Frame Works theFRAME Jazz Eventual Review

[Parzival]

Hey all. Long (long, long) time lurker. Never joined the site, but have visited here many times over the years.

I am interested in a used Frame Works Jazz Body. I was wondering if anyone could answer some questions for me about it.

The guitar, thought it has been around for many years, has almost zero information on it. The website, though clean and professional looking, has almost nothing about it. Youtube has a handful of videos. And the few that are reviews are just someone playing it. No talk of construction, controls, anything.

If anyone out there has one, can you answer these questions for me please?

How do the sides attach? Is it magnets? Thumbscrews? Magic?

Is that door I see on the back of the guitar for a 9V battery? I assume it is.

What are the three controls for on the Jazz Body? I assume it's neck pickup volume/RMC volume/Midi volume (when equipped)?

Why do some pictures show the jack plate on the back of the body while some seem to be on the end-pin (like an acoustic)?

I read it has a truss rod, how does it adjust?

I love the idea of a high quality "travel" guitar. Though, this looks more like a high quality guitar that's actually good at traveling. No resonating body means it's easier to build so the cost is less than a traditional jazzbox.

Without putting a $25.00 set of Thomastiks on to find out, does the Jazz Body work with flatwounds? Not sure if it affects the RMC pickups when used.

Does anyone have a PDF of aan owner's manual? Do they even make one?

Now, that's a lot of questions for a guitar I am considering. But, I watched Don Ross play the acoustic version on youtube. And the few videos I saw on youtube all sound amazing. Yes, I know it's youtube and not the best judge of sound, but I like it.

Hopefully someone can answer these questions.

Regardless, it's been a pleasure bumming around this forum for so many years. I have learned so much. Nice to finally say, "hello."

[Woody Sound]

Do you mean the Frameworks Jazz Frame??

[Parzival]

Do you mean the Frameworks Jazz Frame??

Hi there. Specifically, yes that’s the one I’m looking at. But most of the questions seem fairly general across the line.

[kris]

I play a lot on Frameworks modern classic guitar..I"ve been playing this guitar for about 16 years.GREAT GUITAR!!!

[Parzival]

I play a lot on Frameworks modern classic guitar..I"ve been playing this guitar for about 16 years

With 16 years experience, is there a chance you could answer any of the questions?

[kris]

With 16 years experience, is there a chance you could answer any of the questions?

How do the sides attach? Is it magnets? Thumbscrews? Magic?
Frame/metal ends enter the holes - well secured.

Is that door I see on the back of the guitar for a 9V battery? I assume it is.
The 9v battery pack is very easy to operate.

What are the three controls for on the Jazz Body? I assume it's neck pickup volume/RMC volume/Midi volume (when equipped)?
My model has two knobs - volume and midi volume.

Why do some pictures show the jack plate on the back of the body while some seem to be on the end-pin (like an acoustic)?
The jack output is on the back of the guitar - a very convenient solution.
I read it has a truss rod, how does it adjust?
The truss rod is bi-directional and the adjustment is at the beginning of the neck.
I really appreciate the possibility of perfect tuning in this guitar - each string has a separate adjustment.

[Parzival]

Since nobody was able to answer the questions, I figured I'd add the answers here for any future readers.

My guitar is a 2010 Frame Works theFrame Jazz Frame (steel string)

The sides seem to be made of aluminum tubing that is covered in high quality foam. The foam is identical to the foam you typically find on the bottom of a guitar stand. The just press onto the guitar. No latches or screws. The tolerance of the connection is such that it wont come off. You need to use two hands to pull the sides off at the same time. Same for putting the wings on. Doesn't sound like it should work, but it works perfectly fine. Hand-fitted.

The battery is used to the pre-amp for the piezo saddles. The saddles are RMC and the pre-amp is an RMC Poly-Drive 1. This pre-amp has the passive magnetic jazz humbucker running through it. The pre-amp actually has a volume buffer in the form of an adjustable trim pot on the circuit board of the poly-drive. This can boost the signal of the magnetic pickup from 0-10db. This is to match the volume of the RMC piezo pickups.

My guitar has the optional midi connection.

Controls on my guitar are:

knob 1 - Midi volume. Without a synth connection this knob does nothing.
knob 2 - blend control. All the way CCW is the neck pickup. All the CW is the piezo, The knob sweeps and blends across the whole range, This knob has an indent at the middle position.
knob 3 is overall guitar volume.

On the bottom of the guitar are two small buttons. Each one of these functions as a toggle to switch between menus when connected to midi.

The knobs are part of the RMC poly-drive and come with it if you were to order one. Very high quality with a heavy tactile feel when turning.

Why is the hack plate on the back of the guitar in some models and not on others? I don't know this answer. Mine has the 1/4" jack input on the back of the guitar under the 9V battery door. In playing (both standing and sitting) this cord placement never interferes with my playing.

The truss rod is set inside the zero-fret nut through a hole in the top of the neck. I could not see the nut for the truss rod as it's set in about an inch, but was able to find it and turn it easily. I put Thomatic flatwound 12s on the guitar so the truss rod needed about a half a turn.

These guitars are all made to order. So they can be specked for anything you want. Mine is fairly standard (which is perfect for me). 25.4" scale. 1.70 nut width. Zero-fret nut on the neck. Ebony fingerboard, Feels like medium frets. Neck is bound. Not sure if it's ebony or synthetic. No fret markers on the neck, buy there are position markers on the side of the neck. 16" radius. weight is about 4.3 lbs. Has Schaller M6 minis on it. High quality tuners and feel great. Pickup is a special pickup designed specifically for the jazz frame guitar by Huassel pickups. It measures 6.5k and was tested when diconnected from the preamp. Mine has an ebony cover.

Guitar plays amazing. I'm floored by how well it plays. I have the action extremely low and it plays flawlessly. When I got the guitar is looked like it had been outside of it's case and unplayed for years. I spent two hours hydrating the fretboard (which wasn't bad, just had a layer of dust on it). Polished the frets.

This guitar (what there is of it) is made out of Mahogany. Has what I'd say is a modern fender C, but on the chunky side by a hair.

I tweaked the trim volume trim pot on the poly drive so I had to take the poly drive out of the guitar. While I was in there, I poked around a bit. As you might expect, everything is CRAMMED into the small cavity that is in that 2x4 of a guitar body. It all fits and nothing is forced, but it's like trying to work on an L5 when working in there.

Of note, there is no tone control. However, the schematics for the poly-drive 1 allow for a tone control pot to be part of the signal. And if you wanted to put a tone control in, you could, It would be a tight fit, but it would fit.

As this guitar really only has one sound, I just dial the tone in at the amp and it's good to go.

The difference in sound. Does the pickup sound hat different than the piezo? Surprisingly, no. Which is a good thing. The piezo sounds like you'd expect a piezo to sound. Extremely articulate. A definit acoustic-guitar tone to the notes. If I strung the guitar with round wounds I think it would probably sound like an acoustic. partly due to the fact that the pre-amp seems geared for it.

The pickup sounds a lot like the piezo, but it takes the rough edges off the note. Notes are softer and rounder, yet about the same mids overall. Blending is fun.

Guitar takes literally 30 seconds to disassemble. Fits into it's proprietary gig bag that is smaller than my bag for my pool cue.

That's it.

[Parzival]

I was asked if it's a good travel guitar by a couple people. I wanted to address this briefly as I think it's important...

At first glance this obviously seems like a travel guitar along the lines of the Hush-Pro or maybe the Yamaha silent guitar. I think theFrame feels more like an artistic design choice that happens to also work as a travel guitar.

It doesn't look traditional. It looks like it would feel awkward to play. However, it really isn't. It feels like a very high quality instrument and it sits in the lap naturally. The balance is such that, while standing, it stays put. Even though there's not much of a body, there's not much of a neck either. As the headstock is pat of the body, the guitar balances well.

I wanted this because it looked unique and would be a great guitar for travel. It's so much more. I don't feel like I'm compromising anything by playing this guitar over a more traditional guitar. Other than a painted full size body.

[kris]

I was asked if it's a good travel guitar by a couple people. I wanted to address this briefly as I think it's important...

At first glance this obviously seems like a travel guitar along the lines of the Hush-Pro or maybe the Yamaha silent guitar. I think theFrame feels more like an artistic design choice that happens to also work as a travel guitar.

It doesn't look traditional. It looks like it would feel awkward to play. However, it really isn't. It feels like a very high quality instrument and it sits in the lap naturally. The balance is such that, while standing, it stays put. Even though there's not much of a body, there's not much of a neck either. As the headstock is pat of the body, the guitar balances well.

I wanted this because it looked unique and would be a great guitar for travel. It's so much more. I don't feel like I'm compromising anything by playing this guitar over a more traditional guitar. Other than a painted full size body.

Appearance is one thing, and sound is another.
You have to get used to the Frameworks guitar - because it is a specific instrument/has advantages and disadvantages.
John Stowell plays a similar guitar design.It seems that he is very satisfied with this guitar in every way.
Best
Kris

[marcwhy]

I think Stowell uses a Wright "Soloette" (no longer being made, although Rossco makes other headless guitars these days).

[Parzival]

I think Stowell uses a Wright "Soloette" (no longer being made, although Rossco makes other headless guitars these days).

He does indeed. I considered the Solloette before getting the theFrame.

Although they seem like they should be similar, they don't share much beyond a similar aesthetic. At least regarding Stowel's version (where he covers the wings with some kind of cloth).

It's not easy to convey in a post, but playing the Frame Works guitar feels similar to playing a tele. The wide foam-covered wings give the guitar a false sense of girth against the body. It's extremely well built and the attention to detail is as good as any custom luthier made guitar I have played. Really did not expect it to feel so comfortable.

As I understand it, ordering a Frame Works these days will cost you close to $5,000.00. So the Sollette (even the original ones) are much more affordable.

[kris]

My Frameworks guitar is the only guitar whose cost I have reimbursed during concerts.