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-   -   Lee And Thurston Signature Guitars (http://www.sonicyouth.com/gossip/showthread.php?t=32021)

Tweng 07.08.2009 07:52 AM

will those humbuckers be sold seperately ?

demonrail666 07.08.2009 04:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sonic Youth 37
There's no way Fender would use an aftermarket bridge on a signature Fender built guitar.


I think they put Joe Barden pickups in Danny Gatton's signature Tele.

acdc518 07.08.2009 07:07 PM

mastery is way too small of a company to be able to make enough bridges for these guitars.

just get one from there site. waitlist is like 3-4 weeks i think

Moshe 07.09.2009 01:23 AM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jPxgC...layer_embedded

e_s_d 07.09.2009 07:08 AM

Hmm hmm... SY didn't start using JM's till the latter part of the 80's?... I never noticed that.

jockme 07.09.2009 02:29 PM

O Man. I'm going to be broke.

e_s_d 07.09.2009 06:38 PM

Still... The guitar Lee is holding in that video seems way more tasty than the signature version...

Chris Lawrence 07.09.2009 08:36 PM

http://www.sonicyouth.com/mustang/eq/gtr72.html

Bal 07.15.2009 04:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Perfume-V
I wish these came with mastery bridges but those bridges run at $160 and would drive the price of the guitar up. Also MB cannot even keep up with their current orders so I doubt they would be able to fufill an order from Fender... yea it makes too much sense why they wouldn't be mastery bridges but I wish they were.


is there really such a big difference between bridges so that they replaced the fender ones immediatly?
im just curious here.. i have nooo idea about guitars

Sonic Youth 37 07.15.2009 09:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bal
is there really such a big difference between bridges so that they replaced the fender ones immediatly?
im just curious here.. i have nooo idea about guitars


The one on Thurston's is the Fender version of a Tune-o-matic. The same bridge is on my Mascis Jazzmaster and it ssssssuuuuucccckkkkksssss.

tdbajus 07.16.2009 03:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by swa(y)
haha...seriously, like who the fuck are you?


The Lone Ranger, a Jazzmaster on my back, and an understanding of inflation calculators. The price of guitars has remained sort of constant. Be glad you are not a cellist, and have to shell out 100K for your instrument. Not that I wouldn't want to have Fender rescind their 30% price increase. Sigh.


Quote:

Originally Posted by Sonic Youth 37
The one on Thurston's is the Fender version of a Tune-o-matic. The same bridge is on my Mascis Jazzmaster and it ssssssuuuuucccckkkkksssss.


I have 3 Jazzmasters- a '64 with a Novak JM pole piece humbucker in the bridge position, and a mustang bridge. After 20 years of using the mustang bridge, you get used to it, though it does feel kind of cheap and flimsy.

I have one of the Mascis reissues. I put in a set of Novak jazzmaster pole piece humbucker pickups, and that crappy fender tune-o-matic bridge, which pops strings more than the stock jazzmaster bridge. The guitar weighs about a thousand pounds. Why do I play it all the time? Every time I pick it up, I write another song, until my back starts complaining. There are some drop-in bridge replacements I should try. Maybe I should tie some helium balloons to the neck and body.

My 3rd JM is a '63 body with an allparts neck on it, Lollar p90s, and a mastery bridge. I'm not sure how I feel about the Mastery- it is very well made, works the best out of all of the bridge replacements I have tried, but it doesn't sound right. Not sure why. I'm going to pop the buzzstop I had on that guitar, and see if it regains the sound it had before. Anybody else think the Mastery changed the sound of their guitar?


Also- I have yet to find a single place that has any of the SY Jazzmasters- sweetwater, guitar center, musician's friend all have no listing for them. Has anyone actually laid eyes on in a store?

Sonic Youth 37 07.16.2009 09:33 PM

I'm going to have to do something with the bridge, I'm think about trying wax dipping. The frets are just as bad. It feels like a bass.

lo-fi suicide 07.18.2009 05:58 AM

$1500 on ebay
thanks god i bought a normal AVRI yesterday

hirsute_biped 09.22.2009 02:39 PM

i am going to cross pollinate my posts on this topic:

i would like to have a look at the zine as well. it seems like these should be available to SY fans who are also guitar players/enthusiasts without purchasing the sig. guitars. i wanted to comment on this in the original thread, but never got around to it.

I am glad Fender recognized them, its cool that it happened, but I couldn't justify buying one. It seems like non-affluent players into the spirit of SY would be more into searching out and finding their own styles, innovations, etc...

Coincidentally, there was a recent reissue of vintage low-buget Harmony guitars like the ones SY used in the very beginning. check 'em out: www.harmonyguitars.com
you could get one of their reissue-vintage "H15 Bobkats" (or a cheaper actual-vintage one from eBay) , carve a bunch of X's on it, replace the bridge with a shattered drumstick secured w/ ducktape, attack w/ a file, and have a replica of the "battle scarred harmony" from the sonicyouth.com gearography! BURNING SPEAR!

A few years ago I bought a cheap vintage Harmony "H19 Silhouette" (yet to be reissued) which was the top-of-the-line solid body model by this bottom of the barrel low-buget company from the 60's. Its a little closer to the Jazzmaster than the "Bobkat" model, has tunomatic style bridge and JM-like tremelo. I put nicer tuners on mine, and it looks like these Harmony reissues have them too. The tuners on the old ones were the weak link (and the wooden bridge on some of them like the bobkats). Its really fun and has vintage weirdo cool vibe. Mine has some dings here and there, but I elected not to thrash mine like the youth did theirs. Maybe i would if i could afford more guitars. My exhaustive study of the SY gearography page and T's Harmony definitely influenced my purchase. 60's harmonys are cool but in the 70's they were bought out by some big conglomerate and moved production to asia, supposedly quality went downhill, and style certainly did.

For those who feel that buying/building cheap low-budget and/or strange guitars is more their route (i remember people saying this on the old thread (this thread)) here is a link to SUBWAY guitars in Berkley, CA, whose store I have not visited yet but is on my list of things to do. This cantakerous dude bought all the old part stock when the original Danelectro shut down, and has been building weird low-budget guitars according to his and his customers whims and eccentricities for approximately a generation:
www.fatdawg.com

also for custom building and parts, there is www.warmoth.com
they have jazzmaster bodies/neck/pickgurads/etc...

cheers to all

p.s. i am not excited by the sig. model's colors, black headstock, etc... it would almost have been cooler if Fender had done an exact replica of the dings and scrapes on some of their original jazzmasters like they did for the Jeff Beck sig. model, or Rory Gallagher i think it was. those guitars were seriously beat up, and looked cool. but fender charges a boatload of money for such uber-detailed "aging" treatments, which would drive the price up by thousands. since i'm not going to get one anyway, it would be more fun to look.

I have thought about trying to find a cheap "Drifter" LP-copy like the original SY monster and relicate their modifications/thrashings.

RanaldoNecro 11.29.2009 02:42 PM

Does anyone know if Thurston or Lee use either any CIJ Jazzmaster models?

Massenvernichtungswaffen 11.30.2009 04:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lo-fi suicide
$1500 on ebay
thanks god i bought a normal AVRI yesterday


Hey man! You're Silentium VK from OSG, eh??
I'm ZenJenga on there (formally Skiptracer)

ricechex 06.29.2010 05:30 PM

Hey kids, i ordered the Lee Jazzblaster! I'm not normally into signature guitars so here was my reasoning. I have a Fender strat and wanted to stay far away from areas they both sort of roam, thus the diff take Lee has with his appealed to me. I am a bit concerned it won't sound enough like a jazzmaster but at the same time excited over the wide range humbuckers. One of the bands i play in does need some muscle where those pups should thrive. Also, the appearance is sick. Never thought i'd play a blue guitar but damn it's hot. The purchase just makes sense to me. I needed to enter a new mach phase in my playing and this should ser inspire me. I've been opining a jazzmaster for 20 years!

I'll let you know how it all turns out.

______________________________

band url: www.zigmanbird.com

scott v 06.30.2010 04:18 PM

yeah i'm curious...

i just built my own "poor man's" jazzblaster bought a fully loaded warmoth/all-parts body and electronics on ebay. it had epiphone P90 p-ups and i tossed those out (they were way too noisy, even with all the body cavity shielding it was worse than strat single coils!) put on seymour duncan humbuckers (stock ones from my squier jagmaster), i had a brand new 22 fret squire stratocaster neck that was just laying around for years and finally found a use for! it sounds ok, has just abit too much harmonics bleeding around because of those hi-gain humbuckers... its gonna need some serious setup action is its currently sorta high as i think i need to shim the neck (something i wanted to avoid entirely) as i got abit too much string buzz on the mustang bridge as the the string angle behind the bridge is not "steep" enough to counter the bridge buzz... spent alot of time setting it up already, jazzmasters are notorious for being a PAIN to setup and intonate...i did buy one of those "buzz stops" (s. malkmus has one on his jazzmaster) that go onto the tremolo system, but i'm avoiding putting that one on too because i hear it really changes the sound of the jazzmaster (losing the natural harmonics created behind the bridge) but it does rid the bridge buzz and adds sustain suposedly. i don't want to spend alot more money on this guitar and trying to get it so i can play something i can live with and i'm getting close, so getting a mastery bridge is outta the question... the one thing i'm willing to get at some point are replacement wide range humbuckers once the setup is good enough.

goto the Offset Guitars Forum... alot of good info to be had there...

krastian 07.04.2010 07:57 PM

Man, when I saw this thread bumped I was afraid there would be a link to Lee's Jazzmaster that I just scored off Ebay!! He he.

But yeah, it's time to move on from the Mexican Strat that my parents got for me in 1994.

Can't wait to get it.

ricechex 07.05.2010 08:53 AM

I like the the Lee guitar. I've only had it a few days and had one full band rehearsal, but it's very even sounding and clear, responsive, in all areas of the neck. It doesn't have that characteristic Jazzmaster sound as much as i would like, only slight negative, prob due to the pups, but so far lots of potential. Still getting used to it. Tomorrow i have reh in my heavier, more serious group, so I'll have a lot more to say after that. Plus i need a new distortion pedal. My old Tube Screamer isn't giving me enough juice at the moment for leads.

I think you'll dig the Lee. It's light, beautiful, and versatile as hell.

sculley 07.09.2010 02:46 PM

I'd be interested to know which of the two guitars ends up selling more.

ricechex 07.10.2010 04:49 PM

Prob Lee's. I think it would appeal to the SY fan just a nut more; reason being the pups are more unique. The Seymour Duncan Antiquity is in Thurston's and the Fender Wide range in Lee's. So Lee's humbucker are a bit better for distortion imo, fuller and very clear.. and a warm jangle too. What partly sold me on Lee's was hearing the Thurston model could be almost too bright and shrill at times. That's only a couple people's take but that scared me off. My Lee doesn't really sound too much like anything in part..not a Fender, a Gibson et..it just sounds like a great sounding axe that can do pretty much anything.

I hope to have a pic up soon of my Lee.

hirsute_biped 12.16.2010 02:47 PM

so i was looking through the customer gallery at Warmoth custom guitars, and came across this entry:

Eric Baecht
Warmoth body, vintage 1964 Jazzmaster® style neck, Mastery Bridge, vintage pat pending tailpiece, Seymour Duncan Antiquity II pickups. Custom built for Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth.

http://www.warmoth.com/gallery/image.../greenjazz.JPG

http://www.warmoth.com/Pages/Gallery...pe=MISC_GUITAR

(for second link you have to scroll through many guitars, T's is just past hideous carved "seduction" model)

Maybe it was a trial run before the Fender-Custom shop produced ones? Not sure that makes any sense though... Eric Baecht is the Sonic Youth guitar tech, and those do look like Lee's Jasper Johns-imitating Target painted grillcloth amps in the background. Note natural headstock color, not the black (which I never liked). Probably MUCH cheaper than the fender version. not sure if that pickguard is plastic or whatever metal was used on the sig model.

Couldn't find any equivalent of the Lee sig model on this site, though I'm sure they could do it...

Warmoth is really cool, I wish I could afford to order some custom guitars from them. I'm thinking a thinline '72 tele baritone with bigsby, dark colors, maybe all black. Maybe in a few years...

Chris Lawrence 12.16.2010 03:13 PM

I think that's this one: http://www.sonicyouth.com/mustang/eq/gtr123.html

krastian 12.17.2010 09:08 PM

I've had Lee's signature Jazzmaster for 4 or 5 months now. It's fucking amazing. Great tones, loud as fuck, and a blast to play. It's easily the best guitar I have ever owned.

I could take some pics here over Christmas if anybody would like to see some closeups or whatnot.

hirsute_biped 01.27.2012 01:50 PM

build your own drifter: start from well-preserved vintage original to thrashed mutant

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Drifter-elec...ht_720w t_907

there is a bass too:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1973-SG-Bass...item2c610c6ccb

cross posted b/w "SY on ebay" & "T&L signaute guitar" threads

hirsute_biped 01.28.2012 03:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hirsute_biped
build your own drifter: start from well-preserved vintage original to thrashed mutant

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Drifter-elec...ht_720w t_907


there is a bass too:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1973-SG-Bass...item2c610c6ccb

cross posted b/w "SY on ebay" & "T&L signaute guitar" threads



This one has white binding and headstock engraving not seen on the SY drifter. Hard to tell from the photos but this one might have a slightly carved top, SY drifter looks like it was flat top.

Lee is Free 02.02.2012 03:16 PM

Can I chime in here for a minute? I don't begrudge anybody their opinion but some of this discussion is so off base (yes, suchfriendsaredangerous, I'm looking yr way, for one...) that I just have to respond. It s correct, when we were coming up we would never have spent $£€ on gtrs like these-- we were only gonna beat em up, why buy new ones when there were so many used ones out there at good prices? We never spent more than a few hundred dollars on instruments, becuz we couldn't afford it but even later when we could, it seemed crazy t pay the kind of prices new gtrs sold for, even then. But back then you could get the real REAL vintage Jazzmstrs (like late 50s/early 60s--no shit) for a few hundred bux. Before the market for "vintage gtrs" became insane (which is why I still don't own a nice 50s-60s oD-18 or D-28...grrr). And I will agree that many of the sig gtrs out there are just glory-branding for the companies, made in Japan or whatev, and not always very good. BUT I have t say that the Lee'n'T models were built to our (and our tech guys) exacting specs, and w Fenders full cooperation to build a pair of gtrs that were as close as possible to what we play onstage. Which is why I play mine at every SY gig, in the mix w all my other 'blasters, both vintage and recent (in fact I have quite a few recent, Made is USA ones, like my coral and green ones, that are, to me, as good as the old ones...), and it certainly holds its own against any of them. That, and the fact that gtrs go for crazy money today, accounts for why ours are not cheap---all made-in-usa and quality parts to our specs... Just sayin, folks...

--Lee

SuchFriendsAreDangerous 02.02.2012 08:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lee is Free
Can I chime in here for a minute? I don't begrudge anybody their opinion but some of this discussion is so off base (yes, suchfriendsaredangerous, I'm looking yr way, for one...) that I just have to respond. It s correct, when we were coming up we would never have spent $£€ on gtrs like these-- we were only gonna beat em up, why buy new ones when there were so many used ones out there at good prices? We never spent more than a few hundred dollars on instruments, becuz we couldn't afford it but even later when we could, it seemed crazy t pay the kind of prices new gtrs sold for, even then. But back then you could get the real REAL vintage Jazzmstrs (like late 50s/early 60s--no shit) for a few hundred bux. Before the market for "vintage gtrs" became insane (which is why I still don't own a nice 50s-60s oD-18 or D-28...grrr). And I will agree that many of the sig gtrs out there are just glory-branding for the companies, made in Japan or whatev, and not always very good. BUT I have t say that the Lee'n'T models were built to our (and our tech guys) exacting specs, and w Fenders full cooperation to build a pair of gtrs that were as close as possible to what we play onstage. Which is why I play mine at every SY gig, in the mix w all my other 'blasters, both vintage and recent (in fact I have quite a few recent, Made is USA ones, like my coral and green ones, that are, to me, as good as the old ones...), and it certainly holds its own against any of them. That, and the fact that gtrs go for crazy money today, accounts for why ours are not cheap---all made-in-usa and quality parts to our specs... Just sayin, folks...

--Lee

So now I have been called out by both Jim and Lee directly and personally on SYG, my relationship with SY is completed and my legacy secured ;)

hipster_bebop_junkie 02.02.2012 08:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SuchFriendsAreDangerous
So now I have been called out by both Jim and Lee directly and personally on SYG, my relationship with SY is completed and my legacy secured ;)

Shame that all your merits for that have consisted of the act of trolling, though.

SuchFriendsAreDangerous 02.02.2012 08:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hipster_bebop_junkie
Shame that all your merits for that have consisted of the act of trolling, though.



that wasn't trolling, my criticisms of the sig guitars were serious though speculative, and I'M the one who actually posted the specs, and then agreed that my criticisms were a bit exaggerated in that these guitars weren't so bad, though I still think signature guitars in general are in poor taste.

to Lee.. maximum RASpect

the ikara cult 02.02.2012 08:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SuchFriendsAreDangerous
that wasn't trolling, my criticisms of the sig guitars were serious though speculative, and I'M the one who actually posted the specs, and then agreed that my criticisms were a bit exaggerated in that these guitars weren't so bad, though I still think signature guitars in general are in poor taste.

to Lee.. maximum RASpect


I dont know anything about guitars, its not the kind of thing that interests me, but if its a debate about guitars between lee ranaldo and you... you can understand whose side im going to take more seriously, i hope

Lee is Free 02.03.2012 10:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SuchFriendsAreDangerous

to Lee.. maximum RASpect



Back atcha dude---
L

SuchFriendsAreDangerous 02.03.2012 01:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lee is Free
Back atcha dude---
L


You must spread some Reputation around before giving it to Lee is Free again.

Lazewski 02.03.2012 03:08 PM

I use to really be interested in Cobain's JagStank guitar. Then I realized T & L had their own signatures. Must have.

SuchFriendsAreDangerous 02.03.2012 11:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lazewski
I use to really be interested in Cobain's JagStank guitar. Then I realized T & L had their own signatures. Must have.



The jagstang was a good idea that never really materialized quite the way it was initially intended. It was supposed to be the best of both those guitars, and in some respects it has turned out to be the worst. Of course, it is a gorgeous guitar, and not entirely bad, plus I understand lefties like it :)

hirsute_biped 02.04.2012 02:39 PM

indeed, maximum respect to Lee, ringing from all corners

Ghostchase 02.05.2012 11:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chris Lawrence


I like! The green fits Daydream perfectly.

And hey Lee, thanx for yr post and giving these gtrs yr stamp of approval!

Bakesalee 02.06.2012 05:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SuchFriendsAreDangerous
The jagstang was a good idea that never really materialized quite the way it was initially intended. It was supposed to be the best of both those guitars, and in some respects it has turned out to be the worst. Of course, it is a gorgeous guitar, and not entirely bad, plus I understand lefties like it :)


It's not the worst of anything. I have one, it's just a Mustang with a weird body. The neck is a mustang neck. The bridge, tailpiece, vibrato system, control plate, switches, dials - everything - it's literally made with Fender Japan Mustang parts. The wiring is just like that of a Mustang (on/off/phase). Sounds like a Mustang, feels like a Mustang, it's a Mustang with a big butt. Bought it brand new in 1996 for $315. Value and a half.

http://www.offsetguitars.com/forums/...hp?f=6&t=42633

hirsute_biped 03.08.2012 06:51 PM

does anyone want to take responsibility for this?:

http://www.offsetguitars.com/forums/...hp?f=9&t=29513

pretty rad


 


looks like the bridge was moved to be in a longer scale (bass proportions?), don't think the SY drifter(s) did that.


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