Blacktop Jazzmaster pickup swap

Cernunnos

Hi folks!

This is my very first post here. I've tried to go through some pages in this forum, but I haven't found a similar thread so here goes:

I've got a new Fender Blacktop Jazzmaster (a MIM HS model) arriving presumably next week, and I've already decided to make some modifications, escpecially in the pickup area. I want to put a Seymour Duncan Antiquity II in the neck position - which shouldn't be much of a poblem - but I'm unsure of what to do in the bridge position.

Let me get this straight first - I bought this guitar because of the price tag ($400) rather than because of the humbucker.

Is is possible to just swap the humbucker for a Jazzmaster single coil, or does that require extra work (going lumberjacking on the body, for instance, or more wiring work)? And if not so, and I decide on just another humbucker (I've been checking out the SD SH-14 Custom 5), how do I know whether it fits? What are the measurements of the bridge pickup slot? Will an ordinary SD humbucker (like the SH-14) fit?

Sorry for my crappy English, and thanks in advance,

Rickard

Edit: And while I'm at it - is there anything special I should think about when swapping the pickguard? This is my very first Jazzmaster, so all tips are welcome.

HNB

Cernunnos said:
Hi folks!
This is my very first post here. I've tried to go through some pages in this forum, but I haven't found a similar thread so here goes:
I've got a new Fender Blacktop Jazzmaster (a MIM HS model) arriving presumably next week, and I've already decided to make some modifications, escpecially in the pickup area. I want to put a Seymour Duncan Antiquity II in the neck position - which shouldn't be much of a poblem - but I'm unsure of what to do in the bridge position.
Let me get this straight first - I bought this guitar because of the price tag ($400) rather than because of the humbucker.
Is is possible to just swap the humbucker for a Jazzmaster single coil, or does that require extra work (going lumberjacking on the body, for instance, or more wiring work)? And if not so, and I decide on just another humbucker (I've been checking out the SD SH-14 Custom 5), how do I know whether it fits? What are the measurements of the bridge pickup slot? Will an ordinary SD humbucker (like the SH-14) fit?
Sorry for my crappy English, and thanks in advance,
Rickard
Edit: And while I'm at it - is there anything special I should think about when swapping the pickguard? This is my very first Jazzmaster, so all tips are welcome.

You would need to route to get a regulard Jazzmaster pickup to fit and a different pickguard. You could get a humbucker sized P90 if you wanted a single coil vibe but with no routing. I routed a Blacktop to make it more of a standard Jazzmaster. The marking on the body is where I routed.

IMG_0202 by Hentai No Baka, on Flickr

After it looked like this.

DSC01009 by Hentai No Baka, on Flickr

Cernunnos

HNB//

Ah, okay! Thanks for the explanation and the pictures.

Guess I'll have to stick with a humbucker or a P90, as I just don't dare tamper with the body. Do you know if the Seymour Duncan SH-14 will fit?

HNB

Cernunnos said:
HNB//
Ah, okay! Thanks for the explanation and the pictures.
Guess I'll have to stick with a humbucker or a P90, as I just don't dare tamper with the body. Do you know if the Seymour Duncan SH-14 will fit?

Any standard size humbucker will fit fine. (Or anything that is humbucker size.) 😀

Cernunnos

HNB//

Great! Suppose I'll go with the SH-14 then. 😀

HNB

Nice! Post pictures of your progress. 😀 Those are fun.

Cernunnos

HNB//

I will!

But I've also started to think about the Lace Sensor Dually pickups. I have Lace Sensor Golds in my Stratocaster, and I'm really pleased with them. Do you know if the Duallys would fit in the Blacktop Jazzmaster?

HNB

Cernunnos said:
HNB//
I will!
But I've also started to think about the Lace Sensor Dually pickups. I have Lace Sensor Golds in my Stratocaster, and I'm really pleased with them. Do you know if the Duallys would fit in the Blacktop Jazzmaster?

They would fit fine. Just use the pickup ring that it has to attach the new humbucker. I have a Red/Red dually in my Jag-Stang.

Cernunnos

HNB//

Ah, perfect! How do you find the humbucker tone compared to an "average" Seymour Duncan pickup (like the SH-1 '59)? And does it have the same reduced noise as the Lace Sensor single coils?

HNB

Cernunnos said:
HNB//
Ah, perfect! How do you find the humbucker tone compared to an "average" Seymour Duncan pickup (like the SH-1 '59)? And does it have the same reduced noise as the Lace Sensor single coils?

Reduced noise and you can get them right up almost touching the strings because the way they are setup has less magnetic pull.

Cernunnos

HNB//

Ah, then I'm definetely leaning towards the Lace pickup. And now a totally unrelated question - can I use a Strat pickup cover on a Mustang/Musicmaster pickup?

HNB

Cernunnos said:
HNB//
Ah, then I'm definetely leaning towards the Lace pickup. And now a totally unrelated question - can I use a Strat pickup cover on a Mustang/Musicmaster pickup?

Not sure. I haven't ever had a Mustang pickup before to see what is under it.

Cernunnos

HNB//

Ah, all right. I hade my eyes on a Musicmaster but someone had already bought it, so it's not much of a problem anymore, haha.

I think I'll finally get my Blacktop Jazzmaster tomorrow, and I can't wait to get to work. This is what I hope it'll look like when finished (or preferably a lot better given my MS Paint skills):

I've decided to go for a low-output humbucker, the Seymour Duncan SH-2 Jazz.

HNB

Cernunnos said:
HNB//
Ah, all right. I hade my eyes on a Musicmaster but someone had already bought it, so it's not much of a problem anymore, haha.
I think I'll finally get my Blacktop Jazzmaster tomorrow, and I can't wait to get to work. This is what I hope it'll look like when finished (or preferably a lot better given my MS Paint skills):

I've decided to go for a low-output humbucker, the Seymour Duncan SH-2 Jazz.

The zebra humbucker looks cool. You grab a different BT's pickguard for it? (Sunbursts usually have the black guards.) Are you keeping the stock neck one? It was a b!tch getting the plastic cover off of it for me. I ended up ruining a pickup to do it because it was glued on. (WHY FENDER!?!?! WHY!!!??) I wasn't really trying to save the neck pickup. I just wanted the black cover, but it was still annoying. 😀 Might have to get new pots for the strat knobs since the normal pots have solid posts. Should look very nice. If you are getting new pots, are you going to stick to 500k or up them to 1meg like Jazzys normally have?

Cernunnos

HNB//

I bought a solid black pickguard off eBay, think it cost about $30.

Seriously? They GLUED the pickup cover on? That's incredibly stupid, I just don't get why. I'll try to save the pickup and cover by heating it with steam while disassembling. Do you think that'll do the trick?

As for the pots, I had no idea. Damn. Might as well go 1M if I'm swapping those too. As you might have noticed I'm quite fresh at this stuff - does this one fit? Can I use the same for both the tone and the volume, or does tone require a different type?

HNB

Cernunnos said:
HNB//
I bought a solid black pickguard off eBay, think it cost about $30.
Seriously? They GLUED the pickup cover on? That's incredibly stupid, I just don't get why. I'll try to save the pickup and cover by heating it with steam while disassembling. Do you think that'll do the trick?
As for the pots, I had no idea. Damn. Might as well go 1M if I'm swapping those too. As you might have noticed I'm quite fresh at this stuff - does this one fit? Can I use the same for both the tone and the volume, or does tone require a different type?

I used a razor blade to cut the glue along the sides of the bottom of the pickup, but there is also glue on the top of the pickup as well. Not sure how heat would work. Could give it a shot I guess.

Thost pots should work fine. Hopefully they are US sized. Japanese sized ones have 6mm posts and need Japanese sized knobs to fit correctly. If you have Japanese knobs and try to get them on a US pot, the post is too large. Reverse wise is an issue to. As long as your posts match your knob size, you should be all good. 😀

Cernunnos

I asked the seller first just to be sure, but he hasn't replied yet.

Sorry for all my questions but I've got one more for you - can I replace the switch with a conventional Jazzmaster one, or can I only use a Blacktop switch? Damn, I thought I had bought a pretty Jazzmasteesque guitar apart from the humbucker and tailpiece, but every little detail seems different in some way.

HNB

Cernunnos said:
I asked the seller first just to be sure, but he hasn't replied yet.
Sorry for all my questions but I've got one more for you - can I replace the switch with a conventional Jazzmaster one, or can I only use a Blacktop switch? Damn, I thought I had bought a pretty Jazzmasteesque guitar apart from the humbucker and tailpiece, but every little detail seems different in some way.

That one should be totally fine. 😀

Cernunnos

I'm now FINALLY about to get to work! It took a while to get all the components, and then then Christmas got in the way as well, but I've got everything now and my Jazzmaster is on the surgery table. Can't find a wiring diagram for it though, but it's a pretty simple construction so I think I'll manage with the ones supplied with the pickups.

HNB

Cernunnos said:
I'm now FINALLY about to get to work! It took a while to get all the components, and then then Christmas got in the way as well, but I've got everything now and my Jazzmaster is on the surgery table. Can't find a wiring diagram for it though, but it's a pretty simple construction so I think I'll manage with the ones supplied with the pickups.

Should be fine. Just no upper controls. 😀 Pickups go to the toggle, toggle goes to the volume pot which is connected to the tone pot and jack. 😀