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This may be my first post. I've been lurking so long I can't remember! Thanks for your generosity in posting, always drool worthy discussions.
I'm a telecaster player who has been trying to teach himself solo guitar and a reasonable facsimile of swing for at least 20 years, not with enormous success but with many delightful hours passed.
I love that tele.It has Hamel pickups I won from another website years ago. I regret barely touching the bridge pickup and not truly knowing how to use it, but the neck is a song and I'll never get rid of it.
Nevertheless, I want a humbucker guitar, and more specifically I want a dual Humbuckers guitar, because I DO go to the bridge on occasion for a little spank, and my experience with Les Pauls tells me that having two Humbuckers can do that job, and without mismatching the volumes of the two positions.
Finally to my questions: I like solid body; I like hard tail; I like choosing my own neck. How does this seem to you, given my needs? A dual humbucker Jazzmaster.
https://www.fender.com/en-US/electri...146903534.html
My real concern is this bridge and tremolo. People seem to express problems with these. But will someone like myself who isn't a bender (the rarest blues flourish), and who is used to the authoritative snap of the telecaster, find too many problems or a mushiness with the bridge and trem? Or will these be just fine for my jazz solo-guitar heavy needs?
I see there is a drop in item available for a hardtail replacement for the trem. Any experience with this?
Brushed Finish Jazzmaster/Jaguar Hardtail Conversion Plate - | Reverb
And finally, regarding that beautiful thing that is a guitar neck: I'm looking at a boatneck from Warmoth or something similar. I have a fatback Allparts on my Tele -- that guitar and neck will be buried with me. So I'm spoiled for fat. But I was thinking wide 1 3/4" and I was thinking some sort of fingerboard (rosewood or ebony). Any advice or experience in this arena is appreciated. I'm not asking you to select it for me, just your musings and preferences. Thanks! And happy Friday.
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01-28-2022 09:39 PM
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If you don't want the rhythm circuitry like a traditional JM would have then the guitar you linked is a viable start. If you want to spend loads of money like I did on mine I like the Kinman Kick in the Arse noiseless pickups that I have. They fit in standard JM pickup routes. Wide range of sounds both heavy and light are available with them. The hardtail plate will save you some weight because the trems on these things add a lot to it. The bridges are made to rock back and forth when the trem is used so you might want to wrap tape around the posts to keep the bridge in one position. Maybe not necessary but it might stay in tune better.
Warmoth makes good necks. I have had a few. Might need a little fret work but not much. The boatneck is too chunky for me. I had one for a while. I prefer the 59 fat back.
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Great info, thanks! I did notice there aren't many "drop" in choices for noiseless or humbucking Jazzmaster sized pickups.
Originally Posted by lammie200
I'm thinking my plan might be a good one.
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Hamel pickups are legendary and apparently quite valuable. If you love that Tele, it’s a keeper. But you might also consider a second Tele with humbuckers. I’ve been playing for over 60 years and I’ve never come across a Jazzmaster that stayed in tune for an entire song. Those solid plates probably solve that problem. But you want to be able to choose your neck too, and no guitar has a wider range of neck availability than a Tele.
From the $450 Squire ‘70s Vibe model to the $1800 American Pro 2, there are at least ten Fender hum/hum Teles with different necks from which to choose - and that’s without going into the custom shop models. There are also many non-Fender and luthier-built H/H Teles that are great for jazz. I use a custom 7 string Tele with a pair of Lace Alumibuckers and a Hipshot hardtail that has a rich, full jazz tone I and my band mates love.
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I'm a big jazzmaster fan, but generally for other styles of music - not because it can't 'do jazz', but rather because I have other guitars I prefer for that.
Based on what you've outlined, it appears your interest in the jazzmaster is primarily for the body shape, which I get as it is a very comfortable shape especially when sitting. The one you linked differs from traditional jazzmasters in a lot of ways - humbuckers instead of JM pickups, tune-o-matic bridge rather than JM bridge, trem closer to bridge than traditional, plus you're already planning to replace the neck.
Given all of this, especially your intention to replace the neck, I'd probably just build from scratch - jazzmaster body, routed for humbuckers, with the hardtail style of your choice (tune-o-matic & stoptail bridge combination / fender style hardtail bridge / chopped tele style bridge).
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I have a Warmoth chambered body for my 12 string JM partscaster. Very light and comfortable.
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People have been very generous with their time and knowledge here. I have to sit and stew on this, Choices choices
If I did go in the Tele direction again, to pair with my Hamel-caster, I think I'd get a mini-humbucker in the neck and call it a day. I've played those and they balance well with a stock tele bridge.
I'll let you know what happens. Many thanks.
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Jazzmasters are cool guitars. I have the one with a bigsby. I did not think I would miss the typical JM controls but I do. In my experience, the way the JM is built, makes it feel like the neck is much longer then a typical neck. At first it feels awkward, but then I get used to it.
The JM pickups have there own sound. The PUs were the very reason I bought a JM. I dig the PUs a lot but they are prone to noise. (I understand you want HB. i just wanted to add my experience, in case it was helpful). The noise makes me use the JM less then I would. I have considered a noise gate.
Over all I consider my JM to be one of my most fun guitars to play. I can not say why that is but, I just feel happy when I play it.
Lammie200 how does the kinman noiseless PUs compare to the typical JM pickups?
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I never had any other pickups in these two JMs except for the black Kinman Kick in the Arse in the 6 string and the cream Rose Picasso pickups in the 12 string. The Kinmans are pretty full and balanced sounding. They are very well tailored with string spacing and pole heights for my setup. The other thing with Kinmans is the low string pull. It is certainly possible to imagine that it is reduced given that Kinman advertises that their magnets reduce string pull but I am happy with what I feel. They are too expensive, however. That is their main drawback. I think that Fender was using them in their custom builds for a while IIRC. Originally Posted by st.bede
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Hooray for Jazzmaster-shaped plank guitars!
This one has a Warmoth neck (1 3/4" nut width, 1" fatback neck, 6100 frets), MJT nitro-finished pine body, Hipshot stainless steel HT bridge, and TV Jones T-Armonds. Total weight: 7.2 pounds.
MJT regularly sells JM bodies - some with standard JM routes, some with "telemaster" routes, and other variations. Many of them sell for under $300. I recommend the Warmoth/MJT approach - better quality than anything Fender does, with the specs you want.
Here are a couple of MJT JM bodies up for auction right now on ebay:
MJT Official Custom Vintage Age Nitro Guitar Body Mark Jenny VTJ 3-Tone 3lb 13oz | eBay
MJT Official Custom Vintage Age Nitro Guitar Body By Mark Jenny VTJ Sky Burst | eBayLast edited by Hammertone; 01-31-2022 at 04:05 AM.
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I want to thank everyone who's contributed ideas and pictures. This one is very close to what I was thinking, just great. Originally Posted by Hammertone
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