Heading for an Offset....help me!

francer

Here’s a brief summary of the main US reissues, excluding Thin skins, 60th Anniversary etc. All details from my memory, so please excuse any inaccuracies.

American Vintage Reissue (AVRI) - based on 62 model, slim neck, 7.25rad, no neck binding (1999 - 2012)

American Vintage (AV65) - faithful reproduction of 65 model, chunkier neck, 7.25 rad, bound neck, very fragile nitro finish (2012 - 2018)

American Original 60s (AO) - based on 60s specs, mostly as AV65 but with fretboard 9.5 rad and different nitro formulation. (2018 - present)

jellybelly

AV65s are exceptional guitars - I presume the new American Originals are of a similar quality. As @meltedbuzzbox says, I don’t rate the AVRIs in comparison. 

Mexican JMs are certainly not to be sniffed at - the ‘60s lacquer and Roadworn are both vintage spec and have USA pickups. 

MIJ and CIJ offsets are fine, if a bit bland. Some silly prices for those nowadays though!!!

If I was on a budget and after a vintage spec Jazzmaster, I’d be after a MIM Roadworn... but if there was any way to stretch to an AV65 (or AO) it’s worth it. My AV65 Jaguar is going nowhere. 

Edit: I haven’t tried a Squier offset that didn’t need a serious setup so I’ve no idea of their true quality. Lots seem to like the J Mascis one...

antonyiv

I would personally like to get this:



American Professional Limited edition. The whole neck is rosewood - huge plus. 

impmann

Offset opinions are like penises - every bloke has one, but few would swallow them whole.

Ignore the rhythm circuit hatred - it’s actually a very useful sound in its own right. Although if you play with a flailing right hand you can knock the switch - solution: sort your poor technique out.

AVRIs - Sorry not a fan. I spent a lot of money on a 62 that was junk compared to the Classic Player it replaced. I’ve owned several JMs since and it’s genuinely the worst neck, the worst resonance and overall sound of any of them.

Vintage-ness - don’t be a sheep. The offset world (as mentioned above) is incredibly conservative. Leo didn’t necessarily get it right first time around *FOR YOU*. 

Bridges - don’t ask on here you’ll get a million opinions from people who haven’t necessarily tried the options they are slagging. See comment above about conservatism.

Fwiw, I’d check out the Classic Lacquer Mexican. If you are considering a Mastery bridge though, bear in mind that Fender have fitted narrower thimbles to these than vintage meaning they need to be changed out to fit this bridge. My own Jaguar is from this series and it’s a fantastic instrument - now improved dramatically by Mojo A3 pickups and it will gain a Mastery when I can afford it (personal preference).

zepp76

It might be worth you getting this months The Guitar Magazine as it is an Offset special.

sweepy

Mojo and Mastery, perfect combo for offsets

JonHosker

Thanks all...Guitarist subscriber so will wait for the postie for the Offset edition.
Think will head AO.....ta

gusman2x

Always wanted the Thurston Moore sig. Even though it's missing the rhythm circuit and a tone knob. Beautiful guitar.

But yeah, I think if it was me, I'd be looking at the classic lacquer series. 

lasermonkey

I have three Jazmasters: a 2008 "thin skin" '62 AVRI; a 1986 MIJ and a 1994/5 CIJ. My favourite two are the thin skin and the '86 MIJ (which are the two best guitars I've ever played). Apart from the pickups and the radius (9.5" on the American guitar and 7.5" on the Japanese) these two feel more alike than the two Japanese guitars to each other, which makes me think that not all Japanese JMs are created equal.

The '94/5 CIJ looks slimmer in places and definitely feels somehow less substantial. It also doesn't sound as rich as the '86 MIJ. I'd advise trying out for yourself first.

I love the '08 thin skin and '86, which are my go-to guitars. I put a set of Mojo pickups in the '86 which utterly transformed the sound. The '94/5 will need some work. At the very least some decent pickups and a better bridge (this one has a Mustang bridge that is actually worse than the standard JM bridge!)

Unless you have a vintage JM, plan on replacing the pickups with Mojos, especially if you play mostly clean. They have a three dimensional quality with rich harmonics that have to be head to be believed. And get a Staytrem bridge.

Oh, and I use the rhythm circuit occasionally. In almost thirty years of being a Jazzmaster player, I don't think I've ever accidentally hit the switch!

Whitecat

I guess another question - does it absolutely have to be a Fender? If so, ignore the rest of this post.

Given enough time and a little more budget I'd prefer to order a BilT Relevator LS and get it customised to exactly what I wanted... if you don't go crazy on the specs they are running price-wise higher than USA Fenders but way less than Fender CS stuff.

Downside of course is the second-hand hit you take on anything boutique... 

stickyfiddle

Whitecat said:

I guess another question - does it absolutely have to be a Fender? If so, ignore the rest of this post.

Given enough time and a little more budget I'd prefer to order a BilT Relevator LS and get it customised to exactly what I wanted... if you don't go crazy on the specs they are running price-wise higher than USA Fenders but way less than Fender CS stuff.

Downside of course is the second-hand hit you take on anything boutique... 

I went a combination of Musikraft & MJT for mine. I figured I knew I wanted Mojo pickups and Staytrem bridge & trem and a custom colour, by which point a partscaster was the obvious option. The perfect spec specifically for me, and I added a vintage tort guard for extra mojo. If I ever sell I'll part it out and get back 75% or so, most likely.

I'd highly recommend it, provided you know exactly what you want. 

meltedbuzzbox

Whitecat said:

I guess another question - does it absolutely have to be a Fender? If so, ignore the rest of this post.

Given enough time and a little more budget I'd prefer to order a BilT Relevator LS and get it customised to exactly what I wanted... if you don't go crazy on the specs they are running price-wise higher than USA Fenders but way less than Fender CS stuff.

Downside of course is the second-hand hit you take on anything boutique... 

I wouldn't blindly jump into a Bilt. 
They look great, however they dont feel worth their price tag imho. 
It was kind of a dont meet your heroes moment for me. Looked cool as fuck, played  a bit meh. 
At £800 I'd have one. Never at retail though. 
 
Coda usually have 5 or 6 in stock. 

horsehead

What about the Fano or Novo?

Creed_Clicks

Grunfeld said:

JonHosker said:

Prefer Rythm circuit slide switch etc ... old school.

I don't know anyone who actually uses that circuit [cue everyone coming out of the woodwork now to say how great it is...]

You can buy a little bracket from ebay for a couple of quid which really tidily fits on its underside and prevents it from sliding.  That way you get the look of the switch, which is nice, without the major inconvenience of unknowingly flicking it on in a gig and wondering where all your sound has gone and thinking your guitar has died.  This is because you rolled the rhythm pots to zero months ago and forgot all about them... or even that they do anything. 

Or was that just me?

I did it once by mistake...

SNAKEBITE

Having got the Mexican lacquer series I can confirm they are excellent.

darthed1981

To provide an alternate option, I recently bought a Squier Vintage Modified Jazzmaster...

https://i.postimg.cc/d036DGVc/20190317-103405.jpg

That has the following strengths: -

It wasn't expensive

It looks lovely

It sounds great, those "Duncan Designed" pickups sound lovely

It makes nice clangy twangy noises

Unusually large neck for a Squier

and the following weaknesses: -

Horrid bridge, took me ages to get a reasonable setup.

Overall, recommended for those who want a cheaper offset option...

Whitecat

meltedbuzzbox said:

Whitecat said:

I guess another question - does it absolutely have to be a Fender? If so, ignore the rest of this post.

Given enough time and a little more budget I'd prefer to order a BilT Relevator LS and get it customised to exactly what I wanted... if you don't go crazy on the specs they are running price-wise higher than USA Fenders but way less than Fender CS stuff.

Downside of course is the second-hand hit you take on anything boutique... 

I wouldn't blindly jump into a Bilt. 
They look great, however they dont feel worth their price tag imho. 
It was kind of a dont meet your heroes moment for me. Looked cool as fuck, played  a bit meh. 
At £800 I'd have one. Never at retail though. 
 
Coda usually have 5 or 6 in stock. 

Coda have none in stock. I have one, it's f*cking awesome. Which is why I recommend it over a Fender... I prefer it to almost every JM I've tried.

Doug Kauer thinks they are ostensibly the last great bargain in boutique guitars... https://www.thegearpage.net/board/index.php?posts/24670475/

mart

zepp76 said:

It might be worth you getting this months The Guitar Magazine as it is an Offset special.

JonHosker said:

Thanks all...Guitarist subscriber so will wait for the postie for the Offset edition.
Think will head AO.....ta

The Guitar Magazine is not the same as Guitarist.

Mind you, you’re probably right: if TGM did an offset issue this month, Guitarist will probably do one next month.

meltedbuzzbox

mart said:

zepp76 said:

It might be worth you getting this months The Guitar Magazine as it is an Offset special.

JonHosker said:

Thanks all...Guitarist subscriber so will wait for the postie for the Offset edition.
Think will head AO.....ta

The Guitar Magazine is not the same as Guitarist.

Mind you, you’re probably right: if TGM did an offset issue this month, Guitarist will probably do one next month.

Not sure bonamassa/Clapton/boring blues dude play them so the chances are slim.

Probably more Les Pauls and tube screamers

mart

meltedbuzzbox said:

mart said:

zepp76 said:

It might be worth you getting this months The Guitar Magazine as it is an Offset special.

JonHosker said:

Thanks all...Guitarist subscriber so will wait for the postie for the Offset edition.
Think will head AO.....ta

The Guitar Magazine is not the same as Guitarist.

Mind you, you’re probably right: if TGM did an offset issue this month, Guitarist will probably do one next month.

Not sure bonamassa/Clapton/boring blues dude play them so the chances are slim.

Probably more Les Pauls and tube screamers

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/08/d6/30/08d630465999e044ff42e8e8dcf1b3f2.jpg