Thin skin Jazzmaster review, updated w/pics

[luau]

Fighting off that Comp Orange Mustang left me weak.. too weak to fight off the Shoreline Gold JM too.

There's no point in completely restating what Doug has already stated regarding the thinness of the paint here. It applies to mine equally although I'd guess the fact that SGM is metallic makes it a tad bit thicker than the non-metallic colors. In addition, I can also see the fretboard/headstock seam on mine and I'll bet that's true of all of them too. The grain texture is a lot like the backs of the two recent LPs I own although it isn't quite as pronounced as either of them. The finish is really impressive. The color is insanely cool. It goes from almost a slate looking gray to silver to a real delicate gold under flourescents. Sitting next to my IBM it looks a bit lavender. I'm suspect that when I set it on the grass tomorrow it'll be a little green. The board wouldn't look that great on my IBM but it's a fantastic match for the SGM. It's dark and kind of blackish/grayish where my IBM board is a richer brown color.

I compared it to my AVRI more here.

To expound a bit, the radius and frets are an interesting and fun change but I won't be re-radiusing and re-fretting my other JMs anytime soon. I like it both ways. The radius and the frets aren't such a drastic change that I don't feel like I'm playing a JM. It doesn't turn into a Jackson when you close your eyes, it still feels like a JM. I find it a bit easier to catch notes on the B and E strings and a bit more difficult to play on E and A above the 15th fret.

Like any thing you buy and have high expectations for, there are always nits to be found. In my case, the trem bar deserves dishonorable mention. Firstly, whoever did the bending had waaaay to much coffee. Or meth. Easy tiger! Secondly, it fits so loosely in the collet that it would require both a squeeze on the bottom of the collet and tape to take up the considerable play at the top of the collet. My AVRI's trem bar fits nice and snugly in the thin skin's collet. The thin skin's trem bar fits just as poorly in the AVRI's collet as it does in its own. The collets are consistent and the thin skin's trem bar is... junk. Maybe it got a really thin coat of chrome too! Whatever the case, it's junk. I could probably make it work but I'll more likely call the dealer and request a fresh arm. If they aren't interested then I don't have a problem buying one sometime. I can use the AVRI bar with them both easily enough in the meantime.

This one came from Wildwood and my experience with them thus far has been great. We'll see how they respond to the trem bar issue. They had four in stock and salesperson Lance insisted on going to play them to give me his impression of them before I even had a chance to ask him to do so. I narrowed it to two based on cosmetics and weight and he narrowed it down from there. I feel like I ended up with the best SGM they had.

Overall, I'm thrilled with it. Is it worth selling other stuff and/or going in debt for because it's a limited run? I have no idea. If mine is representative of the line, then these are great guitars and I recommend them.  Given their (I'd guess Dave's and Music Machine's are similar) generous return policy, I think it would be safe to gamble on one for those on the fence.

I ran out of sunlight yesterday and didn't get any pics taken. I should have a good morning for it tomorrow.

[RumorsOFsurF]

Sounds like a great guitar!  Looking forward to pics.

[Marc]

Excellent review! Really useful. 

[luau]

Thank you Marc.

I'm not too happy with these, but I'll try some more indoors in a little while when the sun gets a little higher.





I do like this one:

[StevenO]

I think it looks great! I really like shoreline gold. It's taken me awhile to get over the whole Squier relation I have with that colour. It seems as though all the Squier guitars are/were available in Shoreline Gold so I didn't want people to think I was playing a Squier. Now I have no problems with Squier and no problems with Shoreline Gold either.

Beautiful guitar! I want one, badly.

[RumorsOFsurF]

Simply stunning...I will now sit in silence and stare.

[zhivago]

wow!!

[berlinbetty]

  Everybody with their goddamn pools!!! 

[djetz]

That Shoreline Gold - which still looks silver to me - is gorgeous. 

Both reviews I've read on this forum make an excellent case for ownership. If I had the cash I'd be all over one of those.

In fact, I want one exactly like yours, luau. That's close enough to perfect for me.

[StevenO]

I like the fretboard. Nice and dark.

[sookwinder]

  Everybody with their goddamn pools!!! 

I'm sure that's Doug's house just over the fence there ....

[fullerplast]

Mmmmmmm.... nice JM.     


... and I  the paver block pool deck!

[luau]

A few more inside..

The flash brings the gold out a little bit:


And now it's gone:


And for comparison's sake.. (Don't look at this one Rumors ) This one is reasonably representative of the difference in board color between the two although it is a bit exaggerated. The gold guard really makes it look silver.


Thanks for the kind words all!

As for pools, move to FL! It should be called the 'pool state'. We actually had a really hard time finding a house with a yard that wasn't entirely taken up by a pool (need room for dogs to run). I love the pavers too. They've relieved me of trimming dog toe nails. 

[fullerplast]

Hey! You have a TRII!!! 

I have a DRII. So does Maggie IIRC.

Us weirdos need to stick together....

They've relieved me of trimming dog toe nails.

Seriously, nice pics and great review!

[Soochdaddy]

Great review luau, and what an incredible looking guitar.

Congratulations.