Gibson Les Paul Standard is a waste of money
The USA Les Paul Standard is one of those things many players think is a magic guitar. It's not and no guitar is. What makes a guitar magical is the player and not the guitar itself. Anyone with half a brain knows this.
There is a distinct "honor" that the USA Paul holds. It tests the boundaries of what regular Joes are willing to pay for a mass-produced electric guitar.
At the end of 2013 as I write this, earlier this year the Standard was selling for a whopping $2,600. For a Standard. Not a Custom/Custom Shop model. Not for a "Supreme". Earlier this year, the Standard was selling for that much as a street price, as in the price you would find in a guitar store...
...and that was a huge mistake. It was such a mistake that Guitar Center has deep-discounted the 2013 Standard in Heritage Cherry Sunburst down to $1,849 just to get rid of the overstock in an attempt to clear them out.
Street price was $2,599 and now it's $1,849. That's a $750 discount, which is almost 30% off.
The only time GC ever discounts a guitar that deep is either in an introductory promo for a new model, or when they're overstocked with something nobody is buying and are desperate to get rid of it. The '13 Les Paul in HCS is one of the latter.
Gibson officially hit the ceiling with the 2013 price point. They wanted to see how high they could go before people stopped buying the guitar, and well, they found it.
Did the Fender USA Standard Strats get deep-discounted? NOPE. Even though they're overpriced also at $1,200, Fender was at least smart enough to introduce a "Professional" model at just under $1,000.
Not exactly the prettiest Strat, but the point is you can in fact buy a USA Standard that isn't a "Special" model for under a grand, even if just barely.
But anyway, let's get back to the Paul.
It's widely known that the build quality of USA-made Gibson Les Paul Standard guitars is awful. They keep churning out turd after turd and charging ridiculous prices for said turds. But like I said above, they did hit the ceiling for what idiot guitar players were willing to pay for a high-priced turd. Even the idiots got enough sense to realize the price was too high.
It is totally normal to walk into any Guitar Center in Tampa Bay and see USA Les Paul guitars hanging on wall with a light layer of dust on them. They are always in stock, and many go unplayed. Any day of the week I can waltz into any GC local to me and play a USA Paul...
...and that's not how it should be. USA Pauls should be rare and not available to play any time I feel like trying one out. But instead I find these overpriced turds with layers of dust on them because nobody can afford the frickin' things. When you see the dust, that literally means nobody has bothered to touch it for a a week. Possibly several weeks.
Take the Squier Vintage Modified Jazzmaster I just bought recently. Those guitars are not easy to find in stores, so it was a special experience to play one, and I bought it. Yes, playing a Squier can be a special thing for a hard-to-find model. That's the feeling you should get out of a USA Les Paul, but you don't. Not at all.
USA Les Pauls are the Tiger Games of guitar stores. They're everywhere, they're too common, there's nothing special about them and they just suck. And the fact they're almost always dusty and got a 30% whack in price proves nobody cares about those overpriced turds anymore.
Buy yourself a Heritage H150 (or if you're daring, a Godin Icon Type 2 Convertible) or an Epiphone Prophecy EX instead. You'll be much happier with either, believe me.
my transition to the jazzmaster
I've been playing my Squier Jazzmaster for a little bit, and here's my take on it so far:
I love it. Truly, I do. The Squier Jazz is one amazing axe. I love the look of it, the feel of it, the sound of it... everything about it is just so right.
Do the lengths of strings beyond the saddles ring out sometimes? Yes. Do the saddles buzz sometimes? Also a yes. Does it sustain as much as a Strat or Tele would? Nope, nor is it supposed to because it wasn't designed that way. Even with these idiosyncrasies, I still greatly prefer it over a Strat or Tele.
My playing style on the Jazz is significantly different than when on the Strat. I purposely use a medium-thin Fender pick, pick lighter and it really works out well.
The sound of the Jazz is obviously night-and-day difference compared to a Strat. Those two big-ass Duncan Designed pickups with the alnico V magnets in them are very responsive and bright - but not too bright, which in this case is a good thing.
And let's not forget there are no staggered pole pieces on Jazzmaster pickups, but they're not all the same height either. The pole heights are "curved" very, very slightly. So slight you wouldn't notice unless you specifically looked for it (which I did). The "curve" of the poles follows the curve of the fingerboard radius. On the 1 and 6 they're slightly sunk into the holes, and towards the middle they raise up slightly, but just ever-so-slightly.
Jazzmaster pickups absolutely do not sound like Strat or Tele pickups at all. The Jazz doesn't sound like it has P90s in it either because they're brighter than P90s would be. A Jazzmaster, simply put, sounds like a Jazzmaster.
I can whiz around the Jazzmaster neck like nobody's business because of its offset position. And because the Jazz pickups have more output compared to Strats and Teles, I don't have to pick nearly as hard to get the notes I want.
Another thing that makes a Jazz easier for me compared to a Strat or Tele is that I can feel the notes better. I mean that literally. The Jazz design resonates almost every note played when you can feel the vibration right in the chest. The pick guard is vibrating, as is the bridge, as are the lengths of string behind the bridge, as is the vibrato plate. You can even feel treble-E notes when played.
Now before you say, "That's the tonewood talking!", no it's not because the body on the Squier VM Jazz is basswood, just like my Squier Bullet Strat. It's the guitar design that's talking here.
I have played Strats and Teles with bodies that resonate like crazy, but the Jazz is different in a better way. I prefer Strats/Teles to have a mild amount of body vibration when being played, because anything more than that bugs me on those body styles. The Jazz vibrates more than the Strat/Tele does, but in the way it does it, it feels 100% correct. Why? I couldn't really say. Could be the offset-style body shape, could be that everything is loaded on top compared to string-thru of a Strat/Tele, or any number of other things. Whatever it is, it just feels good.
Is the Jazzmaster the guitar I always wanted? So far, it's looking that way.
Note before continuing: No, I am not trying to make you dump your Strat, Tele or Les Paul for a Jazzmaster; this is just my personal experience with the guitar. If you like what you have and genuinely enjoy playing the guitar you currently own, stick with it.
Why did I go get a Jazzmaster in the first place?
The first time I tried a Jazzmaster was in Guitar Center in Clearwater, Florida. But it was not a traditional setup. Instead it was one of those Jazzmaster Special types with the concentric knobs (middle of knob for volume, "ring" for tone) and no vibrato system. I did not like it. While it was built well, and the best way I can describe the guitar is that it looked, felt, played and sounded generic. Nothing special, even though Special is in its name.
Then in September I tried a Vintage Modified Jazzmaster at Sam Ash in Tampa. It was a Candy Apple Red with the white pick guard just like the one I bought (and for all I know it might be that same guitar). I fell in love with the vibrato system instantly. The guitar just felt so comfortable.
Why didn't I buy it then? Too much.
Then in November I bought a Thinline Telecaster. Great guitar, but it had a grounding problem. Took it back, had it repaired, same problem. Took it back, traded it for an even swap for a Jazzmaster. And that was the right price that time around since I paid $279 for the Tele originally, so technically I got the Jazz for the same price (it ordinarily runs for $299).
ANYWAY... it was a combination of things that made me pick up the red Jazzmaster. First was the look of it. Frickin' gorgeous guitar. Second was that vibrato system I wanted to try out. Third was the big honkin' single-coil pickups.
That combo, as it turns out, is exactly what I wanted.
It needs nothing
When I play the Jazz, I don't think, "Gee... this guitar would be so much better if it had [this, that, the other thing] in it." I don't think that at all. I just pick up and play and not think about those things, because there's nothing on it that needs improvement as far as I can tell.
That, for me, is super-rare with any electric. Whenever I pick up an electric no matter what it is, be it a cheap Squier or a ritzy and expensive Custom Shop Fender, I always feel that something could be better about the guitar. But not so with the Jazz.
It has issues, but I actually like them
The Jazz has wonky issues with it. But here's the thing - they don't bother me. Those wonky issues actually give the guitar good character that I like.
I'll put this in comparison to a Strat just to explain better what I'm talking about.
All traditional-setup Strats have what's jokingly called "Stratocaster reverb" where the tremolo claw springs in the back ring out when you play certain stuff. You'll play a few riffs, stop and hear a dulled "brrriiinnng" noise. That's annoying. So, like most Strat players do, you take off the rear cover, stuff the springs full of paper towels and that kills the ringing noise. Problem solved.
Jazzmasters ring also, but it's all on top since it's a top-loader. And the ring comes from the extra lengths of strings after the bridge to the vibrato plate. This ring is something you can actually use because it makes certain notes sound different in a cool way.
When I first started playing the Jazz, I admit I hated the string ring. But as I kept playing it, I discovered that ring actually contributes some really cool overtones to certain chords and notes. Heck, there's even stuff you can play where that ring adds in a very faint natural chorus of sorts.
The idiosyncratic nature of the Jazz is something that really fits me. I think it's great.
For either this month or when the new year starts I'll be writing some new cool music with it, so watch for that.
so how does it feel now that i finally own a jazzmaster?
I mentioned before that I wanted a Squier Vintage Modified Jazzmaster, and now I finally have one. I've owned it for a very short time, but how do I feel about it? Well, that's what this bloggo is about.
My reasons for buying the Jazz was for tone first and body shape second. A third reason is because it is one of the most "anti-metal" electrics that exists. As far as I'm aware, there are no famous metal players who play Jazzmasters. I like that. A lot. You could even arguably call the Jazzmaster a hipster guitar.
When I look at my Jazz on the guitar stand, I think to myself, "Wow, that's a cool guitar." In fact, it's the first Squier that I truly believe is a premium-grade axe in every way. The tuners are perfect, the neck, while glossed, actually feels right and the maple has a flame to it (yes, really). The rosewood fingerboard is nice and dark. The fret markers are purposely parchment-colored for that cool off-white look. The Candy Apple Red finish is perfect. The pick guard is a 3-ply with a proper thick black mid-stripe. The pickup covers are parchment as are the knobs. And of course there's the chrome. Shiny chrome on the bridge and a big-ass chrome piece for the vibrato plate.
In other words, the Jazz is on seriously swanky guitar. Heck, even the Squier logo on the headstock with the little "swooshes" looks correct. The guitar is just done right from stem to stern in look, form and function.
It's just a great guitar.
from telecaster thinline to jazzmaster in less than 3 days
Yep, new guitar in the barn. But not after owning another one for less than 3 days first.
Okay, so here's the story. I was faced with the choice of doing one of two things. I could either a) "rebuild" my USA Fender Strat with a new replacement neck, electronics and tuners, or b) spend the same money on a new guitar instead.
The Telecaster Thinline
I opted for B, and bought myself a Squier Vintage Modified Telecaster Thinline in Shoreline Gold.
The Squier Thinline Tele is as close to Telecaster perfection as you can get. Everything about that guitar is 100% right, except for one very, very annoying problem. It's not grounded correctly from the factory.
What happens is that when you touch any metal on the guitar (strings, knobs or bridge), the guitar is fine and there's no buzz, it plays perfect and sounds perfect. But when you take your hands off the metal, buzzzzzzzz... I brought the guitar back for repair and a new volume pot was installed. Got it back home, and buzzzzzzz again. I swapped out the cable, checked everything and yep, it was the damned guitar that was doing it.
So I took it apart and tried to figure out the ground problem for myself. Well, as it turns out, the guitar has no ground connection to the bridge plate by design. And I also found that the shielding surrounding the controls was next to nothing, also by design.
To make the Squier Telecaster Thinline not have ground buzz issues, shielding would need to be added, the bridge plate would need to be swapped out with specific mounting screws to better ground it, a wire would need to be run from the pot to the back of the bridge plate, and the bridge pickup would need to be replaced.
In other words, about $150 worth of hardware is needed plus some rewiring just to get the guitar not to have ground buzz problems.
From my research on Telecaster Thinline models, you may or may not get electrical ground buzz issues just because of the way the axe is made, Squier or Fender. The 1969 design (which is what the Squier Thinline patterns after) is just one of those wonky wiring setups that even when done exactly right from the factory, it can and usually does have ground buzz problems.
I also found out the Squier Thinline Telecaster model is being phased out. Now I know why. And because of that I owned my Tele for less than 3 days.
I went back to the guitar store for a refund, but then I went home with a Jazzmaster.
I talked about getting a Jazzmaster before. And after having a bad experience with the Thinline Telecaster, I got my Jazz in Candy Apple Red (which is the color I wanted). This is the guitar I should have bought in the first place instead of the Tele.
In the guitar store I went to (Sam Ash Tampa), they had, amazingly, three Jazzes to try out, and even a few Jags. Nobody ever has these guitars in stock, so it was very cool to play them. The Jag was even in Surf Green if you can believe it. And it was a proper Surf Green and not that "blue with a hint of green" thing.
Of the three Jazzes, one was in Olympic White, the second in Sunburst and the third in Candy Apple Red. Yep, this store had every color except for Sonic Blue. It's rare any guitar store has Jazzes to begin with, but three in three different colors? That basically never happens.
Did like the look of the white one, so I tried the sunburst. It was a buzzy, bongy, ringy mess. Not good.
Tried the Jag, same thing. Buzzy, bongy, ringy mess.
Tried the red Jazz. Only slightly ringy, which is how a Jazz is supposed to be. Played amazingly well. All electronics worked - which is important because the Jazz's electronics are rather complicated.
I had the Thinline Tele with me and had made the decision that I was either going to get a refund for it or take a Jazz or a Jag home with me. I took a Jazz home, and since the price was the same as the Thinline, I didn't have to spend any extra cash. It was an even swap.
My take on the Squier Jazzmaster
Cool guitar, if you understand that the Jazz is a quirky guitar. Even more quirky than the Stratocaster.
A list of things everyone complains about with Jazzmasters:
- The lengths of strings from the vibrato to the bridge ring out "bad" harmonics.
- The multi-groove saddles are too easy to knock the strings out
- The bridge sometimes has a lot of buzz to it
- The vibrato system sometimes has a lot of buzz to it
- The vibrato system puts strings out-of-tune quickly
All true? Yes, but only if you play it like a Strat or a Tele. Basically, what that means is that you can't bang around on a Jazz like you could on a Strat or Tele.
1 and 2 are cured by switching over to a more flexible/flappy pick.
3 is cured by changing your playing style. You can't play a Jazz like a Strat. Change your style and you won't get bridge buzz.
4 is cured by stuffing the vibrato springs with paper towels, exactly the same as you would on a Strat to make its tremolo springs stop ringing.
As for 5, that's the fault of the player and not the system. The Jazz has a "slow" vibrato, and if you use it slow-style, it doesn't put the strings out of tune at all.
What's the best thing about the Jazzmaster?
The sound of it, of course.
In the Squier VM Jazz are a set of big, fat-ass single-coil alnico V magnet pickups; they sound great and have a tonal character that only the Jazz has.
The Jazz pickups are not P-90s. A lot of people think they are, but they're not. They are literally called Jazzmaster pickups. And they do sound different than the P-90 does.
I can't describe a Jazzmaster's sound other than saying it "sounds like a Fender offset-body with singles in it". When you hear a Jazz or a Jag with singles in it, it's very distinctive.
Traditional-setup offset-body guitars from Fender/Squier (Jazzes and Jags) are guitars you either love or hate and are only meant for specific kinds of players who understand what they're all about. They are, without question, the quirkiest designs ever to come from Fender. Nothing about them is "automatic", and they require you to play them a specific way. And I like the way they play.
Yes, I am happy with my Jazz. Great sound, great feel, and unless something goes horribly wrong with the guitar, I plan on keeping it for a good long while.
And yeah, it is ironic that the Jazz, which is a much more complicated guitar than the Tele Thinline is, actually worked 100% while the Tele didn't.
i haven't used a textured pick in months
I've been using Gibson Standard Heavies for a while now, but recently I dug into my pick tin and grabbed a Fender 351 celluloid Medium and started using that again. I forgot how cool using that pick was.
And while out and about recently I decided to pick up a 12-pack of some more Fender 351 picks, this time in ocean color since the local Guitar Center had them in stock. It was either go with ocean or a more green-colored one. I wanted something different, the green and ocean were the two I liked since I already had some red ones, and ocean won out.
Does the color of a pick make you play different? For me it does. There are times when I glance at my picking hand and see the ritzy look of the Fender 351 and yes, it does in fact give me a good feeling.
I'll put it this way. A Fender Premium 351 Celluloid pick is the absolute cheapest way to get a genuine Made-in-U.S.A. Fender product. So even if you don't own an American Stratocaster or Telecaster, you can always get the U.S.A. picks for cheap. That, and Fender without question has the best-looking guitar picks. You see one, you get a little "wow" factor from it because Fender knows how to do image very well.
And even with my Gibson picks, those have "wow" factor as well, because even though they're black, the Gibson logo is metallic gold. There's a little extra added panache in the respect that most guitar stores don't carry Gibson Standard picks, so if you have them, other players will notice just because they're not available in every guitar store.
I thought about something when I picked up the Medium 351 again. I haven't used a textured pick in months. Several months, in fact. There was a time when I was a "Pitch Black Tortex .88 'til I die" type of player, but for a good long while I've been using nothing but texture-free celluloids.
Ultimately, I find that the flappy nature of celluloids brings out Strat tone better no matter what Strat it is be it Fender, Squier or any other kind of Strat. Granted, I do get more clack when using celluloids, but the sound I get with them more than makes up for that.
Picks made of delrin like the Dunlop Tortex are great, but instead of flappy/clacky noise you get scrape because of the delrin texture. For rock and metal that's great. But for everything else it sucks. When you really want strings to "ping", you need picks with flap and clack, and nothing does that better than celluloids. Thinner ones specifically, like the Medium and the Thin from Fender.
An easy way to get inspired when you get bored playing guitar (which does happen from time to time) is just to switch picks. I purposely have a variety in my pick tin just for that reason, because sometimes just picking up a different piece of plastic makes all the difference.