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Stoner/Doom Bassists Thread, Part 90: Maxed Out

#51,041
i have a blacktop jazzmaster from 2011. its got a bridge humbucker and standard jazzmaster neck pickup and came with much more simplified electronics. i ended up getting a roller tune-o-matic bridge because i couldn't make the standard saddles work for me. there is a bit of buzz that i think is unavoidable with jazzmasters
it's a solid guitar though. i really dig the body style which is why one of my many projects is converting a 4 string jaguar bass body to accept a 5 string neck
it gets played more than my other guitars because it's the one that lives in my bedroom
 
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#51,042
thetragichero said:
i have a blacktop jazzmaster from 2011. its got a bridge humbucker and standard jazzmaster neck pickup and came with much more simplified electronics. i ended up getting a roller tune-o-matic bridge because i couldn't make the standard saddles work for me. there is a bit of buzz that i think is unavoidable with jazzmasters
it's a solid guitar though. i really dig the body style which is why one of my many projects is converting a 4 string jaguar bass body to accept a 5 string neck
it gets played more than my other guitars because it's the one that lives in my bedroom
Click to expand...
Squire made a VM Jag 5.

That said, “offsets” and teles are played out. Get a strat.
 
#51,046
themarshall said:
Squire made a VM Jag 5.
Click to expand...
already had a neck and couldn't find just the body. partially loaded 4 string jaguar bass for 60 bucks off Craigslist, already recouped almost 20 bucks selling the bridge and pickguard on reverb. wanted area j neck and bridge pickups and rear routed
i could've had warmoth make me a body for a couple hundred that i still would've had to adjust the neck pocket (had them not rout one at all?) since they don't rout square heel 5evers....
if I'm gonna do a bunch of woodworking already i might as well go all in for cheapest cost, no?
if i get enough of a wild hair up my bum i might even attempt to put some sort of veneer top on it
 
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#51,051
rutrho said:
Anyone here have a jazzmaster? I'm thinking about getting one so I can get on this whole learning to play guitar thing. I don't know ish about guitars so they're all these tiny things with little strings and the subtle differences are well, just not apparent to me.
Click to expand...

That's a long term project for as well. I split the difference an bought a Bass VI a few months ago and I won't say I've 'learned' how to play guitar, but I have a better understanding of chord shapes and scales over two octaves.
 
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#51,052
scabpicker said:
I've played a couple, and I own a Bass VI, which is basically a baritone one with 3 pickups. The controls are weird on a Jazzmaster, and the tailpiece all offset guitars use is a little weird. It's easy to knock strings out of their saddles on one (there are several strategies for addressing this). That said, it's a weird guitar, but not one I'd actually advise against someone getting for their first guitar. I eye some J Mascis Squiers from time to time myself, but haven't actually grabbed one (I have dozens of guitars now).
Click to expand...

I've been eyeing those as well. One thing I did notice is that some of the tremolos have a lock on them so if a string breaks or you don't want the tremolo, it will stay in place and not go out of tune.

@rutrho I've messed around on a couple in stores and they seem fun. Learning guitar only helped my bass playing. Influenced it a lot too. Great first guitar in my opinion. Real cool sounds with their circuitry. Huge influence on my build designs.
 
#51,053
themarshall said:
Nah, if you dig offset guitars, go for it. My brother is a strat guy, so I’m pretty comfy with them. Teles too. Offsets always flummox me, especially the tremolo.
Click to expand...

Until I read up on them, a hell of a lot though, they didn't make sense. No I get them. With roller bridges a lot of the issues can be resolved and overall I think they may be the best compromise in a tremolo. You can lock em down, not a pain to restring, and with a roller bridge a lot of tuning issues go away.

It may take a bit to set up. All this is just from lots of reading, I've never owned one. I do play my uncle's bass vi a lot and it doesn't seem to have tuning issues though.
 
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#51,054
Novarocker said:
I've been eyeing those as well. One thing I did notice is that some of the tremolos have a lock on them so if a string breaks or you don't want the tremolo, it will stay in place and not go out of tune.

@rutrho I've messed around on a couple in stores and they seem fun. Learning guitar only helped my bass playing. Influenced it a lot too. Great first guitar in my opinion. Real cool sounds with their circuitry. Huge influence on my build designs.
Click to expand...

I don't even use the tremolo on mine. I still have the arm, but everytime I've tried to use it felt clunky. I normally pick over the bridge pickup and the end of the trem arm is near the neck joint. The other issues is that you really have to crank on it (which isn't advisable on a floating trem...) to sound like a tremolo and not like its slightly out of tune.
 
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#51,055
lizardking837 said:
I don't even use the tremolo on mine. I still have the arm, but everytime I've tried to use it felt clunky. I normally pick over the bridge pickup and the end of the trem arm is near the neck joint. The other issues is that you really have to crank on it (which isn't advisable on a floating trem...) to sound like a tremolo and not like its slightly out of tune.
Click to expand...

Yeah my uncle's feels a little stiff, but it's not used much. I've wondered if the "better" built ones are lighter. Being adjustable, I'd think a light spring and adjustment could work, but I don't know.
 
#51,056
rutrho said:
Anyone here have a jazzmaster? I'm thinking about getting one so I can get on this whole learning to play guitar thing. I don't know ish about guitars so they're all these tiny things with little strings and the subtle differences are well, just not apparent to me.
Click to expand...

I have several guitars, but no jazz master. Epi 339 pro is probably my #1 6 string in terms of playability/sound/cost balance.
 
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#51,058
Novarocker said:
Yeah my uncle's feels a little stiff, but it's not used much. I've wondered if the "better" built ones are lighter. Being adjustable, I'd think a light spring and adjustment could work, but I don't know.
Click to expand...

I couldn't tell you. I think it's because of the increased tension and thicker strings (vs. a guitar) that make it a lot tougher.

I have demo'd a few guitars and loved playing a ES-339 with a bigsby trem.
 
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