Problem Getting Good Overdriven Tone From Jazzmaster

[Larsongs]

What kind of Amp are you using?

A lot of the time I think the best Overdrive sound comes from good Tube Amps not Pedals... In both my upgraded Vox AC10 & Vox AC15CC1X with Blue I'm able to dial in great overdrive on my AV65 JM.....

[cpeck]

My favourite OD with Jazzmasters is the DBA Interstellar Overdriver and the Diamond J-Drive mk 3.

[garyfanclub]

I’m not a “high gain” kind of guy, more into a 60’s style edge of breakup ratty jangly overdrive, with some saturation to kick on for leads when I need a bit of compression. Think early versions of Floyd’s “interstellar overdrive” and late 60s Neil Young for the lead breaks side of my playing.

Not to get too boutiquey, but I’ve found have a “one-two” punch type of setup works well with my JM. Pedal chain is:

JM (MIJ w 65 AV pickups) > Fairfield Barbershop > Land Devices EP5 echoplex preamp clone > Deluxe Memory Man > Ampeg Reverberocket 2 (18 watt 1x12)

Barbershop by itself does the ratty barky distortion stuff pretty well, the sag knob can really help with dialing in the level of saturation.

EP5 does what most people love an echoplex preamp for; a little bit of compression and grit, with some hair when you dig in.

Both together? Loud, saturated, controllable feedback.

That’s my 2 cents!

[rank]

I had never heard of the Land Device EP-5. I am going to have to check one of those out.

[iodine74]

Honestly my first reaction was just put a Novak JM90 in the bridge and be done with it. It's not full on p90 but it brings some of that in. Admittedly you don't get quite as much of the clean sparkle with it.

Taking the OD approach.... spend 110-120 bucks and get yourself a used BD-2 AND a Tone City Sweet Cream. Put the tone city in front of the BD-2. Use individually or stack... lots of variation, because the Sweet Cream has the mids the BD-2 doesn't.

[Kinx]

I stopped having most issues with my jazzmaster/strat overdriven tones when I started to use the tone control - I usually roll it off just a tiny bit with my JM and the sound is perfect - I usually put it back on full for clean sounds.

[MC3]

My favourite OD with Jazzmasters is the DBA Interstellar Overdriver and the Diamond J-Drive mk 3.

Mind telling me a bit more about your setup? I've been looking at the DBA a bit and i'm intrigued what JM/amp combo you're running

[cpeck]

My favourite OD with Jazzmasters is the DBA Interstellar Overdriver and the Diamond J-Drive mk 3.

Mind telling me a bit more about your setup? I've been looking at the DBA a bit and i'm intrigued what JM/amp combo you're running

Sure — live I like using plexi Marshalls/clones of said amps. I found the DBA pedal to naturally roll off the icepick frequency. Also sounds amazing after a Big Muff. I had the deluxe version of the pedal for a while before our van was stolen and it was a shockingly versatile pedal. I just started using a 64 JMI AC30 in the studio but haven’t plugged that pedal in yet.

[amplituden]

I can get a nice overdrive by using a clean boost. I turn the volume on the amp lower than I need it then hit it with the clean boost (I use a fulltone fat boost). I can get a nice growly overdrive that way. I like it as well because its really touch sensitive, if I play light its pretty clean, if I dig in a bit I get more grit.

[VPO]

I play with blackfaced Pro Reverb and my guitar is CIJ Jazzmaster (I think it is 2006 or 2007) and I got great overdrive sound when I kick on ProCo Rat Vintage and roll off a bit volume from guitar. Nice rounchy overdrivey sound. Maybe not for everybody.

[AlumNeck]

Strymon Riverside... been through so many pedals for OD, many really good ones too some listed about but this thing can adapt quickly to any amp or guitar I throw at it. Definitely more amp sounding than pedal sounding if that makes sense but I use it as an almost always on pedal for cleans and a light drive. Stacks great in my rig sitting in front of a channel switching amp and a couple fuzz and distortions.

[MC3]

My favourite OD with Jazzmasters is the DBA Interstellar Overdriver and the Diamond J-Drive mk 3.

Mind telling me a bit more about your setup? I've been looking at the DBA a bit and i'm intrigued what JM/amp combo you're running

Sure — live I like using plexi Marshalls/clones of said amps. I found the DBA pedal to naturally roll off the icepick frequency. Also sounds amazing after a Big Muff. I had the deluxe version of the pedal for a while before our van was stolen and it was a shockingly versatile pedal. I just started using a 64 JMI AC30 in the studio but haven’t plugged that pedal in yet.

thanks for the insight. Seems like it could be what I'm looking for.

[The Dead Ranch Hands]

OP should should notice a theme through this thread with these and other posts; getting a good overdriven sound is about the generated frequencies and frequency response of the pickups (tone) coming out of the guitar and the complex products that come out of an overdrive/distortion pedal. That's why you hear people who swear by putting EQ pedals before/after (sometimes both) the overdrive; they can dial in completely different sounds with just EQ alone. The single tone knob on the pedals you have are making this harder; you need to work as much as you can out of your guitar's tone control, pickup height, and amp tone knobs to see what you can get. I'd try and see if I could get where I want here first instead of buying more pedals.

You'd be best served in this situation by working both the mids and highs issues that others have mentioned, but one at a time so you can start to isolate things.

The lowered (scooped) mids on the AVRI 65 pickups is already something you have to deal with (unless you're doing that metal scooped mids thing where it's hard to hear your guitar in a mix), so you're going to need to compensate with a mid boost wherever you can get it. The Tube Screamer does this inherently but you still may need more at the amp or an an EQ.

The high end comment is really important here. When someone says their distortion says "harsh", that usually means the intermodulation products that are coming out of the pedal due to those more higher input frequencies needs to be cut back significantly. The more high end your guitar lets through when you start distorting, the more higher intermodulation products you get and they will be higher in frequency themselves. These products are increasingly unpleasant to the ear, which is why reducing the highs going in is the best bet.

On my Jaguar, I find that a mix of rolling off tone knob on the guitar and bumping down the treble on the amp a bit give the best overdriven bridge sound. Or even just changing picks can make a difference. Depending on the pick I don't necessarily need to turn the guitar tone knob down. It's all very rig dependent though.

[Ice Tre]

Try rolling the tone back on your guitar. That helps.

I agree-- for the bridge pickup. Take the tone knob down to 5.
But understand it will never sound fat like a Les Paul. That's just not what a Jazzmaster does.

[Ice Tre]

Also, I usually play the neck pickup on my AVRI JM. It has a GLORIOUS overdriven tone. If, as others have said, you're playing through a great tube amp. No pedals needed. Just crank that tube amp.