A Tale of Two Jazzmasters

[Verne Bunsen]

So evidently the fender screws are a #3 x 1". At least that's what the label says. They did not fall apart when I tried to put them in the wood, which makes them a lot better than the others. They're shorter than the ones that came with the Lollar's, but plenty long for this. I think I'll just count on throwing the longer ones directly in the recycle bucket whenever I come across them. That seems to be the proper place for them. Here they are side-by-side:

With that worked out, the last hurdle was overcome. From there she came together nicely and set up with out any issues. And she sounds fantastic. Dad strung her up with Thomastik-Infeld George Benson Flatwounds, very smooth! Here she is!

And a close-up on the azurite fret inlays, which are quite striking:

:headbanging: :headbang1:

 

[Cagey]

Very nice! Leo would be proud!

 

[bagman67]

Very nice! Leo would be proud jealous.

FTFY.  Leo would have looked at it and said, "OH, so that's how to build that JM so it doesn't make you want to throw it off the roof."

 

[Cagey]

He-he! When you're right, you're right!  :laughing7:

 

[Verne Bunsen]

Very nice! Leo would be proud jealous.

FTFY.  Leo would have looked at it and said, "OH, so that's how to build that JM so it doesn't make you want to throw it off the roof."

Ha! Thanks fellas! I'm pretty proud of both of these, and a smidge jealous that the Sea Foam Green one no longer lives in my house, so I guess I can relate... :laughing3:

 

[Glimmer]

Wow – that came out beautifully! Congratulations.

Interesting string choice, too. Would love to hear your dad's opinion of them when he's played them for a while.

I tried a set of TI's "Be-Bop" strings on mine but couldn't like them (after loving their "Swing" flat rounds on my Tele) as they seemed a bit out of balance to my ear: strings 5 & 6 were a bit on the thin side for the gauge and sounded weak while the 3rd was thick and was loud. (FWIW after trying some 6–7 different strings I've settled on D'addario pure nickel 11s – plenty bright when desired but with a nice, warm tone.)

 

[Verne Bunsen]

Thanks Glimmer! I'll see if I can get him to report; he's got an account here but I don't know that he's ever actually posted, haha!

I've never played on flat wounds so I don't have a bunch of data points to compare, but I did play on it a bit yesterday and I think they felt really nice. The wound G takes some getting accustomed to. There are a lot of variables between the body wood, the fretboard wood, the pickups and the string selection, but his (Alder, Rosewood, Lollars, 12-53 flat wounds) is a good bit warmer than mine (Black Korina, Ebony, Rumpelstiltskins, 10-52 round wounds). Sounds really nice. It's wired the same as mine, with all pickup selections available in the rhythm circuit. He just recently picked up a Rivera Jazz Suprema 50w 1x15, I'm looking very forward to hearing it in there.

 

[Glimmer]

I've played flats on and off over the years -- even tape wounds on my first bass -- and TIs are really top notch (as the price should indicate ). They definitely have a feel & sound all their own. My problem with them has been that as great as they sound for certain things, to my ear they don't sound so great with others, and if you're using the guitar as an "all-arounder" they might not be the best choice, at least they weren't for me.

Did you ever check out Joe Gore's site tonefiend.com? He posts some interesting observations, reviews, and videos on all things guitar-related and he's come to the opposite conclusion re flats. If you like, check out his comments on going all-flat wound, and some flat-wound tone experiments in the video below:

[youtube]75zTQruiGbQ[/youtube]

 

[Verne Bunsen]

I have seen some of his videos (the Hello Kitty Strat comes to mind), not that one though. Just watched it, it is a very interesting observation about fitting the tone into a mix. I've encountered that myself where a tone that sounds great on its own just won't play nice with others, while something "uninspiring" suddenly comes alive in the right context. Thought provoking stuff!

 

[Verne Bunsen]

Here I am, necro-posting my own zombie thread, AGAIN.... I've been on a quest to get good, representative audio samples from all of my guitars, and the completionist in me needs them to be in the associated threads where applicable. So, for posterity, here are the clips that I have just recorded with the Transparent Red Black Korina Jazzmaster. It is wired so that the toggle is still functional on the dark/rhythm circuit, so there are some tasty extra tones to be had there. The pickups are still the Rumpelstiltskins and probably will be forever, I loves them. She is strung with Thomastik-Infeld Jazz Swing flatwounds. I'm pretty keen on her...

[soundcloud]https://soundcloud.com/vb-tunes/sets/trans-red-jazzmaster-6-way[/soundcloud]

https://soundcloud.com/vb-tunes/sets/trans-red-jazzmaster-6-way

 

[rgand]

Your link just takes me to the soundcloud home page. Maybe it's the settings in my computer or maybe soundcloud has figured a way to keep non-subscribers from hearing recordings.

 

[Verne Bunsen]

That’s odd, it loads as an in-browser player for me. I added the straight link at the end of the post, might yield different results?

 

[stratamania]

That’s odd, it loads as an in-browser player for me. I added the straight link at the end of the post, might yield different results?

The embedded player works for me also.

I am not a Soundcloud subscriber so seems like a computer setting for those who are unable to use the player.

 

[Cagey]

Works for me, too. Using Opera. No special settings I'm aware of.

 

[Logrinn]

The link works for me too ...

but more importantly ...

IT SOUNDS GREAT! :icon_thumright: ccasion14:

 

[rgand]

Yeah, the link works great. Sounds outstanding! Nice options on that one.

 

[Axkoa]

I love how the Neck Dark Clean sounds, really jazzy and soft tone. They're such lovely sounding pickups.

 

[Verne Bunsen]

Thanks guys. I am really happy with the pickups, for sure. I’ve had a couple of sets from Rumpelstiltskin and they are consistently excellent.

 

[Boris Badenov]

Well, as the fortunate recipient of the sea foam green JM, I had to post an update seeing how the thread is once again active.  I had been jonesing for the seafoam green for years, but only with the matching headstock and the right shade of green; they are not all created equal.  So when VB told me he was going to build a JazzMaster, I found exactly what I was looking for on the Warmoth site.  VB pulled it all together beautifully and it is a spectacular machine.  With the custom switching and the TI flat wounds she can go anywhere.  And in regards to the decal, I wouldn’t have it any other way.  A beautiful and unique creation and I am proud to have her.