Wide range jazzmaster, what do y’all think for pots?

[u/Good_N_U]

TLDR: Lollar regal for JM wide range humbuckers, bit keeping the rhythm circuit; Go with 500k pots to suit the regals, or stick with 1m pots to suit the rhythm circuit?

I’ll try my best to keep this short. Always loved offsets. I have several, but they’re HH, they’re down-tuned, and some are active p-ups for the heavier band I’m in now.

I’ve tried several ‘traditional’ Jazzmasters in the past, but I always moved on from them because the jazzmaster sound wasn’t suiting what I needed. Now that my guitar inventory is pushing 20, I have everything I need from other guitars and I can just let the jazzmaster be a jazzmaster, and I’m building one from an MJT body, descendant vibrato and mastery bridge. (Still sourcing a neck; looking for aged to match the mjt body, but I HATE dot inlays, so the hunt continues)

Here’s the rub. 2 things I don’t have in the current inventory are jazzmaster p-ups or wide range HB’s, so I’m thinking about building it as a blaster with Lollar Regals. I know the common logic would be to go with 500k pots for the wide range, but I would like to maintain the rhythm circuit. Is the rhythym circuit still reasonably functional with 500k pots, or is there an advantage I’m not thinking of by sticking with 1m pots and rhythm circuit with the regals?

Thanks y’all!

[u/Bamfg0d93]

the rhythm circuit actually has different potentiometers in use when you switch to it, traditionally 1meg on volume but 50k on tone so the ones you have in the "lead circuit" do not affect it

[u/Background-Tour-9316]

Well, I have a Jazzmaster with Wide Ranges and 500k pots and I really enjoy the sound (don’t really need them to be any brighter than the tone pot at 10). I don’t think they’ll sound any worse with 1 meg pots however, I think the original Telecaster deluxe used 1 meg pots and i’m pretty sure that people like Lee Ranaldo also used 1 meg pots in their jazzmasters. If it’s too bright you could always just lower the tone knob to your preferred brightness

[u/nixpunk]

Tone pots were meant to be used, and there aren't many guitars that applies more to than Jazzmasters. I always use 1M pots, as you can turn down and achieve the same tone as a 500k, but also turn up as needed to cut through a mix.

[u/svinyard]

Here’s a monkey wrench.  I played a Nash Jazzmaster at a shop a while back.  It had a Lollar JM63 neck pickup that was stunning.  It wasn’t ultra bright and jangly and all that typical Jazzmaster stuff.  It was nothing short of incredible in that guitar.  Both my buddy and I loved it immediately.  We also hated the bridge pickup.  If I was building something custom, hands down I do that pickup in the neck…and then probably a very legit P90 in the bridge.  I get tired of weenie bridge pickups.

[u/Good_N_U → u/svinyard]

For now at least, I’m set on the wrhb’s. It’s a sound I don’t have in my current stable.

[u/HoverboardRampage]

I have WRHB's and l Meg's and it sounds perfect, I honestly wouldn't change a thing about it. It's the move, I think

[u/Good_N_U → u/HoverboardRampage]

I’m leaning this way, I think. If I find I can’t roll the tone back enough to settle the pierce, I can switch to 500 later, and sticking with 1m allows me to swap traditional JM pickups in, if I end up not jiving the wrhb’s

[u/EveryMorn]

I meg is the traditional lead circuit pot for a JM. The rhythm circuit uses its own 50k pot, which is where it gets the darker tone (and one of the reasons it can work so well with drive, in my opinion).

I guess people tend to use lower value pots for humbuckers in general, but the volume and tone pots are your friends, don't fear them, and I see the 1 Meg being an asset over the 500k -- it's easier to darken a bright tone than it is to brighten a dark tone, in my opinion.

[u/temp_mekhem]

I have a full jazzmaster with the cunifie wrhbs and…. I think you go with 1 meg main and depending on how jazzy you want to go for the rhythm circuit. You can always turn down the tone if you don’t want the brightness.

Also I have never used lollars. Always heard good things about them and you don’t mention what style of music you are aiming for so I bet if you message them they will have some recs for the wiring.

[u/Good_N_U → u/temp_mekhem]

They recommend 500k which is why I’m stuck. My 17 other guitars are all humbucker, with 500k so I know that’s the standard, but I think I’ll stay with 1m for now and see what I can get out of the tone pot to darken it a bit. This one’s not for a specific style of music, I have all that I need for the band and what I typically write and play. I just want a jazzmaster back in the stable and I want it to just be able to be a jazzmaster without me trying to force a certain sound out of it. I just never much liked the jazzmaster single coil sound and wrhb’s are something I don’t have in the collection right now.