In case you wondered whether a 7421XL can play jazz

Jim Soloway · #1 01-02-2003, 12:18 AM

A quick one take that I laid down this afternoon using the 7421XL. I'm really beginning to love this guitar.

http://www.jimsoloway.com/TascamDemo...odyLoves01.mp3

trajectory fish · #2 01-02-2003, 07:41 PM

Sweet track man. I realy need to put some of my stuff on my web space.

trajectory fish · #3 01-08-2003, 11:45 PM

Jim, do you have a list of all of the models of seven strings you've played/owned? Just curious.

Bennett

Jim Soloway · #4 01-09-2003, 01:13 PM

I'll give it a try, but I'm likely to miss one or two.

Ibanez 7421XL (my current working instrument)

Ibanez Artwood AJ307CE acoustic (twice. I'm probably about to get rid of the one I still have)

Schecter C7+

Schecter Jazz-7 (twice, once with Bennedetto B7 pickup. I recorded my CD with on of these)

Schecter USA Custom Shop Sunset 7 (outstanding guitar and visually stunning. I still have it, but I've fallen in love with the 27 inch scale from the XL, so this is probably about to go)

Foster AT 2 archtop (bought for a LOT of money before the commercial 7 str8ings exploded on the scene. Sold for a lot of money when I decided I really prefer solid body guitars)

WD Custom Shop Tele (twice, Nice guitars but both neck heavy. The 26 1/8 inch scale got me interested in longer scale lengths)

Ozark Instruments ElectroAcoustic (great guitar. Used the long neck from WD. I should have kept it. Dave Wendlers guitars are an incredible value)

Schecter US Custom Shop S-7 (Nice but not nearly as nice as the Sunset-7)

Veillette Mk-IV Magnificent 7 (Twice. Nice but some rough spots in the finishing and quality control. Joe is the first on to come up with a longer scale for 7 string and the one who got me interested in trying longer scales)

Danelectro Mod 7 - Would have been a lo of fun with a slightly loinger scale but 25 inches with no real adjustments at the bridge just killed the intonation)

Baker BJ7 - an absolutely magnificent guitar. The quality was the best, but the scale was 25 inches which I think is just too short for 7 string. Baker is now building me a new guitar with a 27 inch scale like the XL. I should arrive any day now.

That's 16 and I'm sure there's more. I've also tried several others, some briefly, some extensively. Two that I wish I could have played longer were the Carvin DC727 and the EB/MM John Petrucci. The Carvin just because I'm really curious and I like the idea of being able to specify all the details, the Petrucci because the one I played at the NAMM show last year was just incredible.

trajectory fish · #5 01-09-2003, 01:35 PM

Cool, thankyou.

Yeah, I'm realy dissatisfied with my aj307. I think I'll be looking for one of the Dean 7 string acoustics. As far as intonation goes, I've had pretty good luck with my Dean electric 7 strings.

What did you think of the Schecter Jazz-7?

Jim Soloway · #6 01-09-2003, 01:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by trajectory fish

Cool, thankyou.

Yeah, I'm realy dissatisfied with my aj307. I think I'll be looking for one of the Dean 7 string acoustics. As far as intonation goes, I've had pretty good luck with my Dean electric 7 strings.

What did you think of the Schecter Jazz-7?

The Jazz 7's were really nice. Most people seem to think that they're a full sized arch top, but they're not. They're actually a thin line 335 style guitar with a solid center block. The neck is very chunky and the guitar is a bit heavy for my taste, but the tone is VERY warm, especially with a pickup upgrade.

Don't bother with the Dean acoustic 7 string. That's one of the ones I forgot from my list. I think I was trying to purge the memory. It really sucked. At this point, I think the only way you'll get a really good 7 string acoustic is by spending a LOT of money with a good luthier. If you're looking for something to use live though, check out Ozark Instruments. Dave Wendler makes an incredibly cool electric/acoustic solid body. It's a true feather weight (around 5 pounds) Here's a short sample that I made with the one I had. Like I said before, I wish I still had it.

http://solosongmusic.com/photos/wendler/alltheway.mp3

littlegreenman · #7 01-09-2003, 02:33 PM

Jim,

I just have to say, I'm a shred head for the most part, but you know, out of all the stuff I've seen posted on Jemsite, your's is by far my favorite, because it's different, there is some good shred on Jemsite, some really poor stuff, and some just mindless numb shred, it's very refreshing to hear stuff like this, I applaud you for sharing this on a site dedicated to shred guitars, and I have to say, you have a great style, and a great voice, keep it coming, I am constantly impressed by your musicianship.

Thank you

Jeremy

darren wilson · #8 01-09-2003, 02:36 PM

I'm pretty happy with my AJ307 so far... i've got heavier strings coming, (La Bella .014 to .070 baritone set with a .011 for the high E) and once i get settled with a gauge i'm happy with, i'll order a dozen sets or so and have a custom compensated bridge saddle made for it.

littlegreenman · #9 01-09-2003, 02:40 PM

Jim, I have to ask, I've heard quite a few tracks. I'm curious, are you always in standard tuning? or are you using some open tunings as well?

trajectory fish · #10 01-31-2003, 04:51 PM

At long last, here is a recording I made last year with my 7621 as part of a quintet of myself, a drummer, alto sax, tenor sax, and a trumpet.

The song is Louis Bonfa's Black Orpheus. http://www.radford.edu/~bchaney/black%20orpheusm.mp3

Hope you enjoy it, though the performance is a bit rough because it was just our warm up before rehearsal.

Jim Soloway · #11 02-03-2003, 12:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by trajectory fish

At long last, here is a recording I made last year with my 7621 as part of a quintet of myself, a drummer, alto sax, tenor sax, and a trumpet.

The song is Louis Bonfa's Black Orpheus. http://www.radford.edu/~bchaney/black%20orpheusm.mp3

Hope you enjoy it, though the performance is a bit rough because it was just our warm up before rehearsal.

Cool. It swings pretty well. I love that tune. I do a solo version with vocals that I'm planning to record for the first time soon. Hopefully I can get something posted within the next week or two.

And for littlegreenman, soory it took me so long to respond, but I hadn't notice that anything else had been posted to this thread for a while. I always use the same basic jazz 7 string tuning, A-E-A-D-G-B-E.

trajectory fish · #12 02-03-2003, 01:45 PM

I don't think I've ever heard the vocals for Black Orpheus. . . Do you know of any albums that have it? I know it usualy goes by a different name, but I can't remember it right now.

Jim Soloway · #13 02-03-2003, 06:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by trajectory fish

I don't think I've ever heard the vocals for Black Orpheus. . . Do you know of any albums that have it? I know it usualy goes by a different name, but I can't remember it right now.

There are actually two different sets of lyricks. The best known go under the name "A Day In The Life Of A Fool". The other version is known as "Manha de Carnaval" or "Day Of The Carnival". My favorite vocal version is probably Kenny Rankin's version of Day In The Life Of A Fool,

trajectory fish · #14 02-03-2003, 08:00 PM

Cool, I'll be sure to check it out.

trajectory fish · #15 02-08-2003, 03:19 AM

Okay, here are a couple tracks I threw together realy half-assedly to celebrate my elation at acquiring some flatwound strings for my guitar (.011 - .065). One is my own butchering of Ellington's Caravan, and the other is a couple of riffs I came up with to warm up to some chord changes. Enjoy.

http://www.radford.edu/~bchaney/caravan%20rough.mp3

http://www.radford.edu/~bchaney/doodle%20take%20two.mp3

PS: Jim, I'm realy realy sorry about Caravan, I'll fix it later I swear