The Jazzmaster...I think I finally get it...

thearnicasync · Post by **thearnicasync** » Fri Dec 30, 2005 8:51 pm

I just picked up a jazzmaster frankenstein guitar and OMG. I've always thought they were pretty, but i never realized the crazy but beautiful sounds you can get with them.

Mine has some repro neck and tuners but original electronics/shielding. It's baby blue...like an easter egg. It looks silly in Daphne Blue, but when I pick it up, it doesn't matter anymore. It's going on ten years since I felt this way about a guitar. I traded the last favorite guitar and regretted it 'til now.

Such a great recording guitar, like two guitars in one. The bridge has three different selections ranging from a p90-like thing to a fuller, but still bright enough sort of perfectly compressed sound rhythm sound. The neck (what the rollers are for, I finally learned after all these years of swervedriver, MBV, slowdive, sonic youth) is a totally seperate circuit with a HUGE yet still somehow bright enough sound. Lots of great lo mids. I never thought I'd say that.

Just thought I'd share...it kind of hit home after reading the gear is useless thread. It occurred to me that there's a strange irony in finding a piece of gear that totally inspires you. It doesn't have to be a neve eq. Or an API. Or a dual g5. Or a kegerator. So I've decided that gear can be inspirational, but not the Jacob's Ladder of vintage eq.

Also, I don't think I thank people around here enough, and I'm sorry for that. So thanks. And seriously, thanks for the laughs. I don't laugh when I look at Mix or when I'm standing Guitar Satan.

Again, thanks,

kelly

wedge · Post by **wedge** » Fri Dec 30, 2005 8:57 pm

Suddenly, I *really* want a jazzmaster. They make leftys?!?

thearnicasync · Post by **thearnicasync** » Fri Dec 30, 2005 9:04 pm

Absolutely...

creature.of.habit · Post by **creature.of.habit** » Sat Dec 31, 2005 4:18 am

i had one briefly, had to send it back cause the money i spent wasnt supposed to be spent at that time

anyway...i remember, from the week that i had it, that the sound was a lot fuller than i expected, even with most everyone complaining that the stock pups aint nothing but strat coils, and the tremolo issue aint half the problem those same ppl say it is..

sincerely i dont regret it that much...its a guitar i love and would love to still have it, but for the times i really have a use for its own sound, i guess i can use the money elsewhere..maybe one day..

one thing though...i went with it cause of MBV, etc...and that's a mistake in my opinion if that's all one's gonna use it for. beatiful sounds in it indeed, but walls of sound and high gain will sound pretty much the same on anything with coils or buckers, respectivly.

fromthecurve · Post by **fromthecurve** » Sat Dec 31, 2005 7:40 am

It's nice to see an appreciation of this often maligned guitar. I have a Jag and would love to pick up a Jazz someday. I find that something about the shape and balance makes these things really comfortable to play.

Maybe I'm lucky, but I don't understand the griping about the bridge/trem either. My Jag has the 'Mary Kay' finish, so when I bought it I started looking around for a gold Mustang bridge, just assuming I'd need to make the switch based on what I'd heard. I never did find one, which is just as well because I've never had a problem with the original. My bridge does have some electrical tape around the posts, so the original owner did something, and perhaps it worked!

bowling-name · Post by **bowling-name** » Sat Dec 31, 2005 4:00 pm

Has anyone every tried a jazzmaster (or similar) with the Fender Bigsby trem? Is it a significant upgrade? The prices of vintage jazzmasters are just too much for me, but I've been seduced by some of the American custom-shop "pinup" models...

creature.of.habit · Post by **creature.of.habit** » Sat Dec 31, 2005 5:22 pm

nah,

but ive been thinking about modding the squier version with one, a P90, a jazzmaster soapbox, and a jaguar coil. it would be interesting, to say the least.

rolandk · Post by **rolandk** » Sat Dec 31, 2005 6:56 pm

I love the Kurt Cobain rant about the Jag, forgot exactly how it went but it ended with "Whoever invented that guitar is a dork" right about the time Leo Fender died.
Then later he says "I called Leo Fender, the dead guy, a dork. Now I'll never get an endorsement". Classic.

nlmd311 · Post by **nlmd311** » Sun Jan 01, 2006 9:41 am

Here's the interview: http://www.nirvanaclub.com/index.php?se ... 92-gw.html

It's the Mustang he was referring to, not the Jaguar.
Not trying to correct you, I just love that interview and wanted to share.

-Darrill

rolandk wrote:I love the Kurt Cobain rant about the Jag, forgot exactly how it went but it ended with "Whoever invented that guitar is a dork" right about the time Leo Fender died.
Then later he says "I called Leo Fender, the dead guy, a dork. Now I'll never get an endorsement". Classic.

Rodgre · Post by **Rodgre** » Sun Jan 01, 2006 10:18 am

Here is a link to an article I wrote a while ago detailing the differences between Jazzmasters and Jaguars.
http://volcanoboy.com/modules/articles/article.php?id=6

I've been playing a Jazzmaster as my main guitar for about ten or eleven years now. I'm more comfortable on that body shape than anything else, and the tone (especially the middle two-pickup setting) has become an integral part of my tone.

Roger

rolandk · Post by **rolandk** » Sun Jan 01, 2006 10:20 am

Thats it, thanks!

gsa · Post by **gsa** » Sun Jan 01, 2006 4:22 pm

Er.. A Jaguar/Mustang/Jazzmaster has always been my dream guitar. I just found an old Silvertone Jaguar clone in my grandfather's basement.. sooo, until I can afford the real deal, I'm going to make-believe.

Electro-Voice 664 · Post by **Electro-Voice 664** » Sun Jan 01, 2006 4:26 pm

I just found an old Silvertone Jaguar clone in my grandfather's basement.. sooo, until I can afford the real deal, I'm going to make-believe.

Those silvertone jaguars, are great! I've owned both, and still think the silvertones are awesome. FWIW

gsa · Post by **gsa** » Sun Jan 01, 2006 4:41 pm

Yeah, it needs a bit of work, but I'm taking it on as my pet project..

I just had a really clear recall a couple of days ago of finding the thing as a kid and playing aruond with it, so I went to check it out, and lo-and-behold it had survived the many spring cleanings and was sitting in its (slightly molded) case in a basement closet.

weatherbox · Post by **weatherbox** » Mon Jan 02, 2006 6:24 am

I had a '63 for a short time earlier this year; I'd always had JM lust. Ended up selling it... a little too ratty; just wasn't a very good one. I'm sort of giving up on vintage ones; they've just gotten too pricey and they're hit or miss qualitywise. May yet grab a good MIJ or US RI though. When you've got a good one, they're stellar, and so comfortable. Right now I'm building a Gretsch/Jazzmaster hybrid combining aspects of both that I like.

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The Jazzmaster...I think I finally get it...

The Jazzmaster...I think I finally get it...

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