27" Baritone JZA-1

[Fretworn]

Three is probably the easiest to do well, but I do prefer the first two.

[kuanjb]

Three is probably the easiest to do well, but I do prefer the first two.

Yeah I'm really liking the first one and getting a lot of positive feedback for the design. How I'll go actually cutting it out though? We'll see I guess.

I am actually thinking of do the guard in wood. Which may make it even harder. Won't know until I try. I can always fall back to other designs or material if need be.

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[king casey]

How I'll go actually cutting it out though?

I trialled by cutting it out of 3mm MDF. Then use that as a template

cheers, Mark.

[kuanjb]

Can't believe it's been 3.5 years since I last posted. Almost to the day. What happened? Certainly not much with this kit. It's been sitting in a box unloved.

Last weekend I open up the box again. I got busy with shinto rasp, a curved rasp and a file and made the belly and arm cuts much bigger and more comfortable (and closer to a real Jazzmaster). I then took a saw to the neck joint and made it curved like an American Ultra Jazzmaster. There's still a bit more work required to clean it up but not much.



And finally, with that little bit of cut off from the neck joint I tried out a couple of finish options. I can't start on the finish yet though until I work out the controls and pickguard, and hence what I need to change in the routes for the controls and pickups. I recently picked up a Squier Jazzmaster so had a "real" Jazzmaster to compare things to.

It was around this point that I realised something wasn't quite right. The lines didn't quite seem the same as the Jazzmaster, particularly around the neck pocket and lower horn. I'd noticed this earlier when designing the pickguards on the computer but didn't think too much of it as it's a kit and didn't expect it to be exactly the same. Nevertheless, I was making some measurements of my Jazzmaster and comparing them to the kit to try and work a few things out for the pickguard.

And then I made a terrible discovery. For some reason I must have never measured the scale length. I really have no idea why I didn't, particularly given that I had the 27" neck which wasn't the original one for the kit. And as it turns out the neck is too short. The 27" scale length equates to about 686mm (on the neck heel itself it has 685mm written). But, with the neck in the pocket pushed all the way in it only measures 672mm to the edge of the treble bridge post hole, and 674mm to the bass one. With the 11mm diameter that would be about 677.5mm and 679.5mm to their middles. This compares to the 687.7mm + 1.5-3mm according to the Stew Mac fret position calculator. I.e. about 10mm out.

So what can I do now?

I could insert dowels and re-drill the bridge posts. That would certainly rule out any finish which shows the wood grain though, unless I hide that area with a different pickguard design. And it would bring the bridge much closer to the tremlo. The kit has a much shorter body as it is, so not sure that's a great option anyway.

Or I could add in a bit of wood to the neck pocket, which should be hidden under the pickguard. The only issue would be that it's shortening the neck pocket. Funnily enough though it would make it a tiny bit shorter than my Squier (78mm versus 80mm). And now I'm wishing I didn't cut a bit off, even though it was only a couple mm (it was rather long).

At the moment I'm leaning towards the second option. It would certainly make the neck pocket, and hence pickguard, be closer to a real Jazzmaster. It's taken the wind out of my sails though. I may end up putting this one back in the box again and instead continue on with the bass which I also have done a bit of work on.