Archtop vs Gypsy

Macky

hello everyone,

wondering if anyone has any experience playing a gypsy guitar in an american jazz group? kind of conflicted in that i really want a gypsy guitar but am afraid it might be impractical playing non-gypsy styles of music. I know bireli uses an L5 when playing american jazz…but I can't afford an L5 and a gypsy guitar. any thoughts?

Michael Bauer

Why not? Django did it. At least you won't sound like every other jazz player on the planet, and that can only be a good thing.

Russell Letson

I don't know that I'd call myself a jazz player--swing rhythm is what I do a lot of the time. And I often use my Dunn Daphne for it. Also for fingerpicking and country, especially when we're playing through a PA. (Half our gigs are "acoustic," which means I don't plug in even though one of my partners does.) The Dunn, of course, is a bit more versatile than many Sel-Mac interpretations. On the other hand, I treated the Dell'Arte Sweet Chorus that preceded it pretty much the same way. Unless you absolutely want that archtop chop, a Sel-Mac can work fine. (And you don't need an actual L5 to get that orchestral-archtop sound. My Eastman gives my '46 Epiphone a run for its money, and even my Loar has more of the right stuff than you'd think for under a grand.)

BluesBop Harry

It can be tough to get heard over drums with a mic or an acoustic sounding pickup, not so much because of gain alone but because of the same frequencies being shared... I'd go for a magnetic pickup like an Stimer or similar and you should be just fine... It's not the usual sound but works.
With that said, for electric gigs I have an Epiphone Emperor II (Joe Pass) that's given me awesome service for several years of professional gigs, bought it used and paid around the same dough a new Stimer goes for... Look around your local classifieds for used Epis, Washburn, Ibanez, etc... There are some pretty good inexpensive archtops out there

Jon

I sometimes play my Favino with more "american swing" style groups (got a big one coming up in a couple of weeks - 800 swing dancers apparently!). I usually use a pickup (formerly Stimer, now Guzz), and change the way I articulate the rhythm quite a bit to fit in with the drummers - although I still play four-to-the-bar mostly, as the more open mainstream free comping doesn't sound at all as good as on an archtop to my ears. This usually works out ok - late Django was basically in this style. For anything more modern (mid 50s onwards) I think an archtop is much more appropriate though - with a smoother attack, and usually way better intonation for more complex chords.

There are plenty of serviceable cheap-ish archtops around though. No guitar will ever be able to really do all jobs. Sometimes you genuinely do need a few (just a few...). I've got a 175 that I use if things are going to get more mainstream or modern.

MarkA

I play rhythm with a swing quintet that includes bass, drums, trumpet, and alto sax/clarinet. I usually play an ALD LaBrune with an ischell pickup and Acoustic Image amp. I like the sound of it and have not had feedback problems. Before that I was using a couple of different Epiphone archtops with a Krivo humbucker, which also sounded good. I still use a '55 Epiphone Emperor at times with a mic, I like that sound a lot but it's trickier working with the mic. The gj style guitars have worked fine for me in this setting as a rhythm player, give it a shot and see what you think.

musicofanatic

I employ a "SelMac" type guitar with magnetic p.u. in a straight ahead setting. My guitar also sounds great for fingerstyle country blues. I consider it a fairly versatile guitar

Steveareno

I see a few guys playing SelMac style guitars around LA in old time, early jazz combos. Not GJ, more like pre- WW2 American, early swing and blues, sometimes with horns and piano (a lot of vocals). Funny thing is they play with bronze strings and don't seem very concerned about the whole GJ scene and traditional style of playing. I guess they just use these guitars because they seem to fit and they're pretty loud. I really don't care for the bronze string sound, but whatever floats your boat.
Swang on,

MattHenry

I have two nice GJ guitars that I love but as Harry mentioned above I find it challenging to amplify them. I'll always stick with GJ for my primary and favorite style, but if I was gigging with a swing band I'd likely end up using an archtop just to make amplification more straight-forward. A GJ guitar with a mag pickup would be the next best thing but I don't own a Peche/Stimer/Guzz yet so I can't speak to how much they enable a GJ guitar to cover the applications of an archtop.

Michael Bauer

Boze, once you put a magnetic pickup on anything, it stops being what it was and just becomes an electric guitar. I use a Krivo single coil through a Fender amp at gigs, and it sounds just fine. I tried to remain pure, I really did, but if you want to play them out, give up on the perfect amplification solution, because there isn't one. Amping a GJ guitar is no different than amplifying an acoustic arch top. If you like playing your gypsy guitars, get a ski mask, rob a liquor store, and use the money to get yourself a pickup. It won't sound like a gypsy guitar much anymore, but it will still sound good, and be very versatile.

Al Watsky

A GJ guitar with a mag pickup is very versatile .
You can do anything you like with a guitar.
Last night I used a electromag and a mic.
Sounds good.
In the studio I also use an electro mag and 2 mics.
Sounds good.
That being said.
Different tools for different jobs.
Its not a new concept.
You have to use your ears and decide which tool is best for the job.
If the gig is mine, I take the axe that suites me.
If its another leaders gig, he can choose the axe. It happens.
Sometimes for publicity a leader wants a "look".
Got a country band ?
Bring a Tele.
You rockin' ? Get a Strat or a Les Paul.
Jazz fashion statement, Super 400.
Use the right tool for the job.