NGD - J Mascis Telecaster - SPARKLE!

[Controller]

Love the blue sparkle. Enjoy!

 

[Reedo]

As for PG, I would go 3 ply white ymmv.

 

[ReverendRevolver]

Congrats on a really beautiful guitar!!

Now I must ask, what's the story of J Mascis?
First time I heard his name was ~2 weeks ago and I really tried hard to watch at least five videos of him on YT, but I can't figure how he has been able to come to such a Celeb status?

Dinosaur jr. Was an alt rock mainstay for a long while, but they never had mainstream success like Mudhoney, Meat Puppets, etc did. They were one of those bands that you heard people who listened to the Pixies and Sonic Youth mention. In reality, they were much closer to the heavier side of alternative, but putting out solid albums and never "breaking big" is just kind of what happened.
Now, J Mascis through signature models gained traction through guitar players regarding him. His original Fender JM signature model was the first I remember offered in that price range and it was in a custom shop paint job (seriously, the CS wall calendar the year prior was the first I'd seen that color) with practical features. The only album of his I owned was Green Mind, and I'd always assumed he played a jag like all the other alt rock people, until that Fender came out. I think Nirvana opened for them in 90 or 91. Strange how things progress.....

So now hes spent 10+ years getting recognition as a player who knows his stuff, with the pushing point for him being known starting with his signature models.

I'm glad he has found success in this, Dinosaur jr reformed I 2005 after Mascis retired it in '97, and I feel like theyve toured alot since then.

 

[Eoghaner]

For further reading on J Mascis, see the chapter on Dinosaur Jr. in the book "Our Band Could Be Your Life". Could not recommend the book highly enough.

 

[ben smith]

I don't really know J Mascis beyond a single song but I couldn't say no to the sparkle blue body!

I am in the UK so this cost me a staggering £1,219.
That's the most I've ever paid for a telecaster but luckily I have no regrets.

The neck is road worn which I normally wouldn't consider as I don't like the look of fake wear and the logic of ageing. However, I have to admit it's a great feeling neck - very smooth and a profile that's on the thinner side. It apparently has jumbo frets but they feel more like medium jumbos to me.

Out of the box, the neck relief is .010 inches at the 8th fret.
String height over the 12th is .070 on the low E and .060 on the high e.
Measurements are a little higher than what I'd like but I wouldn't have noticed. The guitar plays very smoothly probably due to the neck and frets.

The only issue is that the nut hasn't been cut well for the A and D strings. They're either too wide or not seated properly. I'll fix this myself later.

All metal hardware and the mirror pickguard are aged too. Only the body is in "new" condition.

As for the top loader, I've never owned one and was eager to try it.
The result: I can't tell a difference between top-loading and string-though. It feels and sounds the same to me. I've read online that top loaders make the strings feel looser but there's no way I could pick this out in a blind test

I really like the pick-ups especially the bridge. Tight bass and bright but not sharp on the highs. There's a lot of presence and upper mids to it.

The only mod I'll do to this is replacing the mirror pickguard with something more traditional.
(Any suggestions? I was thinking just a white or parchment 3 ply).

Photos are hard to do justice to the blue sparkle as they all come out darker.
The first photo is the closest to what it's like despite being an out of focus image. The blue is lighter and more vivid with a slight turquoise hue.


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my kind of tele, wow!

 

[GreatDaneRock]

What a beauty, congrats sir! Yes on replacing that space-age-looking guard. Congrats again!

 

[Fretting out]

Dinosaur jr. Was an alt rock mainstay for a long while, but they never had mainstream success like Mudhoney, Meat Puppets, etc did. They were one of those bands that you heard people who listened to the Pixies and Sonic Youth mention. In reality, they were much closer to the heavier side of alternative, but putting out solid albums and never "breaking big" is just kind of what happened.
Now, J Mascis through signature models gained traction through guitar players regarding him. His original Fender JM signature model was the first I remember offered in that price range and it was in a custom shop paint job (seriously, the CS wall calendar the year prior was the first I'd seen that color) with practical features. The only album of his I owned was Green Mind, and I'd always assumed he played a jag like all the other alt rock people, until that Fender came out. I think Nirvana opened for them in 90 or 91. Strange how things progress.....

So now hes spent 10+ years getting recognition as a player who knows his stuff, with the pushing point for him being known starting with his signature models.

I'm glad he has found success in this, Dinosaur jr reformed I 2005 after Mascis retired it in '97, and I feel like theyve toured alot since then.

I’m not sure the meat Puppets or Mudhoney were any more successful, dinosaurs “feel the pain” made it on the radio at least and was played there up until I was a kid
Don’t remember a single mudhoney or meat Puppets song that was on the radio, at least I don’t know them by name if I’ve heard them

The only way I’ve even heard of either of those two was because of nirvana, I think all three bands are in a pretty similar boat

 

[ReverendRevolver]

I’m not sure the meat Puppets or Mudhoney were any more successful, dinosaurs “feel the pain” made it on the radio at least and was played there up until I was a kid
Don’t remember a single mudhoney or meat Puppets song that was on the radio, at least I don’t know them by name if I’ve heard them

The only way I’ve even heard of either of those two was because of nirvana, I think all three bands are in a pretty similar boat

Very similar boat, which is why I picked those 2; Mudhoney was in Black Sheep (the Chris Farley movie) and Backwater can still be heard playing over the loudspeaker at Walmart periodically. You probably wouldn't recognize it as them, since thier presence on Unpluggedwith thier meal ticket. I'd agree that thier extra little success was totally Nirvana induced.

 

[chris m.]

Maybe tighten the truss rod a scoche-- you'll get lower action up the neck immediately.

 

[Rockdog]

Happy NGD!

I saw Dinosaur Jr. in 2008 and I still have tinnitus! J. Mascis uses three full stacks.

 

[Old Plank]

Cool guitar, love it! I'd definitely keep the mirror, it's the perfect fit for that great space age-y blue sparkle. Maybe leave it on for a while and see if you get liking it.

Congrats!

 

[BradKM]

The inspiration for that model can be seen in the video of one of my favorite Dinosaur Jr. songs... and I was happy I got to see J. play either that same guitar or one of the signatures at one of the last pre-pandemic shows I saw.

 

[superjam144]

Amazing! Glad to see someone get one. Love it! We've talked about this exact guitar for a while here and I couldn't believe they actually came out with it.

I might look for one on the used market in the future.

 

[thejackofhearts]

Happy NGD!

I saw Dinosaur Jr. in 2008 and I still have tinnitus! J. Mascis uses three full stacks.

...So true. saw them a few times in the 90s and they were one of loudest bands I've ever heard live. Just glorious. The other decibel destroyers were The Ramones & Motorhead. In fact, The Ramones had my ears jacked up for 3 days. No joke.

To be young again.

BTW, GREAT looking Tele!

 

[thejackofhearts]

One of my favorite Djr tracks

 

[Martinp]

start choppin

 

[AviA]

Dinosaur jr. Was an alt rock mainstay for a long while, but they never had mainstream success like Mudhoney, Meat Puppets, etc did. They were one of those bands that you heard people who listened to the Pixies and Sonic Youth mention. In reality, they were much closer to the heavier side of alternative, but putting out solid albums and never "breaking big" is just kind of what happened.
Now, J Mascis through signature models gained traction through guitar players regarding him. His original Fender JM signature model was the first I remember offered in that price range and it was in a custom shop paint job (seriously, the CS wall calendar the year prior was the first I'd seen that color) with practical features. The only album of his I owned was Green Mind, and I'd always assumed he played a jag like all the other alt rock people, until that Fender came out. I think Nirvana opened for them in 90 or 91. Strange how things progress.....

So now hes spent 10+ years getting recognition as a player who knows his stuff, with the pushing point for him being known starting with his signature models.

I'm glad he has found success in this, Dinosaur jr reformed I 2005 after Mascis retired it in '97, and I feel like theyve toured alot since then.

Wow, that's a nice summary . many thanks for that.

 

[AviA]

He's an important figure in American guitar based indie rock from the 80-90s.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dinosaur_Jr.

His Squier Jazzmaster signature model is one of the best things Squier ever made.

Nice. thanks for the info

 

[Fretting out]

Nice. thanks for the info

I was unfamiliar with Dino myself till I saw J. Do a solo version of “get me” for guitar center (the video is still up but I suck at linking)
It was at a rough time and it was so dang catchy, it gave me goosebumps when he rips into that solo at the end, found myself listening to it repeatedly I think it’s worth checking out, even if just for the badass solo

His “ J. Mascis Guitar Moves” video is still up also and has some good tips and also some nice lead work

J.’s personality gets to some people, he is a very dry type person, always seems to be thinking and not necessarily engaged,I think he’s one of those love or hate guys although I don’t know how anyone could hate him,

Still it is okay, you don’t have to like what I do and vice versa

 

[Fretting out]

I don't really know J Mascis beyond a single song but I couldn't say no to the sparkle blue body!

I am in the UK so this cost me a staggering £1,219.
That's the most I've ever paid for a telecaster but luckily I have no regrets.

The neck is road worn which I normally wouldn't consider as I don't like the look of fake wear and the logic of ageing. However, I have to admit it's a great feeling neck - very smooth and a profile that's on the thinner side. It apparently has jumbo frets but they feel more like medium jumbos to me.

Out of the box, the neck relief is .010 inches at the 8th fret.
String height over the 12th is .070 on the low E and .060 on the high e.
Measurements are a little higher than what I'd like but I wouldn't have noticed. The guitar plays very smoothly probably due to the neck and frets.


The only issue is that the nut hasn't been cut well for the A and D strings. They're either too wide or not seated properly. I'll fix this myself later.

All metal hardware and the mirror pickguard are aged too. Only the body is in "new" condition.

As for the top loader, I've never owned one and was eager to try it.
The result: I can't tell a difference between top-loading and string-though. It feels and sounds the same to me. I've read online that top loaders make the strings feel looser but there's no way I could pick this out in a blind test

I really like the pick-ups especially the bridge. Tight bass and bright but not sharp on the highs. There's a lot of presence and upper mids to it.

The only mod I'll do to this is replacing the mirror pickguard with something more traditional.
(Any suggestions? I was thinking just a white or parchment 3 ply).

Photos are hard to do justice to the blue sparkle as they all come out darker.
The first photo is the closest to what it's like despite being an out of focus image. The blue is lighter and more vivid with a slight turquoise hue.


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Is there a way you can measure the neck?
I’m curious how it compares to mine, in terms of fender I wouldn’t say mines in the thinner camp
Close to a 60’s C shape, the wide nut does make it feel more substantial than it is
I was hoping it would be a direct copy of his 58 With the regular nut and probably a pretty thin shape although I prefer thicker necks

Do you know how much yours weighs?
When I was doing my searching the few that were available were all in the 7 pound range with mine at 8 pounds being the heaviest

How do you like the pickups and that middle out of phase setting?