Jazzmaster Pickups

[danp3man]

Okay, dumb question time. Received my Fender Vintage pickups- I assumed the neck
and bridge pickups would be different, but the only difference I see is a small red dot on one and a blue dot on the other. Are they wound the same, do they have different polarities? The instructions Fender included (a wiring diagram basically) in the packaging gives no clue, which leads me to believe there is no significant difference between the two pickups ( they were packaged together). My instincts tell me there must be a difference, so I'd really appreciate some enlightenment before I start soldering up my wiring harness! Also, any tips on grounding and shielding the cavities? I'm planning on copper shielding everything and using the brass tub and pick up and other available metal shield plates. Just don't want to make any rookie mistakes in my first JM project!

Thanks, Dan

[fuzzking]

Blue = neck, red = that other position. The mo' shielding, the mo' better!

I only have brass tubs in my Jms, and for me, that's sufficient - but I'm sure if you use the search function, you'll find a lot of extra shielding/grounding advice.

Shielding example (scroll down):
http://www.offsetguitars.com/forums/vie ... &p=1158522" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[danp3man]

Awesome! Thanks Fuzzking- I agree, the mo shielding, the better! I'll proceed with the wiring now with greater confidence. Funny, I used to run miles of wiring, do thousands of solder and crimp connections on extremely complex avionics systems and interfaces on military and civilian aircraft, yet wiring an electric guitar can still seem daunting! Just a strong desire to get it right!

[spacecadet]

Shielding example (scroll down):
viewtopic.php?f=7&t=82154&p=1158522

Ha - I love it when my guitars show up in other peoples' posts (I'm not being sarcastic.)

That's my CIJ JM in that pic. I also say the more shielding the better, but if this guitar is a CIJ/MIJ or any other model that didn't originally have proper JM pickups, it's probably still going to be noisier than it was originally.

I'm a little confused though by this quote:

I'm planning on copper shielding everything and using the brass tub and pick up and other available metal shield plates.

Do you already have the AVRI-style shielding tubs? Personally I think doing the tubs *and* the copper shielding is overkill. Mostly because you will get little if any improvement over just using one or the other, but you will add a noticeable amount of weight. One 6 inch strip of copper tape feels like nothing, but the amount it takes to shield an entire cavity does have some measurable weight. I think mine added about half a pound to my guitar. My CIJ used to be pretty light as JM's go (7lbs. 8 oz); now it's about average (8 lbs).

[danp3man]

I guess since I'll be playing sitting down 99% of the time, the weight doesn't concern me as much as the potential noise- still a consideration, though. Be different if I was standing up performing I'm sure. I just want the sound as clean as possible, all things considered.

[danp3man]

Another quick question regarding pickups- I have a pair of new Fender Pure Vintage pups, but have a chance to pick up some new Seymour Duncan SMJ1 Vintage Pups at a good price- any big difference in quality or sound between the two? As this is my first build of a Jazzmaster, I have no real preference or bias at this point, but would like to get the best vintage sound I can for my money. Thanks for any opinions and/or enlightenment, Dan