Jazzmaster soundcheck (Lollar pickups)

[fatback]

It's been a long time coming, but my Jazzmaster project is just about done.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v484/fatback2/IMG_4356.jpg
I'm still tweakin' a bit on the setup, but the preliminary report is that it's a monster. I'm loving the tones it's getting with the Lollars; very warm and articulate when played clean, but huge and menacing when gained up.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7968950486044420273&hl=en

:D

[Lowlands Erik]

What a great guitar!


Enjoy!

Erik

PS What kind of bridge have you used?

[chewynodoubt]

yes yes...tell us more. I have been quite a fan of your playing and vids for some time now!!!. I too have just undertaken a jazzmaster project. I got a neck and body from the bay. now I need everything else. Where did you get your parts (bridge, tailpiece, etc...) acmeguitarworks had a wiring kit but its out of stock. any help would be much appreciated.

chewynodoubt@gmail.com

[Brick]

That's awesome Fatback!

My CIJ Jazzmaster arrived at my office yesterday (of course I'm on vacation :jo ) and I have a set of Lollars on the way. Now I really can't wait to get home and test drive it.

I am interested in what bridge you are using as well. Before I do any modding to the bridge I plan on shimming the neck and putting 11s on to help keep things stable. But would love to hear what you choose and why.

As always, love the videos.


+

[Sub-D]

Wow, that looks and sound amazing, besides the lollars is it stock?
I am guessing not, the overdive sound is quite articulated and mean.
Nice one.

[ivers]

Wow, sounds beautiful, just so damn musical, and, as you say, huge.

[fatback]

Thanks for the comments.

The bridge and tailpiece were original, but I added a couple of things to them to help their functionality. The tailpiece now has a buzz-stop bar to increase the break angle over the bridge. This makes a huge difference in sustain and feel, (no floppy spaghetti strings.) On the bridge, I swapped out the original saddles for Graphtech replacements. These were much easier to adjust for the 9.5" radius replacement neck and greatly aid in tuning stability with the bar.

The electronics were all replaced. The upper bout controls are just cosmetic now. The guitar is wired only to the three-way switch, volume, and tone.

I want to give a shout out to Scott Lentz for doing such a great refin and Jeff Lattrell at SF Guitarworks for helping with the wiring and final assembly.

cheers.
:)

[EunosFD]

That really turned out nice. The patina on the orignal plastic bits really adds a nice touch too. It doesn't sound too shabby either. ;) I've always wanted a JM ever since I first heard Tom Verlaine & J. Mascis strangling some of the most incredible sounds out of 'em. A friend of mine has an early 90's MIJ Jag that I know is just sitting in a closet unused that if I someday find the cash for may see if he'll sell it to me. Fun guitars.

[starfish]

I just want to point out that the upper bout controls are one of the best things about the Jazzmaster tone-wise. You get a really fully sexy growl. Great rhythm tone. You are robbing yourself of half the tone, IMO. But, It may be impossible to wire it that way depending on what you're missing parts-wise.

I like the white on white color choice. I have a 1964 Olympic White (matching headstock, dark red tortoise guard, nicd yellow flecks on guard) and 1961 Sunburst slabboard. All Vintage Jazzmasters have great tone, but man oh man my 1961 slab Jazzmaster is crack syrup to my ears.

[fatback]

You are robbing yourself of half the tone, IMO.

I felt the exact opposite when I had this guitar in it's original condition, that the upper bout controls and wiring were robbing the pickups of half of their full sound. To each, their own.:)

I'd love to see a pics of your Jazzmasters. For my eyes, they are one of the coolest guitar designs... ever.:AOK





I'm certainly no traditionalist. I always loved the look of Jazzmasters, but could never get over some issues I had with the tone, tuning stability, and the thin 7" radious necks of the old ones I tried.

This guitar is really a wolf in sheep's clothing for me. It uses an old Jazzmaster body, bridge, and plastic but the rest of the guitar was pieced together. The fat 9.5" radious neck with 6105's is very comfortable for me to play and by putting on locking kluson tuners and (recently) losing the string tree, I can go nuts on the bar without tuning issues. I like the simplicity of only having the 3-way, volume, and tone controls since I'm always tweaking them with my pinky while I'm playing. As a fat sounding two single coil guitar, it sounds and plays more like a mashup of a Jazzmaster, a tele, and an SG special than a traditional Jazzmaster...


... and I couldn't be happier.
:D


cheers.

[paulg]

Me thinks those extra controls rob tone. I did a similar JZM project, only with a hardtail. I used Duncan Antiquites. It was way louder than any of my Strats or Teles. Any tone pot and cap will bleed off a little signal, the JZM wiring even more so.

ps: Fatback; still digging the 175!

[fatback]

Cool. You'll have to post some clips of that beauty. It was from my pre-vids days. ;)

It really had a sweet mellow tone. Did you leave the metal bridge on it or did you put the wooden one back on?

[starfish]

the thin 7" radious necks of the old ones I tried.



I'm not sure which models have the thinner necks, but my 2 pre-CBS have the B style and they are chunky necks, very comfortable. I have long fingers, big hands and no problems with these. Maybe the later block necks are thinner?

[starfish]

I'd love to see a pics of your Jazzmasters. For my eyes, they are one of the coolest guitar designs... ever.:AOK


The 1961 slab sunburst came to me from the John Paul Jones collection several years ago. "Don't even look at it." Actually, I play the F#%$# out of that guitar in a secret alternate tuning. The 1964 Olympic White (also clay dot) is a joy to play. The action is amazing and the original trem arm has a perfect angle and action, which almost none of the vintage JM's do.

Jazzmaster - Buy it for looks, buy it for life...

http://www.vanishing-point.net/gear/61jazzmastersunburst.jpg

http://www.vanishing-point.net/gear/1964JMfront.jpg

[fatback]

Wow. :drool Those are beautiful!

That JPJ one is in unreal condition, and with original hang tags!

It seems like a lot of folks with Jazzmasters have secret tunings; Sonic Youth, My Bloody Valentine, etc. I better find some of my own. ;)



thanks for the pics.
:YinYang

[patchesprescott]

Fatback, where in the hell did you learn to play the guitar?

very crazy style...unpredictable, dangerous and beautiful at the same time

seriously though - could you talk a little about your choice of notes and chords there - do you study theory or mostly play by ear?

i dig it

[fatback]

Well this could be a bore for some folks, but I'm willing to take a look into my belly-button for a minute. You can never run out of things to learn or apply on the guitar. It's a journey. Here's mine so far:

I've had a few brief periods of schooling and know some very basic theory, but I still mainly play by ear. In my late teens I attended a summer at Berklee and then studied music at Bennington for a couple of years with Bill Dixon, Milford Graves, and Gunner Schoenbeck (just missed Matte I'm afraid.) While he was still living in SF I had a couple of lessons with Jim Compilango.

I played trombone in school bands for 5 years, until I took up the guitar at 14, (thank you braces.) In High-school I lived in LA and took a few lessons at ACE music, (Larry Little!) and then at McCabes (Steve?). While living in Shanghai in the mid 90's I studied the Guozheng, a traditional Chinese zither that has eight strings on a fretless hollow body/neck.

In San Francisco where I've lived on and off since 92, I played bass in a few punk/rock bands that had the curious habit of imploding right after the first good demos were done.:p Over the last few years, my focus has been mainly on guitar again, with a few projects and demos for others, but nothing of note. Now I'm now getting ready to record my first project under my own name. Making all of these vids has really been fun, but I'm ready to put something bigger together. More than anything, I just love the guitar and music in general, and know I always will.


As for playing specifics. I use a lot of modified pentatonic scales in my playing, shifting between major and minor tonalities and adding chromatics. I've been messing about with intervalic playing a bit lately, but I'll get in way over my head if I try to talk about it too much. Basicaly, if I find an interesting diad, I'll try moving it around through a scale or against a drone. I might also expirement with adding other voices to create a new chord or scale. I'll start simple, follow my ear, and add bits and pieces until hopefully I reach something interesting. Other than that, I just try to make a good sound, listen to where it leads me , and then follow it to the next sound...

;)

[starfish]

Wow. :drool Those are beautiful!

That JPJ one is in unreal condition, and with original hang tags!

It seems like a lot of folks with Jazzmasters have secret tunings; Sonic Youth, My Bloody Valentine, etc. I better find some of my own. ;)



thanks for the pics.
:YinYang


Yeah, I was indeed lucky to get these before the 2000's craze of doubling values every 8 months. ;)

The JPJ guitar has a fair amount of dings and edge wear - it actually has some good play wear mojo going on. The high contrast photos make it look like a model on TV. :)

The Oly White spent most of it's life in the case and has only yellowed a bit in a couple spots, otherwise the white looks like 1964 Oly White. I'm the third owner, the other two didn't play much, but it has a couple chips through to the wood. It's cool because in the chipped areas you can see the yellow clearcoat on the bare wood underneath. The neck pocket and cavities also confirms it's 100%.

[starfish]

It's a journey. Here's mine so far:

Dude, I listen to A LOT of music is various styles, and I must say you are one of my favorite guitarists right now. I love your clips and really dig your style.

I can hear some 60's, a bit of blues and jazz in there too. I would buy a cd of your music so keep us posted! :)

On the other hand, it would be fun to jam too. Anyone here ever try cool pedal demo loop virtual track type jams? :JAM

I wish I had listened to more of what you probably listened to, but nope I was into Sonic Youth, My Bloody Valentine, The Beatles, Neil Young, The Cure (what did Robert Smith ever do to improve my playing??? I can write pretty, melodic, atmospheric tunes, but I wish I could play with more technical depth)

[Brick]

Dude, I listen to A LOT of music is various styles, and I must say you are one of my favorite guitarists right now. I love your clips and really dig your style.

I can hear some 60's, a bit of blues and jazz in there too. I would buy a cd of your music so keep us posted! :)



+1

:dude