Which JM has the best neck for you...and why?

[DrPete]

I am back in the hunt for a JM.

Interested what people’s thoughts and experiences are like as I embark on my quest.

I would ideally like to get an Ultra but different to try one out where I am!

All opinions welcome!

[601210]

I was just about to answer when I realized that my answer would have been the two jazzmasters I own, and that would pretty much just be biased.

But fwiw, the J Mascis Jazzmaster's neck is highly regarded -- I've even seen people around here looking for one specifically to put on more upmarket bodies. Apparently the profile was based on Fender's Rory Gallagher strat.

Hard to say it's the best since it's still certainly a lower end guitar, but it punches well well above its weight for most people.

[adamrobertt]

I love the neck on my '65 Thin Skin. It's REALLY fat. Chunkiest neck I've ever owned or seen on a Fender.

[Larsongs]

I find most all the Necks to be good.. Other Parts of the Guitars deterred me.. But, not the Necks. Though, some are a lot of work to Set up...

It depends on your hands what will feel the best...

My favorite is my AV65. 2nd favorite is the Lacquer 60's & 3rd favorite is my J Mascis...

[Tafarel]

A vote for the AmPro JM. It has the best/most comfortable/most playable neck of any of my guitars, bar none.

[BlueMelody]

I love the necks on all my Jazzmasters, but they all feel distinctly different. My Thinskin def. feels the most refined and upscale, it’s really a pleasure to play. My Ame. Pro just feels so solid, I tend to play it harder and more aggressively than the others. The Mascis punches way above its price point as others have mentioned, the satin neck is a joy and just feels solid. Then there’s the MIJ Floral JM, different radius than all the others and feels more vintage-y, great in its own right. Honestly very hard to choose, they are all outstanding!

[DrPete]

Has anyone played the Ultra? I’m looking for a JM that will take a bit of abuse and will take solos. I enjoy watching the videos online but haven’t been able to try one yet.

The mocha burst is still calling me!

[adamrobertt]

I mean, any JM can take abuse and play solos.

As far as I know, the Ultra has a very thin neck profile and a compound radius. I haven't played one myself, though.

[DrPete]

Yes, I suppose they can all take a bit of abuse. I had a Japanese JM a couple of years ago and it felt like I had to fight it to play anything fast. Maybe that was just that guitar though.

[Embenny]

Any guitar fights you if it has a bad setup or specs that aren't to your taste.

My AV65 neck is fatter than I thought I liked, but it's by far the nicest feeling JM I've ever played. It also helped me realize that I prefer the feeling of bound necks, which is funny, because I've always played acoustics with bound necks, and the number of bound-neck electrics in ny possession slowly crept up over time. It wasn't even my first bound electric neck, I had three of those before this one, but that AV65 one somehow drew my attention to that fact.