-
I know what Leo thought, but do any if you like this legendary grunge guitar's clean jazz tones?
-
04-09-2017 05:07 PM
-
Not a lot of jazz players use a jazzmaster but it's not like it can't be used
Then again, he could make a broom work.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
-
love the jazzmaster!! it has two seperate circuits for the neck pup!! a jazz mans fantasy!!
when leo fender introduced the jazzmaster, he wasn't kidding around..he was seriously competing with archtops!!...borrowed the p90 design and tweaked it into the jazzmaster pickup...a great jazz pup if there ever was one
leo was western swing guy..got the jazzmaster into the hands of monster players like jimmy bryant and roy lanham...here's roy..very under the radar player...was western and western swing but obviously familiar with johnny smith type playing
cheers
-
Originally Posted by blille
Not a lot of jazz players use a jazzmaster but it's not like it can't be used
That's a Jaguar not a JazzMaster.
-
You are absolutely correct. I just remembered the video and posted it. Originally Posted by docbop
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
-
there are shots of joe p with a jazzmaster tho
cheers
-
another legend who used a jm... (and a very early one at that!!)
rip mickey baker
cheers
-
Remember all these guys used flatwound strings which also mellowed their tone as well.
-
Yep, serial offset offender right here!
It's a J Mascis Squier jazzmaster. I use it primarily for a covers band I'm part of.
I've tweaked it a little. Changed the pot values of the lead circuit and beefed up the tone caps. Flatwound 12's, 43mm nut and a nice chunky neck.
I posted up the mods on here some 4 or 5 years back. I've checked the link and all the pictures have disappeared.
This version has P90 type pickups which work well but the trem is not lockable and the bridge is the wire capture type where the saddles wiggle when you wang (!).
I would re-badge this guitar as a Jack-master as its a Jack of all trades but master of none.
The covers band I'm in has a 60 tune songbook and it covers Status Quo to Bond theme. Show tunes and pop songs. Abba to Madness. It does funky Le Freak and twangy Brand New Cadillac
They do work well with pedals and super clean amps.
It's good at covering all bases...
This is a good representation of the type of vanilla tone it does.
Funny thing is I was looking for a Telecaster when I noticed the JM JM hanging on the music shop wall.
I played it for an hour and was smitten. One shopper thought I was demoing gear for the shop! When I told him I was a punter like him he started getting interested in the JM. I immediately bought it as I knew it was for me.
Some crazy licks!
Now that Fender has reclaimed the Jazzmaster and Jaguar and are squeezing the life out of the design now is the best time to get one. The Squier line is the best bang for coin.
So I had an epiphany with this guitar. It does everything I ask it to do when I'm playing out. No more switching guitars for different tones!
But most importantly being 6'3" it doesn't look stupid on me when hanging on a strap, but blimey its long.
Leo got this one right for western swing
and he designed it to be played seated in an orchestra pit.
For ultra lazy; sit down and have it strapped and hanging to the side while legs are crossed, stretched out and a cigarette hanging from the side of yer mouth. Thats the way Jazzbow rolls
-
This popped up and I had to post....
-
I had a '61 that I played for years. The bridge design on the original was not well thought out. It rocked back and forth on its posts, had a shallow break angle, the strings would pop out of the saddle grooves, stuff like that. A minor annoyance; I loved the guitar. The biggest deal was the noisy pickups; I always had to take a second guitar to the gig because at some clubs the house lights would make it howl. Definitely noisier than other single coil guitars.
-
Just how long did Joe play the Jazzmaster? Originally Posted by neatomic
there are shots of joe p with a jazzmaster tho
cheers
-
As long as he was in Synanon to kick his habit. The Jazzmaster and the Jaguar Pass has been photographed with at that time belonged to Synanon. If I remember correctly they were donated by Leo Fender, so the musicians there could have instruments to play and keep up their chops. They also had other instrument for the inmates to use. Art Pepper played tenor sax while he was there because that was available - and he ended up liking it and took some inspiration from John Coltrane. More often than not, the musicians own instruments had been sold / was in hock to finance the habit before they entered Synanon. Not long after Pass left Synanon, an admirer donated the Gibson 175 which he played for many years until it almost fell apart. Originally Posted by BigDaddyLoveHandles
BTW, Art Pepper has given an intersting insight in the rehabilitation program and life in general at Synanon in his - rather depressing - autobiography "Straight Life" (cowritten with his last wife Laurie, whom he met there).Last edited by oldane; 04-11-2017 at 10:21 PM.
-
Gosh, I had a Jazzmaster long ago, one from the 60s. I did like the electronics on it. I didn't like the hum. All in all, it was a very good solid body.
-
These noiseless JM pups sound great!
-
...I have a newer model... still issues with the "rocking bridge" bought it when I play "plugged" but don't use it much as one of my archtops has a way better "plugged" sound.. sure is a cool looking rig though, sea foam green! Originally Posted by nopedals
-
I assembled a 12 string JM out of parts. It's a hardtail. I like it.
-
Call me crazy, but I find them less comfortable than a telecaster....
-
Thanks for posting the Neil LeVang (Lawrence Welk guitarist) clips. LeVang was quite a West Coast guitar slinger when I was a kid in Southern California. He varied between the Jazzmaster and Telecaster, while Buddy Merrill (also on Welk) switched between the Stratocaster and Telecaster. My parents always watched the Welk Show, so I was exposed to the hot playing of Merrill and LeVang every week.
By the way, LeVang put bass strings on his Jazzmaster and inspired Leo Fender to make the Fender Bass VI for LeVang. The Bass VI (which LeVang used to record the famous lines on "Wichita Lineman"--not Glenn Campbell) was an artist instrument for Neil LeVang, although it was later made famous by The Beatles.
-
If it's crazy to prefer a Tele, there are zillions of crazy guitarists out there. The Tele and the Strat has sold far, far better than the Jazzmaster through all those years - IMHO for good reasons because they are well designed AND simple techically, making them very robust and reliable for travelling and gigging musicians. Also, their modular design makes them easy to customize. The Strat may be the most versatile and most ergonomic electric guitar ever designed. String it up with thin roundwound strings and you have a fine rock/blues/surf sound. Block the tremolo and string it up with medium or heavy flatwounds and you have a good jazz sound from the neck PU which is perfectly placed.
Last edited by oldane; 04-11-2017 at 10:37 PM.
-
Oops. Double post. Sorry.
Last edited by oldane; 04-12-2017 at 01:18 PM.
-
This question pops up from time to time and I always post the same answer.
I know it's a Jaguar, but it's in the same family.
Danny W.
-
These JM JM's are fantastic guitars for the money. No floating bridge so intonation is kinda spot on with limited wanging (!). Originally Posted by BigDaddyLoveHandles
The original pickups are 'hot' and the alpha pot values didn't help so I swapped them for 500k volume and 250k tone. I couldn't be happier. Very responsive.
I have been on the look out for other pickups and the most interesting maker I've found is Curtis Novak.
Lots of options for the JM, one being a Charlie Christian type P90
CurtisNovak.com - Pickups and Guitars | JM-CCR Pickup
Ultimate Jazzmaster!
He even does a JM neck pickup for a Tele without the need for routing. Check it out.
-
These JM JM's are fantastic guitars for the money. No floating bridge so intonation is kinda spot on with limited wanging (!). Originally Posted by BigDaddyLoveHandles
The original pickups are 'hot' and the alpha pot values didn't help so I swapped them for 500k volume and 250k tone. I couldn't be happier. Very responsive.
I have been on the look out for other pickups and the most interesting maker I've found is Curtis Novak.
Lots of options for the JM, one being a Charlie Christian type P90
CurtisNovak.com - Pickups and Guitars | JM-CCR Pickup
Ultimate Jazzmaster!
He even does a JM neck pickup for a Tele without the need for routing. Check it out.
-
I have a Squire Jazzmaster Vintage Modified, which I bought mostly because I got nostalgic - back in the day I had a 1965 of the real ones.
To my surprise the Squire is a great guitar. Well, except for the bridge which - like the rest of the guitar - is a replica of the Fender 1965 model and already then the bridge was not good. I have replaced it with the one below from Staytrem. Made of steel, does not rock, the strings are kept in place and the saddles are easy to intonate. Not exactly cheap, but worth the cost.
I keep the tone pot at around 2-4 and then the stock Duncan design PU's sounds great.
Reply With Quote
Giving the Loar some love
Today, 05:05 PM in The Builder's Bench