• Guys, we've spent considerable money converting the Les Paul Forum to this new XenForo platform, and we have ongoing monthly operating expenses. THE "DONATIONS" TAB IS NOW WORKING, AND WE WOULD APPRECIATE ANY DONATIONS YOU CAN MAKE TO KEEP THE LES PAUL FORUM GOING! Thank you!

J.D. Simo demonstrating how the out of phase sound is supposed to sound!!!

mdubya

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 31, 2010
Messages
1,020
JD and Adam with the standup bass player (different one from the original Elad sub/replacement).

 

deytookerjaabs

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 6, 2016
Messages
1,592
Here's my beef with the blues thing...as someone who absolutely loves how JD and others are going back to what it's supposed to be.



The music was born out of a completely different world/culture. And, not to say it's not possible, bla bla bla but the roots of American Country, Jazz and Blues all share this theme in common. They were DJ's, all of those cats, from 'Bird to Duke Ellington to Howlin Wolf to Lightnin' Hopkins to the Texas Playboys on and on. When you went to see these guys you either went to a dance hall ball room or a juke joint local bar where the objective for the audience was to drink, dance, and have a good time. Once the boomer generation hit puberty big festivals, sitting and staring along with this whole hyperbolic idolatry culture came to fruition. The good news is all those players who started in the 60's only had the heavy pockets to learn from, but those pockets were so deep ONLY because it was live music with a purpose to which these guys had to swing. The audience was not there to stare at their fingers or think about their "tone" or whatever. Every name he dropped was a guy with a swing deeper than 95% of the folks you hear at jams today because you had to play like that before the 60's, period. At some point, because of the culture shift and the dynamic between performer/observer, the music changed.



Now, the idea is you go stand there and stare at a group of dudes to see how well they do it, it's like watching a movie. Okay, maybe a drunk couple will wiggle around, but it's just such an odd atmosphere because the roots music before the 60's was made for partying, it was communal in it's nature, the musicians were there as much for the people as for themselves.


I was lucky enough to hit the jams in Chicago when the last of the gold guard left this planet in the late 90's & early 00's. I'd walk into the New Apartment lounge off MLK street where Von Freeman & his horses would have an open jam, on other nights different flavors of music. Thing was, it was a total 180 from the actual "jazz venues" or cafe's around town you'd see players in, it was a the LOCAL BAR!! The people in there were townies who'd been around for decades, they came out to drink & joke with each other, a cast of characters like nothing else from guys purple suits with feathers in their cap to ladies in fur coats. They didn't stare at the jazz musicians, they drank, had a good time, tapped their feet and maybe danced to the music, they were partying yet here were these guys in the corner...playing bebop!

Then you'd go to the north side to place like "Kingston Mines" and this a-hole (who's been there forever, probably still is) gets up there on the bandstand before every set to explain to everyone how Bo Smith is such a legend that you better maintain your composure while sitting and staring at him, all faces forward, please drink responsibly, and try to show Bo all the respect his holiness deserves. And, it's so weird because it's the opposite of all those archived photos from back in the golden age at the Willie Dixon blues museum. The message is...you're not here for yourself, you're here for these guys on stage....to the point where the self adulation of some of the cats is off the charts.




Point being, JD is playing communal music, but not at the local pub filled with folks who just want to party, but mostly for folks who want to stand there and stare or whom came to watch so & so specifically.


I wish it would go back the old way, where guys played this music in the bars as part of the experience, not being the center of the universe themselves.


I've struck up this in conversation with some of the few "legends" still around I've been fortunate enough to run into, here's a clip of great bebop/jazz pianist then educator Barry Harris talking about the same thing in the jazz idiom:






It'd be nice to see a "renaissance."
 

CDaughtry

Les Paul Forum Co-Owner and Moderator
Joined
Jul 16, 2001
Messages
12,646
To address a couple of points brought up earlier, Adam, the original drummer, is still with J.D. and will be for the long run. I think the bass position will be floating for the time being until they find someone they really connect with. Elad really hated the grind of touring.

The name "J.D. Simo & his trio" does need a little tweaking.:spabout Perhaps "The J.D. Simo Trio"? :jim

It's all a work in progress. The bottom line though is that the boy is firing on all cylinders.:yah
 

Emiel

Member
Joined
Oct 30, 2015
Messages
71
Charles/J.D., can you give any insight how ‘Red’ was modded to get the pickups out of phase with each other? As far as I know, it’s pretty impossible to get the pickups out of phase with the stock single conducted braided wires without grounding issues? Hope you can shed some light on this.
 

renderit

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 19, 2009
Messages
10,951
Here's my beef with the blues thing...as someone who absolutely loves how JD and others are going back to what it's supposed to be.

It'd be nice to see a "renaissance."

Why don't you just wake me up with a sledgehammer? Now I have to think. And you are right, but damn man! In da' mornin'?

To address a couple of points brought up earlier, Adam, the original drummer, is still with J.D. and will be for the long run. I think the bass position will be floating for the time being until they find someone they really connect with. Elad really hated the grind of touring.

The name "J.D. Simo & his trio" does need a little tweaking.:spabout Perhaps "The J.D. Simo Trio"? :jim

It's all a work in progress. The bottom line though is that the boy is firing on all cylinders.:yah

I usually hate out of phase guitars. I enjoyed this! Dude can play!

Maybe

J.D. Simo/3D
 

Wally

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 27, 2003
Messages
3,535
Charles/J.D., can you give any insight how ‘Red’ was modded to get the pickups out of phase with each other? As far as I know, it’s pretty impossible to get the pickups out of phase with the stock single conducted braided wires without grounding issues? Hope you can shed some light on this.

Emiel, if one starts with the original pickups in an ES-335 and wants to go out of phase, one has to either flip the magnets or rewire the leads in one of the pickups. To rewire the leads, one has to go under the cover and separate that braided ground wire from the end of the winding to which it is attached. The braid then goes to ground and one flips the leads to put that pickup out of phase with the other pickup.
 
Top