New Warmoth Jazzmaster build(hardtail plate/Novak PAF)

[garyptaszek]

One good thing about having multiple partscasters is I can swap stuff back and forth if I get sick of it and it is like getting a new guitar. I moved the black pickguard and hardtail plate to the red JM:

Woah I dig that!
I have a Warmoth hardtail JM too, and I kinda like the pickguard as is.

[mortron]

Although conscious of it, I always forget that the Warmoth is slightly different. I wouldn't sweat it if you're content. It's like how the Jazz Bass moved the bridge pickup in the 60s or 70s... Still sounds like a Jazz Bass. Granted, I still have Jazz pickups in it.

Is the Warmoth pickguard the one that moves the knobs further down the butt? Or is that the stock one? I see that as an improvement only because of how I play and can see people preferring that over the other.

[OV7]

I think I got it all dialed in finally:

https://youtu.be/tzYmSJjuUdY

About the only weird thing I've noticed is that the humbuckers make some humming noise on their own but in the combined position they are dead quiet. The guitar is grounded properly. Hum drives me a little crazy.

[Embenny]

I think I got it all dialed in finally:

https://youtu.be/tzYmSJjuUdY

About the only weird thing I've noticed is that the humbuckers make some humming noise on their own but in the combined position they are dead quiet. The guitar is grounded properly. Hum drives me a little crazy.

That's a good-lookin' and good-soundin' Jazzmaster!

As for the noise, a lot of PAFs have a bit of a hum. They're often wound a little unbalanced, with one coil hotter than the other (often the screw coil), leading to some noise. They're probably unshielded under the covers, right? Metal PAF covers do reduce noise a bit, so you could always shield the inside of those pickup covers with some foil tape.

[OV7]

I think I got it all dialed in finally:

https://youtu.be/tzYmSJjuUdY

About the only weird thing I've noticed is that the humbuckers make some humming noise on their own but in the combined position they are dead quiet. The guitar is grounded properly. Hum drives me a little crazy.

That's a good-lookin' and good-soundin' Jazzmaster!

As for the noise, a lot of PAFs have a bit of a hum. They're often wound a little unbalanced, with one coil hotter than the other (often the screw coil), leading to some noise. They're probably unshielded under the covers, right? Metal PAF covers do reduce noise a bit, so you could always shield the inside of those pickup covers with some foil tape.

The covers are definitely not shielded. I will try that! Thank you for the tip. The hum is minimal with clean and low gain tones but quite noticeable with higher gain tones. I'm using a Plumes Overdrive in that video along with a 2-N-1 boost and an Arrows Boost. I would normally blame all that gain, but in the middle position, it is full-on silent.

[Embenny]

Yeah, I have a couple of humbucking pickups that do exactly that. A good shielding job helps. If it's any consolation, that bit of hum is related to how good and clear the pickups sound. Slightly unbalanced coils have more clarity than perfectly matched ones.

The fact that they are silent in the middle tells me it's probably the screw coil of each pickup that's a little overwound. It not only gives a clearer sounding humbucker, it also makes for a stronger and more usable tone if you coil split them.

[OV7]

Yeah, I have a couple of humbucking pickups that do exactly that. A good shielding job helps. If it's any consolation, that bit of hum is related to how good and clear the pickups sound. Slightly unbalanced coils have more clarity than perfectly matched ones.

The fact that they are silent in the middle tells me it's probably the screw coil of each pickup that's a little overwound. It not only gives a clearer sounding humbucker, it also makes for a stronger and more usable tone if you coil split them.

That is good information. I had no idea! I just screwed a bunch of parts together