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Originally Posted by IndianaGeo
On a similar topic... what guitar is most recommended for jazz playing and why? I often see a Gibson ES335 used. Why are these (and others) preferred?
IG
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Depends on the sound you want. The classic "jazz guitar" was the big-body archtop, typical of the jazz sound from the 40s to the 60s - but that's only because - before pickups - archtops were the loudest kind of acoustic, capable of cutting through big bands (as rhythm instruments anyway). So when pickups were added, they'd be added to that type of guitar. From Charlie Christian's ES-150, other ES-models, up to the L5.
They created that classic big, warm mellow sound of that era, so it became a kind of tradition, and that type of guitar even came to be called (loosely) a "jazz guitar".
But Les Paul was playing jazz on the
solid guitar he designed, from the early 50s. It was only people like Clapton and Page who turned it into the archetypal "rock guitar".
IOW, there's no such thing as a "jazz guitar", any more than there is a "rhythm guitar" or a "lead guitar". (Even a "rock guitar" can be almost anything.)
So I suggest listening to plenty of jazz players, find the sound(s)
you like, and see what guitar(s) they use. (And tone can depend as much on pickups and strings as on the guitar.)