jazzmaster ideas (mockups included) help me decide!!

[hchoe741]

Hello all! pretty new to this forum, but have been obsessively visiting the warmoth website for years. Finally planning on a jazzmaster build next year and know what specs I want, but I can't decide on the aesthetics. I've come up with two design ideas.

Both have gold hardware and no fretboard inlays. Which do y'all like more??

shamrock green with cream/black/cream pickguard

olympic white with w/b/w pickguard

 

[ragamuffin]

Not a fan of the reverse headstock, but I like the green more; it'll go nicely with the gold. Is that a Hipshot bridge I see? Love mine, really nice part

 

[hchoe741]

yup, planning on the hipshot for the build. I'm not a big fan of the big strat headstocks, looks a lil bulky to me, and for some reason the reverse tele headstock looks right to me on a jazzmaster, it kinda mirrors the offset shape of the jazzmaster.

 

[Cagey]

I like the green and gold. Did my L5S in that scheme...

...and I like white Jazzmasters, too. Did one of mine sorta like you describe...

...but with black hardware instead of gold. I'm probably splitting hairs, but to me gold on green (or a dark red) looks rich, while gold on white somehow jumps the shark to ostentatious. I don't like Tele headstocks in any orientation. But, I'm with you in that the traditional hydrocephalic Jazzmaster headstocks are unattractive as well, hence the Warhead on mine. I do like the idea of a Hipshot hardtail. Those are nice bridges.

 

[rgand]

I'm leaning toward the green one. Like Cagey said, the gold hardware wouldn't work as well for white. I don't recall seeing a reverse Tele headstock before. I kind of like it. But then, I like Tele headstocks anyway.

 

[T89Rex]

I don't like gold hardware as a rule, but the contrast with the green on both guitars in this thread actually looks pretty good. I think it'll go well with the cream highlights too.

 

[Logrinn]

Yes, the green with gold hardware looks nice, but I would have cream only pickups. Not a zebra one. It looks out of place.
For the white one I would use a contrasting black pickguard. So white body, black pickguard and white pickups.
With the new visualizer it's easy to try different options.

 

[Axkoa]

While I think that the Green jazzmaster looks pretty good, and certainly so does Cagey's L5S, I have to go with the white and gold one. There's a company called Lincoln Guitars with a really nice White and Gold offset-type guitar that I would absolutely LOVE.

 

[ByteFrenzy]

I kinda like reverse headstocks, but somehow not for the Tele headstock. It just doesn't do it for me. If you say the Strat headstock looks too bulky, how about the Warhead? I think you could get a reverse Strat headstock cut down to Warhead format.
As for your original question, I'd go for the green, but like Logrinn I'd prefer cream only pickups.

 

[Cagey]

... I would have cream only pickups. Not a zebra one. It looks out of place.

Unfortunately, you can't get all-cream pickups here in the US unless you make them yourself for personal use or buy them from DiMarzio. They somehow managed to get a trademark on side-by-side placement of cream coil forms, so anybody else trying to do that commercially would end up in a court battle. How they got that trademark is a mystery for the ages, but there it is. To throw salt in the wound, they managed to get "PAF" trademarked as well. In both cases there was plenty of prior art, and one could easily argue existing common usage would preclude limited use assignment or ownership, so it would seem the marks should never have been assigned. But, in the last couple/few decades intellectual property rights assignment/management have gotten pretty crazy.

 

[Verne Bunsen]

I like the green myself, but I'd probably lean more in the direction of parchment or maybe mint green for the pickguard. Also, I see what you mean about the reversed Tele headstock complimenting the lines of the offset body. Not my cup of tea but I can see the appeal.

[DiMarzio]...somehow managed to get a trademark on side-by-side placement of cream coil forms... they managed to get "PAF" trademarked as well...

I'd never heard that, it's crazy!

 

[Cagey]

Tell me about it.

 

[hchoe741]

I kinda like reverse headstocks, but somehow not for the Tele headstock. It just doesn't do it for me. If you say the Strat headstock looks too bulky, how about the Warhead? I think you could get a reverse Strat headstock cut down to Warhead format.
As for your original question, I'd go for the green, but like Logrinn I'd prefer cream only pickups.

The warhead dosent seem that much smaller than the regular strat headstock?

 

[hchoe741]

... I would have cream only pickups. Not a zebra one. It looks out of place.

Unfortunately, you can't get all-cream pickups here in the US unless you make them yourself for personal use or buy them from DiMarzio. They somehow managed to get a trademark on side-by-side placement of cream coil forms, so anybody else trying to do that commercially would end up in a court battle. How they got that trademark is a mystery for the ages, but there it is. To throw salt in the wound, they managed to get "PAF" trademarked as well. In both cases there was plenty of prior art, and one could easily argue existing common usage would preclude limited use assignment or ownership, so it would seem the marks should never have been assigned. But, in the last couple/few decades intellectual property rights assignment/management have gotten pretty crazy.

I was actually planning on going with dimarzio anyway so that's no prob. Thought it was time to try something else than the typical jb/59 combo. The finish on that L5 wasn't done by warmoth was it? I don't recall seeing a finish like that

 

[Cagey]

The finish on that L5 wasn't done by warmoth was it? I don't recall seeing a finish like that

No, they don't offer 5 layer binding or that shade of green. I did that a couple/few years ago. There's a build thread on it if you'd like to see how that one came together.

 

[hchoe741]

The finish on that L5 wasn't done by warmoth was it? I don't recall seeing a finish like that

No, they don't offer 5 layer binding or that shade of green. I did that a couple/few years ago. There's a build thread on it if you'd like to see how that one came together.

Damn that's awesome!

 

[Cagey]

Check out the thread. It's a little more thorough than what I usually post.

 

[BigSteve22]

I love a white on white Strat, but to me there's just too much real estate on a Jazzy for that. On the other hand, green with gold hardware would look pretty cool.

intellectual property rights assignment/management have gotten pretty crazy.

Ain't that the truth! How the hell do you patent cream colored bobbins or the abbreviation for Patent Applied For?  :dontknow:

 

[maxahills]

While I think that the Green jazzmaster looks pretty good, and certainly so does Cagey's L5S, I have to go with the white and gold one. There's a company called Lincoln Guitars with a really nice White and Gold offset-type guitar that I would absolutely LOVE.

Definitely agree with this color combo. Beauty.

 

[Cagey]

It's a sharp design, but I can't get past the idea that it looks like something Liberace would have played if he were a guitarist.

I feel like this outfit needs something... something fabulous. Get me a guitar. ​