jazzalicious Posted March 17, 2015 Posted March 17, 2015 Hi On the fence about getting an h555 Can't seem to try one in Montreal So Need your experience and insights... Can it get that quintessential dark, warm jazz tone? Most youtube clips highlight the bright punchiness which I like too, but anyone able to tweak their tone knobs and amp settings to fatten and darken it up? Thanks
Yooper Posted March 17, 2015 Posted March 17, 2015 I'm sure the 555 would sound very nice for jazz, as it would for just about anything. Still, semi-hallows can't quite measure up to full hollows if you want to sound like Wes.
jazzalicious Posted March 17, 2015 Author Posted March 17, 2015 Yeah but ed bickert sounds amazing with a rosewood board humbucker telecaster !! So Anyone who posts any clips answering my questions ...I'm indebted to you for eternity !!
Yooper Posted March 17, 2015 Posted March 17, 2015 Yeah, the great ones will make a "Hannah Montana" guitar sound really good.
Kuz Posted March 17, 2015 Posted March 17, 2015 Yeah, the great ones will make a "Hannah Montana" guitar sound really good. Excactly!!! Jimmy Bruno showed how by rolling the volume and tone knobs on a cheap Tele he could get very good jazz tones. I think the problem you are going to have Jazzalicious, is that any clips posted won't be be done with your strings, your pick, your amp, or your hands. Until you play a 555 yourself, you are never going to get the real answers you want. But if you have played a Gibson 335, then a 535 will be very very close to that tone, if not the same.
jazzalicious Posted March 17, 2015 Author Posted March 17, 2015 But a 555? I agree 400% about my amp picks etc But one can get a general idea if an amp and tone knob are manipulated a bit to go for more mid and less highs...
Gitfiddler Posted March 17, 2015 Posted March 17, 2015 Hi On the fence about getting an h555 Can't seem to try one in Montreal So Need your experience and insights... Can it get that quintessential dark, warm jazz tone? Most youtube clips highlight the bright punchiness which I like too, but anyone able to tweak their tone knobs and amp settings to fatten and darken it up? Thanks Yes. Do a YouTube search on Heritage jazz guitarist, Rodney Jones. He slings either a custom 555 or 535 and gets a great jazz tone. You won't get a FAT jazz tone exactly like a full hollow archtop, but with high gauge flat wounds (12's or 13's) and a proper set-up, you'll come close, especially in a live band situation.
jazzalicious Posted March 18, 2015 Author Posted March 18, 2015 Thanks Have listened to/seen these as well. But specifically wondering about a 555, not a 535 Know the 535 sound due to rosewood board is different . There's a nice few by this guy Just highlights more of a brighter tone than I prefer, so was wondering about rolling off tone etc...
High Flying Bird Posted March 18, 2015 Posted March 18, 2015 You can always get rid of brite but you can't get bright out of too dark.
TalismanRich Posted March 18, 2015 Posted March 18, 2015 Are you looking for the Jim Hall type of sound? A lot will depend on the amp you use. Plugged into my Marshall, there's no way I can seem to find a jazz tone, even with the 525. The Classic 30 gets closer, the Patriot can nail it, Plugging into my old National, it gets nice old school dark jazz easily. The 10 inch speaker doesn't have the heavy bass or the bright highs. Thats all with the 535, but the 555 won't be all that far off. The pickup will also change what you hear. My Schallers have a lot more "sparkle" than my Seths. If you really want that Wes Montgomery sound, you also have to throw your pick in the case. Technique is a BIG chunk of the sound.
jazzalicious Posted March 18, 2015 Author Posted March 18, 2015 I'm able to get tones I'm happy with with my 525 and 575 mahogany (which I might sell to afford the 555) I play either with my acoustic image Corus or Henriksen 112ER both great amps for jazz I just got an eastman t486 and it's great but find it too stiff so that's why I'm hunting for an h555. Just was worried about stiffness in playing because if I sell my 575 and am not happy feel wise with the 555....I'm out a 575
jazzalicious Posted March 18, 2015 Author Posted March 18, 2015 Not looking for Jim hall or Wes... Can do with my 525 and amps Looking for fat dark and punchy with sustain like Kurt Rosenwinkel
Gitfiddler Posted March 18, 2015 Posted March 18, 2015 Not looking for Jim hall or Wes... Can do with my 525 and amps Looking for fat dark and punchy with sustain like Kurt Rosenwinkel With your very specific requirements, you might benefit from a test drive before purchasing a 555. On another (guitar) note, I get the exact tone you describe from another semi-hollow...Comins GCS-1. Compared to my 555, the Comins can get very dark, smokey, fat and punchy. Another one to test drive.
jazzalicious Posted March 18, 2015 Author Posted March 18, 2015 Montreal is a dead zone gear wise... Besides gibson and fender, ibanez ....the usual stuff, there's no decent jazz guitars and amps. I actually started a business selling acoustic imAge, Henriksen, raezers edge, redstone audio (now closed) and eastman guitars because there's nothing. 3 universities with jazz programs and 3 pre university schools as well..... There's no test driving options here... I'll either have to take a chance and try selling my 575 or wait...
jazzalicious Posted March 18, 2015 Author Posted March 18, 2015 Was going to get a comjns gcs but don't want single cutaway...like complete upper fret access. Really enjoying that part of the eastman
Ghostbound Posted March 19, 2015 Posted March 19, 2015 I daresay the H555 can absolutely nail the tone you are after. I will try to post a sample of my own H555 after i get back from vacation.
Ghostbound Posted March 24, 2015 Posted March 24, 2015 I did a quick little recording to the best of my abilities. I am by no means an engineer so take that as you will. This is essentially the purest recorded tone I could muster; I utilized the neck pickup (seymour duncan '59) with the tone knob rolled down all the way, into the clean channel of my Hughes & Kettner Switchblade 50 combo. I used an SM57 into a Focusrite Saffire interface, into Garageband. No post-processing of any kind. I hope this will help. -Alec
jazzalicious Posted March 24, 2015 Author Posted March 24, 2015 thanks so much. sounds nice very dark and warm indeed!
Ghostbound Posted March 25, 2015 Posted March 25, 2015 Thank you! I hope this helps spur you on to purchase an H555. It is truly a lovely instrument. Just make sure to order it with a mahogany neck and to have it PLEK'ed. -Alec
jazzalicious Posted March 25, 2015 Author Posted March 25, 2015 There's 2 on the HOC and I hVe my eye on one The amber one Has mahogany neck Block inlays Gotta move my 575
koula901 Posted March 26, 2015 Posted March 26, 2015 by a fat jazz tone, do you mean like Wes Montgomery? then whatever equivalent Heritage makes to the Gib. L-5, and play with your thumb!
jazzalicious Posted March 26, 2015 Author Posted March 26, 2015 No I posted a video if you look in my post Kurt rosenwinkel Has a fat dark punchy tone... I have a 525 and 575 to go for straightahead... But a semi can do some of that too
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