Daniel Slaman Jim Hall Project 175, 2017

Condition: Excellent, originally made for Craig Oxley, Great Britain.

When Daniel Slaman sets out to honor a jazz legend, he captures the soul of what made that player's sound so distinctive. This DS-175 "Jim Hall Project" represents something truly special: a deep study of one of jazz guitar's most influential voices, translated through the hands of one of today's most thoughtful luthiers.

What makes this particular instrument fascinating is Daniel's decision to honor Jim Hall's original sound. While most builders focus on recreating Hall's famous Guild humbucker setup, Daniel went back to the beginning, to that warm, woody P90 voice that defined Hall's early recordings. The early '60s P90 single coil pickup captures that sweet, singing quality that made Hall's playing so distinctive.

To my ears, this is a 175 on steroids. It's stronger and woodier acoustically than a typical 175. The X-braced laminated maple top and hand-bent maple sides create exceptional resonance and projection. Unplugged, this guitar has real presence and volume, something you don't always get with vintage 175s.

Plugged in it has a glorious warm open sound, somewhere between a 175 and L5CES. That P90 pickup delivers beautiful clarity without harshness, and the guitar responds to your touch in that magical way that separates great instruments from merely good ones. It's warm and musical but never muddy.

The medium C shape neck has been carved to perfection. It has a righteous feel that makes you want to keep playing. Daniel knows how to carve a "just right" Gibson neck.

Daniel has become well known for his antique finish work that never feels contrived. This vintage sunburst antiqued finish has that lived-in quality that makes you believe this guitar has been making music for decades. The aging process enhances the resonance and gives the instrument an open, musical quality that takes years to develop naturally.

The attention to period-correct details is remarkable. Those old-style 'no number' knobs, the vintage Gibson ES-175 tailpiece, and the Kluson nickel tuners all contribute to an instrument that feels authentically connected to jazz guitar's golden era. The ebony fingerboard with parallelogram inlays and ivoroid binding throughout adds elegance without being flashy.

This isn't a museum piece; it's a working musician's instrument that happens to honor one of the greatest players in jazz history. The 14th fret neck joint and hand-made rosewood bridge ensure perfect intonation and setup, while the overall design captures what made Jim Hall's original guitar so special.

This Jim Hall Project represents Daniel Slaman at his most historically focused and musically reverential. It's a direct connection to those legendary early recordings, offering today's players the chance to explore that warm P90 voice that influenced generations of jazz guitarists.

If you'd like to find out more about this item, just call or e-mail me. It would be my pleasure to talk to you about it.

ABOUT DANIEL SLAMAN GUITARS
Daniel Slaman has been making guitars since 1978. Born in 1957, the first guitar was made with help from his father and the book ‘Classical Guitar Making’ by the late Irving Sloane. After spending much time with the classical and flamenco guitars, since 1995 Daniel has been making archtop jazz guitars exclusively. To Slaman, guitar making is an expression of creative freedom; every choice that is made for a particular guitar is made to achieve a unity in design. The result may not be to everybody's taste, that's a different matter, but the unity of design should always shine through in choices of wood, size, decoration and finish colour of the guitar. The result is always a unique one-of-a-kind instrument, made by one mind and set of hands. Slaman players connect to their guitar(s) in a unique way. To these owners, the guitar has a meaning beyond physical aspects; there's always a bond or connection between the player and the guitar. The guitars transcend the status of mere physical objects; they almost become a part of the family, an irreplaceable item of value both material and immaterial.