NGD- J Mascis Jazzmaster

mkt3000 · Post by **mkt3000** » Fri Nov 30, 2012 3:41 pm

Well.. the Oly White Jagmaster didn't last long. It wasn't my intention to sell it, but it happened. One of my close friends down here has been bugging me to sell him my CAR Jagmaster or my Supersonic. When he saw my Oly White Jagmaster, he made me a cash offer, which paid for the guitar + the cost of checking a back so I could carry it on. I hadn't bonded with the Jagmaster yet, and I know that it'd be going to a good home, so I agreed to it.

On top of that, I sold my Tele Custom, my Guild S300D project, and three amps (Micro Terror, Cube 60, and Kustom Defender 5H stack) in a gear consolidation/fundraising spree; and both my christmas bonus and a freelance paycheck came in. Well, after paying my bills for the month (and thanking god, allah, tom cruise, etc; for not buying the Electric XII last week), paying next month's "predictable bills" (rent, insurance, etc), and setting a bit aside for christmas shopping, I had a little bit of extra cash.

So fuck it. I've been good this year. I've worked my ass off at my 9-5 job, got a promotion, worked an extra 50+ hours each week on setting up my business, finally got started on my thesis, and helped my grandmother and my brother out financially this year. It's time for me.

I ordered a new Squier J. Mascis Jazzmaster through Music123, price matched (and beaten) to Austin Bazaar, brand new at $352.50, with free Priority Mail shipping. I'm excited, since this is my first actual brand new guitar in close to 10 years (I usually buy floor models or really good condition used guitars).

It shipped out today, hopefully it'll be here next week.

singlepup · Post by **singlepup** » Sat Dec 01, 2012 8:59 am

Congrats! You absolutely deserve it.

Let me know how you get along with the JM JM. Have been thinking about getting one myself. Fran and others seem to love it.

gusman2x · Post by **gusman2x** » Sat Dec 01, 2012 10:26 am

Sweet, you're gonna love it!

lorez · Post by **lorez** » Sat Dec 01, 2012 11:26 am

nice one, its a cracking guitar. let us know when it arrives

speedfish · Post by **speedfish** » Sat Dec 01, 2012 2:05 pm

You deserve it! The JM Jazzmaster is the best new guitar that I've ever purchased at that price point, and it arrived set up better than my $1800.00 Deluxe American strat. Hope you enjoy yours as much as I love mine.

mkt3000 · Post by **mkt3000** » Tue Dec 04, 2012 10:21 pm

The guitar is only half a mile away...

But, that half a mile away is locked up in my post office. They open at 7:45 AM, and I am tempted to wake up early and pick her up first thing.

Fran · Post by **Fran** » Tue Dec 04, 2012 11:00 pm

You will be impressed. Superb guitar for the money!
Incidently, mine was also the first 'new' guitar I had bought in a long time. I got it for my 41st birthday, love it.

mkt3000 · Post by **mkt3000** » Wed Dec 05, 2012 4:00 pm

well, she's here... and she feels great and sounds great. She's heavy as fuck!

Anyway, one issue.. which I'll take care of, rather than return the guitar. When the rhythm circuit is on, she's loud as fuck, but when it's off, going to the main controls, she sounds seriously anemic. Like, with my AC15 completely cranked, it wasn't loud at all... barely bedroom practice amp volumes. I'm going to figure it out.

serfx · Post by **serfx** » Wed Dec 05, 2012 5:28 pm

probably a loose connection in the wiring

mkt3000 · Post by **mkt3000** » Wed Dec 05, 2012 7:11 pm

So, I plugged the guitar back in, and a few taps on the pickguard, and everything now is as it should be

I'll open her up this evening and resolder her for peace of mind. But otherwise, I am happy with the purchase.

PICS!

GreenKnee · Post by **GreenKnee** » Wed Dec 05, 2012 7:46 pm

That looks fabulous! I've been after one of these for ages, hopefully ill get a Xmas bonus too, then I may have to treat myself. How's the trem with the tune-o-matic? I worry I've been spoilt by the unknown roller bridge that came on my new jag.

mkt3000 · Post by **mkt3000** » Wed Dec 05, 2012 7:59 pm

Very stable. That surprised me, I was planning about dropping a roller bridge there.

taylornutt · Post by **taylornutt** » Wed Dec 05, 2012 10:22 pm

I was after the purple sparkle version for a while (still am) and I played one of these at the guitar show last year. The wiring on lots of these was not right from the factory. I might get one down the road though my project Jazzmaster will be similar.

mkt3000 · Post by **mkt3000** » Wed Dec 12, 2012 2:34 am

Well, there's definitely something loose in there. Yesterday I swapped out the pickguard and tailpiece, and added a shielding plate. Afterward, it worked fine, looked purty, and the trem was locked.

However, today the issue from when I first got the guitar came back. The rhythm circuit works fine, the lead not so much. I popped off the new pickguard to see if there was a loose cable, but I couldn't see anything. I put the pickguard back on, and it worked perfectly for a few minutes, but after testing out the switches, going back and forth, the volume faded VERY quickly on the lead circuit. So something's loose, but I can't figure out what.

Normally, I'd just take apart and resolder the whole damn thing, but I'm quite unfamiliar with Jazzmaster wiring, so I'm going to leave it with my tech at some point this weekend or next week, and let him figure it out.

Kinda sucks this happened on a brand new guitar, but I like this neck so much, that I don't want to send it back.

paul_ · Post by **paul_** » Wed Dec 12, 2012 3:53 am

Looks fucking bad-ass.

lorez · Post by **lorez** » Wed Dec 12, 2012 6:35 am

The soldering on the 3 way switch is known to be pretty shoddy. Mine needed redoing.

Stuart · Post by **Stuart** » Tue Dec 18, 2012 2:37 am

lorez wrote:The soldering on the 3 way switch is known to be pretty shoddy. Mine needed redoing.

Yep, mine too.

singlepup · Post by **singlepup** » Wed Dec 19, 2012 8:19 am

mkt3000 wrote:Kinda sucks this happened on a brand new guitar, but I like this neck so much, that I don't want to send it back.

Do you agree with others that the neck is kinda chunky?

Did you find there's a significant tonal difference with the new pickguard?

Still thinking I might have to get one in 2013...

gusman2x · Post by **gusman2x** » Wed Dec 19, 2012 10:33 am

singlepickup24 wrote: Do you agree with others that the neck is kinda chunky?

Yeah, I'd definitely say the neck is kinda chunky. I loved the feel and playability to begin with, but was getting a sore thumb playing it for extended periods, but that seems to have gone away now. It does feel and play amazing.

lorez · Post by **lorez** » Wed Dec 19, 2012 11:32 am

i like the chunky neck on these and find it easy to play for long periods where as skinny necks can cause cramps after a bit.