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What the %$#@& is up with the J Mascis pick guard?

Posted: Thu Feb 13, 2020 3:04 pm
by Horsefeather
So I'm working on swapping a gold J Mascis guard onto my CP or VM Jazzmaster (not sure which it is, since it was modified when I got it) and god damn if it isn't trying at every step of the way.

The roller wheel bracket had to be replaced since the mounting holes were too close together. Then I had to drill them out and go with nuts. Then I had to drill them out farther because the beveled underside of the machine screws protrude well past the underside of the guard and become spacers that prevent the bracket from sitting tight against the guard.

Ditto with the rhythm channel slider switch. Only there's barely enough meat around the mounting holes on it to enlarge them and the nuts are going to have to be ground down on a side to sit against the body of the switch.

What the hell do they use in the stock application? The guard is so thin and the countersinks so deep that standard machine screws can't be what they put in there.

Re: What the %$#@& is up with the J Mascis pick guard?

Posted: Thu Feb 13, 2020 7:55 pm
by alexpigment
The pickguard's thickness does change a few things, but the hole alignment seems to be pretty standard, since I swapped my guard out with an AVRI mint one. The VM is way out of spec though (including the rhythm circuit brackets), so if it's a VM, that would explain the problem. Note that CP is Fender and VM is Squier.

Re: What the %$#@& is up with the J Mascis pick guard?

Posted: Thu Feb 13, 2020 8:01 pm
by Horsefeather
Oops, I meant CV. Classic Vibe!

I've finally conquered the pick guard and I'm now waiting for the glue to dry on my screw hole fills. All but one if them needed filling...

Re: What the %$#@& is up with the J Mascis pick guard?

Posted: Thu Feb 13, 2020 8:13 pm
by alexpigment
Ah well that answers it. The original Classic Vibe series guitars (Tele, Strat, Jazz Bass, P-Bass, Duo-Sonic) were made in China (just like the Mascis) and you could swap American parts easily. The Jazzmaster Classic Vibe was never made in China - it was just a revamp of the Indonesian VM series. I assume it's got all the same out-of-spec features.

So the real title of this thread should be "What the %$#@& is up with the VM/Classic Vibe Jazzmaster pick guard?"

Re: What the %$#@& is up with the J Mascis pick guard?

Posted: Thu Feb 13, 2020 11:55 pm
by Horsefeather
Well, not really because the phenomenon of the machine screws protruding through the thickness of the guard is the real issue. The other stuff is not too tough to address.

Re: What the %$#@& is up with the J Mascis pick guard?

Posted: Fri Feb 14, 2020 1:51 am
by tammyw
I don't know about the Mascis specifically, but that's not a new phenomenon.

Even on Fender US gold guards you might see that issue, except they should typically have the aluminum shield (the one made from actual sheet aluminum, not foil) to add the extra thickness behind the pickguard so it's not a problem.

One time I got a ToneGuard pickguard and didn't want to order the Fender shield, so I just added some little washers between the pickguard and the bracket.

Re: What the %$#@& is up with the J Mascis pick guard?

Posted: Fri Feb 14, 2020 8:05 pm
by Horsefeather
Finally got this thing back together and while it's temporary--as I somehow managed to disable the rhythm circuit--I can say that the aluminum guard really affected the sound of the guitar, in that it reduced the brightness dramatically!

And it also all but eliminated hum, which is a very welcome change.