Newb interested in first JM build

[brettryantalley]

hey all! thanks for any help you're willing to offer. i've been on a DEEP rabbit hole today. hah. i have a 1989 Japanese (or maybe korean) Squier II Standard HSS Stratocaster that i've had for years under my bed. i LOVE the neck, but nothing else with the guitar really connects with me. today i decided i wanted to look into buying a used JM body online & just throwing my neck on there.

well, about 5 hours later (and i'm not kidding), i've got like 50 open tabs, have watched countless youtube videos & find myself here being super interested in the idea of building out a custom body & using my neck (or maybe just selling the whole squier & getting a different neck too if that makes more sense).

the problem is i don't have much of a budget. I'm assuming i've got around $3-400 i could play with (pending on what i sell of the squier & for how much).

i've thought about everything from just getting a squier JM to the crazy cheap german harley benton JM's to precision guitar kits etc.

i love the classic daphne (my daughter's name too) blue with the tortoise shell pick guard & an all maple neck (like my squier). part of me would be super intrigued with something that has a p90 & a classic JM pickup, but haven't seen anything like that out there before...so assuming it's not possible.

anyway...i'm fairly lost & overwhelmed at this point & would love any thoughts & direction!

THANK YOU!

A FEW BONUS PIECES THAT MIGHT BE HELPFUL...
-the kind of music i play is sort of like pop rock to indie folk. think weezer to bon iver to manchester orchestra.
-i have very limited carpentry experience & have never soldered in my life, but am willing to learn.

[andy_tchp]

At that price point, buying one of these as a base would seem like a great choice?

https://www.musiciansfriend.com/guitars ... ric-guitar

[brettryantalley]

thanks, andy! that's definitely one in my mind right now. going to a guitar center on tuesday to check it out.

theoretically...if i spent $350ish (about as much as the squier) on a body, pickups, all the parts & just used my current strat neck...would it that $350 eventually end up getting me a 'better' guitar. by that i mean would i be able to afford better pickups, wiring, etc from warmoth, reverb, stewmac, etc with that $350 vs what i'm getting with that squier?

[Unicorn Warrior]

You already have a neck you love. The easiest thing to do would be to (IMO) would to find a loaded squier or Fender JM body on stratosphere, reverb, or eBay and put your neck on it. The classic vibes are easy to upgrade.

[Ceylon]

Get one of the Sonic Blue CV Jazzmasters (they're better than you'd think), try putting your Squier Stratocaster neck on there, sell whatever parts you don't want to use in the end and buy a P90 (which will most likely fit underneath the JM pickup cover with no further modifications) for some of what you get for the leftover parts. Might be enough left for a Staytrem replacement bridge even.

It maybe won't be exactly what you want, but with a bit of work you can get something pretty close to what you want within your budget, and that doesn't happen very often I'd stay away from trying to build myself, unless you have some previous woodworking/finishing experience.

[hulakatt]

You already have a neck you love. The easiest thing to do would be to (IMO) would to find a loaded squier or Fender JM body on stratosphere, reverb, or eBay and put your neck on it. The classic vibes are easy to upgrade.

My first thought as well.

[brettryantalley]

thank you so much!

can you tell me what the differences is in upgrading that bridge?

[Ceylon]

thank you so much!

can you tell me what the differences is in upgrading that bridge?

It's isn't always necessary. You can make the typical Jazzmaster-bridge work with a bit of tinkering, and all the instructions can be found on here. Many people, including me, thinks that kind of bridge sounds a bit better than most of the replacements.

The benefits of getting a Mustang-style bridge is that the saddles usually have no individual height adjustment and only one groove for a string. This makes the whole thing more stable - no strings getting knocked out of their proper place, no rattle, no saddles creeping lower over time - and this translates into a guitar you can play with more confidence, and usually a tad more sustain.

Or that anyway is my experience.

Staytrem is my personal preference for that type of construction because it's a slightly chunkier unit made from good steel, with some clever little mods to really make it stay where you adjust it over time. You can also get them made specifically for a 9,5" radius, which is what all Squier and many modern Fender JMs have, whereas most other Mustang bridges are either 7,25" or add individually height-adjustable saddles.

Side note: my dad's workplace had a Squier II P-bass standing around that I did some maintenance work to and my uncle, who's a lifelong bass player, said it had one of the nicest necks he ever played. So you definitely should hang on to that neck. It might have a 7,25" radius, so if you do go for a replacement bridge, check that first.

[Unicorn Warrior]

What Ceylon said. With regards to radius, it may or may not make too much of a difference to you. The CV squires already have a Mustang/staytrem style bridge. Not really sure what the major differences are between that version and staytrem the actual brand. Anyway, they’re already a step up from what the VM line had.

I mean, offset bridges get expensive and they can be worth it. But set-up is crucial. I use a mastery and a staytrem on 2 separate builds and both are great. I left the original bridge on my 66 jag when I had it, and it was set-up perfect and equally great. Set-up with offsets are the tricky part. The aftermarket bridges can sometimes make that process easier.

[gibs]

https://youtu.be/5Cjl9HFXG_Q

Watch that video and you’ll know what al you got to do to make it a reliable instrument. Maybe $20 in parts and loctite is all you need. They’re serviceable instruments, the factory setup just sucks. I planned on replacing the neck on mine, but it’s actually really good neck, one of my favorites. Compared to even an American deluxe tele neck too. It’s very comparable in feel and quality. Pickups are also surprising good, and are very jm sounding. If you want a p90, look for used j mascis pickups. They are literally a p90 built into the JM cover formfactor.

[brettryantalley]

you all are awesome. so grateful for your input.

i went over to a guitar center today & got to play a couple. the jmasics & the CV 60's. the LOOK of the CV is what i want. the daphne blue & the tortoiseshell is absolutely what i want. the neck on it was...not great though. that of course is probably subjective...but the frets were sort of brutal too though. i think i liked the the playability & sound of the masics better...but am not as into the color scheme.

at this point...i'm wondering if going the CV 60's route to get the color i want, then sell that neck & put mine in, keep the neck JM pickup, but get a masics p90 pickup for the bridge.

the moments i feel adventurous, i think about getting a loaded pickguard (like 1 or like 2) and then a body (like 3) along with the rest of the parts & put the thing together myself.

still doing some research though if anyone has any other ideas!


1: https://www.ebay.com/itm/363702578089?h ... SwjV1h4cFh
2: https://offerup.com/item/detail/1342065 ... ter+loaded
3: https://www.ebay.com/itm/384692048219?h ... Sw2KRh6wxl

[Norrin Radd]

you all are awesome. so grateful for your input.

i went over to a guitar center today & got to play a couple. the jmasics & the CV 60's. the LOOK of the CV is what i want. the daphne blue & the tortoiseshell is absolutely what i want. the neck on it was...not great though. that of course is probably subjective...but the frets were sort of brutal too though. i think i liked the the playability & sound of the masics better...but am not as into the color scheme.

at this point...i'm wondering if going the CV 60's route to get the color i want, then sell that neck & put mine in, keep the neck JM pickup, but get a masics p90 pickup for the bridge.

the moments i feel adventurous, i think about getting a loaded pickguard (like https://www.ebay.com/itm/363702578089?h ... SwjV1h4cFh or this) and then a body along with the rest of the parts & put the thing together myself.

still doing some research though if anyone has any other ideas!

Based on everything you’ve said so far, I would definitely go with the option above that I highlighted. Makes the most sense to me and not too cost intensive. I think that’s a great place to start. See what you get and then mod from there if need be.

[brettryantalley]

oh yeah...there was a Squier Classic Vibe 70's guitar there...but it was a customers that was there for a set up, so i couldn't play it...but man, it was perty. has me thinking about those too.

[gibs]

I’d actually get the cv guard over vintera, I haven’t heard much good on the vintera pickups. Plus the cc guard comes with the bridge and your spending a lot less money on it.

[gibs]

oh yeah...there was a Squier Classic Vibe 70's guitar there...but it was a customers that was there for a set up, so i couldn't play it...but man, it was perty. has me thinking about those too.

That would’ve been a Jaguar if it was a 70’s the only other jm cv is the late 50’s and it has a gold guard and black pickups. I have the white blonde finish and the neck on it is great, frets we’re well dressed and no sharp edges. I’m not sure about narrow tall frets vs medium jumbo (what the mascis has), they definitely suck if you don’t have enough tension on your strings as you can easily fret a note sharp then, but if tension is good that seems to be less of an issue. Again, just have to make sure you set them up properly and they can be a great guitar for the money.