[Dixielandjazz] Guitar Volume

[Steve Barbone]

Larry Walton Entertainment - St. Louis at larrys.bands at charter.net wrote:

> It may have been that the band had the rather quaint idea that they should
> listen to the other musicians and balance with them.  Who has to think about
> balance if the guy can just twist a knob?  It's a lost art.
> 
> On the other hand rhythm guitar is a bit of a different animal and with a
> stiff pick can cut through and can balance a piano/upright bass/drum rhythm
> section easily but is a little harsh that way.  If the player plays near the
> bridge the guitar is a lot brighter and that will cut through more.  I think
> arch top guitars are brighter sounding too.
> 
> They used a different string set up on the instrument then.  I played one
> time back in the 60's with a guy that was about 20 years older than me.  He
> was a wonderful guitar player and didn't need an amp but his strings were
> heavy gauge and a whole lot higher from the fingerboard than guys use today.
> Both things can produce more volume but take really good playing chops.  If
> the strings are low they will buzz if the player plays hard.  I was
> surprised at how high his strings were off the fingerboard.  When I first
> got in the AF band in 58 there was a Gibson arch top guitar in supply that
> was set up exactly the same way.

Yes indeed Larry. Here is the Freddie Green guitar set-up from a "maven".

Guitar Selection and Set Up for the Freddie Green Sound

Type of Guitar:
The preferred guitar is a non-cutaway archtop with a thickness of 3 inches
or more. The best are guitars made in the 1930's and 1940's by Stromberg,
Epiphone, Gibson, and D'Angelico. They are quite expensive.

The second best choice is a non-cutaway flat-top guitar. Though not usually
associated with big band playing, a loud flat-top guitar is preferable to
any amplified thin-line guitar or solid body guitar built for rock 'n' roll.
The Freddie Green sound can only be obtained by using a guitar that is
acoustically loud. If more volume is needed, amplify the guitar by using a
high quality condenser microphone, not by using a pickup on the guitar.

Strings:
Use heavy gauge phosphor bronze strings. A typical set has a low E string of
.060" diameter and a high E string of .014" diameter.

Action Height:
Action is the distance from the strings to the frets. Set the action as high
as your left hand strength will allow. The higher the action, the harder you
can strike the strings without fret buzz. This will produce more volume and
let the guitar cut through the band. Typical "high" action will allow three
stacked U.S. one cent coins (pennies) to be placed between the 12th fret and
the low E string. This is about 5 millimeters or 3/16". NOTE: As the years
passed, Freddie Green kept raising the action on his guitar and eventually
it was at least 10 millimeters at the 12th fret!

Pick or Plectrum:
The type of pick employed can make a noticeable difference in the guitar's
sound. Use a heavy gauge pick. A thick pick will produce a loud, fat sound.
Thinner picks will not be as loud and will produce an unwanted "click". Use
the Ultem pick by Steve Clayton with a thickness of 0.94 millimeter. It
produces a brighter sound than the typical plastic pick.

This article is based on personal experience and years of experimentation.
My big band guitar is a 1947 Epiphone Emperor. The strings, action, and
picks described above provide a timbre that is very similar to that of
Freddie Green.

Michael Pettersen