Members Jan Deal Posted April 3, 2011 Members Share Posted April 3, 2011 I've recently become smitten by Fender Jazzmasters and would love to get one, but they're a bit out of my price range. Ideally, I'd love the Thurston Moore signature: Or a classic player would be great. This would only be if I couple find a great deal on a second hand one. I've tried out a Blacktop and was impressed by the build quality and it's playability. However, the one thing I'm not keen on is the bridge humbucker. How straight forward would it be to switch the pickup out for a P90 or a Seymour Duncan etc... Jazzmaster pickup? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MyEmergency Posted April 3, 2011 Members Share Posted April 3, 2011 Well as long as the route is big enough (it should be) just change the pickguard to one that accommodates the new pickup or if you are just going to put in a humbucker sized P-90 you should be fine as is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Beyer160 Posted April 3, 2011 Members Share Posted April 3, 2011 The simplest solution would be to replace the bridge pickup with something humbucker sized, that way you're not routing the pickup cavity and/or replacing/modifying the pickguard. There are boatloads of HB sized P90s to choose from, and the GFS Surf 90 is supposed to sound pretty Jazzmaster-y. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Jan Deal Posted April 3, 2011 Author Members Share Posted April 3, 2011 Yeah, I thought it should be quite straight forward. Would I need to change the volume/tone pots due the difference in resistance between a humbucker and P90/single coil? Thanks for the replies! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Beyer160 Posted April 3, 2011 Members Share Posted April 3, 2011 Yeah, I thought it should be quite straight forward. Would I need to change the volume/tone pots due the difference in resistance between a humbucker and P90/single coil?Thanks for the replies! Maybe. It depends how they wired the Blacktops. To get singles and humbuckers to play nicely together, you need to use 500k pots with a shunt resistor from the single coil to ground in order to adjust the impedance of the single to match the humbucker. See this diagram for details- http://support.fender.com/service_diagrams/telecaster/010-8000_02B_SISD.pdf Of course, it's entirely possible that Fender didn't do this and used 250K pots, making the humbucker extra muddy. I have no idea what's under the hood of the BTs, anybody want to check? In general though, P90s can be wired to 500K pots just like you'd wire a humbucker. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Fusion1 Posted April 3, 2011 Members Share Posted April 3, 2011 I own a Blacktop JM and I am surprised at how mod-unfriendly these are. It's do-able but not as easy as just swapping parts. I have the Sunburst with black pickguard and the black with white guard, so I swapped pickguards as the all-black JM looks sweet, but the sunburst I wanted to change the pickup and pickup covers to creme and the knobs to creme. Everything I did I ran into a roadblock and the sunburst is still sitting in parts. first, the bridge humbucker route is not deep at all and the mounting screws from the stock bridge humbucker is very short and they DO NOT fit into a Dimarzio or Seymour Duncan humbucker. I didn't want to have to saw off mounting screws just for this one guitar. (BTW the route is only for a humbucker so if you have dreams of making this a guitar with 2 jazzmaster pickups, you'll need a router) Next the guitars volume knobs have a set screw but I was wanting the vintage aged creme strat knobs on this but no go. These pots have the solid shaft type and would need to be swapped out for knurled shaft pots and I didn't want to have to get that involved just to slap on creme strat knobs. Then I had problems getting the stock JM neck pickup's cover off. Seems like they epoxied it on so it was unremovable. I had to take an exacto knife and score it around the perimeter severasl times and then had to pry it off while pressing in on the pole pieces to lift it off and then finally working it off. Not sure if I damaged the pickup in doing so yet but it had the feel of it breaking which is insane to think they made this so you'd have a 50-50 chance of ruining the pickup just to swap on a different colored cover. I did get a buzzstop on but the tremelo doesn't seem to be swapable with a re-issue one or original that has the lock on it. Also I wanted a aged creme tremelo bar tip and it did not fit the tremelo bar and apparently all strat type tips are too small to fit the JM bar and all strat bars won't fit this JM trem. It almost seems Fender went out of their way on purpose to make sure everything on these Blacktop guitars were proprietary and wouldn't be used to swap on strat or tele parts by making sure they weren't interchangeable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members twotimingpete Posted April 3, 2011 Members Share Posted April 3, 2011 I own a Blacktop JM and I am surprised at how mod-unfriendly these are. It's do-able but not as easy as just swapping parts. I have the Sunburst with black pickguard and the black with white guard, so I swapped pickguards as the all-black JM looks sweet, but the sunburst I wanted to change the pickup and pickup covers to creme and the knobs to creme. Everything I did I ran into a roadblock and the sunburst is still sitting in parts. first, the bridge humbucker route is not deep at all and the mounting screws from the stock bridge humbucker is very short and they DO NOT fit into a Dimarzio or Seymour Duncan humbucker. I didn't want to have to saw off mounting screws just for this one guitar. (BTW the route is only for a humbucker so if you have dreams of making this a guitar with 2 jazzmaster pickups, you'll need a router) Next the guitars volume knobs have a set screw but I was wanting the vintage aged creme strat knobs on this but no go. These pots have the solid shaft type and would need to be swapped out for knurled shaft pots and I didn't want to have to get that involved just to slap on creme strat knobs. Then I had problems getting the stock JM neck pickup's cover off. Seems like they epoxied it on so it was unremovable. I had to take an exacto knife and score it around the perimeter severasl times and then had to pry it off while pressing in on the pole pieces to lift it off and then finally working it off. Not sure if I damaged the pickup in doing so yet but it had the feel of it breaking which is insane to think they made this so you'd have a 50-50 chance of ruining the pickup just to swap on a different colored cover. I did get a buzzstop on but the tremelo doesn't seem to be swapable with a re-issue one or original that has the lock on it. Also I wanted a aged creme tremelo bar tip and it did not fit the tremelo bar and apparently all strat type tips are too small to fit the JM bar and all strat bars won't fit this JM trem. It almost seems Fender went out of their way on purpose to make sure everything on these Blacktop guitars were proprietary and wouldn't be used to swap on strat or tele parts by making sure they weren't interchangeable. good info, the most important thing I'm seeing here is the thing about the bridge not being swappable with other JM bridges -- so there are no other options (without modifying the body)? aside from all this proprietary nonsense, how's the overall playability and build quality of the guitar? Lately I've felt like I could go for these the first time someone gives me at least 15% off. I like fender offsets but can't really afford one of the "real" ones. and, in fact, I sort of think I PREFER the slightly sleaker cut of the blacktop JMs compared to vintage JMs. it's only subtly different but I think it's more asthetically pleasing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members honeyiscool Posted April 3, 2011 Members Share Posted April 3, 2011 Jazzmaster routes are much, much bigger than a humbucker. In fact, they're the biggest routes of them all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members twotimingpete Posted April 3, 2011 Members Share Posted April 3, 2011 Jazzmaster routes are much, much bigger than a humbucker. In fact, they're the biggest routes of them all. correct, but if we're talking about the new "blacktop" jazzmasters, their bodies and routes are both a bit different from traditional jazzmasters. the body cut seems a tiny bit sleaker/smaller and the route, according to images of the bodies being sold on ebay, seems to only have enough room for a humbucker in the bridge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Jan Deal Posted April 3, 2011 Author Members Share Posted April 3, 2011 I own a Blacktop JM and I am surprised at how mod-unfriendly these are. It's do-able but not as easy as just swapping parts. I have the Sunburst with black pickguard and the black with white guard, so I swapped pickguards as the all-black JM looks sweet, but the sunburst I wanted to change the pickup and pickup covers to creme and the knobs to creme. Everything I did I ran into a roadblock and the sunburst is still sitting in parts. first, the bridge humbucker route is not deep at all and the mounting screws from the stock bridge humbucker is very short and they DO NOT fit into a Dimarzio or Seymour Duncan humbucker. I didn't want to have to saw off mounting screws just for this one guitar. (BTW the route is only for a humbucker so if you have dreams of making this a guitar with 2 jazzmaster pickups, you'll need a router) Next the guitars volume knobs have a set screw but I was wanting the vintage aged creme strat knobs on this but no go. These pots have the solid shaft type and would need to be swapped out for knurled shaft pots and I didn't want to have to get that involved just to slap on creme strat knobs. Then I had problems getting the stock JM neck pickup's cover off. Seems like they epoxied it on so it was unremovable. I had to take an exacto knife and score it around the perimeter severasl times and then had to pry it off while pressing in on the pole pieces to lift it off and then finally working it off. Not sure if I damaged the pickup in doing so yet but it had the feel of it breaking which is insane to think they made this so you'd have a 50-50 chance of ruining the pickup just to swap on a different colored cover. I did get a buzzstop on but the tremelo doesn't seem to be swapable with a re-issue one or original that has the lock on it. Also I wanted a aged creme tremelo bar tip and it did not fit the tremelo bar and apparently all strat type tips are too small to fit the JM bar and all strat bars won't fit this JM trem. It almost seems Fender went out of their way on purpose to make sure everything on these Blacktop guitars were proprietary and wouldn't be used to swap on strat or tele parts by making sure they weren't interchangeable. Thanks for the info, this has certainly given me food for thought. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Jan Deal Posted April 3, 2011 Author Members Share Posted April 3, 2011 Also, would it be possible to fit a Stratocaster neck to a Blacktop? I'd be keen to have a maple fingerboard, but again I'm not sure how viable this is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Wyatt Posted April 3, 2011 Members Share Posted April 3, 2011 Also, would it be possible to fit a Stratocaster neck to a Blacktop? I'd be keen to have a maple fingerboard, but again I'm not sure how viable this is. Should fit, but at that point, why not just build a Warmoth? You are creating a false bargain for yourself, after pickup (with routing) and neck swap, you are sinking a lot more money into guitar that will be worth less as a result of the mods. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Jan Deal Posted April 3, 2011 Author Members Share Posted April 3, 2011 Yeah, building my own would be a cool idea. It would really have to be pre-drilled etc, as I don't have the facilities to route or paint a finish a guitar. I am quite happy to screw and solder a guitar together though! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members lolque? Posted April 3, 2011 Members Share Posted April 3, 2011 You could build almost exactly, if not better than, the thurston moore sig from warmoth parts. It'd be like $1000ish. Also, jazzmaster routes are bigger than humbuckers, and a hell of a lot more shallow. Maybe half an inch deep at best. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members twotimingpete Posted April 3, 2011 Members Share Posted April 3, 2011 You could build almost exactly, if not better than, the thurston moore sig from warmoth parts. It'd be like $1000ish.Also, jazzmaster routes are bigger than humbuckers, and a hell of a lot more shallow. Maybe half an inch deep at best. again, I believe we're talking about the blacktop jazzmaster which has a different body route than ordinary JMs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ten56gibby Posted April 3, 2011 Members Share Posted April 3, 2011 Got this in an image search for "blacktop jazzmaster body" So it looks like you'd be in for some routing if you wanted a JM type P90 in the bridge also Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Jan Deal Posted April 3, 2011 Author Members Share Posted April 3, 2011 Well, the Blacktop is in my price range. I know that it wouldn't cost me too much to replace the humbucker (my main priority) with something else, most likely a HB sized P90. I know that JM pickups are totally different, but I do like the sound of P90's, and have never gotten on with humbuckers. Thinking about it, the Thurston Moore is my ideal option, and I'd be keen to pay extra if I could construct it myself. I'm based in the UK, so Blacktop guitars are quite expensive here (~ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members twotimingpete Posted April 3, 2011 Members Share Posted April 3, 2011 This is one of the videos that made me want real JM pups. Seem to be well balanced, good sounding pups. He demonstrates several different styles and sounds with them. Articulate and versatile. That's what I like in a pickup. Note the move at like 33 seconds where he pings the strings behind the bridge. I love this guy. [video=youtube;U4SH_RIULTM] May skip my blacktop plans and save up for one of these. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Wyatt Posted April 3, 2011 Members Share Posted April 3, 2011 Well, the Blacktop is in my price range. I know that it wouldn't cost me too much to replace the humbucker (my main priority) with something else, most likely a HB sized P90. I know that JM pickups are totally different, but I do like the sound of P90's, and have never gotten on with humbuckers. Thinking about it, the Thurston Moore is my ideal option, and I'd be keen to pay extra if I could construct it myself. I'm based in the UK, so Blacktop guitars are quite expensive here (~ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members lolque? Posted April 3, 2011 Members Share Posted April 3, 2011 People have been strumming behind the bridge since before Andy was born. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ten56gibby Posted April 3, 2011 Members Share Posted April 3, 2011 I love my Classic Player JM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Beyer160 Posted April 3, 2011 Members Share Posted April 3, 2011 This is one of the videos that made me want real JM pups. Seem to be well balanced, good sounding pups. He demonstrates several different styles and sounds with them. Be aware that the CP pickups are different from traditional Jazzmaster pickups. They're hotter and have a construction and sound similar to P90s. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members twotimingpete Posted April 3, 2011 Members Share Posted April 3, 2011 I love my Classic Player JM ORLY? what has better tone, the sunburst, or the black? I can't decide which I like. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members honeyiscool Posted April 3, 2011 Members Share Posted April 3, 2011 Also you're not going to sound like that because you're not Andy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members twotimingpete Posted April 3, 2011 Members Share Posted April 3, 2011 Also you're not going to sound like that because you're not Andy. and what if I am? either way, I've watched enough PGS demos to compare gear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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