Does the Jazzmaster of my dreams exist?

[multiplier]

I have never owned a Jazzmaster, but I am shopping around. I don't usually spend much on guitars, but I have saved up and would like my next purchase to be a special one, maybe even customized. I already find every Jazzmaster I've played to play really well, so this post is more just about aesthetics.

I really love the look of this walnut finished Jazzmaster in particular. But, I would love block inlays more like this model because I find it a little easier for my failing eyes to play on the right frets. Is there a model out there with both this finish and these inlays? I know Fender has a Mod Shop, but I didn't see those options. If I were to try to google this and find what I'm looking for, is there a particular model or era I should be looking for? Or is this better accomplished by just buying a guitar and potentially replacing the neck?

[Larry Mal]

Warmoth will make a Jazzmaster body with walnut wood, they'll finish it how you like, and you can buy a neck that will be what you want from them as well.

[ldp54002]

Overall agreed on someone like Warmoth, though two things to note for them specifically.

First, a lot of their offsets (Jags and JMs in particular) are proprietary when it comes to routing, so you're more or less locked into using their pickguards. If you find something you like in their selection, then you're good, but you can't take an off the shelf Fender JM pickguard and put it on a Warmoth body with a lot of modification to one or the other.

Secondly, their block inlays are modeled after Gibson inlays, not Fender--i.e., they are much more square, like you would see on a Les Paul Custom. Here are my MIJ Jazzmaster vs. my parts XII with Warmoth B&B neck:




Incidentally, the black JM in the second picture is also a Fender neck, so even they don't get it right sometimes. If you want an aftermarket block inlay neck, I would recommend Musikraft. I have a Musikraft B&B neck on my Jaguar that I love. One option would be to buy the JM with the body you like, have a custom neck made for it, then sell the original neck to recoup some cost.

[GilmourD]

Overall agreed on someone like Warmoth, though two things to note for them specifically.

First, a lot of their offsets (Jags and JMs in particular) are proprietary when it comes to routing, so you're more or less locked into using their pickguards. If you find something you like in their selection, then you're good, but you can't take an off the shelf Fender JM pickguard and put it on a Warmoth body with a lot of modification to one or the other.

Secondly, their block inlays are modeled after Gibson inlays, not Fender--i.e., they are much more square, like you would see on a Les Paul Custom. Here are my MIJ Jazzmaster vs. my parts XII with Warmoth B&B neck:




Incidentally, the black JM in the second picture is also a Fender neck, so even they don't get it right sometimes. If you want an aftermarket block inlay neck, I would recommend Musikraft. I have a Musikraft B&B neck on my Jaguar that I love. One option would be to buy the JM with the body you like, have a custom neck made for it, then sell the original neck to recoup some cost.

I'm with you there. Musikraft is an amazing suggestion. They have so many options and they're great to work with.

https://musikraft.com/product/jazzmaste ... tom-build/

Unfortunately, Musikraft doesn't do offset bodies, but Tonebomb really nails the vintage thing with their body carves. If you're willing to put in a little bit of elbow grease giving it the final sanding you can do a walnut stain and then a clearcoat.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/126179794047?h ... Sws-5kg4jn

[multiplier]

Thanks you all, I wasn't familiar with Warmoth or Musikraft so that helps me get the ball rolling.

[multiplier]

This is probably a dumb question from someone who knows nothing about woodwork, but...

If I bought this one, I guess I could also just sand and refinish to a darker walnut kind of color regardless? Or is that crazy

https://www.ebay.com/itm/186186452413

[marqueemoon]

This is probably a dumb question from someone who knows nothing about woodwork, but...

If I bought this one, I guess I could also just sand and refinish to a darker walnut kind of color regardless? Or is that crazy

https://www.ebay.com/itm/186186452413

The description says urethane finish. So it would be a bit of a pain in the ass to remove it to the point where a stain would take properly.

It would probably be simpler to just transfer everything to another body that’s the wood and finish you want.

[MattK]

Yeah, you would destroy the value of the guitar and you'd have to sand that urethane back so hard it would probably wreck the contours, and the stain would be guaranteed to "take" unevenly, leaving you with a mess before you even tried to clearcoat it.

[MattK]

Alternatively, get a Noventa Jazzmaster, swap the neck out, see if you like the pickups and if not, give it a standard pickguard and a couple of AV65s.

[flying_squad]

There was an FSR Squier model that was exactly what OP was looking for - it was available via Chicago Music Exchange/Andertons. Looks like there are a few still on Reverb. Might be worth a look?

[welshywelsh]

Could you buy both guitars in your links, swap the neck you like onto the body you like and then sell the other one?

Sure, you'd lose a bit of £ selling a mis-matched Jazzmaster, but I'm sure there are people out there that would prefer not to have the block inlays and they're both Japanese Fenders.

[Maggieo]

An Elvis Costello JM with a sweet neck from Warmouth!

[GilmourD]

This is currently on Reverb.

3lbs 14oz BloomDoom Nitro Lacquer Aged Relic Dark Walnut Jazz-Style Vintage Custom Guitar Body https://reverb.com/item/77175054

[multiplier]

This is currently on Reverb.

3lbs 14oz BloomDoom Nitro Lacquer Aged Relic Dark Walnut Jazz-Style Vintage Custom Guitar Body https://reverb.com/item/77175054

Oh wow - the BloomDoom guy says he can recreate that exact Elvis Costello kind of finish - thank you!