2019 J Mascis Jazzmaster Changes

[prospect]

One more note: If you do like the chunkier/C necks the 2019 plays great and you'll love these. Personally, I prefer the less chunky necks on my older JMJM's. I was under the impression (perhaps wrong) that folks prefered the less chunkier JMJM necks.

[alexpigment]

Right. Indian laurel is usually not as dark, but the more telling sign is there are no dark 'pits'/dots in the wood. I've seen my share of both, and I am almost positive you have a rosewood board on your 2019. I suppose it's possible to dye the wood to where the grain and pits would be the same color, but I've not seen Squier do this on any previous model.

And for what it's worth, I do like the JMJM because of its comparatively thick neck. I assumed that's why everyone else liked them too

[prospect]

And for what it's worth, I do like the JMJM because of its comparatively thick neck. I assumed that's why everyone else liked them too

I feel like I'm in the twilight zone. Haha. These necks have always felt slimmer to me compared to my other guitars. But from the consensus on the thread, it seems these were known for having chunkier necks.

Well, if you like thicker necks, at the very least I can share my observation that the 2019 JMJM's have thicker/chunkier necks than years prior.

Besides color - is there a reason people prefer rosewood over laurel? I too like the darker coloring, but wondering if there are other reasons at play.

[alexpigment]

Well, let's put it this way, the JMJM neck is chunkier than most Squiers as well as chunkier than a lot of standard Fenders, but it's certainly not anywhere near baseball bat on the ones I've tried. I do remember my Baja Tele was also quite a bit thicker. So yeah, I can see a situation where it would be the slimmest of your guitars.

As for Rosewood vs Laurel, it's mostly aesthetics. Laurel is just not a pretty wood, or I have a mental bias based on 60 years of Fender guitars.

[Fendereedo]

My 2019 JM JM is laurel and it's a nice wood, not the best looking with it's grey tones, but nice enough. It also has a quite nice dark hue, I also used a touch of Fret Doctor which darkened the board a touch more.

[601210]

FWIW I've seen JMJM pickguards around here before 2019 that were less yellow. I got mine 2012ish and the gold is super yellow, and coming off in places where I touch it regularly.

Neck thickness is all relative, anyways. My old Affinity Tele was like trying to play a chopstick, but I wouldn't even have known until I got my JMJM. The Squier VM 70s Strat neck I got on my partscaster is even thicker.

As far as I know there's absolutely nothing wrong with Laurel or Pau Ferro if you don't mind the color, other than that they aren't Rosewood. People just tend to like the woods on their guitar being called certain things.

[pikmin]

If the serial number is CY and not CGS anymore, it’s probably a new Chinese Factory that is making them now...
Probably not a good thing ...

[prospect]

If the serial number is CY ans not CGS anymore, it’s probably a new Chinese Factory that is making them now...
Probably not a good thing ...

Correct. SN is CY.

[Fendereedo]

If the serial number is CY and not CGS anymore, it’s probably a new Chinese Factory that is making them now...
Probably not a good thing ...

Mine is CY, no issues here.

[tune_link]

Tell me more about this potential neck pocket issue. I was about to order a 2019 JMJM neck for a project but now y'all have me worried that it won't fit the neck pocket on the body I was thinking of putting it on. Did I see this right that OP said that the 2019 neck wouldn't even fit the same guitar type (aka another JMJM) from a different year?

[prospect]

Tell me more about this potential neck pocket issue. I was about to order a 2019 JMJM neck for a project but now y'all have me worried that it won't fit the neck pocket on the body I was thinking of putting it on. Did I see this right that OP said that the 2019 neck wouldn't even fit the same guitar type (aka another JMJM) from a different year?

Correct. The 2019 JMJM has a slightly wider heel. Wide enough that it wouldn't fit in a 2018 JMJM neck pocket unless I did some sanding. I wouldn't call it an issue, its just a slightly different spec. They likely moved these to another factory given the changes (including the serial number prefixes). Of note, my 2018 JMJM's have inspection tags that are dated 03/20/2019. So this is a very recent change and there are likely still 2018 JMJMs at dealers.

[Mechanical Birds]

Yeah the neck on mine is definitely a fatty and that’s why I love it, and out of all the ones I’ve played I don’t think I ever ran into one with what you could objectively call a thin neck. They’ve been using those newer, lighter pick guards for a while too. Last year someone started a thread because at their GC they got one in like right after they made the switch from rosewood to laurel and it had a Classic Vibe sticker and looked different to the point where this poster thought it was a new guitar as opposed to just a changed-up Mascis.

Those newer pick guards are so much nicer I really wish they’d been using them the whole time. I’ve had one of the older ones that I’ve found impossible to sell because the newer ones look so much better.

[Fendereedo]

I have to say the guard on mine looks lovely. I never actually saw the older version, so my comparison ability is worthless. I've ordered one of these https://www.axesrus.co.uk/Ultimate-Roll ... mtb604.htm, because I've found that even with 11s, I have been either snapping high E strings, or dislodging the lower end strings, but ymmv.

[alexpigment]

I have to say the guard on mine looks lovely. I never actually saw the older version, so my comparison ability is worthless. I've ordered one of these https://www.axesrus.co.uk/Ultimate-Roll ... mtb604.htm, because I've found that even with 11s, I have been either snapping high E strings, or dislodging the lower end strings, but ymmv.

That might fix issues with the lower strings, but I think the snapping of the E string is happening at the tremolo. There are lots of threads on here about high E strings breaking on offsets and solutions to address it. Still, I suppose there's a chance the bridge might solve it, directly or indirectly.

[Fendereedo]

I have to say the guard on mine looks lovely. I never actually saw the older version, so my comparison ability is worthless. I've ordered one of these https://www.axesrus.co.uk/Ultimate-Roll ... mtb604.htm, because I've found that even with 11s, I have been either snapping high E strings, or dislodging the lower end strings, but ymmv.

That might fix issues with the lower strings, but I think the snapping of the E string is happening at the tremolo. There are lots of threads on here about high E strings breaking on offsets and solutions to address it. Still, I suppose there's a chance the bridge might solve it, directly or indirectly.

I decided against this particular bridge after I visited a few other sites. The one below caught my eye. I've used Northwest Guitars before with much success, so I'll give this one a punt. https://www.northwestguitars.co.uk/tune ... ECEALw_wcB