How to set-up a Vintage Jazz (swing era) sound with Catalyst 60?

[Francois38]

Hello,

I would like to set-up a vintage jazz sound, like charlie Chritian for example, (Gibson EH-150), on a Catalyst 60. Unfortunately, I do not find anything that seems to match in contributors's tones library. Does anyone would have the correct setting to obtain this kind of sound?

I am totally new to this world of guitare amp, so maybe I do not use the correct words or I did not search in the right place.

If you could help me it would be super appreciated!

 

Best thanks

[rd2rk]

You probably won't like this, but...

 

That sound starts with the guitar, a big bodied "jazz box" with a very specific type of pickup.

 

The amp he used was a Gibson EH-150 and later the EH-185. These had 12" field-coil speakers, which have a very different sound to modern speakers.

Keep in mind that the sound you're after is nothing like what he would've sounded like playing live, it's a sound that was recorded using 100-year-old equipment in a 100-year-old studio with 100-year-old recording techniques.

 

I tried the EH-185 amp/cab combo in my Helix using a Tele, which is the closest thing I have to a single-coil jazz sound.

The Helix EH-185 was modeled directly from the amp schematics and the final results fine-tuned against the actual amp.

It sounded nothing like the recordings.

Unfortunately, they did not model the original field-coil speaker.

Hopefully they'll shoot IRs of it using the current techniques, but even so, I do not think it will sound like those primitive recordings.

There may be IRs of that speaker out there, but you'd need to research that.

 

While I like jazz (and wish I could play it worth a damn), if you compare, say, recordings of Jim Hall or Herb Ellis, recorded on more modern gear (though still ancient by today's standards), while the style of playing is similar, and the guitars are similar, the tone is VERY different than those primitive Charlie Christian recordings.

 

I was able to get some very nice jazz-like tones out of my Tele using the "Clean" and "Boutique" amps with a touch of reverb but couldn't come close to those old CC recordings and quickly got bored trying. 

 

CC wasn't trying to sound like anybody but himself.

He used those Gibson amps because that was what was available at the time.

All he was trying to do with his amp was to be heard over the rest of the (often BIG) band.

If he were around today, I'd bet he'd be using a Roland Jazz Chorus or a Fender Twin.

 

My advice - don't try to sound like those ancient recordings. Find a tone with YOUR guitar using the clean/boutique amps that you find pleasing and focus on playing.