Jazzmaster

[rio45]

I'm considering buying a US made Jazzmaster reissue, for surf/lounge/psycho-instrumental stylings. I have yet to seriously sit down and play it.

I'm currently using a Strat, and, get this, a '54 reissue Les Paul Custom with Bigsby, which sounds awesome, although not exactly an instrument typical of the musical style I'm playing.

It's not like I need another guitar, but GAS is GAS, and I'm intrigued by the fact that so many surf-bands (past and present-- see Los Straitjackets) use Jazzmasters.

I'd like to hear from Jazzmaster owners (and former owners)as to how they like the instrument, pluses and minuses, the kind of music they prefer to use it for, etc.

What do you think? Do I go for it, to achieve an authentic look & sound, or just stick with what I've got? How does the US re-issue compare with the earlier, cheaper Japanese re-issues? Any other comments or suggestions?

[Ashcaster]

I own a 63 Jazzmaster and have played both the new MIA reissues and the old MIJ reissues. The new American ones are terrific, IMO. Quality-wise they are as good as vintage just lack that vibe that a vintage guitar has. MIJ's are pretty crappy IMO. Bad pickups, cheap wood, etc.

Regarding Jazzmasters in general, they are finicky beasts. Definitely play the heck out of several before committing to buying one. They are not for everyone. They can be tricky to set up properly. Without a proper set-up (which often means using heavy gauage or flatwound strings) you're likely to get lots of buzzing and the bridge saddles will rattle like crazy. Properly set-up (and especially when using flatwound strings--which it is generally agreed they were designed for) they can play wonderfully.

The pickups hum like crazy when using distortion. Clean they sound amazing, especially the 2-pickups-at-once setting. It's a unique tone that you can't get from any other guitar.

Keep in mind that the Jazzmaster was designed for jazz, so it has a mellow, slightly dark tone and very little sustain. Therefore, it's not the greatest guitar for overdriven R&R tones. But that's just my opinion. Jazzmasters have been used by plenty of rock guitarists (and few jazz artists oddly enough).

I like mine a lot but my Tele gets played a lot more.

[VibroCount]

For the type of music you indicate you want to play, there are few guitars better than a Jazzmaster. I've had a '64, a CIJ RI (still do), and played a MIA RI. The MIA RI is an excellent guitar. I found that the Japanese make had only two flaws, shared by every MIJ/CIJ Jazzmaster: the pups were lousy Strat style (not that Strats are lousy, but THESE pups were), without the wide shallow size that true Jazzmaster sound comes from. I replaced then with the SD Vintage pups. As I was doing so, I notice how tiny & cheap the pots were, so I replaced those at the same time.

They are made of basswood, which often creates a dead tone, so try whichever one you're thinking of, but then again, anyone who expects great sustain from a Jazzmaster is getting the wrong guitar.

Yes, the Jazzmaster is best played with 11s or 12s, and flatwounds complete the tone. The bridge is a mass of slots and heavy strumming will bounce a string (or 5) out of the main slot into another one. There are many solutions: 1) don't play so hard; 2) use a narrow file & deepen the main slot; 3) replace the bridge barrels with Mustang ones -- it comes up a wee bit narrower, but a tiny washer between a couple barrels will keep the absolute string spacing. Some don't mind the narrower bridge (it is 98% as wide as stock), some do (I've got 2 washers in mine).

These ideas are easily found at Mel Waldorf's page: Jazzmaster Freaks. Check out the Tech Q&A.

[kottkewannabe]

I'm about ready to kill my computer...I tried posting twice and it kills everything I had to say. In a nutshell, get a TOM bridge with lubricating saddles to avoid string breakage. Everything short of this was STILL frustrating with my Jazzmaster. Wrap electrical tape around the posts until they fit snuggly or better yet, have a tech drill through the bottom and screw the posts directly into the body (costly, but great results). Also, everyone has suggested heavy strings for a good reason. I used 13's and loved them. You just can't hit your guitar hard enough to get the thing really singing with thin strings partially because it's a big chunk of wood and partially because they'll skip over to the next groove very easily.

One last thing...I'm not familiar with all of the internet lingo...what is "CIJ"?

[VibroCount]

MIA=Made in America
MIM=Made in Mexico
MIJ=Made in Japan
CIJ=Crafted in Japan (which was what certain years' MIJ Fender guitars carried, not a "Made in Japan" sticker -- I know of no other difference between a MIJ & a CIJ Fender, although there might be)

sorry for the confusion

[kottkewannabe]

Rio wrote..."I'd like to hear from Jazzmaster owners (and former owners)as to how they like the instrument, pluses and minuses, the kind of music they prefer to use it for, etc."

I think that my hatred of my computer overshadowed what you were asking for as opposed to what I felt like talking about. My comments on the bridge were ones that would allow you to fast-forward past the frustrations and right into getting the very most out of the Jazzmaster that I would HIGHLY recommend. It's finnicky (2 N's?), but is one hell of a cool guitar. I don't mean that in a wear-your-sunglass-at-night way, I mean that it's tonally unique and provides a different sort of release of your musical ideas. To reply to your request, I was obviously frustrated by the bridge and as sort of a heads up, the soft angle over the saddles is a huge part of what makes this guitar what it is. It's part of the frustrating part (but that can be circumvented) and it's also part of great part of this piece. You'll notice that attack is much softer and more, as I can't find a better word, "velvety". This is great with just a tiny bit of overdrive and again, with heavy strings. Also, I would highly recommend replacing the pickups with Duncan "Hot"s. The price of that upgrade faded more and more the more I played. Also, a good dose of shielding paint/tape would be helpful as would some better pots. Crap...I'm rambling into "tips" instead of replying to what you were looking for. As for musical styles, I've got to say that some lovely jazz tones can in fact be coaxed out of it as well as a more jangley clean than I've heard hardly anywhere else. It really doesn't work for a super woody attack...no SRV, that's for sure, but there's hardly any edge to the note...it's so rounded and bubbly. And overdriven, remember that the guy from Bush used one (with Alnico II humbuckers) for their first album.

I hope this helps and I hope you look more into the potential of this instrument since how it's set up in the store (with 9's or 10's and the buzzing-to-be bridge) probably won't knock your socks off.

Thanks for the CIJ clarification, by the way. I appreciate being helped up.

[Teleologist]

When I want those kinds of sounds I reach for my Ric 360/6 - thru a Fender amp it surfs better than a Jazzmaster or Jaguar IMO without all the problems(Carl Wilson used a 360/12 quite a bit - even played solos on it). Besides, Rics are 'California' guitars - they've always have been made in Santa Anna and remain a family owned operation much like Martin ;)

Most Rics are all maple(body & neck) with shallow string angles at the bridge and nut so there's not a lot of sustain and they get 'that' sound before you even plug in. The wide/flat single coil PUPs are similar to P90s or Jazzmaster PUPs - maybe a bit brighter and Ric also has bright sounding dual-blade type mini-hummers available if hum is an issue. Turning down the tone controls Jazzes things up nicely.

Another guitar with those kinds of sounds(thru a Fender) is an Epi Casino with P90s.

[kottkewannabe]

Man...I would LOVE to get a Ric. I've just never been able to handle the neck. Why oh why is it so skinny? A glossy fretboard and 1 5/8" (even on 12 strings?!) just kills me but it kills me more not to have that awesome tone. Argh!

And say, Theologist. What more specifically are you a theologist of, if you don't mind my asking?

[Teleologist]

"A glossy fretboard and 1 5/8" "

Actually, a lot of people are surprised to learn it's the same width as a vintage maple neck Tele or Strat ;) What's different is that it stays fairly narrow up the neck - string spacing at the bridge is typically 2" or even a bit less, and the fretboard radius is 10" instead of 7.25". The 12's are the same(I have 2 of 'em) and IMO that's part of what makes them playable as lead instruments - that plus the reverse stringing of the octave pairs and the double truss rod necks that let you get the action down nice and comfortable. For playing chords with 12 strings thru an amp, an occasional muted string every now and then doesn't really hurt the sound. Some people do capo them all the time to get farther away from the nut. Another thing I had done to mine, is to have the nut recut to move the strings closer to the edge - you don't do many big bends on a 12 anyway.

This is a frequent topic on the Ric forum and one thing that came up in a thread with Roger is that most Ric players(myself included) don't play chords the way they're typically shown in chord books. I learned years ago on narrow necks and for many chords I use one finger instead of 2, two instead of 3, etc. Another cool thing is to play different chord forms higher up the neck - this also gets the octave pairs more into it. Callouses help too and lots of people say practice and time helps.

But for others there IS salvation - check out the 660/6 and 660/12 - 1 3/4" at the nut! Not quite the same design or sound as the semi-hollow 300 series, these are based on the older neck thru Ric design. Originally the 12 was one of the Tom Petty signature models, but it was so popular they made it a production model.

For more RIC GAS, check out the Ric Forum at -

http://forum.rickresource.com/

Oh BTW, that Tele-ologist, as in one who studies Teles. :) :)

[kottkewannabe]

No, I hate the old skinny Fenders too. But yes, they do widen a bit more than the Rics. But 12 strings?...who are these made for?...Oompa Loompas? I'm more of a 1 3/4" nut guy myself, Strats and all, so I'll try to hunt one of those down...thanks for the tip.

[Brendan]

Originally posted by VibroCount


They are made of basswood, which often creates a dead

Just for the record, the export Jazzmasters from Japan in the eighties and nineties were basswood, but the JM for the Japanese domestic market was/is made of Alder. You can get a new one direct from Ishibashi music in Japan delivered to your door for ~$700. They still have the incorrect pickups issue, but I swapped in a pair of SD Vintage to cure that problem.
http://www.ishibashi-music.com

[Jim Shine]

I have experiance with all the Jazzmaster's now. I highly suggest a MIA reissue if money is an issue. If you can afford to throw a couple more bucks, go with a pre-'68 Jazzmaster and you will be in heaven. If money is no object, find a slab board blonde Jazzmaster (1958-very early 1962). These (blondes only) have ash bodies and the sound of these tend to be the most balanced of all Jazzmaster's. Hands down my favorite Jazzmaster tone.

[SteveK]

MIJ Jazzmaster owner here. I have a '95 model finished in Fotoflame. I must admit that I took it to Hong Kong and stashed it at a friend's apartment back in 2001 when I thought we were moving back there iminiantly and have'nt played it once since! Anyhow. I left the pickups stock, but got sick of the buzzing, moving bridge pieces and jumping strings. First I tried a set of Fender 13-56 Flatwounds. These really mke the thing behave as it should. Surf sounds all day, just don't try to bend those strings unless you detune by a semitone! Even the whammy bar makes more sense with the higher string guages. A bend-free zone was not much use to me though as I'm mainly a blueser. Eventually I bought a buzz-stop, reverted to 9's and was happy with the results. I still itch to show up with it to a Blues Jam. Maybe one of these years...

- Steve K

[rio45]

Well, I got my MIA Vintage '62 Re-issue in a sunburst finish, purchased on e-bay for $900US, in absolutely mint condition (tremolo bar, strings etc still in sealed plastic packaging).

Not only that, but I strung it with 11 - 50 flatwounds and played it at a gig last night-- woo hoo! Even without a proper set up (I just got it the night before), it sounded absolutely killer!

There were a couple of issues-- the high E popped out of the nut a couple of times (screwed up one song, unfortunately) and the low E shifted grooves on its saddle, but I'm having those issues addressed by my local guitar guy (probably a shim to angle the neck back just a bit and increase tension at the bridge & nut) who is a Jazzmaster owner himself, so I expect it'll play just lovely when he's done with it.

The tone is amazing-- real punchy lower end twang. No sustain, but that's not what it's meant for. I love it.

Thanks to everyone for their input.

[drazfoo]

Hey just take my word on this mate they rock
www.cafewah.co.uk