New JM style build

[hpr_hpr]

SO I'm soliciting ideas for pickups for this one. It's routed for both humbuckers and JM pickups so either one works . . . . any ideas? My interests are finger style blues, some jazz, and classic rock; I guess I'm looking for articulate, warm and with some snarl if warranted.

Bookmatched mahogany body - stained with red mahogany minwax oil stain & finished with either clear danish oil or OSMO polyx oil
Roasted maple 12" radius 22 fret neck w/ 1650 frets - finished in OSMO polyx oil
Gotoh cosmo black hardware (fixed 510UB bridge)

If you're interested I'm posting on the build here: http://buildsomethinganything.blogspot.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[losmarvins]

I would go with jazzmaster pickups over humbuckers, or if you want something in between you can go with P90s I guess. Anyway your project looks interesting!

[hhhehehe]

Jazz in the neck, clear hum in the bridge. I've got a Rose Korona & Picasso setup in my main, lots of different usable sounds available.

Minihums or Firebird pickups could be interesting, too.

[hpr_hpr]

Hadn't even though about 'firebird' / mini humbuckers which is ironic because I WAS think about doing something along the lines of the raised center like a firebird. The body has a shallow neck pocket to accommodate a straight bolt on neck in combination with the fixed bridge so there is quite a gap (1/4") below the fretboard overhang. I was thinking of using something like a 4" wide 3/16 thick piece of Wenge or Pau Ferro (or to laminate something for greater stability) to mount the PUs in and use regular pick guard material for the covers of the remaining control cavity area giving it a split JM appearance with a raised ('firebirdy like') center.

Anyway here is the (mostly finished, it still needs a nut) neck, the tuners look black but really aren't . . . they really are kinda between black and chrome . . . and the neck actually slightly darker as well. Turned out real well I think.

[hpr_hpr]

Start of the body finish . . . first step stain to raise the grain & identify any remaining scratches . . .


Not bad . . . some on the upper horn and around the lower control cavity, miraculously the back is clear.

Noted that I will have to be careful staining the end grain otherwise the dark stain will just obliterate everything . . . .

Next: knock the grain back & get rid of the scratches.

[hpr_hpr]

Making progress ... body finish is done (red mahogany stain under osmo polyx oil) & the neck screws got shortened to the required lengths (the body has a contoured heel) and the neck installation was tested ... it's starting to look like something ...

[sonic65blue]

That's looking great so far. I think the colors of the body and headstock compliment each other really well.

I just finished my JM build and used an Antiquity 2 in the neck and a GFS Crunchy PAT in the bridge. I love the antiquity, and honestly when cranked up it does just fine for distortion. The Crunchy PAT was said to be a cheaper version of a Super Distortion. It can clean up great and definitely gets dirty.

I used both neck pickups. Meaning the antiquity is a neck pickup, AND the crunchy pat that is in the bridge is a NECK PICKUP. I don't have all the specs here with me but..they match each other perfectly. i believe the neck crunchy is a little lower output. If I remember right the poles of the neck crunchy are reversed. I think my idea was once coil tapped it would still be hum canceling with the antiquity. (I want to say my antiquity neck is 8.2k and the PAT is 9.8k)

My first goal was clean, Jazzmaster sound and I definitely got that. I have not been disappointed by any of the distortion Ive been able to get either. Best of luck on the rest of your build.
Joe

[hpr_hpr]

Still working on this one . . . . this is the current look



. . . not done yet but this is the test / soldering blank for the final pick guard and it seems to be coming together.

[Bothand Nether]

Looking great, can't wait to see the finished pickguard

[hpr_hpr]

It IS a rather nice piece of maple ply . . . I need to get some 1/4 pieces for another guard. However, note that this is just the test case & soldering platform . . . the 'real one will look like this I think



. . . . the top at least, the bottom is still under discussion. Lowes has some copper anodized aluminum that might do well but I'm a bit leery as it's rather thin . . . maybe only 1/32 . . . which might present a problem with stability. And then I have some tiger stipe pick guard material . . . something like this

[UC3]

hpr,

Nice project. Really like the color on the Mahogany out in the light where it's leaning on the deck.

Working on pickguard similar to yours, but using wider, quartersawn wenge and mixing it with old growth doug-fir and alaskan yellow cedar. Also have some yellowheart(pau amarillo) and the quartersawn profile with a poly/oil finish is out'a sight - it darkens just a bit and really holds the yellow/gold and highlights some of the chatoyance.

It seems like you are considering backing the pickguard blank:

I'm going to experiment with some ultra thin(down to 1/32") birch plywood that I purchased at Michaels, but you can get it just about anywhere at internet hobby shops.

I was going to first dye the birch black with india ink and then glue the pickguard blank to the birch plywood. I may or may not add a layer of Holly or white veneer substitute in between. Then, I plan to glue the laminated wenge/fir/cedar blank to the birch. The whole thing is intended to be a finished thickness of an 1/8" or slightly less.

Also pondering "stabilizing" the whole thing with one of the many wood stabilizers that woodturners tend to use in order to keep it from "moving" over time. Plan is to soak it and then let it cure while pressed flat.

The idea seems good on paper... ha ha

The more I work with wood,the more I find that it has a mind of its own.

Anyhow, awesome start to a great project.

Keep us posted and good luck.

[hpr_hpr]

Anno MMXVI die XII mensis Novembris, in qua natus sum:



Better photographs when weather allows . . . . .

Best Guitar parts torrefied maple neck w/ rosewood fret board / abalone inlays front & side / crappy plastic nut - finished with OSMO Polyx oil
USA guitars Mahogany JM Body routed for JM PUs & Humbuckers (no trem) - finished with Minwax Mahogany stain & Osmo Polyx oil
Gotoh Cosmo Black Hardware, UB510 wraparound bridge, HAP-M SG510 staggered tuners w/ B07 buttons, Les P output jack plate, gold switchcraft jack
1/4" Maple ply unfinished pickguard
SD P-rails pickups
Wired with Gavitt cloth pushback wire
- double DPDT for P90/serial/parallel/rail for both pickups in the upper bout
- rotary for neck, serial, parallel, bridge & DPDT phase in the lower bout
- 500K Log Volume / 500K Linear Tone (switched between pre- / off / post- volume)

Weight ... heavy, about the same as the VM Squier next to it though . . . haven't weighed it.

Future work: a - MUCH - better nut and a full setup, Wenge/Yellow Heart/Paudak laminated (upper/left) & something else (lower/right) pick guard
Future mods: Treble bleed w/ on/off, a cap selector switch on for the Tone (instead of the pre/off/post selector switch) .

UPDATE . . . well I still haven't weighed it but it IS heavier than the VMJM ... surprise, surprise ... ... ...
UPDATE II . . . goofed, corrected the specs

[hpr_hpr]

And here is that better pic



And after replacing the unfinished guard with a finished version



Sorry, the rain had returned so this one was inside again . . . . Also the tone switch was changed, it now switches between 0.01 & 0.005 uF both tapped BEFORE the volume (there was little difference by ear in tapping the tone before or after the volume), the tone knob is now much more useful over it's full range, but the 0.005 may be a bit to small (as the 0.033 was to large) and will probably be replaced with a 0.022 in the near future . . .

[hpr_hpr]

And here she is lookin' pretty . . .


The pick guard is curly maple, walnut & yellowheart

Gothoh Hardware (Cosmo Black)
Mahogany body
Roasted maple neck with RW fretboard
SD PRails

The electronics are still up for revision . . .
But currently:
- PU coil selection in the upper horn
- Rotary PU slection (bridge / series / parallel / neck) & Phase switch below
- Volume & Tone With cap selector (currently 0.22 & 0.47) in the back

The cap selector may change

EDIT, just look at the date of the first post . . . . 1 year, 10 months to finish this one . . . long gestation period.

[hpr_hpr]

And here is the "better" picture of her . . . the rain finally let up for a day and the sun came out . . .


Darn, just saw the date on the original post . . . almost 2 years to the day.