My JM is now my best Tele

[BobL]

Used my new (first) Jazzmaster at a gig w/ my old school country band for a festival show this weekend, and it killed it through my Imperial - confirming what I'd suspected in practice the last couple weeks - the JM makes for a really great tele. Great twang, tight low end... loved it. Couple mods to this (Thin Skin '65 AVRI) JM have really gotten it 'there' - staytrem bridge, stewmac .5 degree shim, and 500k pots.

I've been playing for almost 30 years, and in the last year I've found Gretsch and filtertrons and the Jazzmaster (I mean, I knew they existed before, but I never owned any), and they have both instantly become my favorite sounds and guitars... finally getting the sounds in my head out into the world.

Anyway... just pleased, is all.

[Kwyjibo]

Cool, man! You know I've seen a bunch of country bands playing Jazzmasters lately and they all sound great. They really can get very twangy, less ice pick than the tele (which I prefer). I've got a 65 thin skin and shimming the neck/adding a stay trem have really made it so amazing. Everyone that plays it is always blown away.

[leokula]

That moment when you discover something that you didn't even know you were looking for is just great. Playing a jaguar for the first time was a real moment for me, I felt like I was home.

Gretches are so cool and they are very distinctive sounding, and also feel different. My brother has one, I don't know, it feels in a way raw and spanky.

Enjoy your new found passions!

[sunburster]

I sold my last Tele when I found I could get similar (or better) tones out of my Jazzmaster, because the Jazzmaster is so much more comfortable to play.

[Ursa Minor]

Love the title of this thread.

Also no longer have a tele. Gigged one for a few years. It was a great player and super reliable but always sounded too clean and perfect. My JM and Jag always do that sound better, imo and have way more complexity to the sound. Great twang! And the neck pickups on JM and Jags! ...just the perfect single coil neck sound ever.

[BobL]

But... I still love my tele. I have gone through a lot of guitars finding 'the ones', and my K-Line tele has always made the cut.

[raindog13]

I love my Tele, I could never replace it.

That said, for years I listened to "Live at Folsom Prison," and I always felt that the Tennessee Three just had the best, tightest sound imaginable. Then one day I bought the reissue on cd, and I'm looking through the booklet at the pictures and... wait, is that... is that a JAZZMASTER that Luther Perkins is playing!? You gotta be shitting me! It really opened my mind up to what those guitars were capable of, and kinda began this thing I have with being a rock guitar player using "country" guitars(although I gravitate more to the Jaguar than the Jazzmaster).

[Singlebladepickup]

I love my Tele, I could never replace it.

That said, for years I listened to "Live at Folsom Prison," and I always felt that the Tennessee Three just had the best, tightest sound imaginable. Then one day I bought the reissue on cd, and I'm looking through the booklet at the pictures and... wait, is that... is that a JAZZMASTER that Luther Perkins is playing!? You gotta be shitting me! It really opened my mind up to what those guitars were capable of, and kinda began this thing I have with being a rock guitar player using "country" guitars(although I gravitate more to the Jaguar than the Jazzmaster).

Pretty sure there's a clip out there of Luther playing a jaguar on a tv performance with Cash. I found this out after getting a jag and thinking it would be really good for country. Didn't know he also used a jazzmaster, though, that's cool.

[raindog13]

I love my Tele, I could never replace it.

That said, for years I listened to "Live at Folsom Prison," and I always felt that the Tennessee Three just had the best, tightest sound imaginable. Then one day I bought the reissue on cd, and I'm looking through the booklet at the pictures and... wait, is that... is that a JAZZMASTER that Luther Perkins is playing!? You gotta be shitting me! It really opened my mind up to what those guitars were capable of, and kinda began this thing I have with being a rock guitar player using "country" guitars(although I gravitate more to the Jaguar than the Jazzmaster).

Pretty sure there's a clip out there of Luther playing a jaguar on a tv performance with Cash. I found this out after getting a jag and thinking it would be really good for country. Didn't know he also used a jazzmaster, though, that's cool.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ly9x5V4M4bs

Well hot damn! Not sure if this is the clip you are talking about, but there he is!

[Jaguar018]

Pretty sure there's a clip out there of Luther playing a jaguar on a tv performance with Cash. I found this out after getting a jag and thinking it would be really good for country. Didn't know he also used a jazzmaster, though, that's cool.

I get come pretty good country sounds from my Jag, but that's through the prism of a guy who isn't exactly steeped in country tonez and chickin pickin.

[Singlebladepickup]

I love my Tele, I could never replace it.

That said, for years I listened to "Live at Folsom Prison," and I always felt that the Tennessee Three just had the best, tightest sound imaginable. Then one day I bought the reissue on cd, and I'm looking through the booklet at the pictures and... wait, is that... is that a JAZZMASTER that Luther Perkins is playing!? You gotta be shitting me! It really opened my mind up to what those guitars were capable of, and kinda began this thing I have with being a rock guitar player using "country" guitars(although I gravitate more to the Jaguar than the Jazzmaster).

Pretty sure there's a clip out there of Luther playing a jaguar on a tv performance with Cash. I found this out after getting a jag and thinking it would be really good for country. Didn't know he also used a jazzmaster, though, that's cool.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ly9x5V4M4bs

Well hot damn! Not sure if this is the clip you are talking about, but there he is!

Yeah, that's the one. I was too lazy to look it up

[Marc]

Yes pretty sure it's a Jag on Folsom. You can really hear the plinky short scale tone on the damped parts. I love it.

[raindog13]

Yes pretty sure it's a Jag on Folsom. You can really hear the plinky short scale tone on the damped parts. I love it.

You know, now that you mention it, I think you're absolutely right. And all that super bright twang and jangle on the solo. Luther, you sneaky, cheeky bastard!

[scottT]

You frequently see Jags and Jazzmasters on old video from the Grand ol Opry and the like. They seemed to largely fall out of favor in the music as well as the buying public after the early to mid '60s when the Tele became the overwhelming choice. It's cool to see offsets coming back in the hands of some newer country acts like Chris Stapleton. I also used to dig when Kenny Vaughan of Marty Stuarts band would break the Jag out. I think I've seen him with a Jazzmaster as well, but he likes the thumpy flatwound sound.

[agiehler]

I've always though the JM was like an ideal Strat neck pup paired with the ideal Tele bridge pup.