Weight relief for Jazzmaster
- WillyP
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Weight relief for Jazzmaster
Has anyone tried to carve out some of the unnecessary wood in a Jazzmaster body for weight relief?
I have a J. Mascis Squire that I really like but its so heavy that it's not very fun to play. I was thinking of going in through the body cavity and undercutting some of the wood that won't effect the structural stability of the guitar, for instance staying away from the bridge, tremolo, neck pocket, etc... and won't be noticeable once the pickguard is back on.
Does anyone know if this would cause feedback near my amp and if I should stuff the cavity with some material?
I have a J. Mascis Squire that I really like but its so heavy that it's not very fun to play. I was thinking of going in through the body cavity and undercutting some of the wood that won't effect the structural stability of the guitar, for instance staying away from the bridge, tremolo, neck pocket, etc... and won't be noticeable once the pickguard is back on.
Does anyone know if this would cause feedback near my amp and if I should stuff the cavity with some material?
- Embenny
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Re: Weight relief for Jazzmaster
If you just do a "swimming pool" rout in the pickup area, you shouldn't have any issues at all. It's commonly done on solidbody (and thinline) Fender guitars of all types. The only thing to consider putting in there is some shielding, but if the areas that actually house the pickups and wiring are already shielded, that's not strictly necessary so long as you don't damage or interrupt the existing shielding (I don't know if the squier JMJM has much shielding, just speaking in general terms).WillyP wrote:Has anyone tried to carve out some of the unnecessary wood in a Jazzmaster body for weight relief?
I have a J. Mascis Squire that I really like but its so heavy that it's not very fun to play. I was thinking of going in through the body cavity and undercutting some of the wood that won't effect the structural stability of the guitar, for instance staying away from the bridge, tremolo, neck pocket, etc... and won't be noticeable once the pickguard is back on.
Does anyone know if this would cause feedback near my amp and if I should stuff the cavity with some material?
The artist formerly known as mbene085.
- Rgand
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Re: Weight relief for Jazzmaster
This sounds like a good idea. I had my Warmoth JM routed for three humbuckers and it isn't too heavy to play, at least for my tastes. The bare body is roasted swamp ash and weighs 4lbs 2oz. It's heavier than my Strat but not overly so. It seems unusual to find a heavy basswood body but I guess that happens just like other woods.mbene085 wrote:If you just do a "swimming pool" rout in the pickup area, you shouldn't have any issues at all. It's commonly done on solidbody (and thinline) Fender guitars of all types. The only thing to consider putting in there is some shielding, but if the areas that actually house the pickups and wiring are already shielded, that's not strictly necessary so long as you don't damage or interrupt the existing shielding (I don't know if the squier JMJM has much shielding, just speaking in general terms).WillyP wrote:Has anyone tried to carve out some of the unnecessary wood in a Jazzmaster body for weight relief?
I have a J. Mascis Squire that I really like but its so heavy that it's not very fun to play. I was thinking of going in through the body cavity and undercutting some of the wood that won't effect the structural stability of the guitar, for instance staying away from the bridge, tremolo, neck pocket, etc... and won't be noticeable once the pickguard is back on.
Does anyone know if this would cause feedback near my amp and if I should stuff the cavity with some material?
- luisfrancesco
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Re: Weight relief for Jazzmaster
I have the exact same problem with my Squier JMJM... Just showed it to my luthier but he says there no way to cut more cavities into the wood...
Did you try that? Was it really efficient in terms of weight? Let me know, thanks!
Did you try that? Was it really efficient in terms of weight? Let me know, thanks!
- voided3
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Re: Weight relief for Jazzmaster
I dropped a fair amount of weight on my CP Jazzmaster when I removed the rhythm circuit and swapped the tremolo for a hardtail conversion plate.
Between losing the pair of metal roller knobs, metal bracket with pots, and the steel pivot plate, trem arm, collet, etc. it lost nearly a pound of weight, which is way more than you would achieve with routing out wood (unless you went extreme and turn it into something only loosely resembling a Jazzmaster). It actually now is the lightest electric I own! That said, if you rely on the tremolo or rhythm circuit, this may not be an option.
Between losing the pair of metal roller knobs, metal bracket with pots, and the steel pivot plate, trem arm, collet, etc. it lost nearly a pound of weight, which is way more than you would achieve with routing out wood (unless you went extreme and turn it into something only loosely resembling a Jazzmaster). It actually now is the lightest electric I own! That said, if you rely on the tremolo or rhythm circuit, this may not be an option.
- stompbox
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Re: Weight relief for Jazzmaster
I follow Paul Frank on instagram, he's a big offset fan. He has a project guitar on the go where he's reducing the body weight by removing wood, but his approach is different than what you're proposing. I think it's brilliant, but it involves more work. Part of his motivation is to change the tone (he WANTS some hollowbody sound) but as to the extent it will change it's hard to say. Regardless, it must have made a substantial weight reduction.WillyP wrote:Has anyone tried to carve out some of the unnecessary wood in a Jazzmaster body for weight relief?
I have a J. Mascis Squire that I really like but its so heavy that it's not very fun to play. I was thinking of going in through the body cavity and undercutting some of the wood that won't effect the structural stability of the guitar, for instance staying away from the bridge, tremolo, neck pocket, etc... and won't be noticeable once the pickguard is back on.
Does anyone know if this would cause feedback near my amp and if I should stuff the cavity with some material?
** pre-link spoiler: he's routing out the BACK of the body and placing panels to cover the cavities **
https://www.instagram.com/p/BS9aCxUh0Mg ... rank&hl=en
- mackerelmint
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Re: Weight relief for Jazzmaster
Tie some helium balloons to it. Reversible!
This is an excellent rectangle
- saxjag
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Re: Weight relief for Jazzmaster
Play it on the Moon. Expensive!
- PixMix
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Re: Weight relief for Jazzmaster
Routing out the back is the only way to go for a substantial weight relief. Jazzmaster is already routed quite a bit under the pickguard. Yes there's room for a few more ounce to come of, but is it worth the effort?stompbox wrote:I follow Paul Frank on instagram, he's a big offset fan. He has a project guitar on the go where he's reducing the body weight by removing wood, but his approach is different than what you're proposing. I think it's brilliant, but it involves more work. Part of his motivation is to change the tone (he WANTS some hollowbody sound) but as to the extent it will change it's hard to say. Regardless, it must have made a substantial weight reduction.WillyP wrote:Has anyone tried to carve out some of the unnecessary wood in a Jazzmaster body for weight relief?
I have a J. Mascis Squire that I really like but its so heavy that it's not very fun to play. I was thinking of going in through the body cavity and undercutting some of the wood that won't effect the structural stability of the guitar, for instance staying away from the bridge, tremolo, neck pocket, etc... and won't be noticeable once the pickguard is back on.
Does anyone know if this would cause feedback near my amp and if I should stuff the cavity with some material?
** pre-link spoiler: he's routing out the BACK of the body and placing panels to cover the cavities **
https://www.instagram.com/p/BS9aCxUh0Mg ... rank&hl=en
- CROSS_guitars
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Re: Weight relief for Jazzmaster
I would trade the body for lighter body off Ebay. the Indonesian JM bodies are very light.
It's always a shame when people rout away at guitar bodies.
I own a JMJM too which is quite heavy but I would never consider hacking away at it. These are the best guitars Squier have ever produced.
It's always a shame when people rout away at guitar bodies.
I own a JMJM too which is quite heavy but I would never consider hacking away at it. These are the best guitars Squier have ever produced.
- luisfrancesco
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Re: Weight relief for Jazzmaster
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Last edited by luisfrancesco on Tue May 09, 2017 1:17 am, edited 1 time in total.
- countertext
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Re: Weight relief for Jazzmaster
I have to admit I kept coming back to this thread hoping for pics of crazy routs.