NGD 1999 AVRI Jazzmaster FRD

[otis]

Yes! Fiesta red!
Last week I looked around for an AVRI Jazzmaster in ice blue metallic (kind of an obsession) to find 2 AVRis on marktplaats(2nd hand site from Holland). This Fiesta red AVRI and a thinskin in lake placid blue.
Despite the attraction for the thinskin, I was more tempted to try the fiesta red AVRI.
I'm glad I checked that one out now!
It's just a very nice playing and sounding AVRI ; on par with the 2005 OTM I had some years ago, and with my first one from 2006.
Since buying AVRI Jazzmasters and reselling them seems to become a pattern, I'm decided to break it; I think I'll keep this one.
The pickups on this one seem to sound nicer to my ears than the later reissues I had.
Don't know if this is due to their construction or just the combination of this particular guitar and pickup.
After doing the normal setup when I get a new guitar(oiling fretboard, shimming, new strings, bridge intonation,...) , this is what it looks like. enjoy!







The condition is rather good for a 20 years old guitar. Frets are also ok. Here's the one bump on the front


And some on the lower edge

Also, the paint layer doesn't seem overly thick; something I've seen with other earlier reissues.
Weight is ok too, at 8.5 lb

Here are some pics to show the yellowing in 20 years.







Details from the neck pocket



And no neck stamp...



look at the strange wooden shim that was on it. When I took the neck off, it seemed like it was never done before; it was sticking on. So I suppose the wooden shim came from the factory???



thanks for your comments
Tom

[JagWire]

Very nice! Fiesta red is one of my favorite colors for offsets. Like John Frusciante's Fiesta red Jag and of course Roy Lanham's Jazzmaster.


My AVRI doesn't have a neck stamp either and came with two thin cardboard looking shims similar to yours.

[Great Yawn]

Congrats. Good looking thing!

I'm curious if it sounds any different from more recent AVRI's.

[zhivago]

Very cool and a great rare colour! Thanks for posting the "Tan lines" photos...good to see how these age over time.

[redchapterjubilee]

Congratulations! I bought my own last year. Love fiesta red.

[sunburster]

Congrats, otis! A few comments from someone who also owns a 1999/2000 AVRI62 JM:

1) The neck dates were in pencil at this time, it looks like yours was rubbed off over time but some of it remains. There is also a date stamp on the bottom of the neck, as you can see.

2) I do think the pickups on these sound great, and better than later AVRI62s. Maybe just because the magnets have aged more, who knows. Best thing about these early AVRIs are the pickups and the feel of the neck, IMO.

[otis]

My AVRI doesn't have a neck stamp either and came with two thin cardboard looking shims similar to yours.

Yes, they normally come with 2 or more cardboard shims, but this is wood veneer. Ik have the same wooden veneer in one of my parts boxes that I took out another offset, so they probably came this way in the first year(s) of the reissues I guess (I think it came from the fiesta red Jaguar I had 8 years ago).

Congrats. Good looking thing!

I'm curious if it sounds any different from more recent AVRI's.

Well, I guess it does. I haven't really played a lot on it yet, but I hear more articulation, more sharpness and attack (difficult to discribe) than in the 'usual' AVRI pickups.

Very cool and a great rare colour! Thanks for posting the "Tan lines" photos...good to see how these age over time.

The difference is striking, isn't it? It becomes a somewhat duller orange, more brownish. I guess the color doesn't get any better by it, but that's a strictly personal opinion.
I think I made pictures too of the tan lines of the FRD AVRI Jag, but they weren't as clear as this one (in 2011). A pity I lost all my files due to a computer crash...

Congratulations! I bought my own last year. Love fiesta red.

Thanks!
They sound very nice, but the Jag was a boat anchor, and it made me fear they were all like that. What's the weight of yours?

Congrats, otis! A few comments from someone who also owns a 1999/2000 AVRI62 JM:

1) The neck dates were in pencil at this time, it looks like yours was rubbed off over time but some of it remains. There is also a date stamp on the bottom of the neck, as you can see.

2) I do think the pickups on these sound great, and better than later AVRI62s. Maybe just because the magnets have aged more, who knows. Best thing about these early AVRIs are the pickups and the feel of the neck, IMO.

It could indeed be pencil written on there somewhere. I had the impression there was something, but wan't sure.
Don't know if it's due to the weaker magnets, but the good sound is clearly there.
About the neck, I don't notice a big difference. How do you feel it is different from other AVRI's?

[El Pelo]

Very nice! Been looking for a fiesta red Jazz for years!