Thinking of buying an Electric hollow body for Jazz, suggestions?

[Guitar Slinger6]

I am delving a bit into a traditional Jazz sound. Wanting to get an Electric hollow body, suggestions?

[derekd]

I have been playing a Gibson ES 175 for quite a while. Thousands of jazz players can't be wrong. If I didn't own the 175, I would own a Sadowsky Jim Hall. Got to play one this past week, wonderful guitars. Happy hunting.

[buchla300]

If you can find an Aria Herb Ellis, they are great value. Build quality is superb.
It all depends on budget though.
Eastman are meant to be great for the money. An ES-175 is the classic jazz box. On the cheap and Ibanez make some nice ones for around $500.
Lot's of choice out there.. I'd probably go for a P90'd ES-175 from the 50's if I had $5k spare.

[Janglin_Jack]

Ibanez from the 70's and 80's had some great models - loved my FA-100. Check into the Gibson ES-175.

Jack

[tjbackstage]

For me, high-end Epiphone Casinos cover it. They were initially built for jazz, but then the Beatles and the Stones started using them along with blues players. It's a full hollow body that has great jazz tones in the neck PU. You could also try a Gibson ES-125 if you can't afford an ES-175. The ES-125s are for the most part the same as the higher end Casinos. I've had a few Ibanezes, but they didn't do much for me. The Casino however, did! The Casino is the same as the ES-330 BTW, so if you've got the cash, check out the ES-330s from the early 60s. They all've got GREAT jazz tone!

[DrumBob]

It depends on your budget. There are lots of choices out there, and tons of boutique builders who specialize in high end jazz boxes.

[Will]

Heritage Eagle is great.

[JSeth]

I own an older Es-175, a 1967 - it is a wonderful guitar and I love it! I believe they were originally kind of a "starter" or student model jazz archtop; as a previous comment noted, they are probably the most popular archtop out there...
A couple years ago, I saw a Heritage "Sweet Sixteen" archtop that was very enticing, a lovely instrument with just a 'board pup and a volume control knob, very clean...
You didn't say how much you had to spend on the thing - that will determine your choices, certainly. I played a Joe Pass signature Epiphone that was gorgeous but it had some very weird tonal glitches when amplified - check out the prospective box both acoustic and amplified to be sure everything meshes for you!
Good luck! Enjoy the search, it's a worthy quest!

[LocustXReign]

Heritage H-575 is a great route to go. Similar to a 175, however, it's hand carved rather then formed from laminates.

I picked up mine used for 1100 bucks (listed new for close to 3k) and it's in great shape.

-Dave B

[m.z.]

How about this guy?

http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/p...tar?sku=527894

[LocustXReign]

Originally Posted by m.z.

How about this guy?

http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/p...tar?sku=527894

They sure love that awful blue color. ugh.

Great guitar aside from that!

[Guitar Slinger6]

Thank you for the advice everyone.

[Old Tele man]

+1 for either ES-175 (1 x HB) or ES-175D (2 x HB).

[dontstop611]

I own an Eastman Thinline Double Cutaway T185MX. I've played as many 335s and 335 copies as I can, and imo, they don't play, look or feel as nice as an Eastman. It's hand carved! Nothing is hand carved anymore. The only way to choose is to play one.

[Mattbedrock]

It's a cheapie, but I like my Epi Zephyr Blues Deluxe (ES-5 copy). Three P-90's = cool.

On the left:


Also can vouch for Epi Casino and Gibson ES-135. Epi's are under $500, Gibson under $650.