Weight relief for Jazzmaster

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WillyP
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Weight relief for Jazzmaster

Post by WillyP » Thu Mar 23, 2017 7:13 am

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?

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Embenny
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Re: Weight relief for Jazzmaster

Post by Embenny » Thu Mar 23, 2017 8:08 am

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?
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).
The artist formerly known as mbene085.

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Re: Weight relief for Jazzmaster

Post by Rgand » Thu Mar 23, 2017 8:21 am

mbene085 wrote:
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?
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).
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.

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Re: Weight relief for Jazzmaster

Post by luisfrancesco » Sat Apr 22, 2017 3:49 am

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!

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Re: Weight relief for Jazzmaster

Post by voided3 » Mon Apr 24, 2017 3:05 am

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.

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Re: Weight relief for Jazzmaster

Post by stompbox » Fri Apr 28, 2017 7:09 am

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?
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.

** 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

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Re: Weight relief for Jazzmaster

Post by mackerelmint » Fri Apr 28, 2017 2:11 pm

Tie some helium balloons to it. Reversible!
This is an excellent rectangle

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saxjag
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Re: Weight relief for Jazzmaster

Post by saxjag » Sat Apr 29, 2017 7:09 pm

Play it on the Moon. Expensive!

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PixMix
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Re: Weight relief for Jazzmaster

Post by PixMix » Sat Apr 29, 2017 7:23 pm

stompbox wrote:
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?
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.

** 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
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?

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Re: Weight relief for Jazzmaster

Post by CROSS_guitars » Sat Apr 29, 2017 11:32 pm

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.

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luisfrancesco
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Re: Weight relief for Jazzmaster

Post by luisfrancesco » Sun May 07, 2017 10:55 pm

.....
Last edited by luisfrancesco on Tue May 09, 2017 1:17 am, edited 1 time in total.

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countertext
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Re: Weight relief for Jazzmaster

Post by countertext » Mon May 08, 2017 9:29 pm

I have to admit I kept coming back to this thread hoping for pics of crazy routs.

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