Ideas for first build / Rothstein pre-wired stuff and Warmoth

[Creepwood]

Hi all,

I'm a long-suffering lefty who just got back into playing the guitar after a hiatus. I've got a Music Man Silhouette Special which I really enjoy playing, but would like to branch out a little. I'm quite intrigued by the Jazzmaster's offset shape (the tone and controls are cool too) and I'm thinking that it might be a cool project to build one using mainly Warmoth parts. Thing is, I'm not very handy at all, but would do it with the help of a buddy who's pretty experienced when it comes to these things. I'll also probably spring for a professional setup when everything is said and done. I do have a couple of questions about the build, though.

1) I stumbled over Rothstein Guitar's pre-wired JM kits which seem to be pretty cool: http://www.guitar-mod.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Category_Code=PJM
I'm very interested in their "traditional wiring" kit. Does anyone here have any experience with them? Which pickup configuration would you recommend? Rothstein do offer Warmoth compatibility (at a premium), but how exactly do I need to configure my Warmoth body so that the pickguard will fit? Just a traditional JM layout with routs for two standard Jazzmaster pickups, right?

2) As far as the body is concerned, I'll freely admit that I've mainly been going with cool looks in my configurations so far; I'm not sure how to get the "tone" I'm interested in. Basically, I'd like the guitar to have those warm, jazzy qualities I can't really get from my Silhouette Special, which is very "stratty" (apart from the Humbucker in the bridge position obviously). What do you think of the configuration in the screenshot below?

3) I'm even more confused when it comes to necks. All I know is that the neck on my Silhouette Special feels very good because it's basically unfinished (I think), but I have rather small and stubby hands, so even the Silhouette's medium width frets are sometimes too demanding for me (I struggle with "Every breath you take" ). So I guess all I really know is that I like the unfinished feel of my current neck and that I'd probably be comfortable with slightly narrower frets. But otherwise, I have no idea. What kind of wood(s) and neck type do you think would best complement the sound I'm after? Am I correct in choosing a strat heel and 4 bolt-on screws for this build or is there a better option?

4) Right, so once the neck questions are sorted, the plan would be to get the body, neck and various other hardware from Warmoth, including a 2 Tek bridge (good idea or not? I dig the concept), Schaller locking tuners, and a bunch of shielding tape. I'd order the pre-wired pickguard from Rothstein - exact pickup config still tbd - and assemble the entire thing with my buddy. Have I forgotten something decisive? Which pitfalls should I watch out for? I'm kind of excited, but also really apprehensive about the whole thing because everything I've ever tried to build on my own turned out terrible

Thanks in advance for any suggestions / pieces of advice you might have.

 

[ragamuffin]

First off, I'd definitely recommend trying to find a store with a lefty JM you can try out. It's a fairly unique guitar, so it would be better if you could try one before you buy.

Some people really like the traditional Jazzmaster wiring layout, but a lot of people find it overly complicated and/or not very functional. So again it would be good to try one out and see if you like the wiring. Personally if I were to build one I would just go for master tone/volume knobs and a three way switch.

As far as the Rothstein pre-wired stuff: It looks very well done, but you could save a LOT of money doing it yourself.  I chose the standard options plus Warmoth and lefty, put it in the basket, and it came out to $490 dollars  Obviously your call, but putting one together yourself isn't all that difficult and would probably save around $200 bucks.

Since you're looking for a strat-y sound you could always consider making it a Jazzmaster with strat pickups

For neck contours, the smaller ones are the Standard Thin, Wolfgang, or Wizard, and I'd definitely recommend raw wood, it feels great

 

[stratamania]

On the neck, the Musicman Silhouette, has a maple neck usually and isn't actually bare, the finish is done with Tru Oil.

I did this on this neck on this project.

http://unofficialwarmoth.com/index.php?topic=22445.msg335422#msg335422

I am also about to start the tru oil process for the neck on my current tele project in the next few days, http://unofficialwarmoth.com/index.php?topic=23725.0 I will try and put up a few photos of the tru oil etc in there.

If the tru oil is kept to a minimum it can feel like bare wood, or you can build up several layers and buff it and so forth for a more finished look, but it will feel more natural than a gloss varnish.


Here is a video also from Ernie Ball on the necks.


http://youtu.be/24yWr2LRmJY

Another thing you might want to consider is not using maple at all and going for one of the exotic woods such as Pau Ferro or canary as these don't require any finish.

 

[Phaedrus]

Hey!

1) The Black Korina is a beautiful wood. Consider not finishing it (= Also, why would you use a Black Korina core AND a Black Korina laminated top? I might be missing something here, but seems unneeded.

2) Tone wise- I might be burning crosses here, but in general I believe first off you need to find complimenting pickups. No better way than simply checking audio tracks on Seymour Duncan's site or others'.
As for wood..I really can't be better a guide than the warmoth "warm - bright" meter The rest here might be a better guide (;

 

[Creepwood]

Thanks for all the input so far guys, I really appreciate it!

I know I should try Jazzmasters at the store, but it's difficult as a lefty What I can say with some certainty is that I like the look and general tone of these guitars and, having at least handled one before, I also thought the control layout was really cool. So the vintage pre-wired kit, though pricey, would give me exactly that. Thanks also for the point about tru-oil, I might just go for that - or a JM neck made from a type of wood that doesn't require any finishing, great idea! Warmoth doesn't do Pau Ferro JM necks, but Indian Rosewood would be an option. Any thoughts on that?

Phaedrus, the laminated top is a mandatory "option" if one chooses a chambered body. I thought it might be cool to go with identical woods for body and top and Black Korina looks like a nicely balanced wood, tone-wise. Of course, I could just go for a completely solid body, but I'm kind of intrigued by the chambered option. Thoughts on that?
As for the pickups, I've listened to a ton of sound clips and really like Curtis Novak's "gold foil" pickup. Not sure about the second one...

As for the price of the whole thing, of course I'm trying to be reasonable, but I don't mind splurging a little bit on this project

 

[line6man]

1) The Black Korina is a beautiful wood. Consider not finishing it

I disagree strongly. If you just want to hang the guitar on the wall to look pretty, then maybe you can get away with that, but if you intend to play it, you will end up with a grimey, grey body almost immediately.

 

[ragamuffin]

Actually they do offer pau ferro jazzmaster necks in the builder. Canary is another popular choice to pair with a black korina body, and I don't really think you can go wrong with any of the woods Warmoth offers.

Chambering makes the body lighter, and some people think it makes quite a difference in tone. The common opinion around here is that it doesn't make much difference (besides weight), but Warmoth seems to think it's an improvement, and there's plenty of people in the other camp who say solid bodies produce superior sound.

I would recommend finishing the body on any guitar, or at least do a tru oil finish

 

[Phaedrus]

1) The Black Korina is a beautiful wood. Consider not finishing it

I disagree strongly. If you just want to hang the guitar on the wall to look pretty, then maybe you can get away with that, but if you intend to play it, you will end up with a grimey, grey body almost immediately.

My mistake (I was lost in translation here) - I meant he should finish it with a transparent finish rather than an opaque one. Definitely not skip the finishing altogether.

 

[line6man]

1) The Black Korina is a beautiful wood. Consider not finishing it

I disagree strongly. If you just want to hang the guitar on the wall to look pretty, then maybe you can get away with that, but if you intend to play it, you will end up with a grimey, grey body almost immediately.

My mistake (I was lost in translation here) - I meant he should finish it with a transparent finish rather than an opaque one. Definitely not skip the finishing altogether.

In that case, I agree. The only finishes that work on Black Korina are clear and sunburst. Anything else usually detracts from the beauty of the wood, and makes the build look tacky. Though, on the other hand, it usually turns out to be the finishes you don't expect that turn out amazing.