OffsetGuitars.com

Hello New & Reissue!

I'm not sure how many of you have been following the development of my process to produce a true Thinline Jazzmaster body with full-depth contours over on Mods & Projects, but here are the finished results and I thought I'd share them over here too!

They are basically made in four pieces - a two-piece back and a two-piece top. The top and back are machined precisely from what will be the inside that takes account of the arm and belly contours to create a 3D cavity when they are "pancake" joined together. Then, the joined blank is machined very much like a normal JM body from the outside, leaving a true Thinline body with authentic top, back and wall thickness; and an f-hole that bends gracefully over the arm contour and maintains a consistent edge depth.

Many of the bodies and guitars I've seen that claim to be "Thinline with Contours" (including from the Fender Custom Shop) move the f-hole upwards and inwards, and machine the arm contour next to it. This results in a very small and shallow arm contour, and I find it puts the f-hole in an awkward place which clashes with the pickguard. It also means the f-hole is completely flat and level, being cut as it is only out of the main-plane of the body top.

I made it my mission to do justice to the idea of a Thinline Jazzmaster, and this is the first one I've had back from Rexter with paint on it, for the full effect. He did an amazing job of the finish. I couldn't resist a little photoshoot with a couple of my vintage JMs for comparison, and my '72 Customaster hybrid wanted to get involved as well!

I have a Thinline Jaguar like this on the way as well, and I've made a few Thinline Jazzcasters (Offset Telecasters) with contours too.

Thanks for reading!

Dan

That is one of the coolest guitars ever made.

lovin it so much

Absolutely beautiful. Great choice of colour too.

Deed_Poll wrote: ↑

Tue Nov 23, 2021 2:07 pm

The angle/lighting of this photo is super flattering
Those back contours are absolutely gorgeous.

Thanks so much guys! Hopefully it will be the first of many!

Parry - I'm glad you like the look! I find them very comfortable. My arm and belly contours are a little bigger in area even than vintage - they're actually almost three times the area of Warmoth's, leaving just enough space for a Strat vibrato cavity on the back (though not the trem cover!) and an offset vibrato unit on the top. I use the extra area to introduce a lot of smoothness and a melty shape instead of a clear sharp line where it joins the top and back, as I personally prefer contours that way.

splendid

Holy crap Dan!! When you sent me that picture last week, I didn't realize that the F-hole curved over the forearm contour!!!! That's incredible!!!

Cheers guys!

J- yes, I suppose that has been the idea with the thinlines from day one! I'll admit, it's a fairly subtle effect because of how smooth I like my contours. The profile of my arm contour is basically a true arc, if you know what I mean! It's not like a fold that goes sharply across the top. I could probably make it look more dramatic / deeper, but I don't really want to cut a line / graphic straight across the f-hole like that. Who knows, maybe it would look cool!

That belly contour looks almost concave?

As a general rule, I don't really like thinlines for some reason, but I liked this. I couldn't work out why but I think it's all the reasons you mentioned in your original post. This looks great!

Do you have any pics of the guitar prior to the pancake being put together? I'm curious about what that looks like and I'm guessing you don't fancy taking the pancake apart!

Hi sessylU!

Yes, the pancake can't be taken back apart without sawing the body back in two! It's joined just like any other carved-top or thinline guitar

The best pictures I have are of the underside of the top - the back is just like this, only a bit less interesting, because it doesn't have the f-hole, f-hole thicknessing profile, or the 'bumps' that give a bit more top thickness in areas where pickguard screws are located. However, the back does have a full-depth route under the vibrato (again, I keep the wood thicker in the top around the vibrato to give the screws something substantial to anchor into).





Here you can see how the f-hole edge gets a lot thicker as it goes down the arm contour. This is before I have cut the corresponding contour, so when it's all cut, the edge is consistent.






Here's a picture of a different machined top and back next to each other before the pancake join. I glue the surfaces, and close them up like a book, using the diagonal dowel holes to keep them aligned. I then put them into a bespoke press that applies over 10 tons of pressure and leave it for 24hrs.

I hope that helps explain things! Let me know if you have any further questions and I will do my best to answer them

Dan

That's a pretty spectacular result with such attention to detail...congrats!

Wow looks absolutely stunning. Incredible work and love everything I see on your insta.

Man o man. That is everything including color of my dream guitar. Well done

Man, that is a sweet Ax! The whole Build process is amazing to me.. I would love to be able to that…. Congrats to you!