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'Gib-Master' Pelham Blue JM w/Gibson Scale

Posted: Sat Mar 17, 2018 8:01 pm
by bierce85
I've always been into fenders but recently I've come to realize that I just find Gibsons easier to play, and I enjoy the thicker sound. I also love putting guitars together so I got to thinking.. why not do a sort of Gibson-ish Jazzmaster? I find Jazzmasters the most comfortable and coolest looking Fenders, and I think in some ways Leo had his eyes on Gibson when designing it. (Wasn't it the 1st Fender with a rosewood board?). So why not take it one step further into Gibbo land? I know, it could be a crap sandwich, but possibly also could be excellent.

Warmoth Mahogany body
Warmoth Mahogany 24.75 scale Gibson conversion neck w/ebony board and 59 Les Paul back profile/Gibson FB radius/Fender nut width/Gibson style frets
P90 (in JM cover) bridge PU/reg. JM neck PU
Pelham blue finish/gold anodized guard

For me, that's a favorable combination of Fender/Gibson traits.

So far I've begun sealing the body.. I'm actually really pleased with this Warmoth body. It's quite a bit beefier in size than my orig. 63 JM and very lightweight despite being mahogany. It's also very pretty, to the point where I considered going translucent with the finish. I'm hoping the mahogany will help give it a thicker tone than your average JM, but who knows. I do have a few critiques: A. the pickup routs were not in the right place and required alteration with a dremel, and B: the belly cut is not nearly as wide as a vintage JM. I guess this is probably intentional but it would be nice if they could do an accurate wide one like the old ones were. I also spent some time manually sanding all the contours to round it out like a vintage JM. Some initial pics:

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sanding sealer coats:

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Re: 'Gib-Master' Pelham Blue JM w/Gibson Scale

Posted: Mon Mar 19, 2018 3:35 pm
by Nels66
Interesting timing. I have ordered a Warmoth 24.75" conversion neck for my CIJ Jazzmaster. The Fender offset body has always been the most comfortable I have ever played, but the Gibson (24.75") scale is more comfortable for my hands now too. I believe at least Fender thought about the neck scale more because of the way they stick out more on Jazzmasters, hence the Jaguar.

I haven't made up my mind about the pickups yet, but I will definitely replace the factory Japanese pickups. Plus, the original switches and shielding all appear to be very sub-par, so those will go too. Have toyed with idea of installing humbuckers in a Jazzmaster sized ring, but want to maintain a good single coil tone with split wiring. I know, cake and eating it. However, the more I listen to traditional sounding Jazzmaster pickups, the more they grow on me.

Re: 'Gib-Master' Pelham Blue JM w/Gibson Scale

Posted: Mon Mar 19, 2018 6:22 pm
by bierce85
Nels66 wrote:
Mon Mar 19, 2018 3:35 pm
Interesting timing. I have ordered a Warmoth 24.75" conversion neck for my CIJ Jazzmaster. The Fender offset body has always been the most comfortable I have ever played, but the Gibson (24.75") scale is more comfortable for my hands now too. I believe at least Fender thought about the neck scale more because of the way they stick out more on Jazzmasters, hence the Jaguar.

I haven't made up my mind about the pickups yet, but I will definitely replace the factory Japanese pickups. Plus, the original switches and shielding all appear to be very sub-par, so those will go too. Have toyed with idea of installing humbuckers in a Jazzmaster sized ring, but want to maintain a good single coil tone with split wiring. I know, cake and eating it. However, the more I listen to traditional sounding Jazzmaster pickups, the more they grow on me.
The interesting thing about the short scale on a Jag is that not only did they chop a full 1.5 inches off but they also crammed a 22nd fret in there, which might be why many find it a little cramped.

for the PUs, I've found myself more and more liking hotter bridge/underwound neck combos lately so the P90 with standard Jazz combo makes sense for me, and it keeps with the idea of splitting the difference between Gib/Fender.

When will you have the neck? I'd be curious to get your take on it as I wont have mine until mid next month

Re: 'Gib-Master' Pelham Blue JM w/Gibson Scale

Posted: Tue Mar 20, 2018 6:03 pm
by Nels66
My neck is still 3 to 4 weeks out.

Re: 'Gib-Master' Pelham Blue JM w/Gibson Scale

Posted: Thu Mar 29, 2018 1:08 pm
by bierce85
Color coat today......... Used Madison's Music PB nitro and a very small amount of Reranch tinted clear over the top.

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Re: 'Gib-Master' Pelham Blue JM w/Gibson Scale

Posted: Tue Apr 17, 2018 4:16 pm
by Nels66
Just got word today that my new 24.74" conversion Warmoth neck will delivered next week.

Re: 'Gib-Master' Pelham Blue JM w/Gibson Scale

Posted: Sun Jun 03, 2018 6:55 am
by bierce85
Finally, clear coated, sanded and buffed out the body. Then, some time in the freezer to get some nice checking happening.

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Re: 'Gib-Master' Pelham Blue JM w/Gibson Scale

Posted: Sun Jun 03, 2018 6:56 am
by bierce85
Nels66 wrote:
Tue Apr 17, 2018 4:16 pm
Just got word today that my new 24.74" conversion Warmoth neck will delivered next week.
Have you fired it up yet?

Re: 'Gib-Master' Pelham Blue JM w/Gibson Scale

Posted: Wed Sep 12, 2018 9:25 pm
by ClintCC
I'm very eager to see some more progress on this one I really like the concept

Re: 'Gib-Master' Pelham Blue JM w/Gibson Scale

Posted: Fri Mar 01, 2019 6:11 am
by bierce85
ClintCC wrote:
Wed Sep 12, 2018 9:25 pm
I'm very eager to see some more progress on this one I really like the concept
Thanks man, I actually finished it up a while ago but forgot to update the thread. Not sure why the old pics arent showing anymore.

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Re: 'Gib-Master' Pelham Blue JM w/Gibson Scale

Posted: Fri Mar 01, 2019 8:03 am
by Embenny
Man, what a gorgeous shade of blue.

Re: 'Gib-Master' Pelham Blue JM w/Gibson Scale

Posted: Fri Mar 01, 2019 9:24 am
by panoramic
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reminds me of the color i had with this cij jazzmaster like a decade ago

Re: 'Gib-Master' Pelham Blue JM w/Gibson Scale

Posted: Sun Mar 03, 2019 1:30 pm
by bierce85
mbene085 wrote:
Fri Mar 01, 2019 8:03 am
Man, what a gorgeous shade of blue.
Thanks!

Re: 'Gib-Master' Pelham Blue JM w/Gibson Scale

Posted: Sun Mar 03, 2019 1:41 pm
by bierce85
panoramic wrote:
Fri Mar 01, 2019 9:24 am
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reminds me of the color i had with this cij jazzmaster like a decade ago
Very similar. I actually wound up overall disappointed in the way the color turned out as it's too dark and intense of a blue to really pass for pelham. It looks more like LPB, especially since its on a Jazzmaster. I have actually since purchased another lightweight JM body from Warmoth from the same batch this was from and am currently in the process of finishing it in a walnut stain. I plan to sell off the painted body and refinish the face of the peghead in natural with the new body. Will probably do a spitfire guard and go for the Elvis Costello type look. I'm pretty exited at how the body is coming out:

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Re: 'Gib-Master' Pelham Blue JM w/Gibson Scale

Posted: Mon Mar 04, 2019 6:55 am
by panoramic
if you sell the other body let me know