Grateful Dead Music Forum

I was playing around with my Fender HR Deluxe and strat trying to dial in an approximate Jerry sound the other day. (I try this often and never succeed.) Just for something different I plugged in my Squier short-scale Jagmaster, and all of a sudden I had a much closer Jerry tone! It wasn't the Jagmaster's humbuckers, but I think it was the short scale that gave it some crisp attack and the funky pop that Jerry would get on the low strings. Kind of funny.

Jef

I have been playing a Squier strat for about 3 weeks no buffer no OBEL and its got sick Jerry tone. Its really in the hands, all of the gear out there just gets you closer and closer. Really.

I love short-scale guitars. I haven't played a 25.5" scale guitar in 15 years. I spent the last 3 years seeking and buying short-scale instruments, but I've settled on 24.75" as my standard preference. I'll still pull out one of my short-scale guitars for grins, but even the Jerry guitar Troy Post is building for me is 24.75" scale. For me, 25.5" scale is an immediate and irreversible turnoff. I'd have tried a Jagmaster, but I prefer to avoid guitars with wang bars. I greatly prefer hardtail Strat bridges over Tuna-matics, and they're kinda scarce on 24.75" scale guitars. Short-scale guitars rule!

jdsmodulus wrote:I have been playing a Squier strat for about 3 weeks no buffer no OBEL and its got sick Jerry tone. Its really in the hands, all of the gear out there just gets you closer and closer. Really.

Totally agree JD. A LARGE majority of tone is coming from the picking and chord-note technique. I also would venture to say a large portion of great tone is in the rig. A fender twin is going to sound a hell of allot better than a Marshall valve state amp (not that there's anything wrong with that).