# NGD - Fender Jim Root Jazzmaster



## JD27 (Mar 19, 2014)

Fedex just dropped off this glorious Jazzmaster. Been waiting for these to be released for a very long time. I already sold my Mexican Deluxe Strat and Korean Tele to buy this and then Sweetwater had an awesome 36 month finance offer. So I just had to buy it ASAFP!  Very cool guitar, has some weight to it as well. It's a nice thick chunk of mahogany. These are more boxy than a standard Jazzmaster and much more stripped down like all his signatures. The neck is modern C shaped, which a like quite a bit. As an added bonus, it is satin finished which I was not aware off. Nice ebony board and fretwork. Has locking tuners that look similar to Sperzels (Edit: Apparently they are Schaller Locking tuners as it also comes with Schaller Security Strap Locks). Came with EMG 81/60 set, not my favorite combo but they get the job done. Probably going to give the 57/66 set a try a some point. Overall very nicely built and I dig the minimalist approach to his signatures. Could see myself grabbing the white strat or tele model he has as well.


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## Dawn of the Shred (Mar 19, 2014)

Congrats and hngd!


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## Noxon (Mar 19, 2014)

Congrats, dude. I have the Strat. It does NOT disappoint.  HNGD!!


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## JoshuaVonFlash (Mar 19, 2014)




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## arielmarx1014 (Mar 19, 2014)

congrats man, I had a squier vintage modified jazz master and love it


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## Michael T (Mar 19, 2014)

Awesome man. Jim has excellent taste in guitars. You cannot beat a big slab of Mahogany for metal.

That is one super cool ax man. Congrats


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## pushpull7 (Mar 19, 2014)

Wow, that really looks good.


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## darren (Mar 19, 2014)

Awesome!


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## AkiraSpectrum (Mar 19, 2014)

what a beauty!


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## JD27 (Mar 19, 2014)

Michael T said:


> Awesome man. Jim has excellent taste in guitars. You cannot beat a big slab of Mahogany for metal.
> 
> That is one super cool ax man. Congrats



Yes he does.  I really like the simple clean look of all his signatures and he enjoys the classics. Can't go wrong with that.


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## jeleopard (Mar 19, 2014)

I... just found out these exist.

Oh.

HNGD. Thanks for the GAS, jerk


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## JD27 (Mar 19, 2014)

jeleopard said:


> I... just found out these exist.
> 
> Oh.
> 
> HNGD. Thanks for the GAS, jerk



You're welcome! It's a vicious circle


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## source field (Mar 20, 2014)

Very cool guitar. 

Fender slays


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## pushpull7 (Mar 20, 2014)

jeleopard said:


> I... just found out these exist.
> 
> Oh.
> 
> HNGD. Thanks for the GAS, jerk






I totally have gas for this guitar, and it's TOTALLY unexpected! I can't afford it right now but looking it over an the specs, it could be on the short list!


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## Endnote (Mar 20, 2014)

Of all of the Jim Root Fenders, this has my favorite shape and color combinations. Is it heavy? (you know, considering it's a Jazzmaster shape and mahogany)


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## JD27 (Mar 20, 2014)

Endnote said:


> Of all of the Jim Root Fenders, this has my favorite shape and color combinations. Is it heavy? (you know, considering it's a Jazzmaster shape and mahogany)



It's not light, Sweetwater had this one at 8lbs 14 oz. Not as heavy as my Gibson RD's though.


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## Daf57 (Mar 20, 2014)

Too cool! Congrats, man!!


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## JD27 (Mar 20, 2014)

Played it for a while last night with Jamup (first time trying app, was pretty impressed). I really love the neck and the satin finish, very smooth playing. Came setup with .10-46s which are very light for me. Going to change them tonight, I prefer 10-52s, got some Cleartones I wanted to try. Needs some minor setup as well, string height is a bit high for me.


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## cwhitey2 (Mar 20, 2014)

Mothersucker.


That thing is HOT.


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## Rojne (Mar 20, 2014)

Looks stupidly clean! HNGD!


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## lewstherin006 (Mar 20, 2014)

Congrats bro! This thing is awesome!


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## darren (Mar 20, 2014)

That thing is *almost* my perfect Jazzmaster. The only things i'd change would be to go with the regular Strat (or Tele) headstock, maybe with a black face. I really don't care for the oversized headstock, and when the whole guitar is black, the natural headstock face just looks out of place. But what an awesome machine. I love the more squared edges on the body, too. Very modern and "hot rod" looking.


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## JD27 (Mar 20, 2014)

darren said:


> That thing is *almost* my perfect Jazzmaster. The only things i'd change would be to go with the regular Strat (or Tele) headstock, maybe with a black face. I really don't care for the oversized headstock, and when the whole guitar is black, the natural headstock face just looks out of place. But what an awesome machine. I love the more squared edges on the body, too. Very modern and "hot rod" looking.



If I were getting this as a custom version, I would probably match the headstock to the body color. I love the large Fender headstock though. I would also want it reversed because I am obsessed with reverse headstocks. I have been wanting to build a Sonic Blue Warmoth strat, reversed headstock, maple board with no markers, white pickguard, and the same vol/pickup configuration as these.


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## warpedsoul (Mar 20, 2014)

HNGD. I love the Jim Root sigs. Wanting the Tele REAL bad! And I love this one as well, but was hoping they would do a red version like the one he has.


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## Chi (Mar 20, 2014)

HNGD! Dayum, I feel you. The way I felt when I unwrapped my Fender JR Tele...that case. His signatures are soooolid guitars man, I'm sure you'll be happy. Rock on.


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## JD27 (Mar 20, 2014)

warpedsoul said:


> HNGD. I love the Jim Root sigs. Wanting the Tele REAL bad! And I love this one as well, but was hoping they would do a red version like the one he has.



I wouldn't be surprised if they rolled one out in the future. Though it seems he plays the black ones more than the others at the moment. Saw a full concert on youtube from 2013 and he was playing a Blacktop Jazzmaster with EMG in bridge and stock Jazzmaster single coil in neck.


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## tupesaku (Mar 20, 2014)

Congrats...that is freaking amazing!!! i've been dreaming about those for ages already....that is definately gonna be my next guitar!


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## spawnofthesith (Mar 20, 2014)

Looks badass, sleek/sexy as hell. Congrats!

I've been gassing for a jazzmaster big time lately, although one with the classic appointments


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## JD27 (Mar 20, 2014)

spawnofthesith said:


> Looks badass, sleek/sexy as hell. Congrats!
> 
> I've been gassing for a jazzmaster big time lately, although one with the classic appointments



I would also be happy with one of these.


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## UltraParanoia (Mar 20, 2014)

HNDG!
I've heard nothing but great things about the Jim Root sigs


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## Harry (Mar 20, 2014)

Congrats man!

Really liking what Fender have been doing in recent years.
Never really been much of a Jazzmaster guy, but looking at the Jim Root model and the Select Carved Maple Top HH I realize now it's more to do with the color schemes/combinations and the trem (which I've never been a fan of really) than the actual body shape itself. 
The body shape is actually very cool and the aesthetics of the Jim Root and Maple Top HH really show how gorgeous it can look.


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## JD27 (Mar 20, 2014)

Harry said:


> Congrats man!
> 
> Really liking what Fender have been doing in recent years.
> Never really been much of a Jazzmaster guy, but looking at the Jim Root model and the Select Carved Maple Top HH I realize now it's more to do with the color schemes/combinations and the trem (which I've never been a fan of really) than the actual body shape itself.
> The body shape is actually very cool and the aesthetics of the Jim Root and Maple Top HH really show how gorgeous it can look.



I always thought the Jaguar, Mustang, and Jazzmaster were cool shapes. But like you said, the trem and the crazy pickup switching always kills it for me.


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## HeHasTheJazzHands (Mar 20, 2014)

Off-topic, but I thought Jazzmaster/Jaguar bridges could be locked?


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## JD27 (Mar 20, 2014)

HeHasTheJazzHands said:


> Off-topic, but I thought Jazzmaster/Jaguar bridges could be locked?



Yes they have a locking feature.

http://www.webrocker.de/jaguar/cms/2007/05/12/setup-the-tremolo-system/


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## JD27 (Mar 25, 2014)

Something arrived in the mail today. What could it be?






EMG 57/66 set!






Kicked the 81/60 set to the curb. These actually pull of a PAF like vibe. The 57 has more mid range then the 81s and has better dynamics. Sounds great tuned to Drop C right now. The 66 isn't to far off from the 60, maybe a bit smoother and more mids. Between these and the JH set I am pretty impressed with the new EMG lines.


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## pushpull7 (Mar 25, 2014)

Looks tight man! Er, dumb question, those are snap and fit like all emg's, right?


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## JD27 (Mar 25, 2014)

chrisharbin said:


> Looks tight man! Er, dumb question, those are snap and fit like all emg's, right?



Yes, they are quick connect. And all EMG sets come with the solderless wiring kits now in case you are moving over from passives.


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## sol niger 333 (Mar 25, 2014)

Gorgeous bro. I have the HH jaguar baritone special. This looks even cleaner, especially with the ebony board. I actually think the 70s head makes it. Really classy fiddle. Enjoy!


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## craigny (Mar 25, 2014)

Awesome!!! congrats.


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## chandler1389 (Mar 26, 2014)

Congrats on the sick guitar and pickups man, very jelly right now.

Also do these come in red or crème as well like Jim has or just black?


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## JD27 (Mar 26, 2014)

Just black right now.


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## cavitation (Mar 26, 2014)

Relevant as h*ll to my interests

I just got a used JR tele off the forum here. It plays awesome but I am not really digging the 81 with the maple neck brightness of the tele. Will the 57 calm that down a bit? I don't need anything quite so hot. Either way, HNGD!


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## tastehbacon (Mar 26, 2014)

Tone clips nao!


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## JD27 (Mar 26, 2014)

cavitation said:


> Relevant as h*ll to my interests
> 
> I just got a used JR tele off the forum here. It plays awesome but I am not really digging the 81 with the maple neck brightness of the tele. Will the 57 calm that down a bit? I don't need anything quite so hot. Either way, HNGD!



Funny you mention that about the maple boards. He talked about shying away from using them for that reason. It might help some, the 57's have a lot more mids and are more balanced than the 81s which are more scooped. The only guitar I have ever kept 81's in is my JH-600. Everything else with the 81/60s and 81/81s just never really thrilled me.


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## cavitation (Mar 27, 2014)

JD27 said:


> Funny you mention that about the maple boards. He talked about shying away from using them for that reason. It might help some, the 57's have a lot more mids and are more balanced than the 81s which are more scooped. The only guitar I have ever kept 81's in is my JH-600. Everything else with the 81/60s and 81/81s just never really thrilled me.




Interesting video and point taken about the maple board. I am looking at grabbing an 85 maybe as that has been the "prior to HetSet" suggestion as far as swapping out an anemic sounding 81. I figure if I swap out the bridge with something a little smoother or warmer sounding as opposed to the 81; I will know whether the actives stay or go. I really don't want to spend any money but hopefully I can offset pickup replacement costs by selling the existing emgs. They are in mint condition.


JD27 said:


> Yes, they are quick connect. And all EMG sets come with the solderless wiring kits now in case you are moving over from passives.


So if I do go the route of passives; will I need to get a different volume pot and rewire the whole thing?


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## JD27 (Mar 27, 2014)

cavitation said:


> Interesting video and point taken about the maple board. I am looking at grabbing an 85 maybe as that has been the "prior to HetSet" suggestion as far as swapping out an anemic sounding 81. I figure if I swap out the bridge with something a little smoother or warmer sounding as opposed to the 81; I will know whether the actives stay or go. I really don't want to spend any money but hopefully I can offset pickup replacement costs by selling the existing emgs. They are in mint condition.
> 
> So if I do go the route of passives; will I need to get a different volume pot and rewire the whole thing?



New volume pot and jack (I think you can use the jack, but you probably want to replace it if you sell or reuse the EMGs since they need it for the battery). Also need to ground passives to bridge. Probably already a pre-drilled hole to cavity so you can do this. Wire may even be present as well and taped off unconnected in the control cavity.


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## Blood Tempest (Mar 28, 2014)

That is god dang beautiful!!! Super HNGD to you, sir!


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## sylcfh (Mar 29, 2014)

I don't know single a person that can tell the difference in recorded tone between fretboard woods. It's silly. A brass nut will add more brightness than any wood possibly could. 



Heavy. So much tonewood. 


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LhOYflyfOPM


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## dominic252 (Mar 31, 2014)

HNGD!!! Been on the lookout for the tele version myself lately.


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## Steve Naples (Apr 9, 2014)

Very nice, I just ordered the Tele in white, can't wait to get it.


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## DanakinSkywalker (Apr 9, 2014)




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