Best Jazzmaster for Beach Boys / surfing

[revlimitbounce]

Hey Gang:

Jazz, fusion and funk player here usually on a homebuilt Telemaster or Strat, so this is quite far from my doghouse. What's the best Jazzmaster for surf music? New American Pro series looks good, but far too much coin to justify for this project. Any older MIJ/CIJ/MIM Jazzmasters that are really good?

Thanks!

 

[SixStringSlinger]

Sorry for suggesting something other than what you're asking about, but the Squier Vintage Modified Jazzmasters can be very good guitars. The "typical" things that are substandard on a "cheap" guitar (pots and other electronics, nut etc.) are cheap and easy to replace, other hardware replacements (bridge, trem) are available and seem to mostly drop right in, and Fenders Pure Vintage '65 pickups are good and reasonably priced as far as pickups go (also, plenty of people like the stock Duncan Designed ones).

I replaced all the electronics (including pickups), trem, bridge, pickup covers, knobs, switch tip and pickguard on my VMJM, and all that plus the initial cost of the guitar itself still came to less than what you'd typically find the other options you mentioned for. Between that and a decent set-up (I like this guide: https://www.premierguitar.com/articles/25516-diy-how-to-set-up-jazzmasters-jaguars ), it's a damned good guitar that I'm sure could handle Beach Boys tunes (I'm less sure about surf music, but I'm also less familiar with that).

The Vintage Modified series was recently discontinued, but popular enough that I'm sure you'll find plenty of used examples. They were replaced by a new line of Classic Vibes, with slightly different but overall similar specs. My impression is that the newer CVJM's aren't held to the same regard as the VMJM's, but they're also fairly new so I haven't heard much in the first place. There have been at least a couple of NGD posts here about them, I'm sure.

Happy hunting!

 

[revlimitbounce]

Thanks for the info!

 

[howardlo]

I bought a new Jazzmaster in the spring of 1965, right after high school graduation. It was my only electric and was gigged a lot for the next ten years until I sold it due to raising four young sons alone and needing the money.

Regretted that ever since. Once the Squirt VM Jazz masters came out I got one in 2012. Feel that I am missing nothing in comparison to the old one. Only mod I made was to replace the pickups with Fender Vintage '62 pickups. That only to have the same pickups and sound of the old one. The stock pickups had a hotter pickup than vintage.

I really feel as if I have the old one back, just in better condition than the old one would be now after over 50 years.

 

[Matthias]

The Mexican 60s Lacquers are pretty cool with a couple of mods. I put an AVRI trem, bridge cover, eggshell pickguard and pickguard shield and a Staytrem bridge on mine. Mine has a rosewood board.

 

[6String69]

I grabbed a used CS for just a bit more than the AO. Love it.

 

[BorderRadio]

Best Jazzmaster for surf music? Thats a myth that glorifies the historical background and therefore looks of the guitar. Surf can be done with just about anything, preferably with single coils and some vibrato. Fender amps with reverb after that.

If you must tho, get a Squier CV 60s Jazzmaster, add a 1 degree shim and don't look back until you know the bug bit you. Just my 2 cents, ymmv.

 

[Rayf_Brogan]

If you're looking for 9.5 radius, the 60th anniversary JMs are pretty nice. Same as the Classic 60s but more color options and a modern fretboard radius.

 

[stantheman]

er...I'm pretty sure Tommy Tedesco was a Telecaster. Dick Dale was a Strat and Larry Carlton too.
Eddie Bertrand played a Strat. Remember Leo and Don Randall would give whatever they thought was the "next big thing" to whoever looked like they were going on the charts. Actually the only guy I ever saw that used a Jaguar was Otis Rush until Taylor Swift. It wasn't until the 80's that all the Jazzmasters started to show up with the Donnie Darko "Under The Milky Way" Thing.
Switch that bogus stock bridge to a Mustang bridge first thing... wait was it the Jaguar that had the crappy bridge?

Duane Eddy was Gretsch and Guilds with single coils.

That said - You can make anything Twang - even a Shred Box.

Makes me laugh Dept....Listen to the opening chord to "Third Stone From The Sun" off "Are You Experienced"...."You'll never hear "Surf Music" Again."
I miss that guy.

 

[beyer160]

I haven't seen any of the new Squier CV Jazzmasters, but the old VM series were terrific guitars. The bridge pickup on those was overwound, but the neck was a nice vintage style pickup. The VMs were a perfect way to try out an offset.

The MIM '60s Classic Lacquer guitars were great, too- 7.25" radius, AV '65 pickups, they were basically a Mexican produced version of the old '62 AVRI. I had an AVRI, and my '60s Classic Lacquer is a dead ringer for it. After the Great Rosewood Fiasco, Fender started shipping them with pau ferro boards which I don't think look as cool as rosewood.

One thing all Fender offsets have in common is that they absolutely require an understanding of the bridge/trem system to set it up properly. It's not rocket surgery- once you've read up on it, it's not any harder to do than any other trem system (and easier than some). There's a lot of BS out there about "needing" to replace the stock bridge, but you really don't as long as you understand how it works. I wail on my guitars like a British nanny, and I never have any of the problems people complain about.

 

[Reedo]

Best Jazzmaster for surf music? Thats a myth that glorifies the historical background and therefore looks of the guitar. Surf can be done with just about anything, preferably with single coils and some vibrato. Fender amps with reverb after that.

If you must tho, get a Squier CV 60s Jazzmaster, add a 1 degree shim and don't look back until you know the bug bit you. Just my 2 cents, ymmv.

Another shout for the new Classic Vibe Jazzmasters. Killer guitars and as good in my honest opinion as the the MIM classic 60s I once owned.

 

[telemnemonics]

I've come close to buying a Squier J Mascis but keep holding off, otherwise I've only had a '59 the owner wanted for the neck to use on a Strat, so I got the loaded refin body for $300.
I have a JM pickup in the bridge of my main Strat now, but with a hardtail bridge.

If you need a JM there are lots of them, I'd look for one you can try out in the store if you're on a lower budget, since like any guitar they will vary.
If and when I end up with another one it will probably be a parts guitar built on a light weight body, the durn things have a lot of lumber and tend to be too heavy for my used up damaged frame.
Modding JMs is a national pastime so used parts are plentiful.

I'd visit and maybe join offsetguitars to read up on the finer points including setting them up and what parts fit well, since as noted there may be annoying features on some models including a bridge that's just a little too wide putting the strings close to the edge of the board. A lot of this is hype but it does seem that Fender has screwed up specs on a few more recent models.
As for why some players feel the old bridge sucks and others feel it works great, YMMV!

 

[howardlo]

One thing all Fender offsets have in common is that they absolutely require an understanding of the bridge/trem system to set it up properly. It's not rocket surgery- once you've read up on it, it's not any harder to do than any other trem system (and easier than some). There's a lot of BS out there about "needing" to replace the stock bridge, but you really don't as long as you understand how it works. I wail on my guitars like a British nanny, and I never have any of the problems people complain about.

Absolutely true! I have been playing them since I bought my new one in the spring of 1965 right after high school graduation and never had an issue with the bridge or saddles back then or with my 2012 VM Jazzmaster. I have never had a particularly light touch (certainly not back in 1965 and young), but never had any issue with the stock bridge or saddles. I bought my VM Jazzmaster in 2012, set it up correctly and haven't had to do any further adjustments, etc. since.

 

[raito]

I recall Carl Wilson playing a Jaguar but not a Jazzmaster. And yes, you can surf nearly anything.

 

[beyer160]

there may be annoying features on some models including a bridge that's just a little too wide putting the strings close to the edge of the board.

The early American Pro offsets had a bridge with the vintage 2-3/16” (56mm) spacing, which meant your E strings almost hung over the edge of the fretboard. Some time in 2018 they changed the bridge spec to the correct modern 2-1/16" (52mm) string spacing without saying anything about it. That's the only issue I know of with Jazzmasters having wrong spacing from the factory.

The other issue is neck radius- one of the perennial shade tree mechanic "fixes" for bridge issues is replacing the stock bridge with a Gibson tune-o-matic. The issue there is that the Gibson bridge is 12" radius, and Fenders are either 7.25" or 9.5". This means your outside strings will be higher off the fretboard than the inside strings. Some people don't mind this (J Mascis used them for years before replacing them with Mastery bridges), but it drives me nuts. YMMV, but be aware that any Fender with a tune-o-matic bridge (Squier J Mascis, Squier "Deluxe", Fender Classic Player) will have this issue.

 

[beyer160]

I recall Carl Wilson playing a Jaguar but not a Jazzmaster. And yes, you can surf nearly anything.

Carl did play a Jag back in the day, and Al Jardine has been pictured recently with a Johnny Marr signature Jag. The man has taste, the Marr is the best Jaguar Fender's made since the original run stopped in 1976.

 

[jvin248]

.

Make sure you figure out which type of Jazzmaster pickup you are looking at in a guitar model. Some are the classic alnico poles built like a classic Strat pickup but obviously a larger loop and shorter bobbin, others are built more like a P90 with steel slugs and bar (alnico or ceramic) magnets with the larger loop and shorter bobbin. The AVRI should be pole magnets while the J Mascis is bar magnets.

You'll want to lower the pickups farther from the strings.

A Jazzmaster neck pickup in a Strat can give the surf stuff -- easier than a Strat pickup but a Strat pickup can do it.

Here are the steps I'd go in:
-Common Strat with a JM AVRI-type neck pickup
-J Mascis Squire with the neck pickup replaced with AVRI-type (leaving the bridge P90-style for !Rock! or \m/)
-AVRI-type loaded body from Stratosphere, with a Strat neck you probably have kicking around already.
-Get the full MIA Fender JM

I'd avoid the MIJ models just because there were so many variations that it's hard to tell real from fakes, plus the prices are high enough that the market encourages fakes.

I built two JMs recently, the first has AVRI pickups, bridge, and trem; the second has a LP wrap tail and a single bridge humbucker. My first JM was a Strat with a JM neck pickup -- I was surprised at how much easier it was to get the surf sound than the stock Strat neck pickup -- which sent me off on the building path.

.

 

[Southpaw Tele]

I put together this Warmoth Jazzmaster. I put in a 1 degree Stew Mac neck shim and use a Mustang bridge. Neck is 7.25” radius with vintage frets and with some heavier (11’s) gauge strings, it’s great for any genre including surf. That being said, I built it when there were no lefty Classic Vibe Jazzies. If I were starting out fresh, I’d pick up one of those for half the cost.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[telemnemonics]

The early American Pro offsets had a bridge with the vintage 2-3/16” (56mm) spacing, which meant your E strings almost hung over the edge of the fretboard. Some time in 2018 they changed the bridge spec to the correct modern 2-1/16" (52mm) string spacing without saying anything about it. That's the only issue I know of with Jazzmasters having wrong spacing from the factory.

The other issue is neck radius- one of the perennial shade tree mechanic "fixes" for bridge issues is replacing the stock bridge with a Gibson tune-o-matic. The issue there is that the Gibson bridge is 12" radius, and Fenders are either 7.25" or 9.5". This means your outside strings will be higher off the fretboard than the inside strings. Some people don't mind this (J Mascis used them for years before replacing them with Mastery bridges), but it drives me nuts. YMMV, but be aware that any Fender with a tune-o-matic bridge (Squier J Mascis, Squier "Deluxe", Fender Classic Player) will have this issue.

That Am Pro JM caused a lot of freaking out over at offsetguitars, and the following attempts to assign part numbers when Fender changes parts with the same numbers without notice, etc, made it worse.
Then many freaked out about the Am Pro taller pickup bobbin compared to former Ameican vintage reissue Fender bobbins, which are actually taller than vintage JM pickup bobbins.

Seems aftermarket pasrts are also inconsistent, as well as opinions on using an old Mustang bridge or a TMO on a JM.

The board radius range on Fender JMs makes the issues a little more legit, but I'd agree that a lot of the problems are just repeated complaints on the internet that only represent those who got the wrong parts, when most parts work fine and the real problems were solved years ago with a neck shim (not an expensive Stew Mac shim!) yet the freaking out lasts forever.

One might complain as much about Strat trems with fitment, adjustment, board radius floating or decked, locking, trem setter etc, but instead we just see the Strat trem as options, not as problems.

Worth noting that the TOM is very easy to re- radius where the Mustang bridge isn't.
I'm also not sure of the range of mods but it seems some thimble/ bridge assemblies rock while other don't (or do so poorly), so the strings need to slide over the saddles, and there are even roller bridges. Too many aftermarket parts now for me to keep up with.

Plus at offsetguitars that younger crowd swears and talks about stuff that's banned here, further adding to the confusion.
I think the Jazzmaster modding industry is up there with Amazon and Facebook for taking more than it gives.

 

[PooTwang]

The Squire J Mascis are really nice