Joe Pass...on a Fender Jaguar???

The archtop guitar is the six (or seven) string machine of choice for jazz players. Jim Hall, Wes, Grant Green, Tal Farlow...see a picture or a clip of one of these guys, and you'll see a large, curvy, thick archtop guitar cradled lovingly in their arms.

Sure - there are also the guys that turned to the solid-bodied Telecaster. Ted Greene comes to mind, as does Bill Frisell and Toronto's Ed Bicker.

Fender's solid body Jaguar - and similarly shaped, but differently appointed Jazzmaster - found early favor with the surf rockers on the West Coast. Later, they became the guitar of choice for indie rock shoegazers and avant-garde musicians like Thurston Moore or Nels Cline.

Here's a clip of Joe Pass cutting it up on a Fender Jaguar. Listening to that tone, I can't help but remember the old adage - it's all in the hands.