Godin 5th Avenue CW Kingpin II Versus Stratocaster

[mr. beaumont]

Originally Posted by upsidedown

The original question has been more than answered, but I wanted to add an observation.

My kid goes to an arts grade school (and next year, high school) that includes a music department divided into classical and jazz. He's in the latter. What I've noticed in his 3 years there is that most of the young jazz guitarists - and all of the advanced players - are playing solid-bodies. My kid plays a Tele for the jazzier sets, and a Strat for the funkier.

Of course choice of instrument always comes down to personal preference. As does definition of “jazz,” to some extent. But assuming these kids represent the majority of young players; if hollow-bodied archtops are the predominant jazz guitars, they won’t be for much longer.

Teles have been a go-to solidbody for jazz for a while now. THey're probably the perfect university instrument.

If you look at the "who's who" among young jazz players who are actually out gigging right now, you'll see a bit of everything, including solid bodies, hollows, and semi hollows. The hollows definitely seem to be trending smaller, though. Jazz, for better or worse, is louder than it's been in a long time.

[upsidedown]

Originally Posted by mr. beaumont

Jazz, for better or worse, is louder than it's been in a long time.

Me ears vote "worse."

[mr. beaumont]

I definitely don't like loud for the sake of being loud. Fusion has always been loud, but that's a little different...it's "concert" music," not "club" music, if that makes sense.

Julian Lage has proven you can use a "dirty" guitar sound and still play jazz at a conversational level, which is where I really think it should be. But audiences have gotten ruder too...I get why guys are playing louder, a bit.

[Sonics]

Originally Posted by mr. beaumont

I definitely don't like loud for the sake of being loud. Fusion has always been loud, but that's a little different...it's "concert" music," not "club" music, if that makes sense.

Julian Lage has proven you can use a "dirty" guitar sound and still play jazz at a conversational level, which is where I really think it should be. But audiences have gotten ruder too...I get why guys are playing louder, a bit.

If the music is interesting and engaging, then audiences will give you their FULL attention and they don't talk...and if they do they say: "OMG, did you hear that?"

This is fusion...performed in a club. Folks are screaming and whistling but no one in the audience is talking...because it's hard to talk when your chin is on the floor...LOL!

[mr. beaumont]

Originally Posted by Sonics

If the music is interesting and engaging, then audiences will give you their FULL attention and they don't talk...and if they do they say: "OMG, did you hear that?"

This is fusion...performed in a club. Folks are screaming and whistling but no one in the audience is talking...because it's hard to talk when your chin is on the floor...LOL!

Awesome clip.

You're absolutely right, I should ammend what I meant in my post--by "concert" music, I mean not so much "size," but "audience quality." It's a listening audience. Casual listeners don't just stumble into a fusion gig (or if they do they're out the door after one tune!)

Jazz, on the other hand, attracts real listeners but also a percentage of "Oh cool, I'm at a jazz club! Let's take a selfie so people know" folks these days. You know, the people who say they love jazz and then quantify it by saying something like "Oh, I love jazz. I like to put it on in the background while I work around the house" or something like that...

IN THE BACKGROUND!?

[MACHolland]

The roots of Jazz go back a couple of hundred years, before electrics.

I just bought a Kingpin. While researching that, I came across a short piece somewhere that said the KINGPIN was a replication of 1930' / '40s Jazz guitars.

The first electric guitars used in jazz were hollow, archtop acoustic guitar bodies with electromagnetic transducers (telephone equipment) bolted to the bridge or deck. This happened in the late '20s and early 30's when Jazz got big in the speak-easy - the time of prohibition.


So Jazz is a style of music, the archtop acoustic became a favorite in that style during the '30s, and electrics were applied to that. Over time, the archtop got thinner as the acoustic quality took a back seat to improved amplification. Today's solid-body guitar is the natural conclusion of that progression /evolution.

So my theory is - the Kingpin harkins back to a notalgic point in the evolution of music where jazz, the arch-top and electric amplification coalesced in the speak-easy.

I bought it so I could practice on an acoustic, then turn up the volume as my skills evolve.

[Pvee]

I was in the USAF and 19 years old. Bought the guitar and a nice amp from a kid who got t for Christmas but had no interest. I paid 150.00 for everything.

I started playing in a three piece band around Homestead fl and up to Miami. Seemed like most guys played archtops back then. I didn't even know how to set it up properly.
Then I got transferred to Otis AFB in Cape Cod, ma.
I played that es-225 for about 10 more years. Played at all three clubs on base and a few around town.
The single P-90 was mounted in the middle between where Two pickups should be. It was in the way I would hit it with my pick but learned to work around it.

Around 1977 I started playing Strats and Tele's and prefer a Tele with a neck humbucker to this day.
I sold that es-225t to my brother in the late 70's.
In 1990 my wife bought it back and surprised me with it. Was like an old friend came home.
I gave it to my son recently. Still works great..........