The 'Vintage Correct' Obsession

Discussion of newer designs, copies and reissue offset-waist instruments.
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Shadoweclipse13
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Re: The 'Vintage Correct' Obsession

Post by Shadoweclipse13 » Wed Jan 13, 2021 12:55 am

blunderbuss wrote:
Tue Jan 12, 2021 7:08 am
Absolutely! I mean, the “let people like things” quote comes to mind. I’m far more interested in reading about what people are interested in rather than what they hate. World has enough hate in it already.
You're damn right. Seeing people's passions and interests is SO much more interesting. Although, it IS nice to come together hating people who hate, i.e. trumplethinskin. Otherwise, fuck the hate ;)

beninma wrote:
Tue Jan 12, 2021 7:33 am
Regarding the Strat Leo Fender absolutely fixed that at G&L... pretty much every Strat style model that G&L makes/made has the 3-knobs setup as Volume/Tone/Bass as you get further from the switch. It makes way more sense than the normal Strat thing where the bridge pickup has no tone and sounds super brittle & thin. I don't really like Strats but if I played one of the G&L ones maybe I'd really like it due to those controls.
G&L make some really cool stuff. My guitar teacher when I was a kid had a dark blue G&L ASAT that had 2 of their standard single coils, but instead of a solid pole piece, it had those hollow-looking poles that look so cool. That guitar could do everything. Quality was outstanding.

Bradley-Jazz wrote:
Tue Jan 12, 2021 7:42 am
This site is full of fantastic variations, developments, some great new things, and a few very lovable "abominations", as well as the classics. That's why it's such a great forum. As you guys are saying, as long as it's live and let live, it's all good.
OSG :-*

blunderbuss wrote:
Tue Jan 12, 2021 10:01 am
Image
The purple and red look better than I thought they would. I like the red pearl over tort quite a bit too!!
Pickup Switching Mad Scientist
http://www.offsetguitars.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=104282&p=1438384#p1438384

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kimson
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Re: The 'Vintage Correct' Obsession

Post by kimson » Wed Jan 13, 2021 1:06 am

I don't really care one way or the other.

As long as it looks good (which many of the modern modified models don't do, to be honest), I'll get used to it.

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ToneFerDayz!!1!
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Re: The 'Vintage Correct' Obsession

Post by ToneFerDayz!!1! » Thu Jan 14, 2021 3:27 pm

I don’t care if other people play non vintage spec or modded offsets. But I really like the features on the vintage spec Jazzmaster and Jaguar. I personally find a lot of uses for the rhythm circuit and strangle switch, and it bums me out to not have those options. For example, the strangle switch can do some amazing things with a gated fuzz, the rhythm circuit is great for doubling a bass line or even for use as a kill switch.

But, it’s also down to the instrument itself- I’ve played quite a few non traditional offsets that just didn’t work for me, and quite a few that did. Nothing inherently better one way or the other, just preferences, really.

The one big thing that bothers me about the American professional series though is the location of the pickup switch. I hate hate hate having it on the top horn. Just no good reason for me to have it there, which is a shame because there’s a really otherwise sexy silver burst AP professional on the local classifieds that has that, but that control situation is a deal breaker for me.

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beninma
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Re: The 'Vintage Correct' Obsession

Post by beninma » Fri Jan 15, 2021 7:50 am

Shadoweclipse13 wrote:
Wed Jan 13, 2021 12:55 am

G&L make some really cool stuff. My guitar teacher when I was a kid had a dark blue G&L ASAT that had 2 of their standard single coils, but instead of a solid pole piece, it had those hollow-looking poles that look so cool. That guitar could do everything. Quality was outstanding.
The hollow parts are actually allen key heads.. the pole pieces are adjustable to change the string to string balance of the pickup.

They are really fragile though as they're like 1mm or something. Gotta be super careful touching them.

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Embenny
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Re: The 'Vintage Correct' Obsession

Post by Embenny » Sun Jan 17, 2021 7:12 am

beninma wrote:
Fri Jan 15, 2021 7:50 am
The hollow parts are actually allen key heads.. the pole pieces are adjustable to change the string to string balance of the pickup.

They are really fragile though as they're like 1mm or something. Gotta be super careful touching them.
Weird, that isn't my perception at all. They're easily triple the diameter of the height adjust screws on a strat or JM/Jag saddle and those never felt fragile to me. They're also seated in a threaded metal insert so they have a solid, firm, tight fit kind of feeling to me. Just adjusted mine a week or two ago. And, of course they're magnetized, so they grab the Allen key firmly and securely while you're adjusting them.

I actually was just thinking to myself, "these feel so much more secure to adjust than the poles on a filtertron" as I was doing it, since the last pickup I had tweaked was a TV Jones Powertron where you had a flat head screw (much less secure grip on the tool) threaded into plastic (much less secure grip on the screw).
The artist formerly known as mbene085.

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beninma
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Re: The 'Vintage Correct' Obsession

Post by beninma » Tue Jan 19, 2021 7:15 am

Unfortunately one was overtightened from new on my guitar.. and damaged, so that's why I say they're fragile. Realistically any fastener that small is fragile. :( My guitar was a rejected custom order from someone else. (It came in with a flatsawn neck when it was ordered with quartersawn). So either the shop or the previous owner could have overtightened it. The original owner took it home for a few weeks while his replacement was manufactured.

It's the 6th string though, and it's basically in the right place so I didn't bother with it. Also I didn't discover till it was already "unsafe" to take it back to the dealer over something that small.

If needed I could very easily replace the pickup but I haven't been real worried about.

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guitarsammy
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Re: The 'Vintage Correct' Obsession

Post by guitarsammy » Fri Jan 22, 2021 3:41 pm

beninma wrote:
Tue Jan 19, 2021 7:15 am
Unfortunately one was overtightened from new on my guitar.. and damaged, so that's why I say they're fragile. Realistically any fastener that small is fragile. :( My guitar was a rejected custom order from someone else. (It came in with a flatsawn neck when it was ordered with quartersawn). So either the shop or the previous owner could have overtightened it. The original owner took it home for a few weeks while his replacement was manufactured.

It's the 6th string though, and it's basically in the right place so I didn't bother with it. Also I didn't discover till it was already "unsafe" to take it back to the dealer over something that small.

If needed I could very easily replace the pickup but I haven't been real worried about.
They definitely are fragile. I had one that was overtightened from new, and I tried to unscrew it. With very little force, I managed to destroy the hex head on the pole piece and it was rendered permanently unadjustable. Had to return it under warranty for a replacement pickup.

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StrangeIdols
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Re: The 'Vintage Correct' Obsession

Post by StrangeIdols » Thu Feb 04, 2021 6:22 pm

I used to think I was pretty fussy about vintage correctness till I realised my favourite (and honestly still ideal) jazzmaster is a mix of different era features, and the added things that aren't just aesthetic changes (9.5" radius, pau ferro board) were net positives, at least imo

I like to think that's a cool thing about the offset community: the guitars are pretty personal to the user, and the originals varied so much over the years that everyone probably has their own ideal jazzmaster with different features; and we can all appreciate a cool build or model without getting annoyed that they're using a poly finish over nitro, or an acrylic guard when it should be bakelite

The offset Tele above is cool as fuck, the colour combo is amazing

And if OP sees this, what gretsch have you got? I started playing my G5420 again after a hot minute and it's never sounded so good

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timiscott
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Re: The 'Vintage Correct' Obsession

Post by timiscott » Fri Feb 05, 2021 9:52 am

There's a surprise resurrection! I've got an Electromatic GT5422tg. It's a beautiful thing and sounds really good acoustically too. The quality of those Electromatics is astonishing - it's got 'fingernail' blocks, binding on the neck and body, a (licensed?) Bigsby, good pickups and gold hardware. Beautiful to play too! How do you get on with yours?

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Re: The 'Vintage Correct' Obsession

Post by StrangeIdols » Fri Feb 05, 2021 10:43 am

timiscott wrote:
Fri Feb 05, 2021 9:52 am
There's a surprise resurrection! I've got an Electromatic GT5422tg. It's a beautiful thing and sounds really good acoustically too. The quality of those Electromatics is astonishing - it's got 'fingernail' blocks, binding on the neck and body, a (licensed?) Bigsby, good pickups and gold hardware. Beautiful to play too! How do you get on with yours?
Mine's one of the earlier ones with the hump block inlays and the licensed bigsby! It's a fun guitar, although I took a pretty long break from it for a while, works brilliantly with fuzz and all, perfect for a JAMC fan like myself!

Sort of laterally related to the topic, but they're another "not strictly vintage correct" thing, they've got both a poly finish and a 5 ply top instead of the vintage 3 ply, doesn't take anything away though!

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Re: The 'Vintage Correct' Obsession

Post by timiscott » Sat Feb 06, 2021 6:54 am

To be honest, I hate nitro. I've got an AV65 Jm that 's designed to chip every time I move it and I hate the faux mojo thing. No offence to anyone, but I do wonder if it's a middle class thing. I've never had much of anything that was worth much and, when I do get something cool, I tend to want to keep it pristine.

I only saw the JAMC once, on the Rollercoaster tour with MBV, Blur and Dinosaur Jr. I went down to Brixton thinking they were has-beens. They blew everyone else off-stage that night as they sooo knew what they were doing and how to do it.

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Re: The 'Vintage Correct' Obsession

Post by andy_tchp » Sat Feb 06, 2021 9:21 pm

timiscott wrote:
Sat Feb 06, 2021 6:54 am
To be honest, I hate nitro. I've got an AV65 Jm that 's designed to chip every time I move it and I hate the faux mojo thing
Wait, are the AV65 finishes that fragile too?

'Nitro' based finishes can be very resilient (both my AVRI and GuitarMill finished guitar would require a heavy impact to cause the finish to chip), so this must be a deliberate thing.
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Re: The 'Vintage Correct' Obsession

Post by Larsongs » Sat Feb 06, 2021 9:26 pm

I own an Olympic White AV65 JM & a CAR AV 65 Jag.. I don’t find their finish to be any more of a problem than my other Electric Guitars.. My Jag has 1 or 2 little scratches & my JM has none.... I’ve had them for 5-6 years or so & play them all the time...

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Re: The 'Vintage Correct' Obsession

Post by sunburster » Sat Feb 06, 2021 10:40 pm

My AV65 Jag in Ice Blue Metallic still looks like new. Not a scratch on it. I've had it for 6 years and play it many times a week.

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Re: The 'Vintage Correct' Obsession

Post by Mechanical Birds » Sat Feb 06, 2021 11:15 pm

I’m into the idea of stuff looking like it’s the old stuff but I’m not even gonna be givin a fuck about a 9.5” fretboard or a Mustang bridge or number of pick guard screws or whatever

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