MIJ Jazzmaster - upgrade advice
- kneedriver
- PAT PEND
- Posts: 23
- Joined: Wed May 15, 2013 6:59 am
MIJ Jazzmaster - upgrade advice
Hi all --
just acquired a '94 MIJ JM. stock..
have plans to upgrade the pickups, and put my usual mustang bridge choice in.
what other essential upgrades do you recommend?
know it can get deep -- trying to cover just the basics and not spend too much..
thnxx
just acquired a '94 MIJ JM. stock..
have plans to upgrade the pickups, and put my usual mustang bridge choice in.
what other essential upgrades do you recommend?
know it can get deep -- trying to cover just the basics and not spend too much..
thnxx
- VilhelmNielsen
- PAT. # 2.972.923
- Posts: 70
- Joined: Sun May 11, 2014 4:40 am
Re: MIJ Jazzmaster - upgrade advice
This is what I've done to my Japanese Jazzy:
New pickups
AVRI Tremolo
Mastery bridge (I tried staytrem as-well)
New electronics, including 500k CTS pots
Complete shielding of the cavities
And I love that guitar to death! Feels like an incredible player, and worth a lot more than I've spent on it.
New pickups
AVRI Tremolo
Mastery bridge (I tried staytrem as-well)
New electronics, including 500k CTS pots
Complete shielding of the cavities
And I love that guitar to death! Feels like an incredible player, and worth a lot more than I've spent on it.
- benji
- PAT. # 2.972.923
- Posts: 234
- Joined: Sun Apr 06, 2014 6:17 pm
- Location: San Diego, California
Re: MIJ Jazzmaster - upgrade advice
I agree that shielding is a good investment if you're going to be playing loud. I also like the idea of new pots. I never loved 1 meg and CTS pots are great. I guess if you bother to change the pots, you might as well change the cap too.
- MattK
- PAT. # 2.972.923
- Posts: 3597
- Joined: Sun Aug 10, 2008 9:51 pm
- Location: Hobart, Australia
Re: MIJ Jazzmaster - upgrade advice
Shielding mine cost about eight bucks' worth of adhesive foil sheet. A little tricky but it worked. Not noiseless, JMs never are, but it's silent on the middle position so the shielding is working well. I guess you could shield the pickup covers but that seems like overdoing it.
- MJG
- PAT. # 2.972.923
- Posts: 179
- Joined: Sun Jan 10, 2010 12:45 pm
Re: MIJ Jazzmaster - upgrade advice
^Agreed.VilhelmNielsen wrote:
New pickups
AVRI Tremolo
Mastery bridge
New electronics (…)
Complete shielding of the cavities
(…) worth a lot more than I've spent on it.
"The music is like life, only better." - Derek Bailey
- VilhelmNielsen
- PAT. # 2.972.923
- Posts: 70
- Joined: Sun May 11, 2014 4:40 am
Re: MIJ Jazzmaster - upgrade advice
@MatthewK: I've heard shielding the covers causes loss in the higher frequencies.
- EVOL!
- PAT. # 2.972.923
- Posts: 513
- Joined: Thu Nov 08, 2012 11:35 am
- Location: Great Lakes basin
- Contact:
Re: MIJ Jazzmaster - upgrade advice
For my CIJ Jazzmaster I did
- set of Seymour Duncan Antiquity I's
- standard Fender Mustang bridge
- Staytrem tremolo arm. Love the collet.
- set of Seymour Duncan Antiquity I's
- standard Fender Mustang bridge
- Staytrem tremolo arm. Love the collet.
http://www.reverbnation.com/thebendingoflight
If you think my singing is bad, you should hear me play guitar.
If you think my singing is bad, you should hear me play guitar.
- thedude99
- PAT. # 2.972.923
- Posts: 836
- Joined: Sat Nov 08, 2014 6:34 pm
- Location: Toronto, Ontario
Re: MIJ Jazzmaster - upgrade advice
If or my 97 CIJ Jazzmaster I just did the PUP's back when I got it in 97. Seymour Duncan Vintage Jazzmaster's. I'm putting a set of Pickup Wizards in tomorrow though.
Planning on doing the tremolo and electronics soon as well.
Question about the pick guards. Do replacement/custom made ones actually look better than the stock ones?
Planning on doing the tremolo and electronics soon as well.
Question about the pick guards. Do replacement/custom made ones actually look better than the stock ones?
- Larry Mal
- PAT. # 2.972.923
- Posts: 19723
- Joined: Mon Nov 29, 2010 4:25 pm
- Location: Saint Louis, MO
Re: MIJ Jazzmaster - upgrade advice
Why would that happen? What's the science behind that? All shielding does is remove electromagnetic interference by sending that to ground rather than your pickups.VilhelmNielsen wrote:@MatthewK: I've heard shielding the covers causes loss in the higher frequencies.
What would change about the either the string's ability to vibrate or the pickup to sense the vibration and output it?
Back in those days, everyone knew that if you were talking about Destiny's Child, you were talking about Beyonce, LaTavia, LeToya, and Larry.
- FIREBOT
- PAT. # 2.972.923
- Posts: 651
- Joined: Sat Dec 16, 2006 11:52 am
- Location: Los Angeles
- Contact:
- DesmondWafers
- PAT. # 2.972.923
- Posts: 1746
- Joined: Tue Mar 15, 2011 11:15 pm
Re: MIJ Jazzmaster - upgrade advice
Mine had baby pots, I would get rid of those.
- MazzyJaster
- PAT. # 2.972.923
- Posts: 65
- Joined: Mon Jul 27, 2020 5:18 am
Re: MIJ Jazzmaster - upgrade advice
Apologies for bumping an old thread, but to save starting a new one I was wondering if US Jazzmaster parts fit the Japanese models?
- timiscott
- PAT. # 2.972.923
- Posts: 422
- Joined: Thu Jan 25, 2018 12:38 am
- Location: London
Re: MIJ Jazzmaster - upgrade advice
Don't know about the modern ones, but my MIJ is 93/94 and I think the measurements are metric rather than imperial - the pickguard had to be sanded back to allow a set of PV65 pups to go in it. Fender do sell a Japanese term unit if a US one won't fit.
- Bradley-Jazz
- PAT. # 2.972.923
- Posts: 796
- Joined: Thu Sep 29, 2016 12:00 pm
- Location: Sheffield, UK
Re: MIJ Jazzmaster - upgrade advice
Hi
On my 94 MIJ, a US trem fits fine. The pots etc. are all metric sized (I think the holes needed a tiny bit of opening up to fit US CTS). The roller pot bracket is different to the US ones, and the pick guards are different. SD Vintage Jazzmaster pickups dropped straight in and on mine sound great - not looking to change those.
I went 500k pots, but actually changed back to 1 Meg. I've rewired my rhythm circuit to work on both pickups, so I can have a bright and warmer setting for all three positions. I did have a series mod on that switch instead, but found it too dark for me.
Enjoy!
On my 94 MIJ, a US trem fits fine. The pots etc. are all metric sized (I think the holes needed a tiny bit of opening up to fit US CTS). The roller pot bracket is different to the US ones, and the pick guards are different. SD Vintage Jazzmaster pickups dropped straight in and on mine sound great - not looking to change those.
I went 500k pots, but actually changed back to 1 Meg. I've rewired my rhythm circuit to work on both pickups, so I can have a bright and warmer setting for all three positions. I did have a series mod on that switch instead, but found it too dark for me.
Enjoy!
All the cheeses....
- Bradley-Jazz
- PAT. # 2.972.923
- Posts: 796
- Joined: Thu Sep 29, 2016 12:00 pm
- Location: Sheffield, UK
Re: MIJ Jazzmaster - upgrade advice
Just to add to that... I got my 94 in 94, and all those mods happened over years...
If you want to keep it cheaper, leave the trem on and see how you get on - I only changed mine when the knife edge wore significantly (but I would go for a US one when you do). The bridge is personal choice. I loctited my stock bridge for years, then went for a mustang, and now have a Staytrem (which is a keeper).
Shielding and pots are cheap, so if you have mini pots (which you probably do), I'd probably change those when doing the pickups, which are well worth the upgrade.
Then play it!
If you want to keep it cheaper, leave the trem on and see how you get on - I only changed mine when the knife edge wore significantly (but I would go for a US one when you do). The bridge is personal choice. I loctited my stock bridge for years, then went for a mustang, and now have a Staytrem (which is a keeper).
Shielding and pots are cheap, so if you have mini pots (which you probably do), I'd probably change those when doing the pickups, which are well worth the upgrade.
Then play it!
All the cheeses....