FUQ (eff -yu - cue) - FAQ's with an EDGE

Tagged As: Guitar Effects Setup

Question:
I'm looking to find out what Abercrombie uses to get his sound -- its nothing out of the ordinary, but i like it -- i'm new into playing the jazz guitar area, only been playing about a year -- i'm looking into upgrading my gear and am exploring sounds... any help or advice is welcome... how about solid body jazz guitars -- what's good?

Answer:
I've just picked up a TL Audio 2051 Mono Voice Valve Processor to base my clean sound on. It has a tube gain stage which used clean can be very bodyfull (?), a tube compressor which is extremely subtle (not like the BillFrisell-ifying TC Sustain+ box), and a very versatile but easy to use semi-parametric EQ. The box -- not really directed at gtr-players -- is also quite inexpensive but seems to be extrememly well made. I use it in conjunction with some chorusing and feed a stereo signal to a power amp to drive 2 12 EVs (though you'd perhaps be best advised to check out a more vintage sounding speaker). This piecewise approach has happened out of circumstance & budget but it works really well for me... also by staying piecewise you tend to make your own decisions about gear & sounds for the simple matter that you don't really have presets (like as provided by the current trend of all-in-one preamp/effects). As to guitars? I really like Abercrombie and John Stowell's sounds. Both, I believe, use Bartolini pickups in the neck position and get wonderfully bodyfull (?) but clear sounds that suit both plucked adventurous chords and legato solos. Bill Frissel's sound on, IMHO the year's most staggering jazz guitar performance, Kenny Wheeler's Angel Song (ECM) is simply lovely. There is too much special about this recording, the music, the players, the sounds, the aesthetic, etc. to talk about here but guitar-wise his throaty/warm/resonant Klein instrument's sounds are, yeah, beautiful. Chambered body with some archtop-like coupling of bridge to body (perhaps via ivory-equivalent saddle)... and I wonder what the pickups were. The gtr was recorded/treated with great subtlety...