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So I'm a partscaster nerd, about a year ago I set out to build my "perfect" Jazzmaster. I always loved the look and ergonomics of the JM shape, so, without knowing as much about Jazzmasters as I should have, I set out on voyage. It didn't go quite how I hoped, so I scrapped it and sold off the parts except for the body which hangs on the wall in my garage.

Basic rundown:
-Home made black korina Jazzmaster body
-Custom Warmoth neck with padauk shaft
-Descendant bridge and vibrato
-Sunday Handwound "Iola" pickup set
-1meg pots
-Rhythm circuit replaced with bass cut and series/parallel switch

Things that went great:
-Black korina body looked really cool!
-The neck was great, love my Warmoth necks
-Loved the feel of the trem

Things that went ehh...
-I liked the sound of the neck pickup... but didn't love it. I Would like a little more fat.
-Series position was kind of neat, but didn't totally connect with it
-Consistently kept the tone knob at like 5, I would probably try 500k pots next time
-Bass cut was not super useful with the vintage-y Jazzmaster pickups (though good with the series position)

Things that went bad:
-The body was heavy as f*ck! Made it uncomfortable to play. My fault for not realizing that I was buying such a heavy piece of lumber.
-Bridge pickup was uninspiring to me: I would like something a little fatter, kinda like the neck pickup but "more"
-Descendant bridge/vibrato were lovely parts, but so expensive that I found a heavy incentive to part them out and pawn them off.

Soo... What have we learned here... look before you leap! Get a light/normal weight body for sure! Vintage-y Jazzmaster pickups aren't quite my thing I think. I normally like p90s, hot-ish tele bridges, and low wind humbuckers. I'd like to stay with a Jazzmaster-ish sound for this guitar, so maybe I can find some somewhat hotter/fatter JM pickups? Try 500K pots next time I think so I don't have to keep the tone knob so low?

What recommendations would you guys give me for "V2"? (pickups, elctronics, bridges, anything else)

Honestly, before you make any changes to pickups, try a 250k volume and 500k tone pot. The 250k volume will change the character of the pickups in a way that's not the same as rolling your tone knob down. The tone pot being a higher value will allow you to dial up the highs if needed, but you can leave it at whatever works best (I would guess that 7 or 8 is good for the bridge pickup). Make sure your bridge pickup is sufficiently close to the strings, and if you want more bass, adjust the bass side higher than the treble side. On paper, the Iola's should be overwound to around P90 specs, but you're probably never hearing P90s with 1meg pots.

Also, it may be a drop in the bucket, but if you want to relieve some weight, take the rhythm circuit out and put some black construction paper (or electrical tape) under there to cover the holes. It sounds like neither the bass cut nor the series switch is doing it for you (and honestly, series is highly overrated for pickups that are far apart).

Firstly, we need picks of the previous iteration.

As far as pickups go, I'd consider either Jazzmaster sized P90's, or maybe WRHB's are up your alley.
We don't know your budget but you could get one of those Thinline JM bodies from Hz that pop up on Ebay regularly.
Get a Warmoth neck if you love those.
Hardware, use whatever you like.

alexpigment wrote: ↑

Thu Nov 28, 2024 12:30 am

Honestly, before you make any changes to pickups, try a 250k volume and 500k tone pot. The 250k volume will change the character of the pickups in a way that's not the same as rolling your tone knob down. The tone pot being a higher value will allow you to dial up the highs if needed, but you can leave it at whatever works best (I would guess that 7 or 8 is good for the bridge pickup). Make sure your bridge pickup is sufficiently close to the strings, and if you want more bass, adjust the bass side higher than the treble side. On paper, the Iola's should be overwound to around P90 specs, but you're probably never hearing P90s with 1meg pots.

Also, it may be a drop in the bucket, but if you want to relieve some weight, take the rhythm circuit out and put some black construction paper (or electrical tape) under there to cover the holes. It sounds like neither the bass cut nor the series switch is doing it for you (and honestly, series is highly overrated for pickups that are far apart).

Thanks! Unfortunately I already sold off all the parts (other than body) to fund a different build. I now wish I hadn't sold them but whatevs). I'll definitely try different pots next time! I agree too that I'll leave off the the series switch and bass cut

Steadyriot. wrote: ↑

Thu Nov 28, 2024 6:01 am

Firstly, we need picks of the previous iteration.

As far as pickups go, I'd consider either Jazzmaster sized P90's, or maybe WRHB's are up your alley.
We don't know your budget but you could get one of those Thinline JM bodies from Hz that pop up on Ebay regularly.
Get a Warmoth neck if you love those.
Hardware, use whatever you like.

Thanks I'm thinking JM p90s might be a good way to go, I'm interested in WRHBs too, but I've never played the "real" ones (just the regular humbucker-ish ones in Squiers)

I'm not familiar with Hz bodies, got a link?

Pics: (With wenge neck borrowed from another build)


The padauk neck that I ordered for this build

Steadyriot. wrote: ↑

Thu Nov 28, 2024 6:01 am

I'd consider either Jazzmaster sized P90's, or maybe WRHB's are up your alley.

One of each could be cool. WRHB in the neck and P90 in the bridge.

I LOVE the Lindy Fralin Big Single neck pickup, but as far as I know it’s only available in a humbucker or mini HB format. It’s nice and full, but lots of clarity, and rolling back the tone is great for jazzy clean sounds or synthy fuzz stuff.

Pickup height can make a massive difference in sound, and with a JM the geometry of bridge height, neck angle, etc… dictate where you can set the pickups relative to the strings.

I have a project JM that has an angled neck pocket and will likely never do that again.

ragamuffin wrote: ↑

Thu Nov 28, 2024 6:43 am

Steadyriot. wrote: ↑

Thu Nov 28, 2024 6:01 am

Firstly, we need picks of the previous iteration.

As far as pickups go, I'd consider either Jazzmaster sized P90's, or maybe WRHB's are up your alley.
We don't know your budget but you could get one of those Thinline JM bodies from Hz that pop up on Ebay regularly.
Get a Warmoth neck if you love those.
Hardware, use whatever you like.

I'm not familiar with Hz bodies, got a link?

Pics: (With wenge neck borrowed from another build)

Oh damn that body is gorgeous! How heavy was it that you couldn’t tolerate it?


Here’s a link to a Hz body. Looks like they only have a red one right now buy they pop up in different colors so it’s good to keep an eye on them.

Steadyriot. wrote: ↑

Fri Nov 29, 2024 2:40 am

Oh damn that body is gorgeous! How heavy was it that you couldn’t tolerate it?

Such a shame right? Glorious piece of lumber but made of lead. The body alone I think was 8 or so lbs, I'll have to weight it next time I'm at my parents house as it's currently in their garage. The body blank when I received it I remember was 14 lbs lol I should have stopped right there.

Novak is doing 20% off for Black Friday hmm maybe I should get a set. JM Cojones, JM-90, and JM-WR all sound like good options...

Hmm...

FWIW, I've got a set of JM-HC Stealth pickups in one Jazzmaster partsbuild...



...and a set of Novak Novak JM-HC Diamond pickups on my modded Squier J Mascis Jazzmaster...



Can't go wrong with Novak pickups IMHO - good luck!

Surfysonic wrote: ↑

Fri Nov 29, 2024 11:25 pm

FWIW, I've got a set of JM-HC Stealth pickups in one Jazzmaster partsbuild...

...and a set of Novak Novak JM-HC Diamond pickups on my modded Squier J Mascis Jazzmaster...

Can't go wrong with Novak pickups IMHO - good luck!

Nice browns!

ragamuffin wrote: ↑

Sat Nov 30, 2024 7:40 am

Nice browns!

Thanks! I found the '62 Fender Pro in a used music shop a few years back. It came with an unknown ceramic speaker that I was always "meh" about. Recently, I put in a Jensen Vintage Alnico P15N 50W speaker and it sounds absolutely glorious. The '64 Fender Reverb Unit I bought a few years prior to the Pro from Carter Vintage Guitars. Also have a '63 Fender Bandmaster...



All cables have been tidied up since this photo, I promise.

In my ever ongoing effort to downsize (and due to redundancy), I'm moving on a '62 Bandmaster chassis that I had housed in a custom 2x10 cab (that I'll utilize for the day I ever acquire an early '60s Fender Super chassis). The '62 Bandmaster is currently housed in a custom brown head cab.

My only modern amp is a Fender '62 Princeton Chris Stapleton Edition (shown here with the '62 Bandmaster in the custom 2x10 cab and my Johnny Marr Jaguar (pro fiesta red refin and Dave Wronski-style angled switch plate)...



Sorry for the derail! I'm a brown/blonde amp nerd for life.

Good luck with your next JM build!

Great amps! I've always wanted a blonde Bassman. Currently my main amp is a tweed bassman clone that I built into a headshell and use with a 2x12 cab with two Cream Alnicos


Anyways...

I'm thinking of stealing the aesthetic of this Custom Shop strat for my build. Natural white korina body (if I can find a lightweight piece) gold guard, off-white, parts, roasted maple neck with ebony board.

Also, I just saw that Sunday Handwound also has a sale and a new pickup set called "Spooky Iolas" where the bridge is a "Woody++" (that's right, two plusses) and the neck is a "Fred" which he says has a bit more mids/more aggressive than the "5859". I might give these a shot.

Well, I ended up pulling the trigger on the "Spooky Iola" pickups; giving jazzmaster pickups one more try. If they don't work out I can always go JM90 or widerange.

Also pulled the trigger on a hunk of wood! Nice piece off white korina piece from Kimball Hardwoods. Under 10 lbs and a very fair price.