Well, to perhaps jump the gun a tad, for 40 years I've thought that the recipe for perfect blues tone is nothing more nor less than a '59 ES-330-TD, a cord, a Super Reverb, and the fingers of Dick Vonachen (of Chicago's Vanessa Davis Band).Īs for me, for the same span of time I have considered the first major iteration of the 330/Casino (before the neck/body joint was moved) to be the pinnacle of electric guitar design give me a choice between a '59 330 & a '59 LP and the 330 wins hand down (well, okay, you got me there I'd actually take the Paul - so I could sell it, pay off the mortgage, and then buy a '59 330 (and every other guitar I want.) If you know of more Casino/330-toting jazzers, please include a video below! Next up: bluesmen … She was an incredible player and musician, and I am certain that she would have attained the status of “one of the greatest” in the eye of the general public had she not be taken from us so soon. A purist would not include her in this thread – her 330 had humbuckers on it – but it is unthinkable to write about 330s & jazz and omit a reference to her. The other major player to have embraced the 330 is Emily Remler. A master of groove, phrasing and – yes – tone.

Still the fact is there: there has been only one big jazz name to my knowledge to use the 330 in stock form, and that’s Grant Green in the first part of his career (approximately ’61-’64). Even the overwound P-90s on mine, which I’ll swap out eventually, are capable of a wonderful bop tone with some careful knob turning. Most importantly, sonically they are perfect for the genre: they have the delightfully short sustain that only a hollowbody can give, and the P-90s have bite will still being very warm.

It is kind of a paradox that 330s / Casinos have not been very successful as jazz guitars.

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