Stringman Posted August 5, 2013 Posted August 5, 2013 Depends what you call "jazz". (IMHO) Larry Carleton and Lee Ritenour (I like both of these guys a LOT) both play 535's for that pop jazz sound. Ritenour switches off to a deeper, hollow body guitar when he's doing the Wes Montgomery thing, but in my limited opinion, a 535 (I've owned 2) will do quite nicely for more modern/pop/contemporary jazz. (BTW: I've seen Carleton switch to a Les Paul Gold Top quite a bit and a Strat for some songs.) It's in the fingers.
MartyGrass Posted August 6, 2013 Posted August 6, 2013 Quality jazz can come from almost any guitar. Bill Frisell - Telecaster Gabor Szabo - Gibson flattop Here's a Millie sounding good. So yes, the H535 can do jazz proud. It's about as versatile as it gets.
barrymclark Posted August 6, 2013 Posted August 6, 2013 A 535 can absolutely be a jazz guitar. Heard it wonderfully done.
tbonesullivan Posted August 6, 2013 Posted August 6, 2013 Yes it can. Though, many old school purists would only consider a full hollow archtop as being a proper "jazz box". It all depends on the sound you are looking for.
jazzam Posted August 6, 2013 Author Posted August 6, 2013 Thank you all for your input. I just have one more question. Would a 525 be a better option, and what are the basic differences between the two?
Billgelder Posted August 6, 2013 Posted August 6, 2013 Jay Wolfe help design the H525 and he is Primarily a Jazz player. You should call his at his shop. (561) 746-2209 He will be more then happy to answer all your questions. H525 Specifications 24 3/4” scaleNeck : 17 degree peghead pitch; one-piece mahogany neck joins the body at the 15th fret.Fingerboard : 20 fret dot rosewood fingerboard.Body : Single cutaway, Laminated cream bound curly maple top and back, hollow body with solid maple rim.Body Size :Rim Thickness – 1 5/8”Body Width – 16" with 2 1/4" rimBody Length - 20 1/4"Electronics : Two Lollar Dog-eared P-90 pickups.
Spectrum13 Posted August 6, 2013 Posted August 6, 2013 Rim thickness 1 5/8? Little thick to steam bend don't ya think?
SouthpawGuy Posted August 6, 2013 Posted August 6, 2013 Rim thickness 1 5/8? Little thick to steam bend don't ya think? My 575 has a rim thickness of 2 3/4". They seemed to be able to make it without breaking it
big bob Posted August 6, 2013 Posted August 6, 2013 Rim thickness 1 5/8? Little thick to steam bend don't ya think? rim thickness Refers to the height of the rim not how thick the wood is.
SouthpawGuy Posted August 6, 2013 Posted August 6, 2013 Found these clips on YT http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S3AyCdmEHMU The second clip is more cool jazz / fusion but it sounds really good.
barrymclark Posted August 7, 2013 Posted August 7, 2013 Thank you all for your input. I just have one more question. Would a 525 be a better option, and what are the basic differences between the two? What do you mean by 'better'? Not being coy. Honestly asking. What are your jazz goals? What kind of tone are you looking for? Are you playing with some volume or do you play fairly low volume? All kinds of questions to be answered. Otherwise, I'd say either of the two guitars you mentioned would work wonderfully. Our very own Matt Ingeneri performs jazz with a 525.
duaneallen Posted August 7, 2013 Posted August 7, 2013 Check out the music on this link. Its the music page on my website, and it features my 535 on all of the electric tracks. Its modern jazz, and the 535 works perfect for that. http://duaneallenmusic.com/Music_Tracks.html
jazzam Posted August 8, 2013 Author Posted August 8, 2013 Thank you all for your thoughts & suggestions. Guess I'll just have to get them both.....
tulk1 Posted August 8, 2013 Posted August 8, 2013 Thank you all for your thoughts & suggestions. Guess I'll just have to get them both..... Now there's the correct answer!
Guest HRB853370 Posted August 8, 2013 Posted August 8, 2013 Rim thickness 1 5/8? Little thick to steam bend don't ya think? Who said they use steam?
Guest HRB853370 Posted August 8, 2013 Posted August 8, 2013 Is a 535 considered to be a quality jazz box? I have a 535 and a 525. To me the 535 is not as woody sounding as a larger box such as the 525 or 550. But heck, you can play jazz on anything, even a uke!
Stringman Posted August 9, 2013 Posted August 9, 2013 There is a 525 on "The Bay" right now, but it's left handed. It looks great and would be a guitar to get interested in. Those single coils in a hollow body guitar really interest me. Wish I could get my hands on one to try! Also, I watched the attached clips and am amazed at how well some people play. Great vids guys.
HANGAR18 Posted August 9, 2013 Posted August 9, 2013 Is a 535 considered to be a quality jazz box? Absolutely. My sister's boyfriend accompained her while she was up from Florida to see me earlier this week. He is a music professor in one of the colleges in Florida and he is classicly trained in guitar and specializes in Jazz (to the best of my understanding). He really liked my VSB H150 Special but before he went back home, I wanted to make sure he tried the 535 I just got recently. We plugged it into the clean chanel of my VOX AC15 Custom and tweaked the tone settings on the amp and the guitar. Wow! It all sounded really good while he played! His enthusiam became quite visibly evident and said that the guitar sounded great and felt really good to play. He also remarked that if he had this guitar, he would play it every day and that the guitars he was accustomed to had a much thicker neck than this particular 535.
kidsmoke Posted August 9, 2013 Posted August 9, 2013 Thank you all for your thoughts & suggestions. Guess I'll just have to get them both..... There you go. Our job here is done
killerblues Posted August 17, 2013 Posted August 17, 2013 A 535 would be an excellent jazz guitar. String it up with a set of flatwounds w/ a wound G and you're good to go.
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