Hello fron Burbank CA

[Joelorigo]

Hi everyone! I just registered yesterday.

I found this site because I am researching the Doheny, which I'm interested to solve my long time interest in a Jazzmaster. So any opinions would be welcome. I like the idea of the Doheny bridge, pickups and tone controls, Seems like the Doheny can do what a Jazzmaster can do, and more. But, being left handed, I'm having trouble finding one to try out in person.

I have a G&L ASAT Classic that I bought from True Tone Music in Santa Monica in 1999. I love that you can order from G&L with so many options! I remember the salesperson asking me many questions about what type of finish, neck, etc. Back then I didn't know too much, but now I think I have more knowledge ordering a guitar.

Anyway, hello!

[Nubs]

Welcome fellow lefty! I was at Southpaw here in Houston last week and tried both the AmPro Jazzy and the Doheny. To me, I much preferred the Doheny to the Jazzy. First off, the neck on the Doheny is much smoother and simpler to play. It feels right in the hands. I don't care for Fender's deep C profile on their American Pro lineup...something about it just doesn't click for me.

Strumming and playing is effortless on the Doheny...very smooth and natural. The pickups sound pretty good too. They're not to bright and tinny and have some good response and sustain. Although I'm still not crazy about how they wire up the tone pots and if someone with more knowledge can help, I'm all ears/eyes. To me the tone pots are wired up like a lower end lefty with no tone variance when turning the knob. It's possible the tone circuit is wired differently and these are the intended purpose, but I would definitely have to swap them out. For a $1500+ guitar, that's unacceptable for me.

Overall though I would get a Doheny before a Jazzy. There was discussion about lefty Doheny tributes coming, but I haven't heard a peep from anyone about them for months. You should also check out the new Squier CV Jazzy as an option too. Jimmy @ Southpaw was out of them when I was there, but they are being made and sold like hotcakes.

Hope that helps a bit. Good luck & welcome!

[Danley]

I'm split - I love the original Jazzmaster. The Jazzmaster bridge/vibrato design is still one of my favorites, and it's the origination of a lot of surf and alt. rock tones that are really unlike any other guitar. That said, the Doheny can (from what I've heard) cover a lot of the same ground, and G&L's build quality/attention to detail are peerless and probably would beat most Fenders. With both guitars you'd get the excellent offset ergonomics, and could potentially swap the pickups between them (assuming you were able to buy Doheny MFDs separate.)

So personally I'd have both a Doheny and a Jazzmaster A few things to be aware of, if you do get a Jazzmaster: (Caveat - I wrote this, then realized I don't know which of the below models are even made left-handed)

-The Mexican 'Classic '60s' or 'Classic 60s Lacquer' Jazzmasters are the best value Jazzmaster, and hands-down the best feeling/sounding Jazzmaster other than the American series guitars. If you buy one of these guitars, nothing will need to be replaced. You can probably find one used for $500 - $700

-Any American series (American Original, American Vintage, American Pro etc.) Jazzmaster is a great choice, and also needs nothing out of the box - but obviously you will pay more. The vibrato/bridge on any American Jazzmaster is notably sturdier, better feeling, better looking and better built than any of the alternatives

-For the price, a Squier VM Jazzmaster is not a bad guitar - but expect to replace the vibrato and bridge with the American model (I've picked up many that are unstable or have rough pivots.) The body is basswood, thinner than Fender spec. - very light and dings easily. That said, the stock electronics and pickups are much better than a Japanese Jazzmaster, and the overall shaping of the body is more accurate than a Japanese Jazzmaster as well - I'd 100% pick one up over a Japanese Jazzmaster

-Japanese (MIJ/CIJ) Jazzmasters are severely overrated and overpriced. The stock Japanese bridge and vibrato are trash (especially on newer guitars- I've picked up three recent Japanese guitars with faulty vibratos I needed to replace or re-machine the pivot) so the first thing you'd need to do is replace them with the US bridge/vibrato from an American Original or American Vintage (or - with an actual vintage bridge and vibrato.) The pickups are not made to accurate Jazzmaster specifications and the bobbin is totally different (taller, narrower.) Nearly every other part of the guitar is inaccurate in some way to what a US Jazzmaster is - different pickguard shape, slightly different body shape, and you're stuck with a plasticky, cold-feeling finish. The chrome and metal pieces are thin and dull. People who talk about Fender Japan's great build quality are never talking about these guitars - The only good thing about them IMO is many have matching headstocks

[Joelorigo]

Thanks guys! That is all good information.

I tried out a right handed Doheny in a shop on Friday. I liked the feel of. the neck, which I was wondering about. I like the sound of the pickups and the way the tone controls work. It can cover a lot of ground by adjusting them. All in all, great guitar!

The only thing is, me being a lefty, I couldn't get a taste for how the offset design feels. I've never held a left-handed offset so that would still be a mystery unless I could find one somewhere to try out. I'm toying with the idea of buying lefty Squier Jazzmaster just to get the feel of an offset guitar. Then if I like, sell it and put the money towards the G&L, which, apparently would be $1850! How am I going to get "the boss" to sign off on that???

[Joelorigo]

[quote="Although I'm still not crazy about how they wire up the tone pots and if someone with more knowledge can help, I'm all ears/eyes. To me the tone pots are wired up like a lower end lefty with no tone variance when turning the knob. It's possible the tone circuit is wired differently and these are the intended purpose, but I would definitely have to swap them out. For a $1500+ guitar, that's unacceptable for me.[/quote]

One of the things that is leading me to be interested in the Doheny is the tone pots. Having separate bass and treble pots seemed like a great idea to me and in my test out the other day, it seems that that design can get a lot of different sounds.

[Joelorigo]

I
-The Mexican 'Classic '60s' or 'Classic 60s Lacquer' Jazzmasters are the best value Jazzmaster, and hands-down the best feeling/sounding Jazzmaster other than the American series guitars. If you buy one of these guitars, nothing will need to be replaced. You can probably find one used for $500 - $700

-Any American series (American Original, American Vintage, American Pro etc.) Jazzmaster is a great choice, and also needs nothing out of the box - but obviously you will pay more. The vibrato/bridge on any American Jazzmaster is notably sturdier, better feeling, better looking and better built than any of the alternatives

-For the price, a Squier VM Jazzmaster is not a bad guitar - but expect to replace the vibrato and bridge with the American model (I've picked up many that are unstable or have rough pivots.) The body is basswood, thinner than Fender spec. - very light and dings easily. That said, the stock electronics and pickups are much better than a Japanese Jazzmaster, and the overall shaping of the body is more accurate than a Japanese Jazzmaster as well - I'd 100% pick one up over a Japanese Jazzmaster

-Japanese (MIJ/CIJ) Jazzmasters are severely overrated and overpriced. The stock Japanese bridge and vibrato are trash (especially on newer guitars- I've picked up three recent Japanese guitars with faulty vibratos I needed to replace or re-machine the pivot) so the first thing you'd need to do is replace them with the US bridge/vibrato from an American Original or American Vintage (or - with an actual vintage bridge and vibrato.) The pickups are not made to accurate Jazzmaster specifications and the bobbin is totally different (taller, narrower.) Nearly every other part of the guitar is inaccurate in some way to what a US Jazzmaster is - different pickguard shape, slightly different body shape, and you're stuck with a plasticky, cold-feeling finish. The chrome and metal pieces are thin and dull. People who talk about Fender Japan's great build quality are never talking about these guitars - The only good thing about them IMO is many have matching headstocks

This is a great source of information for me! Not much available left handed however. I've been tracking left handed Jazzmasters for a while and assumed I'd one day have to get one of those Japanese ones, which I've seen on eBay and Reverb occasionally. But now I will pause that idea.

[Danley]

If lefty Fenders are difficult to find, I'd say another point for G&L I don't really regret any of what I said about Fender Japan - especially at the prices people ask for them nowadays. But I'll give a caveat for you, that they can still be good guitars.

No lies -I have a LONG list of things that still bother me on the below Jaguar and at the end of the day, I wish I'd picked up a US model (and could have, for the cost of the mods I've thrown on this one.) But the thing is, it's now such an awesome guitar I won't part with it and risk not bonding with another:







Changes I've made:
-Replaced wobbly stock MIJ bridge with an old vintage Jaguar bridge (steel vs. zinc saddles and much more solid construction)
-Replaced wobbly/clicking vibrato unit that won't stay in tune and arm that falls out with new American Vintage vibrato
-Replaced stock microphonic/non-RWRP pickups with Seymour Duncans (side-note: the MIJ pickup covers are just out of spec. enough that US pickups barely won't fit)
-Replaced all frets (the cheap Japanese fret-wire always felt rough and wore out in about ten years, where I have guitars that are decades old that never needed it)
-Replaced 20ft of Radio Shack grade wiring with cloth (personal preference, but the stock wiring, switches and pots are really cheap)

Things that still annoy me:
-Really rough/open grained Rosewood (many Japanese Fenders seem to have this)
-Sloppy finish around the uneven side inlays (which are 70s spec./black plastic for some reason)
-All chrome is very thin/dull (except the vibrato, which I replaced)
-Tuners are loose and sloppy (and hard to find a good replacement, since only Japanese spec. Klusons will fit the ferrule size, and you can't switch ferrules)
-Need to drill to fit the stock mute (pet peeve, no one else cares)
-Inaccurate body contours (much less comfortable than a US Jaguar, and even look different at a glance)
-Plasticky finish
-Newer models don't come with copper shielding (though mine did)

Things I actually like:
-It sounds great (now)
-It plays great (now)
-Flame neck
-Matched headstock (with incorrect 70s logo, but whatever)

TLDR - Yeah Fender Japan screws them together fine, but they're not the same. For offsets, that means 'worse.'