Info about humming and buying blindly

Discussion of vintage Jazzmasters, Jaguars, Bass VIs, Electric XIIs and any other offset-waist instruments.
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fredweb
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Info about humming and buying blindly

Post by fredweb » Mon Mar 18, 2019 10:27 am

Hello guys!

my name is Federico, this is my first post, hope to get some info from you. I will repay with ethernal gratitude, better than bitcoins, i heard.

So im in the process of buying a pre cbs jazzmaster. I tried many in ny and i found a couple that i love but comes both with some issues.

One is a very clean 1960, that sounds beautifully when humbucker is selected but is very noisy on the other two position. seller told me is totally normal, but i felt it was way more than other jazz i tried. I wonder if there is some audio samples around where i can have an idea on what is to be expected and what is wrong.

Other one is a a late 59 with tortoise guard that start shrinking and waving pretty severely. I know is another common issue but wonder if that will bring problem in the future ( so maybe anodized would be a better choice).

And last question: i saw one on the internet that i love, what are your advices on what to ask to the seller? is apparently one with a good reputation. Estetically is my favorite, but hard to buy without trying, anyone had luck in that?

Well, thanks for anyone who will help, looking forward to be part of the fam soon!

Federico

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aliendawg
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Re: Info about humming and buying blindly

Post by aliendawg » Mon Mar 18, 2019 10:35 am

I guess Single Coils are inherently noisey, but shouldn't be THAT much.

By "Humbucker" You mean the middle position with both pickups on?

As for buying online I'd recommend posting the link here first. There's some guys with great eyes for detail who will warn you if something looks fishy
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Re: Info about humming and buying blindly

Post by señormisterioso » Mon Mar 18, 2019 12:30 pm

Jazzmasters are noisy. The middle setting is quiet. That's how they all are going to be, if they don't have any mods done. If you find that the 59' is quieter or it feels better you should go for the 59'

Shrunken pickguard is another reality of Pre-CBS jazzmasters. Don't worry about it, just make sure you take it to the appropriate place to service it, and you don't set it up yourself, unless you have experience. If you take it to the right place you might only need to fiddle with the pickguard once every decade.

I buy most of my guitars online. OSG is a good place to gather information. Its good to buy online if that's going to get you a better price than buying a guitar in person.

Two considerations. Guitar photography can be deceiving. Guitars can be photogenic or look way different in pictures than in person. You are not buying an average guitar, I usually ask the seller for a short return window so that I can take the guitar to a luthier for proper inspection.

Good hunting!

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Re: Info about humming and buying blindly

Post by Squirrel » Mon Mar 18, 2019 1:00 pm

I wouldn't worry too much about a warped pickguard unless it's really bad, they can usually be filed slightly if it's affecting the functionality of the guitar. Just don't remove the pickguard for long and you should be fine. As Aliendawg said, I would post the link to the one you're considering buying, or at least give us the name of the seller. There are a few dealers I can think of who look totally legit but are actually super sketchy.

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Re: Info about humming and buying blindly

Post by fredweb » Mon Mar 18, 2019 3:30 pm

Well this is the one i am dealing with.

I really want to go on :)

https://reverb.com/item/19186735-one-ow ... 60-hangtag

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Re: Info about humming and buying blindly

Post by señormisterioso » Tue Mar 19, 2019 5:28 am

That guy is legit. I was communicating with him via Instagram this week. If you check his return policy, he gives you a day to make up your mind upon receiving it. That should give you a window to decide wether that's the one to keep.

The guitar checks. My only question to him would be to show a picture of the back of the pick ups. He mentions the addition of foam to lift them up, on top of the foam.


These are two resources that may help you, in both cases you'll see that the pickups are black, check how they look:
https://web.archive.org/web/20130327023 ... jazzma.htm

http://www.guitarhq.com/jazzma58.html


Good luck!

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Re: Info about humming and buying blindly

Post by fredweb » Tue Mar 19, 2019 6:08 am

Thanks!

what would be the problem with the foam under the pickup?
Just to know what to look for.

Thanks a lot for helping!
federico

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Re: Info about humming and buying blindly

Post by kimson » Tue Mar 19, 2019 6:24 am

I don't have much to offer here, but the second to last photo seems to show pretty bad fingernail gouges on the fretboard.

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señormisterioso
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Re: Info about humming and buying blindly

Post by señormisterioso » Tue Mar 19, 2019 6:54 am

fredweb wrote:
Tue Mar 19, 2019 6:08 am
Thanks!

what would be the problem with the foam under the pickup?
Just to know what to look for.

Thanks a lot for helping!
federico
I don't think there's any problem with it the extra foam, but you want to see if the pickups are original to the guitar. Pictures would help.

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Re: Info about humming and buying blindly

Post by R_T_Hermit » Tue Mar 19, 2019 7:17 am

I agree that there’s no problem with adding foam under the pickups—which would be one way to handle the issue. My 63 Jag came with foam that had become hard as cement. The guitar had evidently been owned by an open-chord, rythmn guy that had adjusted both pickups all the way down and the degraded foam had frozen them there. I got a good deal on it because the poor thing sounded horrible. I did take it apart and replaced the foam (weather stripping) with new. But, because someone will own this guitar after me, I kept all the foam—including the rock hard mute foam—in a sandwich bag so all the original “parts” will always be with it.

That’s the way I handled the foam issue. All JM’s & Jags will have this problem. Keeping it in a sandwich bag was my way to prove the guitar is all original, so I guess just laying down a new strip atop the old foam is the way the seller handled it. So my long-winded point is that there is a sweet spot where those pups will have the sound they were built to have. Let’s hope leaving what amounts to a shim under the pickups doesn’t raise them past this point—although that would be easy to fix. Just my $0.02.
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Re: Info about humming and buying blindly

Post by fredweb » Tue Mar 19, 2019 9:54 am

Thanks got it!

he send me the link for more photos but noback of the pu, will have to ask that

http://truevintageguitar.com/inventory/ ... lery[]/23/

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Re: Info about humming and buying blindly

Post by Mechanical Birds » Tue Mar 19, 2019 1:37 pm

fredweb wrote:
Mon Mar 18, 2019 3:30 pm
Well this is the one i am dealing with.

I really want to go on :)

https://reverb.com/item/19186735-one-ow ... 60-hangtag
You could definitely spend considerably less money on a better example.

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Re: Info about humming and buying blindly

Post by fredweb » Wed Mar 20, 2019 5:49 am

Id love to find a good jazz for less. But the shop in ny sell 1959 for around 9k and '60 for 7500.
Not a lot of private sales lately.


What should be a good price? and any places you recommend to check other than reverb?


Thanks

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