Alternatives to a Jazzmaster?

[RocknRollShakeUp]

With BilTs the options start to add up quickly. If you are willing to compromise with no sparkle paint and blocks and bindings the price drops quite a lot.. I love my Curtis Novak GTX gold foils in my Bilt. They have humbucker level output, but still retain some single coil vibe and snap in there and Lollar gold foils also sound amazing. I've never owned a guitar with Lollar gold foils (only played few at store) so can't compare directly though.

Yeah I think the sparkle paint will have to go sadly ...I may try to retain the blocks and binding...depends on how many guitars and pedals I can unload
I shall check out the Curtis Novak GTX gold foils...I like what you are describing. The complicated wiring would probably preclude such a thing, but it would be cool to be able to switch out loaded pick guards.
Love your Bilt and Novo btw! What color is your Bilt, lavender? Did you specify it as a custom color, or did they have it listed?

Thanks!

I like the looks of binding and blocks, but with both Novo and Bilt I wouldn't pay for them cause the prices are already quite high and the upcharges start to add quickly. I also live in Finland and we have crazy customs and taxes which add 27,2% on top of guitar+shipping My Bilt is second hand so it is specced by someone else, but the colour is purple metallic and is upcharge of 250 and it also has high gloss poly finish with +250 upcharge that affects how it looks. I like this guitar a lot but I personally would change the pickguard to pearloid or 3-ply white (nicer tort would also be option). Not big fan of this "tomato soup" tort guard, but I can live with it. After getting this BilT last autumn I've toyed with Bilt builder couple times, but the prices always start to climb too high when I start to add options. Maybe some day!

I totally hear you. Your approach is reasonable and understandable, and recommendable in fact ! I think you scored on both accounts with amazing guitars. Sometimes you get the guitars that you need and not necessarily the "pie in the sky unicorn dream" guitar that will bankrupt you!

On that note I would love to get a nice used Bilt..there is a superb swamp green metallic one on Reverb right now but the pickup layout is not tantalizing to me at all..it's super cool in the abstract, but just not something that I practically need sonically.

Anyway, many thanks for your input!

And many thanks again to all of you that have taken the time to make comments and suggestions...the painful yet delicious disease of coveting all sorts of guitars continues my offset friends!

[RocknRollShakeUp]

Yeah I think the sparkle paint will have to go sadly ...I may try to retain the blocks and binding...depends on how many guitars and pedals I can unload
I shall check out the Curtis Novak GTX gold foils...I like what you are describing. The complicated wiring would probably preclude such a thing, but it would be cool to be able to switch out loaded pick guards.
Love your Bilt and Novo btw! What color is your Bilt, lavender? Did you specify it as a custom color, or did they have it listed?

Thanks!

I like the looks of binding and blocks, but with both Novo and Bilt I wouldn't pay for them cause the prices are already quite high and the upcharges start to add quickly. I also live in Finland and we have crazy customs and taxes which add 27,2% on top of guitar+shipping My Bilt is second hand so it is specced by someone else, but the colour is purple metallic and is upcharge of 250 and it also has high gloss poly finish with +250 upcharge that affects how it looks. I like this guitar a lot but I personally would change the pickguard to pearloid or 3-ply white (nicer tort would also be option). Not big fan of this "tomato soup" tort guard, but I can live with it. After getting this BilT last autumn I've toyed with Bilt builder couple times, but the prices always start to climb too high when I start to add options. Maybe some day!

I totally hear you. Your approach is reasonable and understandable, and recommendable in fact ! I think you scored on both accounts with amazing guitars. Sometimes you get the guitars that you need and not necessarily the "pie in the sky unicorn dream" guitar that will bankrupt you!

On that note I would love to get a nice used Bilt..there is a superb swamp green metallic one on Reverb right now but the pickup layout is not tantalizing to me at all..it's super cool in the abstract, but just not something that I practically need sonically. Actually there is an olive drab one with Lollar Regals, pickups that I am super interested in, but alas, it is a tune-o-matic hardtail, and I want an offset Trem. The rest have pickups I'm not interested/already have.

Anyway, many thanks for your input!

And many thanks again to all of you that have taken the time to make comments and suggestions...the painful yet delicious disease of coveting all sorts of guitars continues my offset friends!

[SmoggyTwinkles]

es335

try something completely different but also completely as awesome (possibly better)

[RocknRollShakeUp]

es335

try something completely different but also completely as awesome (possibly better)

For something completely different I’d go 50’s Flying V

[Fiddy]

es335

try something completely different but also completely as awesome (possibly better)

For something completely different I’d go 50’s Flying V

I approve.

[Lost In Autumn]

here's my Jazzmaster alternative: Eastwood Stormbird with Lindy Fralin AlNiCo pole soap bars, which are a happy medium between P90's and Jazzmaster pickups.

[Lame Pseudonym]

Greetings to all.

I got to thinking. I have settled upon Jazzmasters as my go to guitars.

I have two, one with roundwounds and one with flats incidentally, and with those two I could record a whole album, even using a JM for faux bass, or at least baritone, type lines (on the jazz circuit w the tone rolled all the way off - especially using the flatwounds).

You can make a very convincing rhythm acoustic guitar by micing the strings and mixing it with the neck pickup (soundhole). I have a recording if anyone wants to hear it.

[RocknRollShakeUp]

here's my Jazzmaster alternative: Eastwood Stormbird with Lindy Fralin AlNiCo pole soap bars, which are a happy medium between P90's and Jazzmaster pickups.

I used to have a non reverse FB! I really like the NR FB, and the FB +JM/Jag mashups like the Deimel (like someone already posted above)

[RocknRollShakeUp]

Greetings to all.

I got to thinking. I have settled upon Jazzmasters as my go to guitars.

I have two, one with roundwounds and one with flats incidentally, and with those two I could record a whole album, even using a JM for faux bass, or at least baritone, type lines (on the jazz circuit w the tone rolled all the way off - especially using the flatwounds).

You can make a very convincing rhythm acoustic guitar by micing the strings and mixing it with the neck pickup (soundhole). I have a recording if anyone wants to hear it.

I wanna hear it!
So you mic the strings over the neck pickup, and mix it with the electric neck pickup tone? Regular circuit or jazz circuit ?
Do you overlay the two dead center, no panning ?

[Dan Human]

A Gretsch duo jet or a 6120.

[RocknRollShakeUp]

A Gretsch duo jet or a 6120.

I do have a MIJ proline players edition Black Falcon which gets me my Gretsch kicks.

An offset semi-hollow like a Starcaster would be groovy though.

[Lame Pseudonym]

[/quote]

You can make a very convincing rhythm acoustic guitar by micing the strings and mixing it with the neck pickup (soundhole). I have a recording if anyone wants to hear it.
[/quote]

I wanna hear it!
So you mic the strings over the neck pickup, and mix it with the electric neck pickup tone? Regular circuit or jazz circuit ?
Do you overlay the two dead center, no panning ?
[/quote]

Okay, here:

http://ap23-audio.s3.amazonaws.com/Old%20Old%20Ford.mp3

I don't remember all the details of how I did it. I recorded it for the Car Talk bumpers where they played clips from listeners. I doubt that I used the rhythm circuit or had different parts of the guitar come from different places.

[Meriphew]

If I wasn't going with a Jazzmaster or Jaguar in an offset guitar, I'd get a Gibson Custom Shop non reverse Firebird.