jazzmasters - new custom players series - pickup mods etc

[kayagum]

i have been trying it on my super reverb and a vibro champ as well as an ac30.

i like the flatwound idea. i usually play with 11s on my electrics.

i am partially wondering if many people use these guitars totally clean - a little OD seems to help tame the bite a little.

what kind of amps are you guys using?

Matching guitars with amps is similar to matching a mic to a preamp. A bright guitar (jazzmaster) with a bright amp (AC30) will get you a similar result as plugging a Rode NT1 into a Grace.

I bet your new guitar would sound good (or at least better) through a woolier amp, or at least through a woolier pedal. Or as previously suggested, dial down the tone at the guitar or the treble on the amp. With many single coils, I turn the treble almost or completely down.

[joninc]

what types of amp would you recommend?

[lyman]

what types of amp would you recommend?

some amps have a bright input - JTM45/old fender bassman comes to mind. i got a JTM45 clone recently and it's quite dark if you plug into the appropriate input.

most amps with a treble knob (or a presence knob for extra control) should be able to get you there, as others have suggest.

speaker choice is crucial too. i find that alnico speakers are smoother in the top end and hemp cone (tone tubby, cannabis rex, and others) are darker still.

long guitar cables might be something to try too. i know that blues-man albert collins would only use like a 50' cable or something since he liked how the highs on his telecaster were attenuated.

[joninc]

ok - i am familiar with eq knobs and bright inputs etc... on the amps, thanks for that helpful insight.

i have alnico's in my ac30 and i am not running through the top boost - i can roll off presence yes - i get all this.

BUT if this amp (or my vintage fenders - silver face super, silver face vibro champ and blackface deluxe) are a bad combo (which i find hard to believe) - what amps do you guys prefer?

i am pretty sure the WILCO guys are using AC30's and marshalls.

[grahamed]

I have an un-modified Japanese RI Jazzmaster, about 20 years old or so... it sounds fantastic through my late 60's Bassman, either channel, and unlistenably spiky, harsh, all those things you said, through my AC30.

I would have thought the Super Reverb would be a good match, it's the classic Tom Verlaine/Television set up, but I have never used a Super Reverb.

BTW, thinking about it, Tom now uses AC30s and he's switched away from the Jazzmasters to some kind of Strat with lipstick pickups

I think Nels uses Dr Z amps -- Tweedy is the AC30 guy in Wilco.

[joninc]

nels plays jeff's offset JTM 45 in wilco

[joninc]

apparently he's got this now...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nzexjOkiXnc

[Rolsen]

I've got Seymour Duncan Jazzmaster Quarter Pounders in my jazzmaster, which the purists don't enjoy, but they do have a more 'full frequency' sound. I think most enjoy the middle pickup position on the Jazz - I know I do, and I think thats pretty darn smooth sounding. I certainly use the treble-cut knob on my AC30 liberally, and find the Normal channel is way nicer for a Jazzy. Don't tell Adam Franklin (swervedriver and more) that the Jazz/AC30 combo is no good!

[nick_a]

i decided to install lollar jmaster p90s in my jazzmaster copy. I quickly realized once i got them that they're a lot deeper than normal jazzmaster pickups (duh, more magnet), so i had to have the pickup cavities routed a little bit to make 'em fit. However, i think they sound awesome. Definitely not spiky. More p90 pushy midrange goodness.