1963 Jazzmaster vs 2018 Custom Shop

stuartryanmusic

A good friend of mine has a fantastic vintage guitar collection and was kind enough to lend me his all original 1963 Jazzmaster so I could compare it with my 2018 Custom Shop JM. Both are great, I'll let you all draw your conclusions as to whether they differ a lot or hardly at all...

guitars4you

Good to see you again Ryan - Hope you are keeping well in these unusual times - I never knew/thought a Jazzmaster was your cup of tea - That Burg Mist finish looks cool

captainbeeffart

Both sound Great, the white one is a bit warmer sounding, but there's hardly anything in it. Nice playing and demo. thanks

CloudNine

Great vid. To me, the older one seems to have a drier punchier tone, with the CS is a bit more lush sounding. Having done a few similar ABs with vintage and modern guitars, I have found similar to be the case. I always find the old pickups seem to come into their own when there is a bit of gain added.

Whitecat

Not a lot in it, I would have either tbh. Great demo!

earwighoney

I'll say it now, you can really hear the difference the Brazilian RW board makes for the 1963 JM, to the point where the CS guitar isn't even a JM...

A small joke for the cork sniffers (I am reformed, I attend meetings....)

Both guitars sounded superb, but I found the CS one to sound a little more pleasing to my ears.

Really great video though, the editing in particular was 1st class. Fine work @stuartryanmusic ;

grayn

2 wonderful guitars.
To my ears, the CS came out on top and it looks amazing, too.

Rich210

I'm a massive fan of Jazzmasters and offsets in general. I think for me the 63' has just something which draws me in, it just seems cut through and attack me where I want it. You can really hear those notes ring out on a sweet spot. I love it. You cna really hear it in the mix, it so defined and beautiful! wow

richardhomer

I don’t profess to know what a Jazzmaster is ‘really’ supposed to sound like - but I though the CS sounded better.....

monquixote

Cool video.

I've watched a few of these vintage comparisons and you often hear them say "I'm comparing this 65 Strat with a 65 reissue Custom Shop with Texas Specials"

Then they say "You can really tell the vintage guitar has mellowed out with age because the new one is much louder and brighter"

It's the bleedin pickups!

bobbatone

For me the vintage 63’ had more of the qualities I’d like in a jazzmaster. It’s something to do with the attack of the notes that seem to have a percussive snap to them and a bit more clarity. I do think those qualities are more or less important with certain styles of music though so I can see how others may prefer the CS. To me the CS sounded abit more complex and rich, perhaps abit more generic where the 63’ sounded like a classic Jazzmatser to me, especially in the cleaner sounds. 

A nicely shot video and great playing 

Rich210

The creamery vintage jazzmaster pickups remind me more of the 63 than the custom shop. If you like the tone of the 63 I'd definitely recommend them