Song Rig
This Masquerade
George Benson · Breezin' · 1976
Tone Overview
What Makes This Sound Unique
The Grammy-winning single from Breezin' — Benson's guitar tone on This Masquerade is slightly more restrained than the instrumental title track, functioning as accompaniment and solo instrument within a full vocal production. The guitar tone has a slightly smoother attack, appropriate for supporting a vocal arrangement.
Signal Chain
- 1Ibanez GB10
- 2Clean studio setup
Amp Settings
Even warmer than Breezin' — the guitar sits behind Benson's vocal, so the tone is rolled back slightly in treble to give the voice spectral space above the guitar.
Technique
How to Play It
Accompaniment comping plus solo statement — Benson provides chord accompaniment during the verse and then takes an improvised guitar solo in the bridge. The comping uses voicings that leave the upper register open for the vocal melody.
Budget Alternative
Achievable With
GB10 or any warm jazz archtop → clean amp → practice 'comping': playing chord fragments on beats 2 and 4 with chord voicings that stay below the melody's register, leaving space for the vocal line above.
Your Gear
Adapt to My Amp
More from George Benson
Other Song Rigs
Breezin'
Breezin' · 1976
The best-selling jazz album of 1976 and a defining document of smooth jazz — Ben…
View rig →Give Me the Night
Give Me the Night · 1980
Quincy Jones's production of Benson's biggest pop hit — the guitar here is a rhy…
View rig →On Broadway
Weekend in L.A. · 1977
Soulful and processed — the live version adds a smooth, slightly chorused qualit…
View rig →Turn Your Love Around
Give Me the Night · 1981
Funky and studio-polished — Benson's tone on this Quincy Jones production is cle…
View rig →Beyond the Sea
20/20 · 1985
Silky and romantic — Benson's smooth jazz tone at its most accessible. The archt…
View rig →