Squier Jazzmaster: Bridge pickup replacement routing issues?

[BIGD]

So I played the new Squier Jazzmaster thingie and was blown away by the feel of it. The neck and body are perfect. The contols suck but they can be replaced.

 

As for the pickups, I love the Jazzmaster neck pickup but the bridge is just way, way to shrill to be of any use to me.

 

The issue with replacing it is the route. From what I'm seeing online a Jazzmaster pickup route is not as deep as a standard humbucker, so throwing anything humbucker sized appears to be an issue..but then I'm thinking, since Squier makes the Jagmaster which has full size HB's, maybe the body is routed already and the only issue will be the pickguard.

 

Anyone have one of these yet?

[honeyiscool]

Why not get a Seymour Duncan hot or quarter pounder then? Curtis Novak also makes a million different pickups for the Jazzmaster, including P90s and PAF spec humbuckers.

 

Don't try putting HBs in a Jazzmaster route. Nothing fits a Jazzmaster route except a Jazzmaster pickup or a P-90.

[vintage clubber]

what kind of amp are you playing through? did you try dialing back the tone control on the bridge pickup?

[BIGD]

I played it through a Mesa Lonestar Special at GC, which is the exact same amp I own. I like humbuckers in the lead position. My plan would be the yank the concentric pots and put a single volume and single tone in the slots. I'll check out Curtis Novak but I hope we aren't talking about $100 pickups for a $300 guitar.

 

 

Edit: yeah, $100+ for a PAF in a Jazzmaster housing. Not gonna do it on the guitar in question.

[Tweedledee]

Maybe go for one of the GFS Jazzmaster pickups in there.

 

http://www.guitarfetish.com/Jazzmaster-Style-Guitar-Pickups_c_235.html

 

If you want a humbucker in the bridge of your Jazzmaster, you could check out the Fender Blacktop Jazzmaster. $150 more than the Squier, but you might not have to do anything to it to get what you're after. Plus you get the trem.

[vintage clubber]

I played it through a Mesa Lonestar Special at GC, which is the exact same amp I own. I like humbuckers in the lead position. My plan would be the yank the concentric pots and put a single volume and single tone in the slots. I'll check out Curtis Novak but I hope we aren't talking about $100 pickups for a $300 guitar. Edit: yeah, $100+ for a PAF in a Jazzmaster housing. Not gonna do it on the guitar in question.

 

Duncan JM 1/4 Pound should take all the shrill out of it...

[vintage clubber]

Maybe go for one of the GFS Jazzmaster pickups in there. http://www.guitarfetish.com/Jazzmaster-Style-Guitar-Pickups_c_235.html

 

Those overwound ones look pretty interesting...

[BIGD]

 

Maybe go for one of the GFS Jazzmaster pickups in there. http://www.guitarfetish.com/Jazzmaster-Style-Guitar-Pickups_c_235.html If you want a humbucker in the bridge of your Jazzmaster, you could check out the Fender Blacktop Jazzmaster. $150 more than the Squier, but you might not have to do anything to it to get what you're after. Plus you get the trem.

 

 

Already own it.

[Tweedledee]

 

Already own it.

 

 

Then if you're dead set on the Squier, your options have basically been laid out for you:

 

1) route it for a humbucker in the bridge (which would also require a new pickguard that would have to be custom made)

2) replace the bridge pickup with a different Jazzmaster pickup: cheap (GFS), more expensive (Seymour Duncan), or really expensive (Lollar, etc.)

 

Personally, I would probably try the GFS option first. It's the cheapest option and if you don't like the pickup you could probably sell it and only be out $10 or $15.

[richey888]

 

I played it through a Mesa Lonestar Special at GC, which is the exact same amp I own. I like humbuckers in the lead position. My plan would be the yank the concentric pots and put a single volume and single tone in the slots. I'll check out Curtis Novak but I hope we aren't talking about $100 pickups for a $300 guitar. Edit: yeah, $100+ for a PAF in a Jazzmaster housing. Not gonna do it on the guitar in question.

 

 

I would like to do this option (1 master vol, 1 master tone) too, as the controls are the main gripe with my Squier JM. I did buy 250k concentric Jazz Bass post but have not installed yet. Let me know what pot values you go with if you do this.

 

Have you tried lowering the stock pickup, it helps. I would also like to try a different bridge pickup, but the neck and middle positions are worth the price of admission (NTM the feel, LOVE the neck). Good luck and keep up posted won't you?

[BIGD]

I would like to do this option (1 master vol, 1 master tone) too, as the controls are the main gripe with my Squier JM. I did buy 250k concentric Jazz Bass post but have not installed yet. Let me know what pot values you go with if you do this. Have you tried lowering the stock pickup, it helps. I would also like to try a different bridge pickup, but the neck and middle positions are worth the price of admission (NTM the feel, LOVE the neck). Good luck and keep up posted won't you?

 

I don't own it yet, I only played it in GC. I'm hedging whether I should buy it because of he very limited pickup options you have with a Jazzmaster specific route (I could make the width work with some pickguard rigging, but the problem is the depth of a standard JM route is not enough to fit a full sized humbucker.

 

You could do me a big favor and yank the pickguard and measure the route underneath to see if it's only deep enough for a JM pickup.

[FoonkySteve]

I don't own it yet, I only played it in GC. I'm hedging whether I should buy it because of he very limited pickup options you have with a Jazzmaster specific route (I could make the width work with some pickguard rigging, but the problem is the depth of a standard JM route is not enough to fit a full sized humbucker. You could do me a big favor and yank the pickguard and measure the route underneath to see if it's only deep enough for a JM pickup.

 

Hmmm......... Here's what i think you should do. Buy the butterscotch Blonde one, and Get rid of that stupid black gaurd on it, don't know why anyone would want one of them. I'll be getting the sunburst one soon, so i'll trade you the white pickguard off of mine, and that should solve all your depth, size and tone problems.

 

Deal?

[vintage clubber]

Hmmm......... Here's what i think you should do. Buy the butterscotch Blonde one, and Get rid of that stupid black gaurd on it, don't know why anyone would want one of them. I'll be getting the sunburst one soon, so i'll trade you the white pickguard off of mine, and that should solve all your depth, size and tone problems. Deal?

 

tone is in the pickguard color!

[FoonkySteve]

tone is in the pickguard color!

 

Everyone should become wise to this eventually

 

Eric johnson only uses 3ply aged white guards, evenly scratched with a jim dunlop tortex pick, just below the middle coil, to get that chimey anal sound.

 

..............apparently

[BIGD]

 

Hmmm......... Here's what i think you should do. Buy the butterscotch Blonde one, and Get rid of that stupid black guard on it, don't know why anyone would want one of them. I'll be getting the sunburst one soon, so I'll trade you the white pickguard off of mine, and that should solve all your depth, size and tone problems. Deal?

 

 

Speak for yourself about size problems.

 

I put black pickguards on virtually every guitar I own .......except the black one, which I put tortoise shell on. Every Fender color made looks better with a black guard.

[FoonkySteve]

 

Speak for yourself about size problems. I put black pickguards on virtually every guitar I own .......except the black one, which I put tortoise shell on. Every Fender color made looks better with a black guard.

 

 

OK Last chance?

 

Before i go try and make one out of an old sandwich - (it's really old! Like black 3ply old!)

[honeyiscool]

Daphne blue looks {censored} with black.

[honeyiscool]

 

I don't own it yet, I only played it in GC. I'm hedging whether I should buy it because of he very limited pickup options you have with a Jazzmaster specific route (I could make the width work with some pickguard rigging, but the problem is the depth of a standard JM route is not enough to fit a full sized humbucker.

I don't know what very limited options you're talking about. As I mentioned, the route is enough for a soapbar P90, although it will obviously not cover the whole thing and it's a bit shallower.

 

GFS Overwound, Seymour Duncan Quarter Pound, these are both inexpensive JM-sized options that will definitely take the shrill out of the guitar. Why so set on a humbucker? A bridge humbucker is great and all but in two-pickup guitars like these, it robs you of the beautiful neck+bridge combo that's often the best sound out of them all.

[BIGD]

 

GFS Overwound, Seymour Duncan Quarter Pound, these are both inexpensive JM-sized options that will definitely take the shrill out of the guitar. Why so set on a humbucker? A bridge humbucker is great and all but in two-pickup guitars like these, it robs you of the beautiful neck+bridge combo that's often the best sound out of them all.

 

 

Incorrect. The blacktop Jazzmaster has a bridge HB and a neck Jazzmaster and the middle position tone is pure magic...the best sound of them all, as you stated. The key to getting a good middle pickup tone is not having one pickup overpower the other in terms of output....low output humbucker, high output JM pickup, mission accomplished on the blacktop.

[BIGD]

Daphne blue looks shit with black.

 

Who the hell buys a sissy blue guitar anyway? Might as well buy pink.

[honeyiscool]

Yeah but on a real Jazzmaster.

[Wyatt]

I don't own it yet, I only played it in GC. I'm hedging whether I should buy it because of he very limited pickup options you have with a Jazzmaster specific route (I could make the width work with some pickguard rigging, but the problem is the depth of a standard JM route is not enough to fit a full sized humbucker. You could do me a big favor and yank the pickguard and measure the route underneath to see if it's only deep enough for a JM pickup.

 

It is a real, honest-to-god, true Jazzmaster PU rout...which really isn't much of a rout, the JM is more like a countersunk surface-mount PU. You have to rout much deeper to put a HB in.

[honeyiscool]

Who the hell buys a sissy blue guitar anyway? Might as well buy pink.

Are you done?

[BIGD]

 

It is a real, honest-to-god, true Jazzmaster PU rout...which really isn't much of a rout, the JM is more like a countersunk surface-mount PU. You have to rout much deeper to put a HB in.

 

 

Thanks for the helpful response.

[BIGD]

 

Are you done?

 

 

Are you done with your "Jazzmaster conservatism" yet? I really couldn't give 2 {censored}s whether someone thinks I own a "real" Jazzmaster or not. If you like nasty, shrill bridge position single coils, knock yourself out with them. I like to have more than a few options when it comes to how I can modify my guitar.