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Jazzo-Sonic | Restoring a '62 Jazzmaster
Posted: Mon Jun 13, 2022 3:43 pm
by Highnumbers
I recently introduced the
Jazzo-Sonic™ in this thread:
viewtopic.php?f=41&t=122791
Half-1962 Jazzmaster, half-1958 or '59 Duo-Sonic, this was a crudely build homemade double-neck guitar that managed to ruin two offsets. I picked this up from a guy offering vintage JM parts, and I'd guess it was made in the late 70s or early 80s.
As interesting as this thing is, the build quality was very low, it would have required tons of work to build it back as a functional doubleneck, and most of the Duo-Sonic parts were missing aside from a pickup and some tuners.
But almost all of the '62 JM stuff is there (apart from the wiring harness, guard and some shielding). Not only is is possible that I could restore this guitar, but perhaps I
should restore it.
After much consideration, and inspired by Will's excellent "unVoxing a JM" thread (
viewtopic.php?f=42&t=111273), I have decided to restore this oddball back to a Jazzmaster.
So, follow along in this thread as I resurrect this sorry looking thing back in shape.
"Before" pics:
Re: Jazzo-Sonic | Restoring a '62 Jazzmaster
Posted: Mon Jun 13, 2022 3:58 pm
by Highnumbers
To start things off, let's look at what we're working with.
Thankfully the neck is in excellent shape. Original finish on the backside, with only the decal lightly scuffed off the front of the headstock (I'll be going custom color with matching headstock anyway!). Thought it was interesting that this neck was made in June 1962, and here we are in June 2022 exactly 60 years later. Hopefully it will last another 60 years after this restoration!
The body is crudely made, as you can see. I'm glad the Duo-Sonic was the lower side because it has a huge control cavity and a rough route for the trem on the lower side of the body. You can see the faint joint line on the backside
It's hard to see, but best in this photo. The top surface of this guitar was heavily sanded, most likely to match the thinner Duo-Sonic body (anybody have a measurement of the width of a 50s MM or Duo body?). To the point where I'll need to add fresh wood to the top in order to re-shape everything as needed.
Re: Jazzo-Sonic | Restoring a '62 Jazzmaster
Posted: Mon Jun 13, 2022 4:03 pm
by Highnumbers
Re: Jazzo-Sonic | Restoring a '62 Jazzmaster
Posted: Mon Jun 13, 2022 4:06 pm
by Highnumbers
Re: Jazzo-Sonic | Restoring a '62 Jazzmaster
Posted: Mon Jun 13, 2022 4:13 pm
by Highnumbers
As of today, this is where I'm at.
For the top, added two pieces of thin instrument-grade alder (it's not available in wide pieces so I had to epoxy two strips with the grain edge matching.
For repairs like this, I use West Systems Marine Epoxy - a pretty standard material in many guitar repair shops because it doesn't shrink, it cures rock hard and is perfect for repairs that you
don't want coming apart - ever.
I have these 3/8" acrylic sheets for clamping flat bodies and it works really well for evenly distributing pressure as I add 20+ clamps all over the thing, without marking the body in any way
Next, I'll reshape the body and prepare the new thick alder slab for shaping the treble side of the body. Stay tuned next week!
Re: Jazzo-Sonic | Restoring a '62 Jazzmaster
Posted: Tue Jun 14, 2022 3:33 am
by caples
awesome thread! What color are you thinking?
Re: Jazzo-Sonic | Restoring a '62 Jazzmaster
Posted: Tue Jun 14, 2022 9:22 am
by Highnumbers
caples wrote: ↑Tue Jun 14, 2022 3:33 am
awesome thread! What color are you thinking?
Thanks!
Looking at the '61/62 Custom Color chart I'm leaning toward Sonic Blue, Sherwood Green or Burgundy Mist - with a mint guard and aged finish. In fact, I already have a mint Spitfire guard that will work perfectly for this.
Re: Jazzo-Sonic | Restoring a '62 Jazzmaster
Posted: Tue Jun 14, 2022 10:46 am
by caples
Highnumbers wrote: ↑Tue Jun 14, 2022 9:22 am
caples wrote: ↑Tue Jun 14, 2022 3:33 am
awesome thread! What color are you thinking?
Thanks!
Looking at the '61/62 Custom Color chart I'm leaning toward Sonic Blue, Sherwood Green or Burgundy Mist - with a mint guard and aged finish. In fact, I already have a mint Spitfire guard that will work perfectly for this.
Nice, all of those are great finishes.
Re: Jazzo-Sonic | Restoring a '62 Jazzmaster
Posted: Tue Jun 14, 2022 12:03 pm
by SWE
Threads like this makes me happy, great job, looking forward to the rest.
Re: Jazzo-Sonic | Restoring a '62 Jazzmaster
Posted: Tue Jun 14, 2022 4:33 pm
by CROSS_guitars
Love this!
Wish I had access to more banged up old vintage guitars.
Re: Jazzo-Sonic | Restoring a '62 Jazzmaster
Posted: Wed Jun 15, 2022 3:41 am
by gishuk
Love that this guitar is going to be reborn!
Re: Jazzo-Sonic | Restoring a '62 Jazzmaster
Posted: Wed Jun 15, 2022 7:15 am
by Pacafeliz
Amazing!!!
As cheaply and clumsy as this was done, someone really put some thoughts into the idea of the double neck bastard...
Re: Jazzo-Sonic | Restoring a '62 Jazzmaster
Posted: Wed Jun 15, 2022 8:49 am
by Highnumbers
Thanks everyone!
Yep, a lot of thought went into this conversion and while that person's build skills weren't quite up to the level of their concept, the design itself is pretty good. I've seen more awkwardly shaped doublenecks come from Fender in the past, and this idea would make a great scratch-build (that doesn't use up two vintage guitars!).
I'm making some progress on the build, will post some more photos later this week.
Re: Jazzo-Sonic | Restoring a '62 Jazzmaster
Posted: Thu Jun 16, 2022 4:40 am
by terminalvertigo
the real treat will be watching the duo sonic come back to life
Re: Jazzo-Sonic | Restoring a '62 Jazzmaster
Posted: Thu Jun 16, 2022 5:05 am
by Highnumbers
terminalvertigo wrote: ↑Thu Jun 16, 2022 4:40 am
the real treat will be watching the duo sonic come back to life
I’m going to leave that endeavor up to somebody else.
Personally I think there is nothing left to restore!