Our goal with our Custom Shop Jazzmasters was to make the absolute best sounding and playing JMs out there. Seems pretty simple right? Combining a mix of vintage specs, and modern mods we think you’ll agree that we hit the mark. From 1958 to 1966, our “Chicago Special” Jazzmasters have a 7.25” radius, a slab rosewood fretboard, and a rift sawn maple neck. The magic really happens under the guard with the combination of a 250k volume pot and our Chicago Specials. Based on a set of 1961 Jazzmaster pickups, George Bland helped us craft our set to have higher output in the neck position than the bridge. The bridge pickup is slightly overwound giving it a smooth and round presence, while the neck pickup is moderately overwound giving it a huge bottom end with with round highs. Both Alnico 5 pickups are potted in shellac to give them a wide and open dynamic range, and wound with 42 gauge enamel wire. When you put everything together, you get the most balanced Jazzmaster on the market!
"Chicago Special" Jazzmaster® pickups
- Custom set modeled after CME's favorite 1961 Jazzmaster AlNiCo 5 magnets
- 42 gauge enamel wire for round highs
- Potted in shellac for open wide range frequency response
- BRIDGE: Slightly overwound for high end punch but still still smooth and round
- NECK: Moderately overwound for huge bottom end but with clear, round highs
NOS (New Old Stock) is built without any relic or wear at all. For vintage-inspired instruments, it feels as if you went back in time and bought it new in the golden-era. Most are finished with nitrocellulose lacquer and in those instances you should expect the finish to age similarly to their vintage counterparts. However, some modern-era Custom Shop creations in NOS are finished in polyurethane, which is far more durable and will likely remain glossy and lustrous for decades to come with proper care.
