A Question of Scale

A Question
of Scale
The Soloin'aySwan lazzWing and SwanNyA
_
HE QUESTIONOF THE
properstringed-instrument
scalelengthhasintrigued
since the days
of Tony
players and designers
16A
I
I
I
VIXTAGEGUITAR
Fenderusd25'/i
for his flagshipguitars.
Designerswho followed Orville Cibson used both
25tlz" and24\1t".
along with the frets of his guitars,
with a bass-sidescale longer
than the trebh side.
fim Solowayb Swan
Line of guitars usc a 22"
scalc. lts primary benefit
being greater string
tension,it alsoallows for
greatcr string flexibility.Andwithout
a doubt,
I A
honeyburstwithscrapedhux binding,
are Jrclishedto a high gloss.The 16"
radius fingerboards,cocobolo on the
)azz Wing and flamed-maple on the
NYA, are fittcd with expertly dresscd
and polished large frets. Both have
chambered swamp-ash bodies with
gcnerousbellycuts,and are 6tted with
Hipshot bridgescustomizedto accommodate the long xale, Pickupsare by
DiMarzio; an EJCustomhumbuckerin
the lazzWing,aneckandmiddleAreaT, and a bridge Virtual Solo pickup,
all hum-cancelling units, in the NYA.
The nreticulouslyrviredelectronicsare
housedinfu llyshielded compartments.
Both,shippedinreinforcedfoam Kaces
with heavy fabric covers,weigh in at
just over six pounds.
The NYA hardrvareis chrome, and
the fazzWing is dressedup a bit with
gold 6xtures. Both are built with care
that reflectsthe designput into them.
The physicsof scale length, string
tension,and string flexibility might be
complex,but the JazzWing, Solowayi
alternative to the traditional "iazz
boxj' presentsa simple app€arance.
Whar the Swan Jazz Wing lacks in
gaudy ornamentation is more than
made up for in the flowing lines of
both headstockand body. A one-pie<e
0amed rtdwood top is multi-bound
with an understated faux-tortoiseshell
outsidelayer.Withalongbass-sidehorn
and a short treble Venetian cutaway,
the offta-waist designallows the fazz
Wing to sit comfortably,even in a
Vfnhgcctu$.r.o@
classicalguitarist'sposture,The small
headstockand long bass horn allou'
the guitar to hang nicely from a strap
without the imbalance causedby the
lengthy ncck.
The Swan lazz Wing acousticresponsc is captivating, Its chambered
body and extendedstring length made
each string responsive.Strung with
DAddario Excel.0lls,stringlensionis
similar to thatwhicha25rl:"scalewould
havewith a string set startingwith a
.012high E, accordingto Soloway.Yet,
withthe increasedstring flexibilityand
a forgiving action,the fazzWing setup
wasquite easyon the left hand.
Pluggedintoan UltrasoundAG-50D
acousticamp, it's easyto marvel at the
mellow tone drawn from the smallbodiedlazzWing Overtonesonemight
expectfrom a big body were,of course,
not present,but the long string length
coloredthe sound in a distinctive way.
Vibrato and subtlefull-chordal bends
were enhanced,and the JW stayedin
tune. Walking bass lines and blucsy
phraseswere fat-soundingwith good
articulation,evenwith theTonecontrol
rolled off.
Plugged into a Roland 60-watt
Cube at typical'audible wallpaper"
restaurant volume, the combination
of scale,body design,and electronics
produceda modern jazz guitar rcund
with a natural decay,quite conducive
to a pianistic fingertyleapproach.
The Swan NYA, wilh its beautiful one-piecefigured maple top and
flamed-maple neck and fingertroard,is a difTerentbind.
The treblesideFlorentine
cutawaypointsawayfmm
the neck,deepenoughto
take advantageof the
entire 22-fret fi ngerboard.
The electronics will be
familiar to anyonewho
hasplayedFenderl most
populardesigovaryingin
thattheneckandbridgcpickups
are put into combination instead
of the expectedneck-and-middle
pickup arrangemcnt. Separate
Tonepotentiometcrsfor the neck
and bridgepickups,a mastcrVolume control, and a five-position
bladeselectorcontrol the works.
Pluggedinto a FenderBluesDe
Ville 4xl0 with an ancientDOD
Preamp/Overdrive pedal, thc
NYE's first declaration came in
thevoicingoffunkrhythm chords
at the l2th fret and beyond; the
extended scale allowed clean,
close fingerings that would be
all but impossibleon a LesPaul.
Rhythm chordswerebright and
sparkly from each pickup and
combination sound,with a little
extrd sonic zing due to the long
scah.
Goosingtheorandrivepedalor
thegainchannelallowedtheNYA
to burn, with an extra sustainto
long tones with finger vibrato.
With a brassslide,wedrew pedal
steel-like sounds from the
NYA, with little significant
adjustment necessary to
a c c o m m o d a t et h e e x tendedstring length.
Riffing through solo
licks with a 1.5mm phctrum requires a bit more
, concentration to play
I them cleanly,due to the
greaterdistancebetween
the frets. However,hammeron/pull-off maneuversbenefited
from the extra suing flcxibi.litS
and the on-the-moneyfretwork
and setup help overcome initial
limitations on the 27"-scale
fingerboard.
The JazzWng fu 16llsitspromis. It would also work nicely
as a swingirf blues guitar. The
vcrsatile NYA also lives up to its
full name, Not Yet Another, and
sounds great in roch funk and
country applications. Solowry
guitars are for players interested
in techniguc. The c.ttra string
lengtlu while greatly enharrcing
the instrumcntb performance,
doesrequire a little extra hcus on
lefr-hand fecility. And arryhing
that makesapl4rcr rryorkon thcir
techn(ueisa goodtbing"becaus€
thanrdr, applied to finc instruments like the Solorray Swan
mo&ls, is an important Frt of
tlp creation of an idividuelistk
sund.-ChipWllwr