Jazz? Blues??

[arturocivit]

Hi there guys, quick question, I mostly play prog rock - prog metal rock and stuff like that, but a friend of mine asked me to start a Blues/Jazz band and I have to say, kinda' excited with that, but the question is, what do you guys recommend to use in terms of pedals, right now I use a metal muff for distorted tones, sometimes with a Number 1 Echo for leads, and a micro chorus and a carbon copy for clean tones, everything equalized using a - really simple - knock out attack from EH, but I'm wondering to play blues and jazz, even old pop songs from the 70's what kind of pedals should I be using? Also, another thing that impact my tone is this, I use EMG active pups, - plan to buy a guitar for this new band - should I use something more traditional? change pots to something else with different caps?

Thanks so much guys!

Arturo

 

[2009LPGT]

Sounds like you got it covered, pretty much. You could probably make what you have work without much problem. I don't know much about active pups though.

Jazz and blues requires very little in terms of pedals. In fact, most of the greats used none. I would think a decent Les Paul with some PAF replicas or a tele and a nice tweed or blackface voiced amp with a good spring reverb and a tube screamer and you would be very well equipped. I would add your chorus and carbon copy for a little variety but certainly not necessary.

 

[AngryHatter]

OD and maybe some phase.

 

[mudfinger]

The gear is fine, just gotta set it all up and learn to use it in the new context.

 

[kboman]

It depends a lot on what kind of blues/jazz and what kind of amp you have. You really don't need much for those genres, guitar to amp should almost be sufficient really. Add a tuner and an OD and you're there (and maybe the delay for occasional variety).

Focus on a guitar you know well and an amp with the right EQ, the rest is in how you play it. Good luck! It's always good to broaden one's horizons

 

[Backstage]

No pedals, take a look at your guitar and amp.

 

[arturocivit]

To everybody, thanks so much, I think it is going to be a lot cheaper!!, I'm using all those pedals thru a Behringer Vtone GMX1200H and a 4x12 Line 6 cabinet, I think I should, maybe, buy something like a MXR 78 distortion and use the carbon copy, also I have a pair of SD SH4 and SH2 that I think might be handy for this, but overall, thanks so much to everybody who helped me with this question,

Best regards!

A.-

 

[5F6-A]

technique is all you need... almost anything will do guitarwise.

 

[st.bede]

This is a more difficult question then it appears on face value. It is more about you then it is about a particular tone.

There is one thing I have noticed. If you want a warm sound with a noticeable attack to the note but do not want to play a hollow body guitar, a tweed type amp with some HBs is better then a tweed amp with SCs, and that is better then a non-tweed amp with SCs. If you wanted to work in the middle of jazz/blues/rock a Gibson 335 can be a useful guitar.

I personal prefer Bill Lawrence (Wild) PUs over emgs if you want to stay with a similar feel.

I have found that a vintage type of HB is a great all around PU.

If you prefer a bit of jangle to help with note definition then TV Jones has a bunch of PUs that are cool.

After having said all that, in the long run what matters the most are the note choices you make and how you feel those notes.

 

[Kalz]

jazz = pure clean sound in the neck with my tone knob slightly rolled off... to about 8 and a reverb pedal. Depends on the jazz as well

If i played solely blues i would use my amp in overdrive but if it has to be pedals it would be a BD-2 a carbon copy.

 

[Samantha]

All I play is blues and some rock.

I prefer my 335 and casino strat and sometimes tele for blues.
335 is setup with SD antiquities and a kit from jonsey
Casino has stock USA p90s, upgraded pots and .08uf Bb caps.
Start is wired how I like it with some old single coils I found in my parts boxes and a .47uf? Ceramic disc cap.
Tele is stock rewired with an old ceramic disc cap

Cap value and pickups are going to effect tone the most.

As for amps, I use an ac30/6 TB reissue with blue backs
94 fender twin amp
Jmc900 sl-x half stack on some little 4x10 Marshall cab, have no idea what speakers are in it.

That all does me quite well.

Next on the list is a 57 LP custom reissue, I miss my old custom.

 

[Thumpalumpacus]

I don't use effects for jazz, outside of a little chorus (very rarely), and a little reverb form the amp. A little reverb.

For blues, I rely on amp distortion. I don't know if your amp will produce good distortion on its own. You really need a wide sweet-spot on an amp for it to be good at blues. Outside of that a little chorus for ballads, and perhaps a wah.

Both genres sound best, to my ears, with a dry tone.

 

[Dr.Distortion]

Jazz to me is round and clean.... Maybe a touch of verb or delay. Blues some nice OD lots of sustain...

 

[toneguy86]

Sounds like you got it covered, pretty much. You could probably make what you have work without much problem. I don't know much about active pups though.

Jazz and blues requires very little in terms of pedals. In fact, most of the greats used none. I would think a decent Les Paul with some PAF replicas or a tele and a nice tweed or blackface voiced amp with a good spring reverb and a tube screamer and you would be very well equipped. I would add your chorus and carbon copy for a little variety but certainly not necessary.

I did stone blues gigs for years with just that kind of set up. I used a mix and match of blackface or silverface amps (mostly Pros or Vibrolux types) or an old Music Man with a tube screamer. Awesome sound. It was a sound I could get with just the amps but not for most venues I was playin. My TS was sorta the attenuator.

Reverb is always a nice touch too if you don't have it on your amp. Tremelo of some kind is essential as well as it was a sound used heavily by a lot of older blues cats. My board has a rotary speaker simulator instead these days, but the kinds of gigs I do has changed.