People who know about guitars

[shes.a.ghost]

I'm looking to purchase another guitar and I am torn on which one I should get next. Eventually I will get both, but I don't know which one to get first. I want each one equally and they are fairly similar in price.


1977 Gibson RD Artist
http://i16.ebayimg.com/03/i/000/f6/11/11bc_1.JPG

!962 Fender Jazzmaster Reissue
http://www.vintage-guitars.se/1964_Fender_Jazzmaster_L44080.jpg

I'm looking for people who actually know what the hell they are talking about. I'm sure most of you will only go by how each guitar looks, but to some of us tone, sound, ect. are more important. But anyone who would like to voice an opinion I would appreciate it. I can't for the life of me pick one over the other.

[patrickhowell]

What guitars do you already have, and what style are you hoping to use your new guitar for? Both of these are very cool, unique guitars, and they are so different from each other.

The '77 RD is so different from most gibsons: a maple guitar, with a 25.5" scale maple neck, and an ebony fingerboard. All of these are very bright sounding woods, but they a very solid frequency response throughout the whole spectrum. Active electronics with VERY cool moog-designed effects (bright, comp/expand). Separate treble/bass controls are really unique too. I haven't been able to use this guitar personally, but the basic "Tone" knob is generally fairly useless on electric guitars... Active treble/bass seems like it could be a good alternative, especially with the characteristics of a maple body. Humbucking pickups, stop tailpiece (no tremolo). If you are more accustomed to Gibson guitars than Fenders, then you would feel more at home with a '79-'82 model, since it has the traditional Gibson 24.75" scale.

The Jazzmaster body shape feels incredible. It's an Alder body with a Maple neck and Rosewood fretboard. Alder isn't quite as good of a tone wood as maple, but it isn't as bright so it feels more under control. Rosewood necks have a warmer, softer tone than Ebony. The Jazzmaster's pickups produce a tone like nothing else. They are closest to a P90, but they're wound very wide and thin, instead of narrow and tall. This gives them a smoother feel that no other pickups have. The tremolo is great, but the bridge design is very, very flawed. If you get the re-issue, expect a lot of buzzing on the bridge and intonation problems. The "Rhythm" circuit is a cool idea, and I really like the way the pots are laid out, but it's not extremely useful unless you're just playing jazz. If you're playing any heavier music, or using a lot of palm mutes, you might want to check out the new Custom Players Jazzmaster that just came out. It has a Tune-O-Matic bridge, instead of the original Jazzmaster bridge, slightly hotter pickups, modern fingerboard radius, and moves the tremolo closer to the bridge to reduce the rattle and buzz.

[Siren Silently]

I've never actually seen an RD before haha. But I'll input on the Jazzmaster.

Firstly, you better know what you're getting yourself into. It's not like a conventional guitar at all, I had a neighbor that bought one because he saw all his favorite surf rockers using one. But it is very susceptible to problems that aren't usually found in a normal guitar. The floating tremolo is very cool as well. It's a very unique guitar open to subjectivity but there are some diehards and purist out there.

[GuitarR0cker1]

Woah those are good guitars!!! I would personally go with the Jazzmaster, from what I,ve heard about it from people but I really don't know much about guitars.

[shes.a.ghost]

I already know everything there is to know about both guitars, but thanks for describing them anyway. Seems most people like the Jazzmaster more. Thanks guys.

[OveriseFan]

What guitar(s) do you already have?

Personally, I'd be all over the Jazzmaster - but I'm not a fan of the RD's body shape, comfort-wise.

[patrickhowell]

I already know everything there is to know about both guitars, but thanks for describing them anyway. Seems most people like the Jazzmaster more. Thanks guys.

Oh, alright. Well, I guess it really just depends on what you're going for as far as feel and sound. They're night and day different sonically.

[shes.a.ghost]

To anyone who is still interested, I got the RD. They are harder to come by than a Jazzmaster, so I jumped at the chance.

[TheSkyline]

To anyone who is still interested, I got the RD. They are harder to come by than a Jazzmaster, so I jumped at the chance.

So.. how is it?

[theguy77]

compared to some others on this site i dont know shit. but i like the tone of the jazzmaster and thought it looked more appealing.

[shes.a.ghost]

It plays and sounds awesome. I kind of gutted it and made it passive instead of active. I saved all the original parts including the moog board just in case I sell it, but it sounds awesome now. I will buy the jazzmaster next. I'll just find a used japanese on ebay a little down the road.

[shes.a.ghost]

So.. how is it?
awesome.

[The Boathouse]

Haha, oh shit. A moog board. Wow. How superfluous. I'm glad it's sick!