Dam!t, Fender Put Humbuckers In My Jazzmaster.....

[Nostalgic Distortion]

So I just got a pretty great deal on a American Special Jazzmaster, $550 shipped with a bag!!!



Apparently it’s a good thing I got it cheap because some genius decided that this particular model of Jazzmaster should have humbucking pickups in it? I really don’t get Fender’s thinking here, but I never understood their Fender Noiseless Strat & Tele pups either? Different strokes for different folks I suppose but Jazzmasters/Jaguars with humbucking pickups just seem really wrong to me so I’ll be changing those out ASAP!

With that said the rest of the guitar looks great!!! I actually kinda prefer the more bare bones look it’s got without the roller knobs, Etc. & definitely love the idea of the T.O.M. style bridge/stopbar!!! My own experience with Fender offset’s has shown me that while cool looking, their tremolo systems can be finicky at best & are rarely worth the hassle they cause. I mean unless you wanna spend a bunch of extra money on replacing nuts, roller saddles, Etc., & even then they’re still not the most stable devices...


So when I sat down this morning to look for replacement pups it occurred to me that I’ve actually never replaced the pickups in a Jazzmaster that was mine. I’ve installed replacement pickups in them for friends & clients but the Jazzmasters that I’ve owned have either already had pretty decent pickups installed or were routed for real PAF sized humbuckers so I don’t really know what I should be looking for?

Basically what I’d like @ least in my head, is a true single coil set that has a RWRP neck pickup for hum-cancellation in the middle switch position. However the whole RWRP thing isn’t necessarily a dealbreaker. I’d certainly rather have some 60 cycle hum behind some good sounding pups than have quiet but dead sounding ones!!! Now granted I haven’t actually tried these pickups yet but I’ve yet to find a stacked or humbucking “single coil” that could hold a candle to the real thing & I don’t expect anything to be different when this arrives....

So anyway, anybody got any pickup suggestions for me???

 

[Dave Locher]

Re: Dam!t, Fender Put Humbuckers In My Jazzmaster.....

Plug it in and play it! Who decides to replace pickups they haven't even heard yet?? You might love them.
And if you don't you will be able to see "I want more ____" or "less ____ would suit me better."
FWIW, I know from experience you can fit a standard humbucker under a Jazzmaster cover if that makes you happier, although I am not sure why a real PAF sized humbucker would automatically be better than a stacked humbucker?
Plug it in, play it a bit!

 

[AlexR]

Re: Dam!t, Fender Put Humbuckers In My Jazzmaster.....

^ It sounds more like he's interested in the actual JM pickup.......you know, 1 coil - and flat.

 

[Mincer]

Re: Dam!t, Fender Put Humbuckers In My Jazzmaster.....

I like the Antiquity Jazzmaster (which does the RWRP thing) better than the II version, as I like the A2 magnets a bit better. I think the Antiquities are a little warmer than the II- and when I think of a Jazzmaster, that is the sound.

 

[Nostalgic Distortion]

Re: Dam!t, Fender Put Humbuckers In My Jazzmaster.....

^ It sounds more like he's interested in the actual JM pickup.......you know, 1 coil - and flat.

Exactly... I would like my Jazzmaster to sound like a Jazzmaster

But your right, I mean I guess they could be amazing? If so I’ll be the first one to admit it!

But it’s kinda like going out to dinner at a restaurant & saying “perhaps I’ll love the trout” even though past experience has told me that sea food of any kind makes me sick....

However if Fender has finally found that magic formula I’ll be happy to keep them & I’ll be happy to sing their praises! I mean I don’t particularly like or want 60 cycle hum, but I would like all of the clarity/sparkle that true singles offer.. Unfortunately I’ve yet to find a stacked pickup that can do this?

 

[Nostalgic Distortion]

Re: Dam!t, Fender Put Humbuckers In My Jazzmaster.....

I like the Antiquity Jazzmaster (which does the RWRP thing) better than the II version, as I like the A2 magnets a bit better. I think the Antiquities are a little warmer than the II- and when I think of a Jazzmaster, that is the sound.

Thanks Mincer, this was exactly the kind of advice I was looking for...

 

[Dave Locher]

Re: Dam!t, Fender Put Humbuckers In My Jazzmaster.....

I wasn't trying to be a jerk, honest! You mentioned "real PAFsized humbuckers" and that threw me off your intent. Sorry.
I would have bought guitar that for looks alone - especially in that color combo.

 

[Nostalgic Distortion]

Re: Dam!t, Fender Put Humbuckers In My Jazzmaster.....

I wasn't trying to be a jerk, honest! You mentioned "real PAFsized humbuckers" and that threw me off your intent. Sorry.
I would have bought guitar that for looks alone - especially in that color combo.

No offense taken my friend....

So I've actually found a set that I'm going to try. It's not a RWRP set but they are free so I figure they're definitely worth a shot?

My buddy has a new Preformer Series Jazzmaster & he had me change out the original Tim Shaw Yosemite "shellacked" A4 set that came with it for some Duncan's shortly after buying it.

I'd remembered that he'd kept the pickups after the swap so I called him this morning to see if he'd be willing to sell them. He said that he had no intention of putting them back in so I could just have em if I wanted so we'll see how those work?

I didn't bother trying the guitar when I had it until after I'd swapped out the Yosemite's so I have no idea what I'm getting but they're certainly closer to what I was wanting & you can't beat the price!!!

 

[ICTGoober]

Re: Dam!t, Fender Put Humbuckers In My Jazzmaster.....

It's the 21st century, and single coil noise should be a thing of the past.

 

[Nostalgic Distortion]

Re: Dam!t, Fender Put Humbuckers In My Jazzmaster.....

It's the 21st century, and single coil noise should be a thing of the past.

I agree! Unfortunately it is not, at least not without a bit of compromise in tone...

I will say that the stacked singles that Duncan makes today are much better than they used to be but there's still no such thing as completely noiseless true single coil tone....

 

[GuitarDoc]

Re: Dam!t, Fender Put Humbuckers In My Jazzmaster.....

The title of your thread is a bit misleading and confusing until I figured out that you aren't talking about "humbuckers", but "hum cancelling" Jazzmaster pups. Very different animals.

 

[ItsaBass]

Re: Dam!t, Fender Put Humbuckers In My Jazzmaster.....

It makes no sense to worry about the pickups being stacked humbuckers, when it has a Gibson tailpiece/bridge and non-Jag/JM electronics. I'd take stacked pickups any time over the loss of Jag/JM wiring and/or Jag/JM bridge/vibrato. Everything that makes a Jag/JM special is gone from that guitar, so it's senseless to pick nits about the pickups not being "true" JM pickups.

 

[Nostalgic Distortion]

Re: Dam!t, Fender Put Humbuckers In My Jazzmaster.....

It makes no sense to worry about the pickups being stacked humbuckers, when it has a Gibson tailpiece/bridge and non-Jag/JM electronics. I'd take stacked pickups any time over the loss of Jag/JM wiring and/or Jag/JM bridge/vibrato. Everything that makes a Jag/JM special is gone from that guitar, so it's senseless to pick nits about the pickups not being "true" JM pickups.

I respectfully disagree sir... Although I do understand where your coming from...

As I said before for me personally the “Gibson” bridge/stop-bar, lacks of knobs, wheels, & other assorted moving parts are all wins in my opinion! Those particular features are why I decided to take this one over some of the beautiful CIJ’s that I could have gotten for about the same price.

Again I agree that those things that you say make a Jazzmaster a Jazzmaster do add a lot in the way of Offset quirkiness, the softer tremolos are also a dead giveaway of that classic tone, & all that chrome is just gorgeous! That said it’s nothing that I’d use & therefore in my case I’d rather it not be there to interfere with my tuning stability, Etc....

 

[ItsaBass]

Re: Dam!t, Fender Put Humbuckers In My Jazzmaster.....

I respectfully disagree sir... Although I do understand where your coming from...

As I said before for me personally the “Gibson” bridge/stop-bar, lacks of knobs, wheels, & other assorted moving parts are all wins in my opinion! Those particular features are why I decided to take this one over some of the beautiful CIJ’s that I could have gotten for about the same price.

Again I agree that those things that you say make a Jazzmaster a Jazzmaster do add a lot in the way of Offset quirkiness, the softer tremolos are also a dead giveaway of that classic tone, & all that chrome is just gorgeous! That said it’s nothing that I’d use & therefore in my case I’d rather it not be there to interfere with my tuning stability, Etc....

Let me restate, since there seems to be confusion as to the point of my statements.

Use whatever features you want on a Jazzmaster. I'm not knocking you for liking the Gibson setup and the lack of all the JM things.

What I am saying is that with a guitar that is so far from a JM anyhow, in very big ways, it doesn't make sense to worry about the pickups being stacked hummers.

In other words, don't change the pickups out JUST BECAUSE they are stacked hummers, and you think those don't belong on a JM. Nothing on that guitar is JM, except the general shapes. Change them out if you actually dislike the way they sound, and can't make them work for you, not just because they aren't traditional JM pickups.

 

[AlexR]

Re: Dam!t, Fender Put Humbuckers In My Jazzmaster.....

It's the 21st century, and single coil noise should be a thing of the past.

The only thing the 21st century 'should' have made us aware of is that humans cannot simply wave the 'invention' wand and simply make problems or inconveniences disappear. The 'deus ex machina' thing only ever happens on Star Trek.

 

[GuitarDoc]

Re: Dam!t, Fender Put Humbuckers In My Jazzmaster.....

Let me restate, since there seems to be confusion as to the point of my statements.

Use whatever features you want on a Jazzmaster. I'm not knocking you for liking the Gibson setup and the lack of all the JM things.

What I am saying is that with a guitar that is so far from a JM anyhow, in very big ways, it doesn't make sense to worry about the pickups being stacked hummers.

In other words, don't change the pickups out JUST BECAUSE they are stacked hummers, and you think those don't belong on a JM. Nothing on that guitar is JM, except the general shapes. Change them out if you actually dislike the way they sound, and can't make them work for you, not just because they aren't traditional JM pickups.

Actually, he wasn't talking about stats of the guitar with reference to the pups, but he WAS talking about the tone. Maybe you just missed it. Here is what he said..."Basically what I’d like @ least in my head, is a true single coil set that has a RWRP neck pickup for hum-cancellation in the middle switch position. However the whole RWRP thing isn’t necessarily a dealbreaker. I’d certainly rather have some 60 cycle hum behind some good sounding pups than have quiet but dead sounding ones!!! Now granted I haven’t actually tried these pickups yet but I’ve yet to find a stacked or humbucking “single coil” that could hold a candle to the real thing & I don’t expect anything to be different when this arrives...."