Wes Montgomery
Smokin' at the Half Note · 1965
Amp settings (as recorded)
The recording
The seminal 1965 album 'Smokin' at the Half Note' captures Wes Montgomery at his peak during a residency at the Half Note Club in NYC and subsequent sessions at Van Gelder Studios. The recording is renowned for engineer Rudy Van Gelder's ability to capture Wes's organic, woody archtop tone with clarity. The sound was achieved through a simple, high-fidelity signal chain, close-miked into a mono channel without modern signal processing.
Tuning
StandardRecording Signal Chain · 2 items
L-5 CES
Gibson
Primary Instrument
Archtop hollow-body guitar featuring a carved spruce top and humbucking pickups.
Deluxe
Fender
Amplification
Tube-based combo amplifier known for a clean, warm response. Wes frequently borrowed Fender amps for touring/sessions to avoid traveling with his own.
Tone Characteristics
ToneTwin