Aw darn it I thought I’d only buy one Jazzmaster. Pete Thorn does a nice job covering the features, on top of his always great playing.
Looks like one of the stoptail American Special JMs (with a pickguard swap obviously). I like it.
I really, really like orange with a black pickguard though. Like this Japanese P bass I saw the other day:
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Playing posture in general can make a big difference. I benefited a lot from all of the body mechanics stuff when I started studying classical guitar. I apply most of it to electric playing now, I even sit with the guitar on my left leg (I’m right handed) with the neck at nearly 45 degrees to my body. Saves so much energy, especially in the wrist. Plus a minor pivot of the elbow can give you access to the entire fretboard. Economy of motion.
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Interesting. I arrived at an angle similar to that after quite a bit of trial and error.
I attended one night of an evening classical guitar class. I didn’t come back because I got too busy with other things. The teacher who influenced me the most was my jazz guitar teacher. I attended his class much more consistently.
Quarantine period is up, so I’ve been playing my new, and only, Jazzmaster. I think reports of the Am Pro II version being lighter than other JM models might actually be true. It feels a little lighter than my Am. Elite Tele. Or perhaps the excellent balance when strapped on makes it feel lighter.
I didn’t notice it before but it still had that new guitar smell when I opened the case. It’s the same kind of serious looking hard case that my Tele arrived in.
The tremolo arm snaps in and out instead of being screwed in. Interesting. Really like the smooth action. I could easily overdo the Kevin Shields warbly strum-with-bar-in-hand thing if I don’t watch myself.
The Deep C neck with 9.5" radius is a much better fit for me than expected.
Big ups to Chuck Levins for giving me the nice deal, then setting up the guitar with a comfy low action. I think they even changed the strings because they feel a little more slick than when I tried the guitar in the store.
I’m liking this new guitar so much I might actually give it a name.
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I got a Strat last year for the first time since my shitty strat-knock-off when I was around 12 (in my 30s now) and have fully embraced the trem. I’m a bar-in-hand guy now!
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There’s local player who I first met at Action Music who favored Jazzmasters, then got a Strat. He told me he was surprised how stiff the Strat trem felt because he was used to the JM trem. I get what he’s saying now. When I grab the trem bar and strum with it, it’s like instant manual chorus on the guitar - so little effort to lower the string pitches. Seems like the default setup on this JM is to allow only downward pitch bend, with a very tiny amount of upward bend allowed - just enough for some chord vibrato. It’s possible to change that, as well as how tightly the tailpiece grabs onto the bar, but I like the current settings.
Yeah, there’s some tinkering you can do with the springs on the stock strat trem to make it a little more loosey-goosey, but overall it’s much stiffer. I’m considering getting an aftermarket trem on the strat (vegatrem is looking like a good option) but I might also just go play some jazzmasters and see how they feel.
Lovely!
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great board…
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I ordered a Strandberg 7 string and what’s funny is, that I am nearly as excited as when I got my 1st guitar back in the day…
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here’s my jazzy. tried a bunch of pups, bridges and treble bleed circuits. I like her much more after getting rid of the tortoise pick guard. MIJ, btw.
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Definite beauty, lovely.
Lovely. What pickups did you settle on?
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i settled on vintage style lollars. before that i tried novaks with a p90 in the bridge position. it sounded excellent and well balanced, but it wasn’t the jazzmaster sound. more growl than bite.
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My pedalboard, no purchase for a year.
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I was thinking about the Atlas a while ago, to place before my Wessex. Have you tried that? I’m interested to know if it’s a bit too overpowering, or gets good mileage.
The Wessex is all sweet spot and works perfectly with my Jazzmaster, but sometimes I want something to push it a bit more (jazzmaster being passive like it is).
I own a ton of Spaceman pedals, and the Atlas III is my favorite. I place it after other OD pedals. It sounds best if you can really crank it. The Atlas dimed into my AC30 is one of the most glorious sounds I’ve ever heard. It’s magic. It’s actually one of the very few original/older Spaceman pedals that is still readily available without spending a fortune. I have three of them.
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