My first Jazzmaster build

[djspecialist]

This is my first post on the site - it's good to be here!

I've decided to take a plunge into the murky waters of building a partsmaster.  I'm starting from zero (both in terms of components, and experience!) - so I have many, many questions.  I'd appreciate any opinions and advice you have to offer, and look forward to joining in with other discussions on the site.

Here's where I have got to so far in terms of planning.  I should say that I'm in the UK, so I would prefer local sources of parts where possible.

Mock-up image created in the dressing room:




Body

I'll go for a new body.  Should I agonise over the choice of wood (alder vs swamp ash), or just look for a lightweight body from a well-regarded builder?  Ditto 1 vs 2 vs 3-piece construction.

The finish will be aged firemist silver nitro.  I'll pay someone to do that.

Is it worth sourcing a body myself and then sending it off for finishing, or should I just ask for a body to be supplied and finished as one transaction?


Neck

My reference point is my 50s Baja: 9.5" radius, fat soft V profile, 42mm nut width, satin finish, medium jumbo frets.  I would love a neck with similar specs (but with a rosewood board); I could accept either a shade slimmer or with slightly bigger frets.

Though I love the look of bound + block necks, they seem harder to find and I assume might make it harder to roll the fretboard edges.

I'd get the headstock finished to match the body.

Something like the Mascis JM neck would be good, but they seem fairly hard to come by.  Are there any other second hand JM necks with similar specs?

If I went for a new neck, which supplier(s) would you recommend?  The JM necks from Hosco and Allparts all seem to have tall frets, which I really can't get on with.  Are there UK builders I should talk to?

I'm planning to level and crown the frets myself, but I'll get a tech to install the nut and do a final setup.

How hard is applying a satin nitro finish to the back of the neck?  Is it just a matter of careful masking and finding a suitable place to spray?  Or is is horribly tricky to avoid ending up with a blotchy mess?  Basically - should I try this myself, or should I add it to the outsourced headstock painting job?


Electrics

Mojo 58-64 with overwound bridge.  A3 magnets.  1 Meg pots.

I originally thought I'd go for a standard rhythm circuit, and planned to buy a ready-made harness.  I'm now wondering whether to do something like a series/parallel switch, with one of the rollers being a high-pass filter (variable "strangle").  I'll probably end up doing the wiring myself - particularly if I go for something non-standard like that.


Hardware

Staytrem bridge.  If I decided later to try a Mastery, would it be a drop-in replacement?

Vibrato: is the Fender USA AV unit decent?  Any others I should look at?


Pickguard

Parchment, 3-ply (P-black-P).

Does anyone know whether either of these are any good?
https://www.axesrus.co.uk/Pickguard-Sui ... pg-std.htm
https://www.wdmusic.co.uk/pickguards-c6 ... -ply-p8316


Tools

I know I'll need a drill, various abrasives and files - and of course good screwdrivers.  Do I need a drill press?  Anything else?


Finally ...

I'll admit the whole project makes me a bit nervous - but excited at the same time.  I'm methodical, patient, and willing to outsource bits of work which I don't feel ready to take on, in order to get a good result.

Am I going to regret ever starting this ... ?

Thanks in advance for any tips you can offer!

[Singlebladepickup]

I haven't built myself, but I can say that you should not agonize over alder vs Ash and 1pc vs 2pc unless you are going for a transparent finish. If you're in the UK, you should see if user Rexter is still supplying bodies and finishing, his work always looked incredible - ESPECIALLY his firemist silver *chef kissy fingers*. His bodies used to come from Guitarbuild UK, and they looked nice. Pretty sure they fit US Fender materials. Good luck

Edit: I have the mod wiring setup you described in my parts jazzmaster, love it. It's personal, though. I never used the rhythm circuit when I had it on a jaguar.

[JVG]

I’ll answer a couple of your questions, but be warned - assembling partscasters is highly addictive! You may find, 3 years from now, that you have twelve of them!

Sorry i can't help with UK builders, but i always recommend Musikraft for necks. They have many options and great quality. They are in the US.

As said in the post above, the number of pieces of wood in the body only matters for transparent finishes. It doesn’t mean the tone will be any better or worse. Ditto for body weight. Lighter bodies are easier to carry for sure, but don’t necessarily sound better. Don’t get hung up on it. As for body wood, ash is usually a bit brighter sounding than alder, (but not always - can be luck of the draw!).

Spraying nitro can definitely be done yourself if you have a good spot to do it. Just be patient and take it slow.

Wiring and pickups are a very personal thing. Your idea sounds fine to me. If you can’t solder already, practice on something else before you try wiring the guitar.

Staytem and mastery bridges can be used in the same thimbles (although mastery may tell you otherwise). Staytrem are awesome, and you can double your money on ebay if you don’t like it.

The avri vibratos are generally regarded as the best. Get one.

Pickguards can be troublesome, unless you're exactly sure on the body shape. There are numerous minute variations out there, which can be a real pain in the arse when looking for a guard. Best ask the person who makes the body for you.

You don’t need a drill press, but there are things they are handy for (especially drilling neck bolt holes, if your builder hasn’t done that for you). A hand drill will suffice for most things. A Dremel or similar tool can come in handy, as there is usually some little part that needs grinding down to fit. Other than that, all you need is a screwdriver set, pliers, wire cutters, maybe a file, centre-punch, hammer. Not much really.

Have fun, and post pics for us!

Cheers
J.

[djspecialist]

Thanks for the helpful replies.

I found another post on here which has a wiring schematic that looks great:
viewtopic.php?f=8&t=110194&start=15#p1539844

It would require a custom pickguard to accommodate the top switches, but I think would be worthwhile.

[Azentzvox]

Hahaha!
I love my partscasters! Highly addictive I’m just now finishing my second and already planning my third!
For bodies I’d check stratosphere they have all sorts of great stuff! Also, strat necks are a direct swap too so if you find your dream neck and don’t care if JM becomes a stratmaster that’s a good option. Mastery makes the best bridge. Period. I have 2 JMs and they both have the mastery and could not be happier. The mastery vibrato is great too, buttery smooth and NEVER out of tune.

My next dream is a JM with Brian May Burns Trisonic pickups....

Have fun!

[jvin248]

...  Should I agonize over the choice of wood (alder vs swamp ash) ...
... Am I going to regret ever starting this? ...

Here are the general no-nonsense answers since this is your first time through guitar assembly. And because I'm going to reveal some truths that may be contrary to popular opinions, my background: I've repaired guitars, bought/sold them, assembled from parts, steamed off necks and fretboards for repair, replaced frets and have done complete levels (even have a fixture to simulate string tension in the neck for more accuracy), built nuts from scratch, built whole guitars from raw wood boards, fixed the tone in guitars from too bright or too dark. I'm also an engineer.

-Do all your own assembly but pay a guy to level the frets and do the setup when done. Later you can learn to do that part but it's fiddly and lots of potential errors. An incorrectly cut nut can make an otherwise playable guitar unplayable. That work generally runs $100 and is the most valuable mod you can do on a guitar. Check out English youtubers Sam Deeks or Ben Crowe at Crimson Guitars. $50 beater guitars can play like Custom Shop models with the right attention at the fretwork and setup stage.

-Woods don't matter. They don't. People wax lyrically about exotic lumber but you can push all the tone around with pickups and carefully measuring and selecting pots and caps. Save a rain forest and choose local and faster growing/replenishing woods. There are pro players who "can hear a difference" (which is usually due to the 20% spec variation in volume pots alone between guitars) but could they play just a little bit better to use more common woods, aren't they supposed to be pro players? So don't agonize over the wood. If you are painting, then poplar is a great choice or alder. Ash will be heavy and need grain filling so more steps there. Reclaimed pine works great on a body too. Don't agonize.

-Necks: You can choose JM or even Strat necks you like. The Baja chunky neck is awesome. I like chunky necks best. However, I have found that I can put a thinner neck on a Jazzmaster and because of the ergonomics of how the guitar hangs/sits (where the bridge is relative to the strap pins and thigh cut) it is not as much of a problem as I find a skinny neck on a Strat is. Find a walnut fretboard if you are seeking a dark wood, avoid the rain forest options even if it's 'managed' (it's still creating demand for a limited resource). You can try Stratosphere for their Fender production necks, or buy just a MIM neck from Fender. Or buy a neck blank from Thomann in one of their kits.

-Finishing I find as my least favorite step. So much sanding and waiting when I really just want to put the guitar together and play. So if you have someone you know who does painting, even an automotive body shop painter, then it's easy to go that path. There are threads on TDPRI and Strat-Talk where people have a good process down for home rattle can finishes, or a Harbor Freight "purple paint gun" (see youtube). Look at Reranch if you want authentic Fender colors/chemicals. Using modern two-part automotive style paints will give you the performance you expect from any current guitar. Another option is stain the body and then use hand-rubbed polyurethane, tru-oil, tung-oil, or even shellac like a French Polish that has been used on instruments for centuries. You can always get another body later. You could rattle-can this one and then in a year or two sand that off and put another style of finish on it.

-Nitro on the neck ... same as the wood species for 'you don't need it'. Nitro only gets you into trouble. Very long cure periods, sticky necks forever, super easy to chip and ding. Finish the neck however you want and then use a sheet of 800 grit sandpaper on the back of the neck, masking tape to define the end points of your sanding, and sand only until you get a satin feel to the finish. Don't go to bare wood and you can polish the finish back up to gloss if you ever sell the neck. That satin sanding fixes the problems most have with polished necks.

-Trem option for the Fender unit is good. There are several ebay/amazon JM style trems that will work, though they don't have the trem-lock like Fender. But try one, some are inexpensive. Mastery bridge could be done later. The Mustang bridges are popular and plentiful. The Player Series bridges may be a great choice, I think they are designed off the Mustang style but with the correct fretboard radius. Just verify the post dimensions and distances from the posts to each other match the body holes you have.

-No drill press is necessary. Straight holes using a small square can be accomplished with a hand drill or even a brace and bit. A drill press is nice and you'll find other non-guitar projects benefit from having one. You'll need one with a good throat depth to work on guitar bodies. A Tele body is 13inches across and a JM is about 17inches across so you'd need at least capability for nine inches to cross the center line.

-Sometimes, buying a beat up abused and neglected guitar gets you a great 'kit' to start from. Over time you replace bits as you like and you have a completely 'new' guitar when done, rather than stressing about the painting.

-Regrets? No. Everything about the guitar is fixable. Even if you happen to end up disappointed with a particular feature you can always swap it out or change something around. Well, maybe there is one regret: "How did I end up with so many guitars?"

Have fun with your adventure and post pictures.

.

[shmuckhed]

Any progress with this? Would love to know what the Mojo pups sound like. Might get a set myself..

[djspecialist]

Finally got around (after only 3 years!) to starting work on this build ...

[GilmourD]

Finally got around (after only 3 years!) to starting work on this build ...

Nice! Who did the pickguard for ya?

[tqi]

-

[djspecialist]

Nice! Who did the pickguard for ya?

Tiny Tone

I sent them a PDF template, with just the slider switch on the top horn. I then drilled out the mounting holes for that switch, and the 10mm hole for the 3-way toggle. Very happy with it.

[djspecialist]

Congrats! What's the plan for the neck, Squier/Fender, custom built, DIY?

Thanks! I've got a Squier JMJM neck, and had the headstock sprayed to match the body.

[GilmourD]

Nice! Who did the pickguard for ya?

Tiny Tone

I sent them a PDF template, with just the slider switch on the top horn. I then drilled out the mounting holes for that switch, and the 10mm hole for the 3-way toggle. Very happy with it.

Oh, man. Across the pond. LOL I'm in New Jersey, not Jersey.

[djspecialist]

Some decent progress this weekend - wiring is done!



It took me a _long_ time, but I enjoyed working through it methodically. Based on tap testing, all the controls seem to work fine.

I did have one moment of horror when, having screwed down the pickguard, I plugged in and got ... nothing. Did I somehow screw through a wire? Or maybe snapped a joint as I wiggled everything into place?



After a few deep breaths and a peek under the pickguard, I realised the problem - the tip of the jack was touching the grounded cavity. Quickly solved with a bit of electrical tape

Finally, here's a photo of my trusty assistant, offering sage advice during the build:

[djspecialist]

Next: assembly. Should I try doing the nut slots myself (a friend has a set of files), or is that the point when I should hand over to a pro for the setup?