Help me choose pickups for my Jazzmaster (Squier Affinity HH)

For help with setups and other technical issues.
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punkkid364
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Help me choose pickups for my Jazzmaster (Squier Affinity HH)

Post by punkkid364 » Wed May 31, 2023 8:01 am

Last year I put in a bid on a whim for a black Squier Affinity Jazzmaster HH (the one with the string-through hardtail bridge) and lo and behold, it became mine.

Now, some background: I’m mainly a bass player and I wanted a guitar around just to noodle with and because it’s fun. So I don’t have the need for a lot of features, I want something simple that I don’t have to think about too much.

My original plan with this guitar was to make it like the old Tom Delonge strats, with a Duncan Invader and a volume knob, end of story. I’ve considered a couple of variations of this with other pickups in place of the Invader, including a P-Rails (so I get both a humbucker and a P90 sound with one pickup)

But I’ve been considering doing something a little more Jazzmaster-y with it, and putting in a neck and bridge pickup. My question with this is: how much would this guitar sound like a traditional Jazzmaster? I know a big part of the way those play and respond is because of the bridge and trem, and with this guitar that’s not really going to be a thing. So will I be pretty close with say a set of PV 65s or Antiquity IIs, or is it going to be too far off the mark with the hardtail bridge and I may as well put a different humbucker in?

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Re: Help me choose pickups for my Jazzmaster (Squier Affinity HH)

Post by Horsefeather » Wed May 31, 2023 10:09 am

I think it would sound very much like a traditional Jazzmaster with either of those JM pickup options. The effect of the strings past the bridge isn't going to be enough to change the sound that much.

Before you take that plunge, though (which may require routing the body to fit them if the factory didn't use a standard JM route), I'd recommend switching the existing humbuckers' coils to parallel wiring if they have the wires for it. They may not. But this is an easy way to change a humbucker's sound dramatically. In my opinion, it pushes it toward sounding like the Jazzmaster pickup a bit, with the humbucker sized signal area that gets thinned out to create a more single coil type sound.

I have a Pawn Shop Mustang that I monkeyed with and changed the neck humbucker's functionality to Series Humbucker--Parallel Humbucker--South Single Coil and the latter two sound very similar. The single coil does have slightly more top end but given that it also hums while the parallel mode does not, I'd say that if I had to pick just one, it would be parallel hb.

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efiug
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Re: Help me choose pickups for my Jazzmaster (Squier Affinity HH)

Post by efiug » Wed May 31, 2023 10:12 am

not sure how much this will factor in but I think those affinities would need to be routed out for regular jazzmaster pickups.

I think you'd get pretty close with them though.

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Re: Help me choose pickups for my Jazzmaster (Squier Affinity HH)

Post by punkkid364 » Wed May 31, 2023 10:42 am

Yeah, this has the big swimming pool rout, but some additional work would have to be done to make room for the JM pickups. I’m not opposed to doing that, especially since it’s all covered by the giant pickguard anyway.

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Re: Help me choose pickups for my Jazzmaster (Squier Affinity HH)

Post by marqueemoon » Wed May 31, 2023 1:19 pm

punkkid364 wrote:
Wed May 31, 2023 10:42 am
Yeah, this has the big swimming pool rout, but some additional work would have to be done to make room for the JM pickups. I’m not opposed to doing that, especially since it’s all covered by the giant pickguard anyway.
I’d take some measurements and see.

Check the depth too. Standard JM pickups screw into the body wood, so if the cavity is deep you may need to add material get the pickups sitting at the right height and give the screws something to bite into.

For the full JM sonic experience I think you’d need the bridge/vibrato, but you could get a lot closer with proper JM pickups.

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Re: Help me choose pickups for my Jazzmaster (Squier Affinity HH)

Post by punkkid364 » Wed May 31, 2023 1:43 pm

marqueemoon wrote:
Wed May 31, 2023 1:19 pm
punkkid364 wrote:
Wed May 31, 2023 10:42 am
Yeah, this has the big swimming pool rout, but some additional work would have to be done to make room for the JM pickups. I’m not opposed to doing that, especially since it’s all covered by the giant pickguard anyway.
I’d take some measurements and see.

Check the depth too. Standard JM pickups screw into the body wood, so if the cavity is deep you may need to add material get the pickups sitting at the right height and give the screws something to bite into.

For the full JM sonic experience I think you’d need the bridge/vibrato, but you could get a lot closer with proper JM pickups.
Based on this thread: viewtopic.php?t=110200 I think there’s enough wood there to catch on the screws, and gives me an idea of where the pickups would sit. Good eye though, I wouldn’t have caught the depth.

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Re: Help me choose pickups for my Jazzmaster (Squier Affinity HH)

Post by marqueemoon » Wed May 31, 2023 2:12 pm

punkkid364 wrote:
Wed May 31, 2023 1:43 pm
marqueemoon wrote:
Wed May 31, 2023 1:19 pm
punkkid364 wrote:
Wed May 31, 2023 10:42 am
Yeah, this has the big swimming pool rout, but some additional work would have to be done to make room for the JM pickups. I’m not opposed to doing that, especially since it’s all covered by the giant pickguard anyway.
I’d take some measurements and see.

Check the depth too. Standard JM pickups screw into the body wood, so if the cavity is deep you may need to add material get the pickups sitting at the right height and give the screws something to bite into.

For the full JM sonic experience I think you’d need the bridge/vibrato, but you could get a lot closer with proper JM pickups.
Based on this thread: viewtopic.php?t=110200 I think there’s enough wood there to catch on the screws, and gives me an idea of where the pickups would sit. Good eye though, I wouldn’t have caught the depth.
Well researched :) That one turned out great.

If you are keeping the hardtail bridge the pickups will probably need to sit lower anyway.

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Re: Help me choose pickups for my Jazzmaster (Squier Affinity HH)

Post by Embenny » Wed May 31, 2023 2:32 pm

Setting aside the matter of how a vibrato sounds as you use it, I don't think a hardtail Jazzmaster would sound different enough for anyone to pick out in a blind listening test. People regularly fail blind tests between Les Pauls and Strats, and this is splitting hairs compared to those differences.

The main thing that will be very different is the feel of the guitar. The floating bridge and vibrato definitely feel very different to play than a hardtail Strat bridge, especially because the bridge sits much higher off the pickguard (with a steeper neck angle to match). I often find myself feeling cramped on a Strat or Telecaster because my picking wrist is at a very different angle and my pick/fingers sometimes touch the pickguard in situations where they wouldn't on my Jaguars, Jazzmaster, or Gibsons. There's also a very big difference in the acoustic response of the instrument, where the hardtail bridge will feel very snappy and bright vs the somewhat mellower floating bridge. So it'll feel quite different from a traditional Jazzmaster to play. There also won't be any BTB ringing, but plenty of Jazzmaster players mute that with some foam or the device that shall not be named.

But tone-wise, from a listener's position? Nah, nobody will ever be able to tell a difference.

If the look of JM pickups isn't make-or-break for you, you'll get very much in the ballpark with something like these:

Image

They're alnico-poled single coils in a humbucker footprint, handwound in the US for $60 a set. I'm quite a fan of Bootstrap pickups, I've bought a couple of sets from them and they make amazing stuff at amazing prices.

There are other companies that make the same type of thing, too, of course. Basically, the coil is slightly smaller in surface area and slightly deeper than a traditional Jazzmaster pickup, but you'll get very much in the same ballpark, and you can just drop them right in without fussing with routing.
The artist formerly known as mbene085.

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Re: Help me choose pickups for my Jazzmaster (Squier Affinity HH)

Post by MayTheFuzzBeWithYou » Wed May 31, 2023 2:33 pm

Without wanting to question your modding-plans…
Just as a side note: there are Affinity Jazzmasters now in Burgundy Mist and Lake Placid Blue (Black Pickguard on this fella both looking veeeery good imo) that both come with Jazzmaster Pickups - and cost 230ish new - so maybe less than your set of new pickups - so you could get one and see if you like that sound at all… and if not - sell it again (or maybe you could even try one in a shop near you).

Other than that: I understand your itch but would probably rather put a P90s\JM in PAF format in the neck and either a Filtertron, Firebird or WRHB in the Bridge position.

I had P90s in my Jag once and loved the P90s position - but rail was too weak and hb too muddy for my liking.

The great thing about those is that there are a million different and good quality strat tailpiece/vibrato solutions out there so you REALLY CAN upgrade if needed!

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Re: Help me choose pickups for my Jazzmaster (Squier Affinity HH)

Post by PapaB » Wed May 31, 2023 3:05 pm

I just saw a good video on the new JMascis Jazzmaster pickups by Working Class Musician .... Cool kids, cool video. They prefer them to S-Duncan Antiquities ....
I think the set runs $125.00 and being a signature new offering, they'd be a good investment. These are not his p90 like pickups for his signature Jazzmaster guitar .... They are Alnico II JM pups.

(I concur with the previous commenter, for a HB pickguard, I'm a huge fan of TVJones Filtertrons in HB size.)

Best of luck!

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Re: Help me choose pickups for my Jazzmaster (Squier Affinity HH)

Post by punkkid364 » Wed May 31, 2023 5:53 pm

Embenny wrote:
Wed May 31, 2023 2:32 pm
The main thing that will be very different is the feel of the guitar. The floating bridge and vibrato definitely feel very different to play than a hardtail Strat bridge, especially because the bridge sits much higher off the pickguard (with a steeper neck angle to match). I often find myself feeling cramped on a Strat or Telecaster because my picking wrist is at a very different angle and my pick/fingers sometimes touch the pickguard in situations where they wouldn't on my Jaguars, Jazzmaster, or Gibsons. There's also a very big difference in the acoustic response of the instrument, where the hardtail bridge will feel very snappy and bright vs the somewhat mellower floating bridge. So it'll feel quite different from a traditional Jazzmaster to play. There also won't be any BTB ringing, but plenty of Jazzmaster players mute that with some foam or the device that shall not be named.
Well, in terms of feel I don’t have a lot of experience with the offset bridge and trem, apart from the one on my Bass VI.

RE: buying one of the new Affinities: three instruments have come in in the last year and the only way another one is happening is if a very expensive divorce also happens. So, it’s modding the one I have.

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Re: Help me choose pickups for my Jazzmaster (Squier Affinity HH)

Post by Horsefeather » Fri Jun 02, 2023 1:29 am

The Affinity Jazzmasters don't have real Jazzmaster pickups, anyway. They're really P90s.

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Re: Help me choose pickups for my Jazzmaster (Squier Affinity HH)

Post by MayTheFuzzBeWithYou » Fri Jun 02, 2023 1:45 pm

Horsefeather wrote:
Fri Jun 02, 2023 1:29 am
The Affinity Jazzmasters don't have real Jazzmaster pickups, anyway. They're really P90s.
Good to know, thanks.

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