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Hollowbody
Username: Hollowbody

Registered: 09-2005
Posted on Tuesday, September 20, 2005 - 4:15 pm:   

Hello outhere,

I'am brand new to this community and not a collector yet.
Meanwhile being a senior,as a kid I learned to play jazzchords from my father who was a jazz musician.
My first guitar was a ukelele and soon after progression I got my first non elecric hollowbody archtop (Hoefner)
Became a real hippie and went into Hendrix style much to dislike of my ol' father (lets call it a generation conflict)
After a lot of schoolbands, did not pick up the guitar for a very long time.
Always kept a Gibson ES335 '68 in the attic(and would not sell it ever) but real hollowbodies always attracted me.
The vintage Gibo's ES HoBo's are to my opinion far overpriced these days.
Reading about Ibanez HoBo's from the 70ties they should have even better quality than the Gibo's from those days?
I am very curious what you connaiseurs think is the ultimate vintage Ibanez for jazztone.
I'am not a pro musician doing live stage perfromances but playing at home on my "vintage" Roland Jazzchorus 120 ('78)

In the past weeks I managed to find a>
'77 H.Roberts 2453(with the oval soundhole)
sounds great but tends to feedback quite fast.
'77 2616CW Artist
Did not play it yet still has to be shipped from abroad

As you are the experts I would highly appreciate some advise in regards of what is the best choise Otherwise I will end up as a Ibanez Hobo collector.
It's the ultimate jazzsound I am looking for.

Thanx a lot

Hobo
Funkle
Username: Funkle

Registered: 12-2001
Posted on Tuesday, September 20, 2005 - 5:23 pm:   

What is the ultimate jazz sound?

The point of my rhetorical question is that there are many different jazz tones. Pat Metheny and John Scofield both sound amazing, but their tones are at opposite ends of the spectrum. And I've grown to believe that their tone is more in their fingers than their guitars. Anyway, what kind of sound do you like? Dark and electric? Acoustic and woody? bright and funky?

-Sven
Hollowbody
Username: Hollowbody

Registered: 09-2005
Posted on Tuesday, September 20, 2005 - 7:35 pm:   

Hello Sven

Thanks for your response

Yep you are right there is more than one jazztone

I am mainly playing chords
I am looking for the vintage warm woody mellow rolling jazztone (think of a Gibo ES175, L5 or even Super 400)

Streihgt through the amp without any electronic gadgets

I happen to be a great fan of both Scofield and Matheny.
Seen them a few times live on stage and have quite some CD's
Both are using quite some electronics to create their sound and both are playing on the best custom build guitars you cannot buy in a shop
I think its not only their fingers which make the sound, but the creativity on the neck is what makes these guitarists brilliant


So I am looking for the clean vintage jazzsound of an Ibanez hollowbody guitar without spending the money of a vintage Gibo


Hobo
Funkle
Username: Funkle

Registered: 12-2001
Posted on Tuesday, September 20, 2005 - 8:20 pm:   

"Both are using quite some electronics to create their sound and both are playing on the best custom build guitars you cannot buy in a shop"

Not entirely so. Metheny and Scofield both play off the shelf Ibanez Guitars. Scofield plays an '81 Ibanez AS200, which has been set up and maintained by the best luthiers. But it is pretty much stock. I just bought a very similar guitar - I just posted pics today. Metheny plays his Ibanez signature models, and challenges listeners to tell the difference from his vintage Gibson.

In light of that, maybe you could look at AS200, ES175 and L5 copies, Metheny and Benson signature models. I recommend doing keyword searches on these guitars. There it lots of good reading here.

-Sven
Jazzzbo
Username: Jazzzbo

Registered: 09-2005
Posted on Tuesday, September 20, 2005 - 9:59 pm:   

TRY 2355. for jazz and other things
my Ibanez 2355 is the es 175 copy, these guitars can be found on ebay between $800-$900 and i believe they are they best sounding and playing guitars in this price range, the next step up i think would be the L 5 or george benson types, onward are GIBBYS,
Johns
Username: Johns

Registered: 02-2001
Posted on Tuesday, September 20, 2005 - 10:36 pm:   

Hollowbody:

The answer to that question is "only you know the answer".

You really need to play as many of these guitars as possible, to find the one that fits you and has that specific sound that you hear in your head.

Ibanez has made so many jazz boxes, some were replicas of Gibsons, others have been more original and some have even been innovative to a more or less degree.

I can tell you what I know from playing some of the boxes. AF200: very easy to play, fairly loud, not a real complex sound. 2616: very good sound and quality of construction and materials, the neck profile is a little small for my hands. GB10: great guitar, very complex sound when amplified, could be the "ultimate" for me. GB12: brighter sound than the GB10; probably the most stunning looking guitar in my collection.

I don't consider the AS200 to be in the same "jazzbox" category as the others, simply because it's a semi-hollow. But there's no denying that it is an awesome guitar that straddles the boundary of jazz and blues.

That's my 2 cents.
Eastmongo
Username: Eastmongo

Registered: 03-2004
Posted on Wednesday, September 21, 2005 - 6:14 am:   

my picture\clipart.
saw sco at El rey theater Sep 20th Tuesday.
Hollowbody
Username: Hollowbody

Registered: 09-2005
Posted on Wednesday, September 21, 2005 - 2:32 pm:   

Hello All

Thanks a lot for the information

By the way Scofield is touring in Europe again within a couple of months and of course I will be there

It's not easy to play all Hollowbodys simply because I don't know much people who own them in my neigberhood.
Also when you buy one via Ebay or via the net you don't have the chance to hear the sound first.

I will start a search for a 2533 and/or the 2470/2471. Also might consider one of the GB's

Who can tell me in what period Ibanez build the best quality of these guitars?
What year of production should I look for? "lawsuit" "pre lawsuit" or "post lawsuit"? Or else?
As all guitar manufacturers (Fender and Gibson had) did have their good and less good periods in regards to quality.
I presume this is the case with vintage Ibanezzes as well?

If someone has one of the above types overcomplete in his collection and may be willing to sell it please let me know
I am not looking for an absolutely mint top of the bill.
Should be original though,but may have it's traces of being a 30 year old used player.

The Howard Roberts I bought recently has hardly any goldfinish left but is totally original and a very good player with a neck that fits my hans like a glove
I will send pictures as soon I have cleaned her up a bit.

Hobo
Bigmike
Username: Bigmike

Registered: 10-2002
Posted on Wednesday, September 21, 2005 - 4:35 pm:   

HB,

I have an '81 Ibanez GB10 and I have seen a lot of other guitars come and go since I got it. And I am sure I will get a lot of other guitars and then let them go, and the GB10 will still be here. Someone said it best the other day, "very complex sound when amplified"... I second that... Between it's own sound and your pick dynamics you can coax a lot of tones out of a GB10.
Funkle
Username: Funkle

Registered: 12-2001
Posted on Wednesday, September 21, 2005 - 6:20 pm:   

You could cover all the bases with a GB5, a GB10 and a GB30 :-)
Guitartim
Username: Guitartim

Registered: 04-2001
Posted on Thursday, September 22, 2005 - 10:48 am:   

Hobo~
I second (or third) the GB10 as a possible jazzbox for you to try. I've got a '79 and '97 and both sound incredible amplified. You asked about the best periods for Ibanez jazz guitars. The consistency over the years of the GB series is what amazes and impresses me. You might find one that has had a tough life, but unless it's been abused you'll find that Ibanez really built them well.

Also check out the Pat Matheney models. As stated before, they do the 'ES175' thing better than most other copies. If you really want to get close to jazz box nirvana, drop a high quality boutique PAF (Kent Armstrong, S.Duncan JB/Antiquity/Seth Lover, or Gibson Classic 57, etc.) into the Super 58 spot.

Lots of choices with any of the Ibanez 'AF' models too.

Do a search on GBase.com once in a while, and you may find a winner. Better yet, go to as many shops as you can to 'lay hands' on as many instruments possible.

Good hunting!
Funkle
Username: Funkle

Registered: 12-2001
Posted on Thursday, September 22, 2005 - 6:01 pm:   

Guitartim,

A seymour duncan JB in a jazzbox?!!

Just to add a counterpoint on the GB10, I found the one I tried to be on the bright side of the spectrum. This is not to say that I don't want to add one to my collection, but it could not muster what I consider to be the classic "dark" jazz tone. Big surprise: it did the Benson thing really well :-)

I agree with John's "only you know the answer". Very Zen.

Regarding the AS200. True it is semi-hollow. But I have been very surprised at the jazz tone. I've owned and played many lower end Korean AS models, and none of them have the tone of the AS200. The first thing I noticed is that it is very resonant for a semi. Unplugged, you can feel to sound coming off the top and out of the f-holes. Maybe all that Jive in the 81 catalog is for real. I think the neck PU produces very usable jazz tone. Then switch over to the bridge and add some overdrive, and damn if I wasn't Scofield! (minus the chops)

-Sven
Guitartim
Username: Guitartim

Registered: 04-2001
Posted on Thursday, September 22, 2005 - 7:39 pm:   

"A seymour duncan JB in a jazzbox?!!"

Sven, good eye. I meant that for the bridge p'up in a semi-hollow, not full hollow. Brain not fully engaged.

But ain't nothin' wrong with Super 58's!
Jazzzbo
Username: Jazzzbo

Registered: 09-2005
Posted on Thursday, September 22, 2005 - 8:35 pm:   

CLASSIC JAZZ TONE ES 175
I still believe the classic jazz guitar tone is the es 175 tone, the players that used that guitar back then, joe pass, jim hall, herb ellis? anyway, the gb 10 and the semi hollow types all thier place, if you can find a decent ibanez post law suit , you will be doing well, cheers
Hollowbody
Username: Hollowbody

Registered: 09-2005
Posted on Tuesday, September 27, 2005 - 7:07 pm:   

Who can tell me what the third pot on a HR 2453 actually does?

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