Jazzmasters

[Punkavenger]

I sat up drinking whiskey and watching dinosaur jr videos on youtube for hours last night.

I think I had a transaccidental experience.

Whats the story on the Jazzmaster? As in "What model, years, variations should I be looking for if I decide to buy one someday with $1000 pretty much being the limit unless something extraordinary comes along"

Thanks!

[cmatthes]

With $1,000, you're looking at a beater AVRI or a MIJ/CIJ or the new MIM model with the moved tailpiece.

I've seen some good deals on the AVRIs over the last few years, and there seems to be a lot of them on the market up for grabs right now. I'd hold out and look for one of those if I were you. They are WORLDS better than the imported stuff, although I'd definitely snag a J. Mascis JM if the price was right (IMHO, the best non-AVRI JM out there).

You may need to replace the pickups and/or the pots on the imported stuff, and those trems aren't as sturdy as the US part, but replacements are easy to find and affordable.

They are definitely cool guitars, but don't expect it to be like a Strat or P-90 guitar. It has it's own unique thing going on - play a few and you'll see.

You probably won't find anything from the '60s or early '70s in your price range, but projects and deals do pop up every now and then. I've got most of a '64 JM that's going back together once it's refinned properly. Putting SD Antiquities in there, but almost took the plunge on a set of Novaks - that guy KNOWS Jazzmasters.

Check out the Offset Forum for a good start. They get kind of judgemental at times, but a lot of good info there.

http://www.offsetguitars.com/forums

[Guest pirateflynn]

I've owned a few including a '59 Blonde and a '62 CAR. They have a fantastic feeling neck but very small frets which makes them pretty good for rhythm playing. Jazzmasters have a unique tone. It's a thick almost muddy sound without some rather extreme EQ help. The trem system is silly. Barely good for a wiggle and it probably impacts the tone negatively, too. I bought them when they were in the price range you were trying to stay in .. about $1,200. I went with Jazzmasters because I loved the offset look but later decided that there were much better sounding and playing guitars out there.

I would seriously consider one of these which I have seen used for close to your budget. Better tone, playability, etc.

Electrojet Standard

[mykel]

i've also been drawn to the jazzmaster/jaguar/offset style lately. i've found myself watching and listening to quite a bit of sonic youth, dinosaur jr, st. vincent, nels cline, elvis costello.

any opinions on the thurston moore model? the lee ranaldo model has humbuckers and so wasn't as big of a draw to me, i don't think. there's also the costello model, which i like the look of.

[Punkavenger]

http://cgi.ebay.com/Fender%AE-American-Vin...706136006r19220

Is this what I should be looking for? (but cheaper ) The Thurston Moore model looks interesting but is so damn ugly! It's also in the $1400 price range

[specialk]

http://cgi.ebay.com/Fender%AE-American-Vin...706136006r19220

Is this what I should be looking for? (but cheaper ) The Thurston Moore model looks interesting but is so damn ugly! It's also in the $1400 price range

That one is cool! I'm guessing it's USA made, and free shipping to boot. Snag it!

[Punkavenger]

http://cgi.ebay.com/Fender%AE-American-Vin...706136006r19220

Is this what I should be looking for? (but cheaper ) The Thurston Moore model looks interesting but is so damn ugly! It's also in the $1400 price range

That one is cool! I'm guessing it's USA made, and free shipping to boot. Snag it!

I WISH I had the dough! ... just doing a little research at this point ... I'll have one in about a year if the normal search/save/buy process occurs

[serial]

DO NOT buy one without playing a bunch of them. I've got a really nice '65 JM and have had a couple of '66 Jags (just did a deal with an HFCer on my last Jag). They are very much an acquired taste and as Pirateflynn says, as cool as they look, they're not particularly stable or a useful all-around guitar. I was listening to DinosaurJr. Less than an hour before I saw this post and have no idea at all how be gets the sounds out of his that he does. I've found it next to impossible to get anywhere close with my Jags or

my JM, but found it within easy range of my Phantom. If that's what you're shooting for, I'd recommend an old Phantom in a heartbeat over a JM.

[Punkavenger]

DO NOT buy one without playing a bunch of them. I've got a really nice '65 JM and have had a couple of '66 Jags (just did a deal with an HFCer on my last Jag). They are very much an acquired taste and as Pirateflynn says, as cool as they look, they're not particularly stable or a useful all-around guitar. I was listening to DinosaurJr. Less than an hour before I saw this post and have no idea at all how be gets the sounds out of his that he does. I've found it next to impossible to get anywhere close with my Jags or

my JM, but found it within easy range of my Phantom. If that's what you're shooting for, I'd recommend an old Phantom in a heartbeat over a JM.

I have a "Type 1" Proto coming soon ... maybe that will fit the bill ... sounds similar to a Phantom just less the neck pickup right?

[vockins]

If you end up playing your JM more than anything else, invest in the Mastery Bridge.

http://www.masterybridge.com

It is absolutely worth the money.

I think John Woodland may be very sick at the moment, though. They might be out of production for a while.

The CIJ ones usually respond well to a pickup and bridge replacement.

Also seconding offsetguitars.com

[serial]

You may not get there with the tone on a Prototype-I find them to be a lot brighter than Phantoms. JMs are pretty dark guitars and if you add the whammy, you get even closer. I LOVE my Jazzmaster and I liked the Jags, but I never played the Jags with the Jazzmaster around. They are fun guitars, but not for everybody.

[The Shark]

I've owned a bunch of vintage ones and few of the reissues. Serial's descriptions are spot on. They are kind of dark and more suited to rhythm playing. I love them right on the edge. The Jaguar has always suited me better, but that's personal preference. For what is't worth, I always sell them after a few weeks or months of fun. Don't spend a bunch of money.

[Punkavenger]

I have 3 great sounding Hamers (and two killer Hamer basses) ... what I really need is a band! Something where I can cut loose and be creative. Write songs, try shit out. All my musician friends are... real musicians! ... And dealing with my shenanigans doesn't really interest them. I should have started this in Jr high. Jennifer (remember the hot bass player?) is moving back to SB ... maybe she will help me out (I hope, fingers actually crossed at this moment)

[Doink]

I have a 1995 Jazzmaster, the first series of the reissues. It was the first "good" guitar I ever owned, purchased at the height of the grunge/alternative scene (even though I really wanted the Floyd loaded Fender HM Strat, but, you know, teenage peer pressure). I paid $600 for it, new, sans case. It was made in Japan, at the Fujigen factory. It is a pretty well made guitar, as are most of the pieces that come from that factory.

The guitar feels nice over all, and certainly has it's own unique sound. It even survived a trip down a staircase.

The things I don't like are:

- Due to the string-through-thinga-ma-jigger being so far back from where it bridges, the angle is very slight, and I find that when I play hard, which is often, the strings pop out of the slots in the saddles.

- The bridge isn't very secure. It can easily slide back and forth, while it stays anchored down in the studs. This severely fucks with intonation.

- The small frets really aren't my thing, and I chewed through them rather quickly.

All that said, it is a good guitar. Like the others say, make sure you play one first and make sure it's what you want.

I do still have a use for it today, in heavy metal. I use for my F Minor tuned songs, as it's the easiest guitar to retune out of my bunch.

[JohnnyB]

You're handy with wood. Why not make your own your own way?

This would enable you to put together a Jazzmaster the way you want it. For example, the third body pictured is routed for tunamatic/stoptail rather than the quirky JM tremolo assembly. It would also be the way to avoid vintage thin frets if that's not your thing. Warmoth offers near-infinite neck combinations of profile, radius, fret style, fretboard material, and even truss rod implementation. And there are a fair number of aftermarket Jazzmaster style pickups available. For example, Seymour Duncan offers JM pickups in Vintage, Quarter Pound, Hot, Antiquity, and Antiquity II. Lindy Fralin offers Jazzmaster pickups in slug style or screw-adjustable pole pieces.

Maybe you could get a custom headstock decal that said "PunkMaster."

[stormywaters]

Our other guitarist plays a JM, and I really like the sounds he gets out of the thing. It's the AVRI version, and he did swap the OEM bridge for a Mustang trem, but all and all the sound compliments my P-90 Special and my '80 DiMarzio loaded Special pretty well.

Then again, we are not the most "accessible" sounding band around.

Still, sounds cool in my opinion.

[Doink]

You're handy with wood. Why not make your own your own way?

This would enable you to put together a Jazzmaster the way you want it. For example, the third body pictured is routed for tunamatic/stoptail rather than the quirky JM tremolo assembly. It would also be the way to avoid vintage thin frets if that's not your thing. Warmoth offers near-infinite neck combinations of profile, radius, fret style, fretboard material, and even truss rod implementation. And there are a fair number of aftermarket Jazzmaster style pickups available. For example, Seymour Duncan offers JM pickups in Vintage, Quarter Pound, Hot, Antiquity, and Antiquity II. Lindy Fralin offers Jazzmaster pickups in slug style or screw-adjustable pole pieces.

Maybe you could get a custom headstock decal that said "PunkMaster."

Those Warmoth versions look great! A Tune-O-Matic would be a big improvement. Also, I forgot to not that the trussrod on my JM is only accessible if you take the neck off. At the time, I didn't know any better, but now I usually only buy guitars with truss rods that I can adjust while the neck is still attached. I am VERY anal about my action/set up, and living in a high humidity area, I find myself adjusting my trussrods about 3 or 4 times a year, as everything changes with the seasons.

This is the biggest reason why I haven't purchased one of those Charvel reissues. The truss is NOT accessible at the headstock. That's a big enough issue on a guitar like the JM, but on a Floyd machine, YIKES! I'm not quite THAT patient!

[Special J]

I rocked a CIJ JM for awhile. It was upgraded with Novack pickups and Tusq saddles. It sounded great. I agree that these are very unique instruments and not terribly versatile. That being said, mine was a lot of fun to play.