeing your mind from concern about the suitability of the guitar you are playing ...artists must sacrifice for their art. I can prove that you need an archtop to play jazz with cold, hard facts: 1.) During the time that I did not own a full hollowbody guitar, I did not become a great jazz guitarist. 2.) Many of my students are interested in jazz, but not a single one has owned a full hollowbody ...and, you guessed it, not a single one has become a great jazz guitarist. That's my story, and I'm sticking to it. But seriously, archtop guitars do respond and feel different than other guitars. They breathe, move air, like horns do. They make fully developed acoustic sounds, they don't just color a signal. Sure, you can approximate the sound, but there's more to it than that. I think a carved guitar is a pinnacle of craftsmanship, just as jazz is a particularly challenging kind of music to pursue. They are made for each other.
Dick Seacup Posted June 7, 2008 Author Posted June 7, 2008 Is my GAS, that obvious?!?! LOL. My birthday is next weekend, and I keep telling Mrs. Seacup that I'm getting a new guitar for myself. So far she hasn't totally flipped out, so maybe it'll work. 8) To be honest, as much as I would love a big old jazz box, I'm more likely to get a 15x or 535-ish guitar next. The "Goldfinger" 150P that John is selling, believe it or not given my current GAS symptoms, is tempting. I keep wondering what the poplar body would sound like with these HRWs in it. The guitar I posted the picture of is in Belgium, so it's not likely that I'll buy buying that one. But, it is perhaps the very nicest 575 I have ever seen. You can check it out here. The top is just outrageous, don't you think? The thing that amazes me is it's just an everyday production guitar, but I'd put it up against some of the boutique jazzers I've seen just for the cool factor.
Kuz Posted June 8, 2008 Posted June 8, 2008 I hate to say it, but I have 2 archtops that have collected a lot of dust since getting my Cust 555 and my two 150s. If you are serious about jazz the archtops are a must for that tone (not that other guitars cn't be used for jazz ie Mike Stern and his Tele) but for the Kenny Burrell tone, it's got to be an archtop. Myself, I just love the blues toooo much! :wink:
Thundersteel Posted June 8, 2008 Posted June 8, 2008 That's probably the nicest top I've seen on an H575. The color is similar to the one I've got. H575 Full.jpg H575 Full.jpg_thumb
SouthpawGuy Posted June 8, 2008 Posted June 8, 2008 http://www.heritageownersclub.com/forums/i...pic,1175.0.html http://i259.photobucket.com/albums/hh303/Meltons2005/Heritage%20H-575/HeritageH-575003-1.jpg[/img] http://i259.photobucket.com/albums/hh303/Meltons2005/Heritage%20H-575/HeritageH-575004.jpg[/img] http://i259.photobucket.com/albums/hh303/Meltons2005/Heritage%20H-575/HeritageH-575002.jpg[/img] Not sure if this one is still available ... :angel:
Dick Seacup Posted June 8, 2008 Author Posted June 8, 2008 OK, enough with theporn! Nobody wants to talk about the Prospect? Let's change the subject before I do something my wife will regret, like buy shadowboxe's 575. GAH!
tulk1 Posted June 8, 2008 Posted June 8, 2008 About the Prospect: When I was looking for a smaller semi I was thinking big time about the Prospect. Even talked to Jay about the one he's had for a while. Never did get to play one, so I can't comment on that. But ... the big 'ol mickey mouse ears on that thing (c'mon, I'm not the only one that thinks that) really got me thinking about the aesthetics. I know I'm shallow about how my guitars look - it's a personal trait. :wink: But I'm not sure the ears are something I could live with ... so I passed. Yeah, I'm probably breaking some man-code by not feeding the GAS like we're supposed to, too. :undecided: Altho' I did notice you posted a pic of a 575 and then mentioned buying the 150P. Are you sure it's a Prospect you want? ;D
brentrocks Posted June 8, 2008 Posted June 8, 2008 there was a prospect w/ bigsby on ebay that looks nice, but i don't know if i would like it that well? is it a semi hollow, like the 535?
JohnCovach Posted June 8, 2008 Posted June 8, 2008 I'm not sure the Prospect gets you any closer to jazz tones than the Milly does. I'd go for a 575. Put some flats on it, keep the rosewood bridge. You can keep the Milly set up for rock with roundwound 10's. You can't have one guitar set up for both traditional jazz and rock, can you? Heck, I'd say you need about two or three of each, just to be safe. :wink:
Dick Seacup Posted June 8, 2008 Author Posted June 8, 2008 Heck, I'd say you need about two or three of each, just to be safe. :wink: Not helping. I'll probably just stick with the Milly, John. Heck, with the right settings, I can make the Hamer P90 Special sound pretty jazzy. Not that that is any fun. :undecided:
yoslate Posted June 8, 2008 Posted June 8, 2008 You can't have one guitar set up for both traditional jazz and rock, can you? Heck, I'd say you need about two or three of each, just to be safe. :wink: In the late sixties, didn't John Kay and Steppenwolf have a tune about this Covach guy...? >
big bob Posted June 8, 2008 Posted June 8, 2008 To answer the original question, haven't played a prospect But..... I haven't really played my millennium since I put the p-rails in the 575.. I can do the jazz sound, or the Nugent sound, or the surf sound, etc.etc. .Plus I have always liked the sound of the 575 acoustically...
yoslate Posted June 8, 2008 Posted June 8, 2008 Born to Be Wild? P.O.V is everything, isn't it, John?
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