Guitar talk, and easy guitar lessons from beginner to jazz with Birdsnake Brown
A lot of people have commented on how high I wear my guitar strap, but I just set it to the height where I can play everything easily.
When I was younger I wore my strap low because I thought it looked cool, but over time as I evolved as a guitarist I began raising my strap.
These days I set my strap so that my guitar is in the same place as when I play sitting down. I want to be able to reach the hard chords and play melodies easy on the lower frets.
I was sure that I needed and archtop, and I was right. It has been so inspiring to have a guitar with “the sound”.
I guess it’s sort of like when you want to play like Hendrix you get a Strat. Well, when you want to sound like jazz guitar, you get a jazz guitar.
I was really impressed with the quality. I did my research and everything pointed to these guitars being well made, good sounding archtops, but when you order a guitar without trying it at the store, it’s always a risk.
It came with a good setup. The frets were perfect which is always a concern. A lot of times when you get a new guitar it needs to have fretwork before it will play optimally, but with this Eastman archtop that was not the case. I did do some minor adjustments to get it exactly how I like it by adding a little bit of tension to the neck and lowering the action.
I went with the Eastman 503CE because it has the solid carved top, but laminate back and sides. I play quite a few gigs with a full volume drummer and electric bass player, so I wanted something that wouldn’t have feedback issues, so the laminate back and sides help with that.
Eastman AR503CE on amazon: https://amzn.to/3i8lTuf
My search for a Jazz III that sounds like an orange Tortex has ended. The Tortex Pitch Black Jazz IIIs are exactly what I was looking for.
There is something about the clicky sound of a medium pick against the strings of an acoustic guitar that I love, and the Pitch Black Jazz III picks get it just right.
In this video, I compare the Pitch Black to classic Jazz III, as well as the Dunlop Flex Jazz III. Out of all of them, I felt like the Pitch Black had more of the “jangly” acoustic guitar sound that I was listening for.
Pitch Black Jazz III 60mm: https://amzn.to/337WatZ
Dunlop Flex Jazz III: https://amzn.to/2NqjfRW
Classic Dunlop Jazz III Picks: https://amzn.to/339qjJk
Before I got my archtop I was convinced that I needed and archtop to get the jazz guitar voice that I have in my head. With a lot of gear and guitars, it’s more about wanting something than needing something. I was sure that an archtop was something that I needed.
It’s true that you can play jazz on just about any guitar, and there have been some great players that used a Telecaster and even a Stratocaster, but most of my favorite guitarists played an archtop.
After I made this video I did get an archtop guitar, and I can say with confidence that it does have the voice, it has been inspiring, and I did need an archtop.
The Fender Twin Reverb get’s a lot of criticism for being big, heavy, and loud, but if you want a fantastic clean tone at real gig volumes it is perfect.
I currently have two 70s Twin Reverbs. One is completely stock other than the electrolitic caps, and the other has been modified to the ab763 schematic. I love my Twin Reverb amps just as much as I love my Dumble clone.
For a while, I was on the hunt for a Deluxe Reverb, but when I would try them at gig volume they just couldn’t get the beautiful clean tone that I love. Smaller tube amps just always have some inherent crunch to the tone when you turn them up.
Someone commented on my video “Too Heavy? Too Loud? To Big? or just right…….”, and the answer is “just right”.
Fender ’65 Twin Reverb: https://amzn.to/31k0icr