One and a half '73 Jazzmasters = two Jazzblasters

Discussion of vintage Jazzmasters, Jaguars, Bass VIs, Electric XIIs and any other offset-waist instruments.
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Gavanti
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One and a half '73 Jazzmasters = two Jazzblasters

Post by Gavanti » Sat Mar 05, 2022 2:47 pm

To start, I should acknowledge this one involves some controversial aesthetic choices. A few years back I picked up a '73 JM refinished in sonic blue with non-original pickups. That suited me fine as I really like a non-traditional JM bridge pickup, and I traded in a Novak JM-V/JM-T set. It has been a great player with a comfortable, fairly thick neck. Sonic blue is absolutely one of my favorite colors with a matching headstock, but for some reason I've never quite gotten used to the look of most custom colors with a plain headstock. Repainting the headstock was not really an option for me, so I considered another refinish.

I also love the look of 70s black guards with worn finishes and had started looking around for the right one as a replacement, with some concerns that in the end I might not like it as much. I missed out on a few. Then someone in the Netherlands popped up a '73 body that had been swapped out for an older one. Everything checked out about the body (the seller had a dealer ad for the original whole guitar), so I went ahead and ordered it and found a used guard. Then the body got stuck for most of a month somewhere outside customs.

It finally came in today (in an amp box!). The body has some really extensive checking and a patch where it looks like someone got aggressive with a bracelet or watch. I spent a few hours swapping out parts. The most difficult part was getting the shielding plates since as whoever did the refin on the sonic blue took the trouble to re-anchor them with glazier points.

Now it's all back together, and it still delivers. An added bonus is that the new body takes the guitar down about 1/2 pound to 8 lbs total. Anyway here's the transition (plus Molly the Bat Dog)

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Last edited by Gavanti on Tue May 31, 2022 11:37 am, edited 3 times in total.

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Re: One and a half '73 Jazzmasters, half a NGD

Post by s_mcsleazy » Sat Mar 05, 2022 2:56 pm

i love that sunburst.
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Re: One and a half '73 Jazzmasters, half a NGD

Post by jvin248 » Sun Mar 06, 2022 5:33 am

.

Happy NGD!

Dangerous having an extra body floating around the house. You'll need to find a neck and loaded pickguard ;)

When you do that, have some fun, like a Tele headstock neck, hard-tail string anchor plate, WRHB CuNiFe bridge pickup, gold foil neck pickup, delete the rhythm circuit, and use a 4-way switch like a Tele (or the Marr Jaguar) if you can find a location without cutting the body.

Or other partscastery types of mixed parts you've wanted to experiment with for a while.

See. An extra guitar body can be a dangerous thing.

.

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Re: One and a half '73 Jazzmasters, half a NGD

Post by Gavanti » Sun Mar 06, 2022 8:57 am

jvin248 wrote:
Sun Mar 06, 2022 5:33 am
.


See. An extra guitar body can be a dangerous thing.

.
Yeah, the extra body "problem" is starting to settle in. The possibilities definitely exceed the ability to pay for them at the moment.

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Re: One and a half '73 Jazzmasters, half a NGD

Post by CorporateDisguise » Tue Mar 08, 2022 5:08 am

Gavanti wrote:
Sun Mar 06, 2022 8:57 am
jvin248 wrote:
Sun Mar 06, 2022 5:33 am
.


See. An extra guitar body can be a dangerous thing.

.
Yeah, the extra body "problem" is starting to settle in. The possibilities definitely exceed the ability to pay for them at the moment.
I have this problem with necks and pickups. Guitars keep manifesting themselves out of randoms piles of parts.

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Re: One and a half '73 Jazzmasters, half a NGD

Post by Gavanti » Tue May 31, 2022 8:24 am

Follow up with a happy ending for the blue body: I picked up a '66 neck with cosmetically poor but solid heel repair. Had to sand the heel to fit the pocket, and I need to glue down some binding and maybe deal with a lightly popped first block, but it plays well and feels great. Added Madlove cunife JM-WR's, a Gunstreet harness, some aged tuners and hardware, a M1, and a mostly vintage trem from parts. Now I have two Jazzblasters (though one may end up being a regular JM eventually).

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Re: One and a half '73 Jazzmasters, half a NGD

Post by Unicorn Warrior » Tue May 31, 2022 10:01 am

Beautiful

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Re: One and a half '73 Jazzmasters = two Jazzblasters

Post by caples » Thu Jun 02, 2022 10:13 am

What's better than one jazzmaster? Two jazzblasters.
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Re: One and a half '73 Jazzmasters = two Jazzblasters

Post by MayTheFuzzBeWithYou » Thu Jun 02, 2022 12:01 pm

Wow!
Two beauties!
I always thought that with 70s JMs Sunburst is perfect - but I do love that Sonic Blue! :-*

Those white witchhats compliment whatever guard perfectly (also I don‘t like Strat knobs)
Aesthetic wise it‘s Jazzmaster PUP > real WRHB > JM WRHB > JM HB for me - but I‘m sure these two will serve their purpose well! Congrats and enjoy!

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Re: One and a half '73 Jazzmasters = two Jazzblasters

Post by Ursa Minor » Sat Jun 25, 2022 8:10 pm

Beautiful! How's the overall weight on these?
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Re: One and a half '73 Jazzmasters = two Jazzblasters

Post by Gavanti » Sun Jun 26, 2022 6:00 am

Ursa Minor wrote:
Sat Jun 25, 2022 8:10 pm
Beautiful! How's the overall weight on these?
Thanks! 8lbs on the sunburst, about 8.5 on the Sonic. Not too bad for 70s bodies.

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