I bought a Squier VM Jazzmaster back in 2012, shortly after they came out. Been very happy with it and had done no mods to it. Recently I thought that I would see if I could get it closer to the Fender Jazzmaster I had bought new in the spring of 1965 right after HS graduation and had to sell in the mid 70's. It was a 1964 model, as I bought it before the 1965 models came out. I know the pickups changed that model year and the 1965's also had the bound fretboard, which mine did not have.

I bought a set of Fender '62 Jazzmaster pickups and installed them, but am not happy with the sound. It sounds brighter and thinner than the stock Squier VM pickups. I was not expecting that based on my recollection of the fuller, warmer sound I remember the old one having. Sounds nothing like what I had expected. Would my old '64 Jazzmaster have had RWRP pickups? Can find no info on that?

When I first installed the new pickups I made the mistake of having the neck pickup oriented incorrectly (leads facing the lower control area, same as the bridge pickup). This gave me a very thin out of phase sound when both pickups were selected. I reversed that neck pickup and that helped, but it is still very bright and thinner than were the VM DD pickups. Is my recollection of my old 1964 Jazzmaster that far off? (It has been 40 years, but at the time it was my only electric and I spent a lot of time playing it and gigging with it). Thought I remembered generally how it sounded.

I even changed the tone pot on the lead circuit to a 500k pot and the cap to a .047. Still brighter than I recall the old guitar being, and much brighter than the stock VM pickups with the stock pot and cap.

I am looking for any insight. I visit here a lot, but seldom post here. But, I figured this is the place that would have the most experience and knowledge of these guitars and pickups.

If only my playing skills were somewhat equal to my 50 plus years of experience playing guitar!

A bit. The AV'65s aren't as good as the Jag or Strat pickups, but still good. The AV'62s(AVRI) are darker sounding, and the AV'65s are more transparent. You are getting the sound of the AVRI in the AV'65 but with more top end, its a win!

I did recently put a set of the Fender Pure Vintage '65's in my VM Jag. It was a great improvement. Still has the highs, but not as shrill sounding as were the stock DD pickups.

I was hoping for the same improvement with the '62's in the Jazzmaster. Thought it would put it close to the '64 Jazzmaster I had bought new. Not working out so far. Sounds very thin and has an almost out of phase sound with a lot of highs (much more than the stock DD pickups). Not at all how I remember my old Jazzmaster sounding. Leaves me wondering if I should reverse the leads on one of the pickups.

The '62 pickups came with no wiring diagram, but am assuming that the white wire is the hot and black the ground as were the '65's I put in my VM Jag. Love Jazzmasters, just trying to get this sounding correct.

If only my playing skills were somewhat equal to my 50 plus years of experience playing guitar!

I have a Curtis Novak JM-V and JM-FAT in my guitar, and they have been great pickups. The JM-V in the neck gives that nice classic vintage Jazzmaster tone, and the JM-FAT in the bridge gives the bridge tone a little more girth than the vintage-style pickup. Apparently Curtis' JM-90 (P-90 in a Jazzmaster pickup shape) is another popular choice in combination with the JM-V in the neck. Curtis really knows his stuff when it comes to Jazzmasters and has lots of unique offerings, he also is very approachable and has always answered my questions via email.

I have been spending days trying to find the best vintage sounding pickups for my new Player Vintage Jazzmaster. I was looking for a late 50s sound, not mid 60s.

I found plenty of sample files and videos of Lollar, SD Antiquities, Novak and the other usual suspects, but none of them playing anything surf sounding, so nothing connected with me. Then I found the following video for the Seymour Duncan Vintage and it sounded great to me. I was able to order a set on Amazon.

I have Pure Vintage '65 pickups for my Fender Johnny Mar Signature Jaguar and I love them. I have Pure Vintage '65 pickups in my Squier J Mascis Jazzmaster and they sound great with a little adjustment to my amp EQ controls.

Generally, I find the PV '65 pickups a bit too mid-rangey (harsh, trebly), but when playing live, mid-rangey is typically ideal to cut through the band mix. I also have a '63 Fender Jazzmaster with the original pickiups, which is my standard for that vintage Jazzmaster tone.

I've had, in the past, a Fender '62 Reissue Jazzmaster and I have fond memories of the stock pickups - I liked them and they definitely gave me that vintage vibe.

I put Seymour Duncan Antiquity II pickups in a Fender '66 Reissue Jazzmaster (Made in Japan). They were OK, but I really had to finagle the amp EQ controls to dial in the tone I wanted. However, with the amp cranked at gigs, the Antiquity IIs really opened up and sounded great. I guess at normal bedroom or home office levels, they seemed bland or sterile to me. YMMV.

Good luck in your pickup search!

The doofus formerly known as Snorre
Surfysonic on YouTube
World Famous Philistines: 2014 - 2015
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gv9JADQ4ukw

Last edited: Jun 10, 2020 13:03:01

Oh man that sounds like a dream! After not loving the unwound string screech of the AV65 pickups (in the Wildwood AV65 JM), I contacted Novak and he recommended the standard JM-FAT and JM-V and while they sound great, the screech remains. These pickups honestly don’t even sound that different. Those middle strings (except that banshee B string) could use a boost as well. Damn. Yours sound like they could be perfect. Once work starts up again I think I’m gonna contact them!

Dan Izen

Toneschaser wrote:

The Fender offerings do excite me that much either. I'm using a set made buy the guys at Fountain City Guitarworks in KC. overwound a bit to take some of the top end off. Alnico 5 magnets on the E, A, and D strings for clarity, and Alnico 2 on the G, B, and E for a smoother top end. They sounds very nice! I also have a set of Lollar's in my Thin Skin that I like a bunch too.

Daniel Deathtide