JAZZMASTER Weight???

[KLGs]

I think a nice range is low 7lbs for ash up to about 8lbs max for alder. These bodies are a tad thinner and are heavily routed. If you are going to roll your own, you should be able to find bodies at about 4.5 which will get you in at about 7.5lbs or less....usually.

[appar111]

the Mark Jenny jazzmaster body I got was only 4.1 pounds. Not sure what the weight of everything else on a jazzmaster is, but I just put it together today and it's definitely alot lighter than I was expecting it to feel.

[iambetacloud]

The only thing I dislike about Jazzmasters and Jaguars is their weight.

big girls need love too!

[Kev O)))]

I just picked up a CP Jazzmaster that's lighter than my Squier Mascis.

Guessing its around 7.5 lbs too.

[bluenote23]

My AVRI Thinskin is the same weight as my AVRI Jaguar at 8.4 lbs.
My Thurston Moore JM is lighter at 7.8 lbs.

[skijumptoes]

Tried my mates VM Jazzmaster and i thought it was incredibly light, but then my i had been playing my Fender Tele Deluxe which is quite a heavy mofo (13/14 lbs i believe)

[slavemaster]

I've never put the CIJ JM on the scales, but it is damn heavy. It feels almost two times heavier than the Squier Strat.

[soggy mittens]

Heavy > light.

[slavemaster]

I have no clue if heavier is better than lighter. The first thing that comes to my mind is that if it is heavier it would resonate better, but I don't know if this is true. In any case, I am not that bothered by the weight, since I play seated almost exclusively.

[Mute]

The first thing that comes to my mind is that if it is heavier it would resonate better,

If that was true, we would all play les pauls. But it doesn't work that way. The idea that "more or less weight always equals better" is nonsense. Also, ressonance is not something that should be measured in loudness alone. Most guitars can be made to ressonate loudly, but that doesn't mean they will sound useful or balanced. A good sounding guitar is not necessarily a loud one!

Example: I have an old ash bodied jaguar (late '63) that is loud as fuck when played unplugged with a mastery installed. However, plug it in and sounds like shit because the mastery greatly overaccentuates the 2kHz region on that particular guitar. With other instruments, the guitar sounds thin and anaemic and can't cut through a mix in any meaningful way - and I've tried this in several different live settings as well as on what feels as 100 recording sessions.
Solution? Pop in the old '63 bridge, and lo and behold! The guitar suddenly sounds nice and full again and works like a champ in a variety of different mixes. Unplug it, and it's significantly more quiet than with the mastery. Compared to the mastery, the old bridge is light and wonky feeling, but the results speak for themselves.
Conclusion: always evalutate ressonance case by case!

Instead of looking at weight and loudness as isolated properties, look and listen to the materials. What you're looking for is a sound that makes sense in context you're playing in. What works for others does not necessarily work for you, especially if you're not a traditionalist or a copycat looking to replicate the sound your heroes.
That said, there are rules of thumb on what usually works and what doesn't. In terms of weight, different carvings of different woods have different sweetspots that usually yield pleasing results. From my own experience, I'd say KLGs is pretty much on the mark in the post above. As for basswood, I'd personally stick with the low 7lbs register (total weight) for a conventionally balanced sound. It's also true that you probably want a bit more heft when using alder.

Still, it's horses for courses with a lot of surprises along the way.
I remember running into an alder bodied JM that was ridiculously light - like 6-6.5 lbs or something. It had no ressonance at all (sounded like a wet towel) but it was well loved by its owner. More power to him. I would never record with that guitar, but he did so regularly and was happy with it.
I've also encountered a 1969 Jaguar that was equally light, and that thing rang like a bell with the most magnificent overtone structure I've ever heard from an offset. It was super bright, so you'd never get a ballsy sound out of it, but it didn't matter because the sound it had made sense in its own way. If I had the money at the time, I would have bought it on the spot.

Another example would be the two jazzmasters I own currently. One is around 7-7.5lbs and the other is probably 9.something (both numbers are off the top of my head as I haven't weighed any of them recently).
The light one is probably the guitar most people would prefer. It's bright with some nice full mids with lots of detail that makes complex chords work in situations where most other guitars just can't deliver. It doesn't have a lot of actual low end though - this is part of what makes it sit so nicely in a conventional mix. However, If you're in an ensemble without any real bass instruments, the lack of lows becomes an issue fast.
On the other hand, the heavier JM i have works perfectly in situations where you need more lows. Even when rolling off the bottom end with a tonestack or an equalizer, it will still sound 'heavy' compared to the light JM described above because its natural ressonance peak sits lower. In turn, that guitar is amazing for backing up non-bass instruments.

I recently did a bunch of gigs with a cellist, a pianist and a small vocal group. The light JM just seemed to sit on top of everything else and ended up sounding thin and lifeless - mind you, this is the guitar that usually sounds amazing in a rock type context. I pulled out the heavy one instead, and that guitar flat out nailed it - the latter instrument is, objectively speaking, very dark sounding and probably wouldn't work all too well in the 'conventional' settings where the light one excels.
You could say that comparing the two instruments is a bit like comparing Ike Turner to Justin Bieber. No matter how you amplify or equalize them, they will still sound different and will excel with different kinds of music - and just as with the singers, you will certainly be able to find some folks that want to convince you that one of the two is completely useless. Just keep in mind that these people are talking about the music they want to make and listen to rather than what you want to hear or create.
Since I do a lot of different music, I try not to follow any overly rigid rules about what makes for a 'good' sound. This is why I keep two jazzmasters around - I like the platform, so I might as well make sure I can use it in several different settings.


Holy crap. That was pretty long-winded. I hope you guys find it useful.

[slavemaster]

I did find it useful. As I mentioned above, I had no clue, and this explained some things to me. Thanks.

[Mute]

No problem! I just glad I didn't waste my time typing out that behemoth of a post

[caliban]

Squier J Mascis Jazzmaster I have is not so heavy, probably because of the basswood body I think

[dsiew]

Thanks for the post, Mute. I have been unsatisfied with all 3 of my current electrics and they are all on the heavy side, 2 are near 9 lbs and another is a little less. Since then I've had this crazy notion that lighter might be better and more resonant. Some of the posts here has been very informative to helping me understand weight a little better though hearing your account was especially helpful since you've got such a clear example.

[jorri]

hardness seems to be most related to resonance. Oily or soft woods drop some of that, but sometimes people actually like that.

It may just be that resonant is more resonant. I expect more mass could help but would also lower the vibrating frequency of the wood, a lower resonant frequency.

There was some guy, if i can find the video who actually was tapping acoustic guitars to tune the actual wood to more of a note instead of inharmonicity. Or sometimes luthiers avoid that to prevent wolf notes. Maybe bs, but its some idea of the physical properties.

You can also deaden with more mass depending where it is, if its constricting vibration.

I.e. its complicated.