Jazzmaster jumbo frets instalation and magnetic shielding.

[coil]

Hi, I own a Jazzmaster from 1993-1994, and am very happy with it. But I have a couple of questions due to dis-information. (Believe me, I´ve tried to get this info on the net)

One is that I like to do a lot of feedback. I began playing live hardcore, and my guitar "Gave up" at the second gig. I totally messed it up. So I sent it to a newly found Luthier, that albeit being very good, did some things to me guitar, that I disapproved at first, but then went along wit it to see how a changed guitar would work for me. I have to admit he did a really great job making the guitar and hardware more rough for live situations. He did a perfect fret correction. But there are a couple of things that bug me and I have no real info about it.

First is the magnetic shielding he did to it. I told him that I liked the noise of the guitar, and to make a lot of feedback. Does that really takes away my potential for feedback or just it makes the sound more clear? Would my guitar suffer from taking away that magnetic shielding so to get the feedback power again?

And he instaled in the volume and tone potentiometers, 500 farads ones, so to make it a more "Jazzmaster" sound. I trusted him on that. It had 1.000 ones on it.

Also, my fingers slide underneath the strings when I solo, I wanted to place jumbo frets on it. He said that he would not do it, cuz Jazzmasters have a neck lenght, bridge height and all that, that if we would place the Jumbo frets, it would go out of tune. By micro tones, but out of tune none the less. I know all my Fav Jazzmasters players have jumbos installed in em. Is there a trick to it?

I tend to play very rough live. Be it blues, rock or noise. The guitar gets relief when I play my pop/indie side. I do all the noise stuff, use the tremolo very hard, I get it under the strings in the fretboard and pulling em up, aggresive attack and all that. This luthier has taken care of a couple of things to make my guitar last more than 2 serious gigs, but I would like to know if there are Jazzmasters Wizards out there, and what other recomendations should I get.

Thanks so much.

(I have a bridge-o-matic installed, and the tremolo bar issue is fixed perfectly)

 

[ranjam]

First is the magnetic shielding he did to it. I told him that I liked the noise of the guitar, and to make a lot of feedback. Does that really takes away my potential for feedback or just it makes the sound more clear? Would my guitar suffer from taking away that magnetic shielding so to get the feedback power again?

No. First, the Jazzmaster was really a POS, I'm sorry. It only gets attention because it's 'vintage' and used a Strat neck. Everything else was a failure. Leo screwed up. The pickups buzz like a jar of bees. Shielding can make the noise factor 'better', but the feedback is loosely wound pickups with a super high gain amp, so only potting them will change that. They're still bad pickups, so nothing should change other than the buzz.

And he installed in the volume and tone potentiometers, 500 farads ones, so to make it a more "Jazzmaster" sound. I trusted him on that. It had 1.000 ones on it.

You have the terminology wrong, so here goes nothing. If he put a 500 microfarad capacitor on the volume control, it'll keep some highs as you turn the volume down a little. It's common to hear the tone get a little muddy as you have the volume down to say '7' or '8'. But my guess is he put 500K pots in and took out the 1Meg pots. This should give a little less output and a little less top end. That will make more difference than shielding. Since anything is more than nothing, let's just say the potentiometer change will make a difference. Go back to 1Meg, at least for the Volume, if you want more output and a little more top end.

Also, my fingers slide underneath the strings when I solo, I wanted to place jumbo frets on it. He said that he would not do it, cuz Jazzmasters have a neck length, bridge height and all that, that if we would place the Jumbo frets, it would go out of tune. By micro tones, but out of tune none the less.

WTF????? Tell him to explain that to me, and use words of two syllables or less. I've been putting jumbo bass frets on guitars for almost twenty years, and that's a new one on me. It almost feels like a scalloped neck, and if you have a heavy touch, you do press a little too hard, and the pitch sounds like you are out of tune. But I learned how to play jumbo frets.

That's all I know. Blocking the bridge takes care of that awful design, and it's more like a fixed bridge that keeps tune better. So it's likely as good as it will get right now, unless you spring $$$ for some Curtis Novak Jazzmaster pickups. You won't know what hit you. Try the wide-range humbucker.

 

[coil]

Thanks so much for the detailed feedback. Once I got my terminology right, things started to make much more sense. Much more when I went and got the specs on line. But none the less I wanted to know what other luthiers or players thought of the Jazzmaster situation.

Am going back to 1 meg pots for high end and bassier sound, and Ill try to find in my neck of the woods the much talked "Orange Drop" capacitator. At 33.

I was really interested to hear in this and other guitar and gear forums that is insane to hear someone say that placing Jumbo Frets on a Jazzmaster will mess it up, or mess up the intonation of the instrument, that it won´t tune right.

I actually love the buzzing of the Jazzmaster, and with the 1 meg pots, much lovelier. I love everything about that guitar.

I guess if the guitar end ups sounding like crap, I´ll take it with me to my next trip to the US of A and have it properly fixed by a Luthier that a rocking indie Band suggested on their Fan Page. Meanwhile, I´ll try to fix it as much as I can, without doing the fret work. Those Luthiers dudes work with ibanez like guitars, and thats the opposite of what I do and play.

Thanks so much ranjam for your time! Coil.

 

[muttley600]

The details concerning the pots and pickups have pretty much been covered and correctly.

The fret thing? You can put jumbo frets on it if you wish. The only thing you will need to change to play "in tune" will be your technique. Ask your luthier to drop by and discuss this with me if he remains convinced otherwise.

 

[coil]

Thanks so much Mutt. I had overlooked this time the technique part, but after a couple of weeks I shouldn´t have any problems. Most of my Jazzmaster Fav Players had installed those jumbo frets on em. So it´s the natural next step to get that guitar gig ready.

Yeah, I think the Luthier whom I still have warranty on the work of the guitar should have a word or two with hardcore guitar builders and repair mans (Luthiers), but I think he had best interest at heart.

I hope that I will travel up North this summer, so that I can fix it professionally, cuz I quite love my guitar and guys up there do a job that´s a whole another level. And I need my guitar to last more than 2 gigs. ;-)


Summing it up, he did a great job at fret correction and tremolo bar issue, am going back to my old specs, but I still have to get straight the magnetic shielding for my kind of playing with a Luthier that works with my musical styles.

Thanks Mutt! (I´ll bring my Luthier into discussion if he still gives me a hard time ;-) )

 

[coil]

Now am checking out the Seymour Duncans Jazzmaster 2 and the Antiquity I ones.

I have heard great things about em both on forums, the only negative thing I´ve heard, it´s about a volume drop when changing pickups playing clean on the Seymour Duncans.

I´ll get into that when I get the other jobs done.