What’s everyone’s experience with the TVL jazzmaster? This one at the shop I was just at was a hot mess right out of the box. I get a truss rod being relaxed for shipping , but even after that it wasn’t a great neck in a few ways, and the rhythm circuit didn’t work due to a borked volume knob, also apparently it was shipped with a broken case (shipping box was fine). I guess to me it didn’t seem to be any better than a classic vibe over all, despite costing nearly 2k once taxes are figured in.

Im pretty new to guitar (6 months) but thinking of getting a offset because I love the looks. I was thinking the squier cv 60s jag in olympic white, or squier j mascis JM. For context in the tones im looking for, I currently play at my church's worship band, but am also thinking of making my own music in the future. (indie rock/jazz pop)

Any suggestions for fender/squier jaguars and jazzmasters? (and even considering mustangs)

A few months ago I bought a Ben Gibbard signature Mustang for cheap. Mostly because I'm a sucker for natural ash guitars. Turns out I love Mustangs.

I changed the pickups and did something to the rotary pickup selector switch so that's it's now a little bit finicky. Not terrible but sometimes needs a little bit of a jiggle. Not a huge problem.

A few weeks ago I picked up a Marshall JCM800 Studio head. Up there among the brightest amps of all time unless you completely crank it (note - I don't want to mod it/remove the bright cap/etc). As you probably know, the Ben Gibbard model doesn't have a tone control. Not a great combination (in fact, pretty much unusable).

So, between the janky switch and the lack of tone knob, I'm considering a new body. I can get an unloaded American Professional body from Stratosphere for $379. Add new pots, the 3-way switch and a pickguard and I'm at around $450. But I'll have a really usable guitar that will play nice with my amps. Vintera bodies go for about the same price, but I actually don't feel the need for phase switching. I'd almost definitely end up selling the Gibbard body for whatever I can get for it (market is meh right now)

Mustang experts - what would you do in my situation?

Heyo! So, for a long time I've been wanting to buy a Jazzmaster but the specs I want don't seem to have been produced EVER. I want a red jazzmaster with white pickguard and pickups and a yellowy maple FINGERBOARD, not those pale unfinished necks that american performer fenders have.

So I have a few options I've considered.
First, go all fancy and get an AM Pro II in the Mystic Surf Green finish and get it painted to Candy Red Apple by a Luthier.
Second, try to look for a Noventa Fiesta Red jazzmaster and try to look for white pickup covers, sacrificing ofc the "jazzmaster" sound for something more modern.
Third, getting a 40th anniversary Squier with maple neck and get the body painted to the candy red apple and settling for a gold anodized pickguard.

Bonus option: Troy Van Leeuwen Oxblood JM.

What would you do? My current budget is $900 but I can save for a more expensive option if needed, however I care mostly about getting the best performing and feeling guitar I can.

DISCLAIMER: Trying them out isn't an option, I gotta order online since my local guitar stores don't order offset models, only strats and teles.

So on my Jazzmaster i’m planning on coil splitting a humbucker i’m putting in my bridge position. I’m installing a jaguar pickup selector and i’ll have the top switch for my neck pickup and the bottom two for my humbuckers coil split. Any diagrams out there for this? I’ve looked but i can’t find any.

Hey all, so I have a Fender Classic Player Jaguar that I got back in 2015 and kind of Frankensteined.

I swapped out the neck with one that came off of a Fender 60s Lacquer Jaguar, and also put some Fender Pure Vintage 65 pickups in it.

I tried modeling it after a real 65 Jaguar I played in 2011 that I almost bought, but was gone by the time I decided on it.

Anyways, the problem I have had for years with this thing, is anytime I put any amount of gain on the guitar, it hums, and squeals like crazy. It's such a high pitched squeal, that it's hard to play the guitar.

I love this thing, and want to play it more, but I don't know how to fix this for the life of me don't know how to fix this.

I shielded the pickguard, and according to Fender's specifications, the pickups are wax potted, so I don't know what's wrong.

Any advice?

I've recently got a ms-60 and I've bought basically all new hardware for it but I've run into an issue while wiring. I can't find a wiring diagram that I can use since I'm putting a hot rail pickup in the bridge and even if its was just single coils I can't find a diagram that has the correct switches either. I need a diagram that I can use and any help would be appreciated. Thanks gang

Rhythm circuits confuse the crap out of me so this one gets straight to the point 😅

Seen some insane deals for the AM V2 lake placid model - around £1800. Were they that bad? Why have they been discounted so much? Are they worth a punt or is there a better new model out there or the old AVRI range?

Wanted a little more Jazzmaster type vibes and since I have two SuperSonics and thought it’d be nice to switch one up a bit.

Hey the title is self explanatory but im not a person who knows about partscasters or modding guitar but my luthier has services where can swap bodies .. My question is there any issues with swapping bodies? As far as I’m aware the headstock will be reversed and I need to flip the nut.

Thanks Edit: the right hand jazzmaster im thinking of buying is used squire CV ( cheaper option) , unfortunately all CV lefty jazzmaster are discontinued .

Couldn’t get the Thurston Moore so the J Mascis will have to do

Mustang90 w/ Duncan Vintage Silencers+new(black)pickguard+locking tuners+cosmonaut knobs .

Just wondering if anyone knows any cool manufacturers that do an 8 string model with an offset body, like a jazz master type shape or something. I really like the look of offsets, but so many 8 string guitars are just strat shaped.

Hi mates !

I'm currently considering purchasing a Vintera II Jazzmaster (desert sand), but I'm not a fan of the gold pickguard. Have any of you tried changing it to white or tortoise ?

Would be glad to see pics :)

Thanks a lot !

I have struggled with noisy pickups on this guitar for a year. could only play in one room of my house without getting annoyed. i shielded the hell out of everything with copper tape, several layers on the back of the guard. got so defeated i even swapped in a humbucker (but the sound bummed me out).

finally decided to try this pick guard and the guitar is SILENT now in all three positions. the pickups sound amazing and im blown away by how much the pick guard cut the noise. I liked the look of the white guard more but im never going back to a non aluminum guard. if you're struggling with a noisy environment like I was give this a shot.

Long post ahead. I just wanted to share my experience with my recent choice between a Squier CV 70s Jag and a Fender Vintera II Jag. I used this sub quite a bit to help me decide and I wanted to talk about how I ended up with a Squier. Hopefully I can help anyone making the same decision.

If you don't feel like reading a lot, the short version is, aside from a couple of minor issues, I’m totally happy with my choice.

I chose the Squier because I couldn't justify the extra thousand bucks for the Fender. I was worried I'd hate it so I left plenty of budget for upgrades as necessary. The last time I played a Squier was when I was a dumb punk rock kid in the late 90s and I wasn't impressed, so i wrote them off. Back then I didn't know anything about proper setup, etc, so I could have been wrong the whole time. I had a friend use a Squier Tele on an album we recorded like 15 years ago, but we used some fancy old amp that we borrowed from a friend at a local studio, so I gave the amp all the credit.

There are no guitar shops that carry offsets in the area where I live. During a recent trip to Albuquerque, I found a JMJM at Guitar Center and gave it a shot. I was really impressed with it, but I wanted the Jag for strangle switch. I play weirdo country music that’s heavily inspired by surf rock and spaghetti western tones, and I love throwing some harsh high end stuff in once in a while. After wanting an external reverb tank for years, I finally bought a SurfyBear in 2023. With that, I can dial in those surf/spaghetti tones effortlessly with the Jag.

Being 6'4" and without the option of playing one before I bought it, I was a little worried about the short scale. My other main player is a Danelectro 66BT and I was worried about going back and forth between a baritone and a short scale. Hasn’t bugged me a bit. If anything, the scale has helped me play faster, more complex parts without nearly as much effort as the same part would take on the baritone. Even with my big dumb sasquatch hands.

I was also worried about quality control, so I ordered my CV from a place that made returns easy. Again, I had no major concerns and I didn’t have to even think about that. I’m pretty handy and I don’t mind working on guitars. If you’re new, or just not sure how to work on instruments you might keep that in mind, and see if you can play one before you buy it. And no, I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with that. I had my Rickenbacker bass for literally 20 years before I bothered doing a setup on it. Then I realized Rickenbacker basses are a pain in the ass, but that’s another post. Learning about it does save you money and makes your life a bit easier though!

About a week ago, it arrived. I didn’t know my wife had even ordered it, so it was a nice surprise to find after work! Out of the box, it played all right. I've almost never had a new guitar that didn't need a setup, but this one wasn't awful.

The most noticeable issue was the high e string being way too close to the edge of the fretboard. It had me a little worried about it. I’ve never had a Fender before or any other guitar with a bolt on neck. I asked this community and was quickly met with loads of helpful responses. I just loosened the pick guard and neck and was able to easily straighten out the next in about 5 to 10 minutes. So thanks to everybody who chimed in! Y'all are great!

After pulling the neck into place, I did notice that one of the holes is stripped. Easy enough to fix though. Just wanted to mention it.

I swapped out the strings, pulled the plastic film off and did a setup. I read about sloppy tremolo, poor bridge height, etc. Mine didn't seem have any of these issues. I put a bit of a back bow on the neck to help with the action and raised the bridge just a touch to give it more of a break angle. I’ve been reading about how a higher bridge setting is good for offsets, so I may go back and shim the neck later. For now though, I haven’t found a need to do that.

Intonation was a bit weird on the low e. I had to move the bridge almost all the way forward for that string but it intonated. The other strings were a breeze to intonate.

I also ran into a small issue with the output jack wiring. I accidentally pushed the jack into the body while removing the film and I had to remove the chrome that the knobs are on to fix it. The soldering was a bit sloppy, and so when I put it back together the jack shorted out and I had no sound. I'll resolder later, but for now a piece of electrical tape did the job just fine.

Once I got it all set up I checked it all out. I use a Fender DRRI and Bassman, sometimes in parallel. The DRRI does a great job with the lead circuit. The rhythm circuit is beautiful through the Bassman. I sat around yesterday dicking around with some Radiohead songs, and oh my sweet Jesus. It sounds so good.

The only thing it still needs is a little work on the nut. Again, it’s not horrible, but it’s also not quite right. I have a friend with a set of nut files, so I'll take care of that when I run into him again.

In closing, don’t be turned away by the name on the headstock. I’d been playing a Gibson SG with P90’s for many years prior to getting the Jag. The rhythm circuit sounds how I wish the SG did. And not being a Gibson, the Jag actually stays in tune. I can’t believe I waited so long to make the switch to single coils.

I probably will upgrade the tuners and electronics eventually. Not pickups though. I like those. I want to spend more time with it before I spend any cash. For now though, I am totally happy with it.

I hope this helps. If I can help anyone who may be making the same decision, I am more than more than happy to answer any questions I haven’t covered. Good luck!

5'7" male.

I don't have a full size JM to compare to but this might help show what it looks like in action!

Epiphone Firebird, my new favorite! Be proud: I’ve sold my remaining non-offset guitars to buy this (kind of offset) one.