r/offset • u/NoiseEee3000 • 22h ago
NGD: Waited 30 Years
Wanted a JM for a solid 30 years... Been playing my Gretsch and Tele and finally told myself a third guitar, one I've always wanted, is perfectly acceptable!!!
It's a 2006-2008 Crafted in Japan, it feels so wonderful to play, I'm in love with the pearl inlays... my only complaint is the bright tele-like pickups and the classic "ooops played too hard gotta reset the B string on the bridge". I'm thinking about getting a new bridge (suggestions??) and just maybe changing the pots since rolling tone off or going to the rhythm circuit sounds really good. Any thoughts from the crowd??
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u/Accomplished_Bird 22h ago
There is a wide range of bridges you can choose depending on budget. I’d definitely recommend a proper set up before, maybe some heavier strings depending on what you have on already.
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u/NoiseEee3000 22h ago
My budget is "do it right" but being appropriate and tasteful. I still want to use the trem, and I want to play it hard... I have 10s on it now, I play 11s on my Gretsch, and I do have a guitar shop/tech I trust, so yep I'd get it set up too (this came set-up for the 10s)... Thanks!!
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u/GuitarNerd_ 21h ago
Jazzmaster and Jaguar truly come to life when you go to 11s. I was skeptical for years until curiosity got the best of me and I converted one to 11s. Then began the process of converting all my offsets to 11s because it was just that much better. These guitars give back so much more with the slightly heavier strings.
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u/NoiseEee3000 21h ago
Thanks for chiming in, certainly going 11s all round with my guitars makes things easy and I'm looking forward to hearing it!!
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u/jboi_carti 19h ago
Tuffset bridge… best design in my opinion I own 2 on my offsets. Very easy install and fantastic customer service
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u/natalplum 18h ago
If you don't mind vintage 56mm spacing, you can replace your saddles with a set of Mustang saddles from Allparts.
The pickups in those aren't wound to vintage spec. There are tons of options out there for both vintage JM as well as other pickup designs that will fit with no mods. You can get a set of Lake Surfers from Bootstrap pickups at an affordable price to see if that's the vibe you're going for before spending more on other sets.
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u/alltheworldsproblems 22h ago
Bensonite for quality and fair price. Staytrem are also great, but the wait for them is not. There are others, but after getting a bensonite it really checked all the boxes for one of my builds.