Best Jazzmaster Available Right NOW

[Hyphen Nation]

If I am remembering correctly the 60's lacquer moves the tremolo to get a sharper break angle? I have found if the Jazzy/Jag is set up right there's no reason for buzz stops, moving things, etc. Feels like they are fixing a non-issue. That being said, the 60's road worn seem to be a really nice bang for the buck guitar.

To be honest, in the same budget vein, I think the J Mascis Squire and MIJ's are fantastic.
I'd look hard for a MIJ and swap out electronics. Yeah, poly finish, but also sub $1k for a quality guitar. It's just the electronics that need love.
Keep hunting for an AVRI? This is a decent price: https://reverb.com/item/2614904-fender- ... r-sunburst When they are not at retail shops and on local craigslists, I've seen used AVRI's go for like $1200.

Looking for high gain, I'd also look real close for one of the sonic youth guitars. The Lee Ronaldo come stock with WRHB's. I built a parts guitar a year ago with Novak WRHB's and they are a favorite.

Those gold thin skins are gorgeous. I keep wanting to get one and throw a gold guard on there.

The other high gain P'ups for Jazzy's that interest me are the Novak P180's as well as his boosted bridge P'ups.

Again, you can assemble a parts guitar with top shelf components for well below the thin skin prices. You can find parts guitars for $1k, usually with good stuff in them if you search for a while. Get a light weigh body from Guitarmill or MJT if you want Nitro, Warmoth if you want Poly finish. I think Musikraft makes a nice neck, and I know others have had good luck with Warmoth necks.

I'd join up at OSG.com and get enough posts to get on the B/S/T. Some great stuff over there.

[megamaeng]

You're definitely pushing me towards the parts route. I tried a TVL and it's a beautiful guitar no doubt but not really what I was going for looks or sound wise. I think I would have immediately swapped out the pickups which would jump the price up. And the poly finish seemed a bit thick for my liking as well as the glossy neck, tho it did feel great size wise. I think I'm a bit unlucky in that I really love the jazzmaster shape and scale, but don't really play the stuff it's best suited for. This wasn't a problem when I was into using a bunch of pedals but I'm trying to go straight to amp now so it's become more challenging.

I've been lurking at osg.com but time to start posting for the bst haha. I think I was a bit daunted at first about building but now that I know I have specific needs, I'm looking forward to doing the research and learning. Your suggestions for body and neck are a great help to start out with. Thanks!

[Hyphen Nation]

I know building your own can be intimidating, but I assembled a jazzy as my first parts build and it wasn't too bad. Worst case scenario you may need to bring it to a luthier/tech to help set up the action/deal with the nut. Mine just went together. You have to remember Leo Fender designed these to go together on an assembly line.

Here's my build thread: most of the finished pics are on page 2.
viewtopic.php?f=192&t=43658&hilit=build

[repoman]

So it seems like the consensus is that the TVL, thin skin, or building your own is the best right now. Tough call, tho budget and time point to TVL for me at the moment. I'm looking for something with a bit more output than my squier. Will the pickups in the TVL give me this or am I barking up the wrong tree regarding that? What would be considered the highest output jazzmaster pickup and would it be a simple swap? I guess I could always go for the Jim Root jazzmaster that I have an unhealthy obsession for haha.

Haven't played a VM JM but the VM Jag I had had really hot and treble heavy pickups. Dunno if its the same with the ones for the Squier JMs- "duncan deisigned" The AVRI Jag pickups sounded a billion times better and were pretty cheap, very even EQ but much lower output. I'd guess the AVRI pickups in the TVL are lower output, I think thats one of the main things about JMs is that they have really low output pickups. The TVL JMs are on reverb pretty often $800-1000, they come with a case too which is cool. All the hardware and electronics on them is AVRI.

I anticipated disliking the 7.25 radius and wide string spacing, bought the TVL kind of on a whim just to try out that setup but I actually find it really nice to play. Its still hard to fret out unless you are bending the shit out of the strings, like over 3 semitones. The more curvy radius makes finger vibrato really juicy. Really stable guitar tuning wise. The bridge might be something other than a stock mustang, mine feels much heavier than the fender mustang bridge I have and it has nylon bushings, reminds me a lot of the Staytrem I had but it's not a Staytrem.

[Hyphen Nation]

I think 7.25 is incredibly comfortable. When I initially got into offsets I wasn't sure how I'd feel, as I'd played Gibson's for over a decade at the time. Really no problem switching between the two. Each has their own strength. I just think that the smaller radius fretboards are really comfortable for how I tend to play.

[megamaeng]

I know building your own can be intimidating, but I assembled a jazzy as my first parts build and it wasn't too bad. Worst case scenario you may need to bring it to a luthier/tech to help set up the action/deal with the nut. Mine just went together. You have to remember Leo Fender designed these to go together on an assembly line.

Here's my build thread: most of the finished pics are on page 2.
viewtopic.php?f=192&t=43658&hilit=build

Man that was awesome but doesn't make it look any easier haha. That's a good point about the luthier tho. Just assemble as best I can and then go for a nice setup.

[popvulture]

The 65s, TVLs and lacquers all have glossy necks because that's more vintage spec. The road worn neck might be a little smoother because it's relic'd, iirc. Those are pretty cool guitars--I think the guards look kinda horsey but you can easily swap that, obv. But yep, road worn=great bang for buck.

I'm not into the Fender satin neck feel so much, so I can't offer a ton of help there. The CME special editions that are available now in Sherwood green and walnut have those necks, but they don't have trems, which is indispensable if you ask me. People do like them though, just not my bag.

The Ranaldo wide ranges were a good suggestion. Jazzmasters aren't remotely what I think of when I hear "high gain," just the nature of the beast. Maybe wander off the path and you'll find more of what you want in an altered beast

[megamaeng]

Jazzmasters aren't remotely what I think of when I hear "high gain," just the nature of the beast. Maybe wander off the path and you'll find more of what you want in an altered beast

Oh yeah for sure! I think this is part of the fun. I looked into more "traditional" high gain guitars and just didn't like any of them, in terms of feel, more than my squier. The sounds were great tho. I actually discovered those rothstein pre wired assemblies and they look like an easy (tho not cheap) way to get into the higher gain territory. I don't need anything crazy since my thunderverb is pretty high gain already, just trying to get to where I can get with my squier and boost pedal.

Thanks for the tip about the satin necks! I'll def look more into the road worn and those cme's. The cme ones might be a great option especially if I can drop in one of those rothstein assemblies, since I don't really use a trem. But again, we go back to whether it's just better to build one out at this point. But it seems like a pretty reasonable way to get into an american made guitar, especially since the walnut looks amazing

Does anyone know if I can get a parts neck in satin? Should i just cannibalize my squier?

[megamaeng]

the other thought is that since the 60's lacquer is nitro, will the neck get worn down fairly quickly to smooth, meaning much quicker than the poly? The 60's lacquer and roadworn look like great platforms to start swapping things out. Both aren't my favorite colors but surf green might be slightly ahead.

[repoman]

I've painted a bunch of guitars with lacquer and its very very fragile compared to poly. I think all those old guitars look beat up because of the paint not the amount of abuse they've taken. I believe in 50 years, poly guitars will look pretty fresh, or at least in much better condition regarding wear than 50 year old guitars do today.
I think the difference in feel is that poly guitars seem to have a ton of clear that goes on that drys very very smooth, lacquer gives a bit of texture and its softer.
I think the nitro necks will wear very fast.
You can approximate the feel on poly with very fine sand paper or scotch pads.

[popvulture]

I've painted a bunch of guitars with lacquer and its very very fragile compared to poly. I think all those old guitars look beat up because of the paint not the amount of abuse they've taken. I believe in 50 years, poly guitars will look pretty fresh, or at least in much better condition regarding wear than 50 year old guitars do today.
I think the difference in feel is that poly guitars seem to have a ton of clear that goes on that drys very very smooth, lacquer gives a bit of texture and its softer.
I think the nitro necks will wear very fast.
You can approximate the feel on poly with very fine sand paper or scotch pads.

Totally, and that's one of the main things I don't like about poly. 1. heavier, 2. they don't really age. Plus if you ding one, they tend to do this kind of crunchy thing that looks like shit (IMO), whereas with a nitro it's much more likely to chip and look classically worn out. I like that look... ya know, what relics try to imitate, only rarely successfully. Then of course there's the tone question, which people love to argue about—I do think it makes sense and nitro guitars do usually sound better to my ears, but there's a good chance it's psychological. Reasons 1 and 2 are good enough for me

The satin neck thing is totally an opinion—of course I always suggest going with what you really like, popular opinions be damned. I do like satin necks—I've got a K-Line that feels wonderful. The newer Fender satin necks just feel weird to me though, almost kind of waxy/plasticky. I have an Am Std Strat that I've sanded down quite a bit because I hated the neck feel (and the poly body). And the two-point trem (ugh, god).

YMMV, but I think the lower/mid tier American Fenders aren't worth it, feeling it's better to go fancier with the AVRIs and upward, or go lower and get one of the Mexican made models.

That CME walnut does look dope af though. I've been keeping my eye out for an Elvis Costello sig JM... so nice looking, would love to check one out

[O Drones]

The flashcoat finish Fender used on the 65's is super thin, I've only had mine a year.

[popvulture]

See, that is good lookin'

[Hyphen Nation]

See, that is good lookin'

Exactly!

[Wittgenstein]

The AV65 line are very nice guitars, and can be had used at a better value than the Road Worn or the Classic 60s in my opinion (the latter two tend to go used for not much less than the price of new, whereas I've seen quite a few AV65s at $1100 - $1200).