I'm back baby! Jazzblaster Build - Finished Pg 4

Talk about modding or building your own guitar from scratch.
User avatar
HNB
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 13513
Joined: Tue May 10, 2011 7:55 am
Location: Puyallup, Washington
Contact:

Re: I'm back baby! Jazzblaster Build - Finished Pg. 3

Post by HNB » Fri Jun 11, 2021 1:19 pm

Looks great! Good job!
Christopher
Lilith Guitars

User avatar
d-rock
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 1181
Joined: Mon Apr 28, 2008 5:11 am
Location: Atlanta

Re: I'm back baby! Jazzblaster Build - Back to Natural

Post by d-rock » Wed Sep 08, 2021 6:48 am

Well, I think this guitar was destined to be a natural finish.

Quite a few things have gone wrong with the white finish. First, the wipe on poly finish I used over color was the exact wrong way to go. Over a few months the finish had yellowed (in a bad way) and was streaky on the back. Second, I needed to adjust the placement of the tremolo because it was mounted slightly too far back in the cavity. The color must have not been all the way cured and I pulled off a few spots of finish when I took the trem plate off. Third, I wet sanded the poly off then had a burn through. I got so frustrated I realized that it wasn't meant to be.

I proceed to sand off the white and strip it back to natural. :fp: I do really love that woodgrain, hopefully this time the finish is here to stay.

Image
Image
Image

User avatar
JAGJazz
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 61
Joined: Sat Aug 24, 2013 8:11 pm
Location: SE MI US

Re: I'm back baby! Jazzblaster Build - Back to Natural

Post by JAGJazz » Mon Sep 13, 2021 10:15 am

I'm a fan of both white Jazzmasters and natural guitars with nice grain, so I think it looks great either way. I'm eager to see what it looks like when you get it back together. Nice work and thanks for all the photos.

User avatar
d-rock
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 1181
Joined: Mon Apr 28, 2008 5:11 am
Location: Atlanta

Re: I'm back baby! Jazzblaster Build - Back to Natural

Post by d-rock » Wed Sep 15, 2021 10:24 am

JAGJazz wrote:
Mon Sep 13, 2021 10:15 am
I'm a fan of both white Jazzmasters and natural guitars with nice grain, so I think it looks great either way. I'm eager to see what it looks like when you get it back together. Nice work and thanks for all the photos.
Thanks, appreciate it.

User avatar
d-rock
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 1181
Joined: Mon Apr 28, 2008 5:11 am
Location: Atlanta

Re: I'm back baby! Jazzblaster Build - Finished Pg 4

Post by d-rock » Wed Sep 15, 2021 10:29 am

Here's the finished project - "I'm Back (to natural) Baby" The last piece was a StayTrem arm and collet that I ordered from the UK. It made a huge difference in feel of the trem. The arm and throw are much smoother than the stock, generic trem arm/collet.

Image
Image
Image
Image

User avatar
d-rock
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 1181
Joined: Mon Apr 28, 2008 5:11 am
Location: Atlanta

Re: I'm back baby! Jazzblaster Build - Finished Pg 4

Post by d-rock » Tue Jan 04, 2022 9:32 am

I decided to do some more tweaking to the natural JM. I wanted to try a hardtail conversion plate. Since I got one in brushed steel I went with matching matte nickel PAFs to complete the look. I wasn't digging the unmatched pale maple neck with the Alder body so I decided to order a Warmoth roasted maple/rosewood neck. When you drill into the roasted maple it smells like maple syrup, which is wild. I think the color looks better.

Image
Image
Image

Edit to original post: When I upgraded the pickups I wanted to replace the cheap Amazon whatever-brand $6 switch. Switchcrafts were going to cost me like $25 with shipping. I instead opted to get a new JM wiring harness (sans rhythm circuit) from Gunstreet Wiring Shop. Good prices, tidy wiring, all around good and knowledgeable guy. I just had to solder the pickups and ground.
Image
Image

Image
Image
Last edited by d-rock on Sun Jan 09, 2022 9:22 am, edited 2 times in total.

User avatar
storyboardist
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 304
Joined: Fri Dec 09, 2011 9:50 am
Location: Kennesaw, GA
Contact:

Re: I'm back baby! Jazzblaster Build - Finished Pg 4

Post by storyboardist » Tue Jan 04, 2022 10:10 am

Looks sharp man!
effectslayouts.com

User avatar
Somnospeed
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 55
Joined: Mon Dec 20, 2021 4:53 pm

Re: I'm back baby! Jazzblaster Build - Finished Pg 4

Post by Somnospeed » Tue Jan 04, 2022 10:18 am

Very nice. Looks clean as a whistle. Any sound clips to post here or on Youtube?

User avatar
leslie846
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 127
Joined: Tue Nov 23, 2010 9:28 am

Re: I'm back baby! Jazzblaster Build - Finished Pg 4

Post by leslie846 » Tue Jan 04, 2022 10:22 am

The final product is soo great (though, the other previous versions were on point as well :D ). I also love all of this because it makes me feel like I'm not alone in my crazy brain of constantly being indecisive about my partsmasters, hahaha

User avatar
d-rock
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 1181
Joined: Mon Apr 28, 2008 5:11 am
Location: Atlanta

Re: I'm back baby! Jazzblaster Build - Finished Pg 4

Post by d-rock » Sun Nov 06, 2022 9:42 am

I think this is the final round of tweaks to this Jazzblaster. I had gone back and forth from the hardtail conversion plate and a more traditional tremolo but wasn't completely satisfied with either. I decided to make my own hardtail.

I came across a lap steel tailpiece on Ebay but it looks to me like it's just a aftermarket version of a Gibson EDS-1275 tailpiece. (Jimmy Page SG Doubleneck) I then drew a mounting plate in Adobe Illustrator and had it manufactured by Ponoko out of stainless steel. I glued a support wood block into the tremolo cavity (totally forgot to take pics) then mounted the tailpiece to the plate. I love the custom look.

I also purchased a nickel Gotoh tune-o-matic to match the Roswell nickel humbuckers and can finally call this thing done. Lots of twists and turns but it's a loveable mutt.

Image
Image

User avatar
rank
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 1540
Joined: Sun Oct 24, 2010 8:35 am

Re: I'm back baby! Jazzblaster Build - Finished Pg 4

Post by rank » Sun Nov 06, 2022 4:44 pm

d-rock wrote:
Sun Nov 06, 2022 9:42 am
I think this is the final round of tweaks to this Jazzblaster. I had gone back and forth from the hardtail conversion plate and a more traditional tremolo but wasn't completely satisfied with either. I decided to make my own hardtail.
I am not really a fan of hardtails but that one looks amazing!
We are merely moving shadows.

User avatar
shoegaze_head
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 205
Joined: Mon Jul 25, 2022 7:45 am
Location: Midwest (emo) US

Re: I'm back baby! Jazzblaster Build - Finished Pg 4

Post by shoegaze_head » Tue Nov 08, 2022 2:02 pm

d-rock wrote:
Sun Nov 06, 2022 9:42 am
I think this is the final round of tweaks to this Jazzblaster. I had gone back and forth from the hardtail conversion plate and a more traditional tremolo but wasn't completely satisfied with either. I decided to make my own hardtail.

I came across a lap steel tailpiece on Ebay but it looks to me like it's just a aftermarket version of a Gibson EDS-1275 tailpiece. (Jimmy Page SG Doubleneck) I then drew a mounting plate in Adobe Illustrator and had it manufactured by Ponoko out of stainless steel. I glued a support wood block into the tremolo cavity (totally forgot to take pics) then mounted the tailpiece to the plate. I love the custom look.
I normally can't stand hardtails on jazzmasters, but that might be one of the best ever. Really tasteful on top of an already stunning guitar. Is the support block only held in there by glue? Are you worried about it pulling out at all?

User avatar
d-rock
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 1181
Joined: Mon Apr 28, 2008 5:11 am
Location: Atlanta

Re: I'm back baby! Jazzblaster Build - Finished Pg 4

Post by d-rock » Tue Nov 08, 2022 3:16 pm

shoegaze_head wrote:
Tue Nov 08, 2022 2:02 pm
d-rock wrote:
Sun Nov 06, 2022 9:42 am
I think this is the final round of tweaks to this Jazzblaster. I had gone back and forth from the hardtail conversion plate and a more traditional tremolo but wasn't completely satisfied with either. I decided to make my own hardtail.

I came across a lap steel tailpiece on Ebay but it looks to me like it's just a aftermarket version of a Gibson EDS-1275 tailpiece. (Jimmy Page SG Doubleneck) I then drew a mounting plate in Adobe Illustrator and had it manufactured by Ponoko out of stainless steel. I glued a support wood block into the tremolo cavity (totally forgot to take pics) then mounted the tailpiece to the plate. I love the custom look.
I normally can't stand hardtails on jazzmasters, but that might be one of the best ever. Really tasteful on top of an already stunning guitar. Is the support block only held in there by glue? Are you worried about it pulling out at all?
Thanks! I thought for a few days on whether I needed a support under the tailpiece or not. The plate I had fabricated has three holes in the middle that matches the three mounting holes of the SG style tailpiece. I was going to use just three bolts and nuts but decided to actually make the wooden supports instead. I should have clarified, though, I used wooden blocks, plural. One block horizontal for the tailpiece to screw into, then a block above and below it in an "t" pattern to ensure the block wouldn't rock forward.
Last edited by d-rock on Sun Nov 13, 2022 8:29 am, edited 2 times in total.

User avatar
shoegaze_head
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 205
Joined: Mon Jul 25, 2022 7:45 am
Location: Midwest (emo) US

Re: I'm back baby! Jazzblaster Build - Finished Pg 4

Post by shoegaze_head » Tue Nov 08, 2022 5:30 pm

Ahh that makes a lot of sense, thanks!

Post Reply