ShortScale.org

I've been listening to a lot of The Catheters lately, so I'm Jones'ing big time for a Fender Jazzmaster. Trouble is: there are so many different flavors of that iconic guitar. I can't decide which one to add to my short list.

A) Vintage 1960's Jazzmaster = expensive mojo; 3K is not uncommon

B) '62 Reissue Jazzmaster = 7.25" radius, old school hardware, including crap-ola bridge, $1,600

C) Classic Player Jazzmaster = 9.5" radius, MIM, modern bridge, under $900

D) Thurston Moore Signature Jazzmaster = 7.25" radius, single volume control, modern bridge, minimalistic, SD pups, cool nitro green finish, spendy @ $1,400

E) Lee Ranaldo Signature Jazzmaster = similar to Thurston's axe but with Fender HB pups and a nitro blue finish, spendy @ $1,500

Right now, I think "D" is the way to go...but what do I know?

purely based on what you've written i'd say the CP is the best candidate for you.

GASing
GAS list
GAS

buy a strat.

to be serious, go for the CP.

stewart wrote:purely based on what you've written i'd say the CP is the best candidate for you.

The CP is by far the best value, but I already have a CP Jaguar HH.

The big deal for me is that I really want a Jazzmaster with a 7.25" fretboard radius. All of the CP offerings have the flatter 9.5" radius.

Is the Thurston Moore Sig worth $400 more than a CP? Probably not. But that's what Sig axes go for. Still, I like the stripped down look, the radius, the modern bridge, and the nitro green finish.

Reece wrote:GASing
GAS list
GAS

Fixed. Forgot I wasn't on HC. GAS'ing replaced with "Jones'ing" and "GAS list" replaced with "short list".

for the money you'd save getting the CP, if the radius is that important you could buy a new neck and still have the total be much less than the others.

Armchair Bronco wrote:

Reece wrote:GASing
GAS list
GAS

Fixed. Forgot I wasn't on HC. GAS'ing replaced with "Jones'ing" and "GAS list" replaced with "short list".

haha you didn't need to do that, i just dislike that term with a passion.

you could even refinish a CP with a can of nitro for next to nothing.

but it sounds like you're leaning heavily towards the thurston moore one anyway.

stewart wrote:you could even refinish a CP with a can of nitro for next to nothing.

but it sounds like you're leaning heavily towards the thurston moore one anyway.

Well, "leaning" in a dreamy sort of way. If I buy a new guitar (or amp) anytime soon, I'm going to be in the doghouse. By the time I've saved up for the Thurston Moore Sig and have earned enough goodwill to buy one, it will have been discontinued.

The SY signature guitars are insanely overpriced.

Mike wrote:The SY signature guitars are insanely overpriced.

I agree. But if a Jazzmaster with a 7.25" radius is non-negotiable, then the SY sigs are actually cheaper than the '62 Reissue or a vintage Jazzmaster.

Now, whether they're a better value is another thing. (Don't forget: you also get a Sonic Youth sticker with these guitars!)

Where is the CIJ option?

My dream jazzie is and always will be a CIJ candy apple red, matching headstock and brown torty guard. Dotted and unbound neck aswell.

Armchair Bronco wrote:

Mike wrote:The SY signature guitars are insanely overpriced.

I agree. But if a Jazzmaster with a 7.25" radius is non-negotiable, then the SY sigs are actually cheaper than the '62 Reissue or a vintage Jazzmaster.

Now, whether they're a better value is another thing. (Don't forget: you also get a Sonic Youth sticker with these guitars!)

Eh?

Don't CIJ Jazzmasters have a 7.25" radius? They're cheap as chips.
Also in the UK these guitars are £1,800, yuo can get a vintage Jazzy for less than that all day long.

They're $1,499 in the states, I'm also fairly sure over there you can get an original Jazzmaster for that

I have a '62 reissue, and from your shortlist would vote for that one. But Noirie's right - a CIJ Jazzmaster has all the feautures you want at a lower pricepoint than all the others. And I take issue with your evaluation of the bridge, too.

I totally understand your dislike of the CP necks. my advice:

1) Get a japanese Jazzmaster and see if and what you want to mod (bridge, pickups) or
2) get a used american reissue, which seems to be the best deal in USA, or
3) get a beaten up old piece of Leo wood and build it up.

That SY model, to me, seems like less guitar for more money. Besides, I don't like the colours BTW, is there a tune o matic available for 7.25" radius? Or how did they do it on these signatures?

kypdurron wrote:BTW, is there a tune o matic available for 7.25" radius? Or how did they do it on these signatures?

I looked into this a couple of years back and couldn't find anyone making one. In the end I decided just to file the saddles and slots myself - a couple of hours work at absolute max but one to be undertaken gradually either using the strings as a guide or using one of those radius guages (pickguardian has pdf templates for these on their site for free).

Maybe someone now makes them?

Black Cat Bone wrote:

kypdurron wrote:BTW, is there a tune o matic available for 7.25" radius? Or how did they do it on these signatures?

I looked into this a couple of years back and couldn't find anyone making one. In the end I decided just to file the saddles and slots myself - a couple of hours work at absolute max but one to be undertaken gradually either using the strings as a guide or using one of those radius guages (pickguardian has pdf templates for these on their site for free).

Maybe someone now makes them?

This thread reminds me how I think I'm a bit daft about particulars, as the enormous radius discrepancy between that flat TOM and such a round fretboard rarely bothers me, and I have a feeling I'm not alone. Players of my Jazzmaster (I've lent the thing out a lot over the years) have simply never brought the issue up. [/blah blah rant]

Nah your not alone at all - it's mainly an issue for me because I have very small hands and joint damage in my index finger so prefer to minimise the work it has to do. That being said I think its fair to say alot of guitarists I've met (including myself when a lot younger) deal with such stuff from a mojo-perspective and a recent example comes to mind: I sorted out a Les Paul for a mate who has always gone on about heavy strings and really high action for best tone (yeah a SRV fan). I jive with the heavy sting thang but I set that thing up so it was as slinky as possible with no buzz or fret-out whatsoever and told him to try it and let me know if he needed the action higher. He played it, made a cum-face and said it played like it was brand new - later after rehearsal he said there were certain notes that rang out like a bell that sounded dead before for what that's worth.

My current philosphy is that even dirt cheap guitars can be set to play like expensive ones because most expensive ones get set up before being sold and the cheap ones don't, so guitarists who aren't savvy with set ups think it's the guitar that is better (it FEELS better) rather than realsing it has a lot to do with the set up. I'm also of the opinion the hardware and pups are far more important to amplified tone than the wood its made from.

I'm not saying anyone who likes anything different than me is in any way wrong - far from it - different things make one play differently and if that gives you the thing/feeling/sound you want there's no reason to fix it at all. I should also say I'm a bit OCD with this stuff and can't stop tinkering, plus i'm gradually making a little extra cash doing stuff for people which is nice.

I think sometimes people can make a lot more out of something than there really is, especially with the Classic Player necks and the Radius difference.

Gavin is a Jaguar purist and before he played my CP Jaguar he was dead against the idea of a Jag without a 7.25" radius. After he played it, not only did he like it, but he said he couldn't really feel a difference. The fact of the matter is that it's the combination of radius and profile that forms the way a neck feels in your hand. A clubby neck with a flatter radius can feel as pleasant as a thinner profile with a more rounded radius.

I have two Jaguars; a '66 with a 7.25" radius and the CP with the 9.5". They're both great guitars and feel fantastic to play, and in my opinion the difference between the necks is definitely exaggerated by people for whatever reason; corksniffing, puritanical venom, elitism?

Pick it up and play it yourself - don't let someone on the internet tell you it's not right.

No Mascis? Eff this poll.