How I spent my Saturday, or Help Me Choose A Jazzmaster orientation

[St_Genesius]

So...I spent longer than I care to admit this past weekend wrangling with a hunk of Alder and turning into a rough estimate of a Jazzmaster body. No control/pickup/neck routing yet, nor arm and belly countours. Jsut the basic sillouette and rounded over edges.

That where you come in.

How would YOU configure the bdoy from here, if this was your from-scratch build. Here are the options that I have the ability to illustrate.

1. The Classic. Traditional Jazzmaster body, with a Strat-style headstock. This example is a CBSish big one, but I'd probably actually go with a smaller variant.


2. The Classic, with Reverse Headstock. Personally, I kinda hate this one, especially with the bigger headstock.


3. The Telemaster. Tele headstock on a Jazzmaster body. Often seen with Tele pickups, but that's a different conversation. I have...some ideas.


4. The Telemaster with Reverse headstock. I think the super small headstock works well in reverse. But vote your heart!


5. The Reverse Jazzmaster. Flip a Jazzmaster over and you get a sort of soft Firebirdish shape. I'm sure this comes as a complete shock to Gibson. /sarcasm


6. The Double Reverse Jazzmaster. I kinda feel like I'm just looking at a left-handed instrument...


7. The Reverse Telemaster, AKA the Cabronita Reverse. Fender did this a year or two ago. Even put a cool Firebirdish pickguard on them. But only one pickup. And they charged like $4K.


8. The Double Reverse Telemaster.


Vote above! It probably won't change what *I'm* going to do, but I'm not totally decided, so who knows.

 

[Rand-O-Monium]

Re: How I spent my Saturday, or Help Me Choose A Jazzmaster orientation

5 or 6 for me...

 

[treyhaislip]

Re: How I spent my Saturday, or Help Me Choose A Jazzmaster orientation

I think the larger body with the Tele headstock is throwing me off...I like the first one.

 

[St_Genesius]

Re: How I spent my Saturday, or Help Me Choose A Jazzmaster orientation

Here are some real world reference shots, for giggles.

 

[ehdwuld]

Re: How I spent my Saturday, or Help Me Choose A Jazzmaster orientation

I was leaning to #5
Then the pictures
And the standard #1
Was obvious

*(Sent from my durned phone!)*

 

[Wattage]

Re: How I spent my Saturday, or Help Me Choose A Jazzmaster orientation

#4

#2 looks OK but I'm thinking Ilike the smaller Tele headstock

 

[St_Genesius]

Re: How I spent my Saturday, or Help Me Choose A Jazzmaster orientation

That's my second place choice. Definitely still a contender.

#4

 

[Boogie Bill]

Re: How I spent my Saturday, or Help Me Choose A Jazzmaster orientation

I voted Classic, being the old dog that I am. But I dig the Tele-Master too.

Reverse headstocks look cool, but I find them to be very impractical when trying to tune fast while on stage.

Still I think a cool version of the Jazz-Master is that body with a Strat pickguard, vibrato, wiring and the three singles. I've also see a Jazz with stock guard and controls and three JM pickups.

But hard to beat the classic style.

Bill

 

[Funkfingers]

Re: How I spent my Saturday, or Help Me Choose A Jazzmaster orientation

Unless you have an obsession with vintage-correct specifications, avoid the Floating Vibrato tailpiece and travelling bridge.

 

[St_Genesius]

Re: How I spent my Saturday, or Help Me Choose A Jazzmaster orientation

Would a slave to tradition even be considering these variations?

FWIW, the biggest problem that I've had with other jazzmasters is strings popping out of their slots -- because they don't really HAVE slots, exactly -- in the saddles. I won't be going traditonal on this; I've got a couple of notions that I think will be cool, and preserve some of what I dig about JMs, while jettisoning some bits that I either never use or just plain don't work right.

 

[St_Genesius]

Re: How I spent my Saturday, or Help Me Choose A Jazzmaster orientation

Carved the forearm contour today. Guess I'm committed now!

 

[Wattage]

Re: How I spent my Saturday, or Help Me Choose A Jazzmaster orientation

check the measurements of the J Mascis for the bridge and trem, makes a world of difference and the TOM is perfect for it

 

[St_Genesius]

Re: How I spent my Saturday, or Help Me Choose A Jazzmaster orientation

I've actually got a rather special idea for the tailpiece (no trem), that will echo the overall shape of the body, while preserving the long string length behind the bridge.

Actually, that description might be enough to tell you exactly what I have planned.

 

[jeremy]

Re: How I spent my Saturday, or Help Me Choose A Jazzmaster orientation

i love #4 and if i build another guitar, it may be that. i like the look of the reverse body but from a playing standpoint the lack of upper fret access makes it a go no for me

 

[St_Genesius]

Re: How I spent my Saturday, or Help Me Choose A Jazzmaster orientation

A legitimate concern. Luckily, my skills run out around the 12th fret.

i like the look of the reverse body but from a playing standpoint the lack of upper fret access makes it a go no for me

 

[jeremy]

Re: How I spent my Saturday, or Help Me Choose A Jazzmaster orientation

oh hell, my skills run out around the 5th fret but i still like to play my crappy licks up an octave

 

[St_Genesius]

Re: How I spent my Saturday, or Help Me Choose A Jazzmaster orientation

Oh, hey. Look what was waiting for me when I stopped by the house to let the puppy out (that's his head in the lower right there).

 

[0v3nm4n]

Re: How I spent my Saturday, or Help Me Choose A Jazzmaster orientation

regular body, reverse tele headstock

tele neck pickup, strat middle, tv jones bridge