General opinions on high-end JM clones?

Discussion of newer designs, copies and reissue offset-waist instruments.
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blunderbuss
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Re: General opinions on high-end JM clones?

Post by blunderbuss » Mon Nov 09, 2020 1:06 pm

marqueemoon wrote:
Mon Nov 09, 2020 9:46 am
HNB’s Marauder build has given me major Bilt Revelator GAS. I’m picturing BMM with a roasted maple neck, low wind Fralin Big Singles, and the full Marauder-style plate setup with Jag-style controls instead of onboard effects.
Oh totally. Bilt is the only one of these I'm ever really tempted by. They really feel like they bring something new to the table you know?
Ryan

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Re: General opinions on high-end JM clones?

Post by marqueemoon » Mon Nov 09, 2020 4:39 pm

blunderbuss wrote:
Mon Nov 09, 2020 1:06 pm
marqueemoon wrote:
Mon Nov 09, 2020 9:46 am
HNB’s Marauder build has given me major Bilt Revelator GAS. I’m picturing BMM with a roasted maple neck, low wind Fralin Big Singles, and the full Marauder-style plate setup with Jag-style controls instead of onboard effects.
Oh totally. Bilt is the only one of these I'm ever really tempted by. They really feel like they bring something new to the table you know?
I’ve been impressed by the ones I’ve tried.

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BoringPostcards
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Re: General opinions on high-end JM clones?

Post by BoringPostcards » Mon Nov 09, 2020 5:30 pm

manwithtitties wrote:
Sun Nov 08, 2020 12:43 pm
Maybe you should focus on getting a good mix digitally instead of Choosing Which random Words To capitalise In Your sentences.
Why be rude and abrasive? You just come across as a douchebag. You can argue against somebody, without trying to belittle them, you know?
Ever consider, that maybe his first language isn't English?
Maybe he is German. They capitalize all nouns, and it is a hard habit to break. I do it myself sometimes, and German is my second language.
Det er mig der holder traeerne sammen.

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Re: General opinions on high-end JM clones?

Post by Larsongs » Mon Nov 09, 2020 10:02 pm

CivoLee wrote:
Sun Nov 08, 2020 11:19 pm
Larsongs wrote:
Sun Nov 08, 2020 2:39 pm
The point of my original Thread was aimed at opinions regarding various JM's & high end JM clones... Also, the shift of Players to Offsets by other makers like Schector etc.. Point being, how we're conditioned to Sound might affect what we think sounds good & can affect our choices... I guess that wasn't clear to some...
I think by "Thread" you meant "Post", because this is my thread, pal ;)

In answer to your question about whether or not production has anything to do with what's popular in terms of guitar tone, I think it has less to do with that and more to do with that sometime in the late 70s/early 80s, the "normal" electric guitar tone became a PAF-style humbucker driving a tube amp with multiple gain stages. Credit or blame whomever you want for that, whether it's Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton or Eddie Van Halen (RIP), but those are the facts. And modern mainstream guitars reflect that.

I think the elephant in the room that some people are ignoring is that in the golden years of alternative/indie rock, the most common mods - humbuckers and tunamatic bridges - were actually designed around making Jazzmasters/Jaguars/Mustangs/"weird" guitars from the 60s sound and feel like the Les Pauls and superstrats players were used to hearing but couldn't afford, at least tonally. They might've appreciated the comfort and unique look offsets gave them, plus that they were "nice" instruments that were relatively cheap. But at the end of the day, they wished they could afford a more mainstream instrument. And that's the kind of player the guitars in question are aimed at; someone who likes the look of an offset and they way they feel against their body, but wants a high performance, "professional" guitar that sounds more "typical" (I think I've used more quotation marks in this post than I ever have in a single post during my entire online life) tonewise.

As for my own opinion? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯, I guess? At least the Raven offers some unique body wood and finish options not available from Fender, but I agree that the Anderson headstock lacks soul. It's like Jeremy Clarkson's feelings on McClaren; great performance, but "there's no art". If I wanted an "hot" Strat with an offset flavor and money was no object, I'd sooner look at a Don Grosh ElectraJet:

Image

I'd want want a G90 (Grosh's version of a P90) in the neck and no middle pickup, though...
Yes, I meant Post... Not trying to steal your Thread...

Humbuckers have been popular a lot longer longer than from the '70's on..... 50's & before...

My affliction for Offsets is from Surf Music.. The Beach Boys & other great Surf Bands.. The Fendertones are really good too...

I play in a few different Bands. A Surf Band called "The Redondos" is one of them.. I have fun playing in that Band..

Which is why I chose a CAR AV65 Jaguar & an Olympic White AV65 Jazzmaster.. The Jag is completely Stock. The JM is too except for a Fender Mustang Bridge... I do use both for other genres of music as well in the other Bands I play with..

I prefer Humbuckers in my Gibson Firebird, Les Pauls & ES335...

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Re: General opinions on high-end JM clones?

Post by CivoLee » Tue Nov 10, 2020 12:36 am

Larsongs wrote:
Mon Nov 09, 2020 10:02 pm

Yes, I meant Post... Not trying to steal your Thread...

Humbuckers have been popular a lot longer longer than from the '70's on..... 50's & before...

My affliction for Offsets is from Surf Music.. The Beach Boys & other great Surf Bands.. The Fendertones are really good too...

I play in a few different Bands. A Surf Band called "The Redondos" is one of them.. I have fun playing in that Band..

Which is why I chose a CAR AV65 Jaguar & an Olympic White AV65 Jazzmaster.. The Jag is completely Stock. The JM is too except for a Fender Mustang Bridge... I do use both for other genres of music as well in the other Bands I play with..

I prefer Humbuckers in my Gibson Firebird, Les Pauls & ES335...
Don't worry about it. Yep, Seth Lover saved us from 60 cycle hum in 1955-56, I think it was. But it wasn't until later that that sound won out as the default rock guitar tone, and became what the average person thinks of when imagining what an electric guitar sounds like. Prior to that, there was a lot more tonal diversity. Guitar Player had an interesting article about this years back; I'd link to it, but it's not online.

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Re: General opinions on high-end JM clones?

Post by JPCordingley » Fri Nov 13, 2020 3:54 am

I think for me I really don't dig the aesthetics of the whole PRS style, quilted maple stuff. It definitely screams of "dad rock" (I say that as a dad aproaching his mid 30s).

I've never been able to own particularly expensive guitars anyway, and I've always been fairly happy with the guitars I've had. I'd be much happier with my Squier VM JM than a quilted maple archtop offset with strat trem and HSS pickups. I've owned a couple of Fenders in my time (MIM Tele from 2007-2013 and an MP Starcaster from 2016-2020), both very nice guitars which were very well loved but not massively better than my Squier JM - maybe slightly nicer fretwork. But the JM suits my way of playing a lot more.

If I were to go for a boutique guitar it'd probably be a BilT Zaftig or Relevator. They keep much of the JM aesthetic whilst being original designs (although the Relevator is basically based on a 1960s Fender Marauder prototype) which I totally dig. No fancy shmancy exotic woods. Just well made guitars.

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Maker
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Re: General opinions on high-end JM clones?

Post by Maker » Thu Mar 31, 2022 8:45 am

There is a lot of Suhr hate floating around.

I have an S-type Suhr that I picked up for a steal a few years ago. Suhr (See what I did there?) I would prefer that it didn't have the aforementioned "dentist vibe," but It has turned into my #1. No other guitar that I have ever held has a neck that feels so good. It's just a pleasure to play.

Price isn't what makes a guitar feel good: I have an AV65 JM, an AV65 Jag, a classic player HH Jag (These are all relatively new acquisitions), and honestly, the MIM classic player feels the best of the three offsets (It sounds the worst, but that can and will be remedied soon I hope).

I would say my #2 guitar is a 1980 Aria LP knock off. I LOVE that thing! It destroys any "real" or high-end LP I have ever tried in terms of both sound and feel.

I guess my whole point is that cheap AND expensive guitars can be fantastic, and to let snobbery towards either the low-end or high-end get in the way of open-mindedness could make you miss out on a gem. I see a strat trem on a Tom Anderson offset, and I cringe a little, but if it feels good, and sounds good, then it is good!

EDIT: I just realized that I resurrected an ancient thread. You're welcome ;-)

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Re: General opinions on high-end JM clones?

Post by wooderson » Thu Mar 31, 2022 10:40 pm

I've been shopping around for an Ultimate Jazzmaster for a while - digging into the builds when I can find photos sans pickguard, I'm surprised at how few boutique builds are shielded any better than an AO Jazzmaster (and some apparently worse). I know it's a lot of labor to foil the whole cavity but it would be a huge selling point over just getting an American-line Fender.

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