27" Baritone JZA-1

[kuanjb]

Kit arrived this week. Hadn't planned on buying another one just yet but after suggesting baritone necks in the new kit ideas forum and then they being launched so soon afterwards..... well I just couldn't help myself.

So here it is. A JZA-1 with 27" baritone neck. Got it without any hardware, just the body, neck and pickguard. Ash body, maple neck, rosewood fretboard. Looks pretty good.

No major problems which I can see. The neck didn't fit in the pocket for the start, which was expected, but after sitting a few days it now fits quite well. One of the frets has a small rust mark on it but I'm guessing that will come off when I do the fret crowning and polishing so not really worried.

The only thing which surprised me is how heavy it is.

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[JohnH]

Cool! Gotta love a baritone. What are you thinking for the finish?

[kuanjb]

Plans for the build so far:

Going to put in a genuine Fender Jazzmaster trem. Probably either a AVRI or MIJ one with the lock button (so I can do drop tuning if I want without putting all the other strings out).

Already ordered a couple of Jazzmaster pickups from Guitarfetish which come with black covers.

Locking Gotoh tuners also ordered.

Looking at buying or making a new pickguard. I like the shape of the bass vi and p-bass pickguards though so I may copy one of those. Don't have controls at the top anyway so I'd rather see more of the wood. Not sure of the colour yet. Will depend on the finish. Could also do a chrome control plate.

May add more controls rather than just the single tone and volume. I think I'll wait to see how it sounds first though. I can always change it later though it may require additional routing.

Headstock shape still not sure about. It will have some Fender hardware so maybe do a traditional Jazzmaster shape too? Even tempted to get a Jazzmaster waterslide decal.

And the finish...... it is ash so it might be nice to see the grain. So maybe just a simple stain, not too dark perhaps with a slight burst around the edges. It doesn't really have much figuring though. I also really like the metallic Jazzmasters, such as a metallic red or blue. But I also have this crazy idea that I want to try Shou Sugi Ban.

Still lots of things to decide.



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[JohnH]

Sounds good. The shou sugi ban could be interesting

[kuanjb]

Almost forgot about the thing I've spent the most time researching: the bridge. What to do?

Most Jazzmasters come with a bridge which can rock back and forth with the use of the trem. A lot of people don't like them though so there are a few replacement bridges available. They're pretty pricey though and I'm not really sold on them.

The next problem is that the neck has a 12" fret radius, which I'm happy with, but it doesn't match Jazzmasters which have 9.5" or 7.25". This means the bridges won't match.

I'm thus thinking that maybe a TOM style bridge would be better. Perhaps one with roller saddles so as to limit the stress on the strings. I've read that they don't have as good tone or sustain though.

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[Dedman]

I have a roller bridge ( with a Bigsby) on my Jazzmaster along with the GFS pick ups. Sounds great. Baritone should sound awesome! You could also use a Les Trem.
If you go to that style of bridge you will need to shim the neck as they sit quite a bit higher than the fender ones.

[kuanjb]

I have a roller bridge ( with a Bigsby) on my Jazzmaster along with the GFS pick ups. Sounds great. Baritone should sound awesome! You could also use a Les Trem.
If you go to that style of bridge you will need to shim the neck as they sit quite a bit higher than the fender ones.

I think the kit's hardware actually included a TOM and looking at the neck it's set pretty high.

https://www.pitbullguitars.com/wp-co...-1-680x680.jpg

Just put a wraparound bridge on to see the height and I think it might be ok.

[kuanjb]

So I'm thinking of a Wilkinson Roller bridge. It seems to be not too expensive but still good quality. The rollers are apparently at an angle so that they are perpendicular to the strings.

The only thing which I'm unsure of is the exact dimensions. Different sites with what appear to be the same bridge have slightly different measurements. Not sure if there are different versions as there isn't a company website which has the bridge on it.

Oh well I'll take a risk and order one which has measurements closest to the post holes' size and locations in the body. Too bad shipping is almost as expensive as the bridge itself. I wish there were better suppliers in Australia.

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[kuanjb]

Been looking at controls and pickguards. Probably going to go a tele style 4-way switch to get the parallel and series options.

Still not sure about pots. I really like being able to control the blend when using both pickups so I'm leaning towards either two volumes or a volume and a blend. Tone pots I'm still not sure about either. Probably just go a single tone. So it might end up being similar to a Jazz Bass wiring.

And for the pickguard I've been thinking about something similar to a Bass VI. Then I found The Ventures limited edition Jazzmaster which is pretty much exactly what I wanted. Found a picture on this forum: http://www.offsetguitars.com/forums/...ic.php?t=12032
Of course I'll need to modify it or at least work out how I can get the controls I want working with that pickguard. And the current routing too.

[kuanjb]

Been buying parts. So far I have the bridge, tremolo assembly, tremolo bar, neck plate, plug and 4-way blade switch. Pickups, control knobs and tuners in the mail. 1M pots, and some black knobs for the switch and tremolo bar and a black tusq XL but have been ordered. Parts wise I think only a pick guard and some strap buttons is left.

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