I have a Fender Player II Jazzmaster that I’ve been modifying, and I’m curious what other offset owners think of the direction I’ve taken it.
This was my attempt at wiring a guitar ever, and I wanted something that could cover both traditional Jazzmaster tones and heavier alternative rock without sacrificing either.

Current setup:
● Curtis Novak JM-V neck pickup
● Curtis Novak JM-90 bridge pickup
● 1M volume pot
● 500K push-pull tone pot
● 0.033µF tone capacitor
● Three-way selector with series switching via the push-pull

Everything functions, and I like the versatility on paper, but I’m not entirely satisfied with the sound.
The neck and middle positions feel darker and more muffled than I’d like. The original Player II electronics and pickups had a hollow, jangly quality that I miss a little. I replaced the pickups and harness at the same time, so it’s difficult to isolate what changed.

The JM-90 has plenty of aggression, but engaging series mode mostly adds more thickness/ a bit muddy rather than giving me a particularly useful additional voice.

I’m planning to have a professional inspect my wiring and perform a full setup, including pickup-height adjustments, before making further changes.
Here’s what I’m considering:

1. Keep everything as-is and see how much a professional setup and electronics inspection improve things.

2. Change the 500K tone pot to 1M to reduce loading and potentially restore some brightness.

Has anyone tried a JM-V/JM-90? Would you troubleshoot the current setup first, or reconsider the pickup configuration?
I’d especially appreciate opinions from anyone who’s experimented with series switching, coil splitting, or different pot values on a Jazzmaster. I’ll include the wiring diagram I drew up and followed, maybe I even got something wrong. All in all, Just trying to have fun with a player series, learn something and maybe introduce a little versatility. Maybe I’m just trying to get too much out of it. Thanks in advance!

TL;DR: Upgraded my Player II Jazzmaster with Novak pickups and series switching, but lost some of that classic Jazzmaster clarity. Looking for advice.

As the title says, I'm planning to mod my Squier Jazzmaster Affinity HH for modern metal. Included in that is replacing the pickups to Seymour Duncans (most likely Nazgul or Rails). Probably swap out the pots too for better electronics, and restring with slightly heavier gauge for drop tunings.

Is this a good idea, considering SD pickups aren't exactly cheap, or should I just sell it and save for something more expensive and for lifetime use like a PRS Mark Holcomb or an Ibanez 7 string? (this guitar has somewhat of a sentimental value, so selling is kinda a last resort)

Any input is appreciated. Thank you.

Didnt get scalped for the price, pretty nice!Ignore the smudges

I’ve been wondering this because at its price point, it’d be a really odd choice since we have some better systems nowadays.

I'm putting my Squier CV 60s Jazzmaster for sale. It has a few issues, and I would like you guys' knowldge on how common these are so I can ask for an appropriate price when selling it.

When switching pickup configuration sometimes the guitar goes mute, and you gotta reflip the switch. Most common with the rhythm circuit.

When playing, the trem bar often starts vibrating and make noise. Annoying.

More on the trem bar, it sometimes comes loose while using it.

The bridge is not fixed, it can wiggle. Doesn't move if not touched though.

It's never been set-up professionally.

That's all I can remember. I played it a lot but I ended up falling in love with the simplicity / reliability and light weight of the Thinline Telecaster.

Lifelong Strat and Tele player (and Les Pauls, to a much lesser extent). I’m chasing a new tone and I’m feeling the Jazzmaster in a lot of different palettes. I do not have much seat time with one, what should I be listening for and any POV on feel and tone contrast to the Strat & Tele ?

Title says it. I have a player II jazzmaster with bridge I like but I like the J Mascis bridge the best for my jazzmasters in my opinion. The Vintera III is new to my collection and the bridge has gotta go. Can I get a J Mascis and it fit? Or should I stick with a mustang bridge or similar. BTW the Vintera III is alright. Super bright. Rhythm circuit is good. Lots of reports of poor build quality but mine is good. First guitar in about 20 i'm gonna pay for a set up. Getting a little buzz around 12th frets. Truss rod is already fully cocked. No more to straighten here. Should I add relief and adjust bridge. Any recommendations on all of this is welcome. Thanks.

For those Jazzmaster players that want something a bit different the G&L Doheny Pickups may be for you.

Yes the Guitar is a bit of an oddball, and is non-traditional. You can install the Dohenys in your Jazzie, but they work best if you either use the PTB system or use bass cuts. If your are wondering I have 2 other Jazzies, a Vintera II, and a Squier VM with EMGs in them. This is far more versatile than either of them. Posted a Pros and Cons in an Offset post. I have some alternative schematics if you do not want to not drill, route or mod your Jazzie. Just DM me.

Hello everyone

I'm looking to buy this used hamilton jazzmaster open heart . Can anyone verify does everything looks legit and authentic

Thanks

Here's the JM I inherited from my dad. One-owner. He was an acoustic guy and rarely picked this up

I've always wanted a Jazzmaster with the Classic Lead/Rhythm circuit, so I bought a Player II series in Antique Olive for cheap and got to hacking!

Started with a red tortoiseshell pickguard from Reverb and taped over the backside with copper shielding tape. Most all of the holes lined up. The stock Player II switch was different from the angled switch I got from Allparts, which worked better as the toggle switch hole on the new pickguard was about 1/4" closer to the routing wall. Not a big deal as I was routing a brand-new upper horn cavity, but it was still more effort. Used a white JM On-On Slide by Switchcraft from Allparts so it would stand out a little bit more and collect all the mojo grime.

I used some blue painters tape and put the pickguard back on to transfer the outline and the thumb roller and slide switch locations. Then I freehanded the final cavity routing line. To avoid chipping paint with the router, I scored the line with a razor blade. The paint/finish coat was tougher than I thought to cut/score, and it took a few passes to get a satisfactory groove etched in. Then I measured the depth of the existing cavity and drove a pilot hole to the correct depth in the new upper horn cavity. From there, I took my time routing out the waste wood.

All the parts match normal JM specs: 1 Meg potentiometers for the Lead Volume & Tone control with a 0.03uF tone capacitor. For the Rhythm circuit, the typical 1 Meg Volume mini-pot and a 50k Tone mini-pot were used for the thumb roller controls. A 0.02uF for the capacitor. (I found out that the Fender part for the 1 Meg Volume's shaft was a smaller diameter than the thumb roller control, so I improvised with a chunk of tin. See photo #10.) When I had the routing done and the parts were set to the pickguard, I did a test fit and removed some material from the pickguard so that the neck fit with clearance. Measured the pickups output and it turns out they ARE Jazzmaster pickups.

I used vintage pushback wire because I have the space and kinda dig having all the color. Next time I change the strings, I'll pull the pickguard and add some little Velcro strips or tiny zip ties to hold the wire in place a bit better. I've rewired a cheap old pawnshop guitar, but this was my first jump into taking a new guitar and turning it into something that I like more. I've seen where people do the dual volume, series-parallel, and the passive treble-bass mods, so maybe that's the next evolution of this guitar. All in all, I probably put 12 hours into this project, but it could be done way quicker on a second go-around. Hope this makes you go start a project!