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I think one of the best ways to bluff shoegaze is to have a decent working tremolo you can set up yourself so you can do those lazy slow bends in and out of chords. Therefore a Jag or Jazzy looks the part and has a decent trem.

yeah, with a little practice you can approximate the "glider" trem stuff with just about any trem. but the jazz/jag trem makes it completely effortless and natural.

Are Mustang bridges any good for gliding chords? I've never actually gotten my hands on one.

I would love to know. I've never really had time with a Mustang trem but where the pivot is I imagine it's somewhere between a Strat (very sensitive, a little pressure and you're up a whole semi-tone) and Jag/Jazzy (smoother, less pitch change with pressure). Of course I'm probably wrong on that. A Jag/Jazzy trem like Mages said is tip top because the way it pivots isn't as sensitive as a Strat or Floyd so you can do it to a much finer degree holding off that massive dissonant chaos when playing chords. It's my favourite trem by far.

You can Chord Glide with any trem, its just a case of understanding the gradient. The Jag/Jazzy trem is preferred because it is more gradual/subtle (and perhaps artist association) but its also easily done on a Floyd Rose, Strat, Bigsby or Mustang. The White Zombie guitarist used to Chord Dive with a Whammy Pedal, you just have to use your imagination and ears as to what sounds good. There are'nt any rules.

Fran wrote:You can Chord Glide with any trem, its just a case of understanding the gradient.

+1

I think the Jazzmaster trem is good for the chord glide thing because it doesn't have as much downward range as most other vibratos. Other vibratos seem wrong because you use too much bar and it goes out of tune. This is harder to do with a Jaguar or Jazzmaster because it was always meant for a more subtle, jazz-like shimmer. The more range they have, the less you have to push the bar down. On Jags/JMs you can practically push it onto the pickguard; the bridge rocks with the strings and you have maybe a tone/step in drop (you can probably set it up a bit more extreme but that's where I have mine). Do the same on a pivot bridge/tailpiece system like the Strat's and the strings will lose all pitch from lack of tension, and no WAY is it coming back in tune unless it's locked at the bridge and nut (Floyd or similar), so on those guitars you need to have a feel for the trem. Stangs also have a pantload of range in the trem.

Also if you wanna be doing this kind of thing with a Strat, word of advice: don't use more than 3 springs in the trem.

Obv CV duo- is the best for chord gliding.

I am a fan of the idea that a guitar doesn't make a genre woo!

In terms of playing the gliding technique, and based on my personal experience:

Mustang -- too much range, not very subtle, not as stable. works for some people though
Stratocaster -- a bit too much range, not quite as subtle, difficult to manipulate while strumming
Bigsby -- subtle, but requires more effort to manipulate, especially while strumming. also not as stable
Floyd rose -- stable, but too much range, difficult to manipulate while strumming
Japanese Jazzmaster/Jaguar -- not as smooth or stable as the USA version
USA Jazzmaster/Jaguar -- perfect. Easily manipulated, extremely stable, and rather small pitch range.

Now in terms of what is better when it comes to Jag vs. JM, I'd say that mostly comes down to personal preference. The JM is a more versatile, well-rounded guitar with a smoother, fuller tone and better sustain, whereas the Jaguar has a lot of unique character, especially in terms of its fast transient attack and short sustain. I think most players would be happier owning a JM if it were their only 'offset' guitar. HOWEVER, you should know what you are getting into when you decide to get one of these guitars, because they aren't anywhere near "shoegaze-ready" right out of the box. A lot of that sound is going to come from the rest of your equipment, especially amp, because these sound very tame through most setups.

Mine:
http://i260.photobucket.com/albums/ii26 ... 1286490966

I would love to try a jazzmaster but their way to expensive I got both my jag's for about 500 dollars most jazzy's I see
on the bay or in guitar shops are around 800 to 900 dollars.

Aeon wrote:Mine:

YES! thats all I've got to say about those...

That jazzmaster looks amazing!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Cody_Pole wrote:That jazzmaster looks amazing!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I’ve recently decided that when it comes to guitars white is the new black...

I tottally agree.