Gretsch Jet or a Jazzmaster?

[Bertotti]

So what is this guitar at the very start?
Jazz master Jaguar?

 

[Groutsch]

So what is this guitar at the very start?
Jazz master Jaguar?

It's a Jaguar. Shorter scale, and you can see the headstock at 2:22.

 

[Waxhead]

Well, after playing my Gretsch G5622T and my Am Std strat a bunch the last couple of days I do believe I am mainly running into a GAS situation myself. Haha!

That being said, prior to buying my strat I had been in a search for a Jazzmaster but I just had to grab the Strat when I saw it because it was magnificent (see pic). I do love it but have had to add some pedals to get it to be as angry as it looks which has me thinking that the JM would have been a better choice to begin with.

But..do I really need another guitar?
View attachment 127389

Don't understand Viking - did you buy this Strat instead of either JM or Jet ?

 

[Charlie westside]

If you can't afford both.....get the Jet.

 

[Dan_Q]

Go on then, if we’re all sharing the pics, some lovely guitars on this thread- I’m still sold on both:

 

[Armygirl]

I'm a massive Jet fan.. so I'm going with that!

 

[Robbie]

Jet, all day long.

 

[pcns]

My youngest son owns a Jazzmaster and I've played a Jet at a local store. Both are really fine guitars but I am not sure this is an apples to apples comparison to me. My 2 cents is that neither will do (sound like) what the other will do.

The Jazzmaster plays like butter and a smoothness to it and with the oversize single coils (similar to a P90) it can cover a lot of ground sonically but does not cross into Tele territory at all.

The Jet also played great and sounded completely different. Someone in a previous post said it pretty well when the said "Les Paul meets Telecaster". It has a glassier sound to it and a bit of chime.

Both are very interesting guitars.

my 2 cents,
Todd

 

[brunob]

I've the rat rod electromatic,and a Jazzmaster too,what my Gretsch can't do is the sound the jazzaster makes with the 2 pickups together in the middle position ,and I really miss that sound.

 

[Lockupyourfatdog]

I recommend the guild s200 tbird. Super cool, comfortable guitar and really versatile. You can go from single coil to humbucker settings and play just about anything on it. The neck is a little on the fat side though

 

[Bertotti]

Why not a jet or cvt with TVHT pups!

 

[DavyH]

I think I'd go with the Jet; IMO a Jazzmaster is most at home with "Twist Party" Ventures and will want to take you there. A fine place indeed, but not exactly the most modern of venues. It seems that although you CAN get by with an offset when you're the only guitarist in the band, my experience has been that the various Fenders like it better when there's an actual rhythm/ co-lead player onstage.

I do have a MIPRC Jet but it's kinda "meh" in a band situation so it stays home. OTOH my '63 Gent did superbly well last time I had it out, and seems not to need another guitarist around, so I've been thinking a pro-line Jet would do equally as well, and that gold-sparkle '89 is wafting the most delightful GAS at me!

 

[BuddyHollywood]

I like to play rockabilly, surf, punk, blues and I guess metal-ish kind of stuff. So...everything.

Interesting that I have both guitars although I have curveball versions of both.

Here is a picture of both surrounding a 50th Anniversary Epiphone Casino.

The Duo Jet is my ride or die guitar. From my perspective it defines the sound I hear in my head and heart. The Jazzmaster is an HS that I built from parts based on the 2011 Blacktop Jazzmaster. The generic Fender humbucker sounds exactly like a Seymour Duncan JB especially after I took a hair dryer to it to melt the excess wax. This is the guitar I wish existed when I was younger and just started playing. It's a punk rock machine in the bridge and a funky banger in the neck with its Duncan Designed Jazzmaster pickup. The middle position is amazing. My initial reason for building this is I wanted a Fender Les Paul. I found a guy in Brooklyn who made the 24.75" scale length Strat neck.

If I had to choose between these two I would choose the Duo Jet. It is the foundation guitar tone of everything I do. However, these two guitars really compliment each other in the same way Malcolm Young's Jet and Angus Young's SG compliment each other in AC/DC. Here are two tracks where I played both guitars. The Duo Jet is in the left channel and the Jazzmaster is in the right. At the time I still had the Gretsch Dynasonic in the bridge position of the Duo Jet. I have since changed it to a TV Jones Power'Tron Plus. I just prefer having a humbucker in the bridge and a single coil in the neck on most guitars, P90s and Telecaster bridge pickups being the exceptions.




The only issue I would like to mention just so you have all of the facts with both of these guitars compared to the big 3, a Telecaster, Stratocaster or Les Paul is the slightly diminished sustain compared to those. If you're a lead guitar player you can still rock these guitars as many great players do but you will notice. For my playing it's not much of an issue. I have a Strat that I usually use for those soaring single note solos that I attempt when recording.

 

[hcsterg]

This - in Lefty !



Aw, no : nonexistent, pure science-fiction .... Well, as usual !

Or OK, otherwise you can probably find by chance an Eastwood one :



Am I suddenly becoming picky ?

A+!

 

[aloner]

Not my pics but these are the two guitar (models) I have and I find Jazzmasters are a nice counterpoint to Gretsch while also being able to feel like they fit together as well. I think a Jet with Dynas and a bigsby or a Jazzmaster will cover a lot of the same ground tone wise and its really more a personal preference of Bigsby vs JM vibrato, scale length and all that kind of stuff

 

[stevo]

I am always, always tempted by Teles but wonder if the lack of a tremolo will put me off. I suppose I could get a Bigsby put on. Something to think about. Would you say a Tele has more balls than a strat?

Different balls, not more. Tele bridge has more range than Strat bridge - it will crunch, thump, twang, chicken pick. You can easily have a Tele as your only guitar. But it doesn’t get that same kind of chimey/quack/bark like Robin Trower, Jimi Hendrix, SRV, etc. etc.

 

[stevo]

Jet. I’m in the “don’t care for jazzmaster” camp but even if I did…Jet first.

 

[mschafft]

I owned a cheapo Jet Club with TOM bridge which wouldn't stay in tune even with decent upgrades. I have owned dozens of electrics and still can wrap my head around this one's instability.
Came very close to buying a Pro Line Jet with a Bigsby but did not get along with the neck profile, dynasonics and tendency to tilt forward due to the weight of the Bigsby. A fantastic guitar nonetheless.
I still own two hollowbody Gretsches (5420T and 2420T) and a top of the line Jazzmaster (American Original).

It sounds to me like the Jazzmaster design is what you are after.
I would only recommend the traditional type: Vintera (matching headstock) ones look to be the ticket or if you can afford them American Originals (not sure the American Vintage 2's are up to par).

 

[wildeman]

This - in Lefty !

View attachment 202179

Aw, no : nonexistent, pure science-fiction .... Well, as usual !

Or OK, otherwise you can probably find by chance an Eastwood one :

View attachment 202180

Am I suddenly becoming picky ?

A+!

Or a Jetted up one!

 

[stevo]

I owned a cheapo Jet Club with TOM bridge which wouldn't stay in tune even with decent upgrades. I have owned dozens of electrics and still can wrap my head around this one's instability.

Have you had the nut / nut slots properly shaped?