Why buy one when you can build a better one for cheaper?!!!
Want a Guns and Guitars shirt? buy one here: teespring.com/stores/guns-and...
Facebook: / gunsandguitarsofficial
Instagram @gunsandguitarsofficial
Support me on Patreon: / danthompson
Donate to The Great Cycle Challenge:
greatcyclechallenge.com/Rider...
*Prices mentioned in this video are subject to change without notice. Please check the links below for current pricing.
Here are the parts I used for my build:
Use Coupon Code: GUNSNGTRS to save 10% at The Fretwire!
P-90 Jazzmaster kit:
shrsl.com/13u0m
laser cut wood pickguard:
FlattGuitar.com - email Mr. Flatt directly thru his website to save 20% on your order in 2018!
roller bridge:
amzn.to/2HAa7KH
roller string trees:
amzn.to/2HAcZmC
graphtec nut piece:
amzn.to/2FpCXaI
d’addario light top heavy bottom gauge strings:
amzn.to/2Hwj9bo
Push/Pull 500k pots:
amzn.to/2vXbNZe
Keyhole router bit:
amzn.to/2JJlCvE
Full disclosure: I am an Amazon Associate, and the links in this description are affiliate links, which means that if you make a purchase, it doesn't cost you any more money, but I will earn a commission.
Here are my videos on fret crowning and RF shielding:
• DIY Fret Crowning and ...
• Guitar shielding hack:...
Build your dream jazzmaster
Hey guys, if you saw my original review of the p90 jazzmaster kit from the fretwire, you know that I was actually pretty impressed all around by the kit. I really thought it was a good value, and you actually get a decent guitar out of it. But with just a few minor upgrades and modifications, you can turn this kit into a pretty amazing guitar. I’ve got less than total invested in this project, and it might be my favorite guitar to play right now. I’m dan, this is guns and guitars, and I’ll tell you all about it right now.
Don’t forget that if you’re interested in building a kit Guitar, you can use coupon code GUNSNGTRS to save $10 on any kit at the fretwire.com, link in the description.
Before we go any further I need to apologize for something. When I reviewed this kit originally I talked about how the frets were nearly good to go and that they would just need a minor touch up to make for an awesome playing guitar. Well I must’ve been drunk or something when I originally looked closely at them, because when I took the neck off to work on it I actually found out that they were really bad. Like really really bad. It was honestly a miracle that I got it setup and playing as good as it did, I’m still trying to wrap my head around how that happened. Anyway, So I did have to do a full leveling, crowning, and polishing job on them. The good news is that while I was doing that I came up with an awesome hack on how to save a bunch of time and get consistently good results using a little tool I made myself, and I did make a video about it, so if you haven’t seen it yet, check it out, Theres a link in the description.
Now other than that, I had two other beefs with this kit, and I’ll tell you how I fixed those real quick:
The tremolo was pretty sluggish, not the way a jazzmaster style tremolo should be, i felt like I really had to force it and it wouldn’t give me that nice gentle vibrato I was looking for.
The fix for this turned out to be pretty simple, and it’s likely that this issue was unique to my instrument and wouldn’t necessarily show up on other kits, but what was happening was that this little plate right here that holds the strings and the trem bar and spring underneath, was ever so slightly rubbing up against the wood at the front of the cavity. It actually wasn’t rubbing when the strings weren’t attached or when it was detuned, but when it was under tension, the strings must’ve been pulling it forward just enough touch the edge of the cavity, and that extra friction was causing the sluggish response from the tremolo. To fix it I just removed about mm or two from front edge of that cavity, bam, perfect function. Of course, that extra friction had also been the reason for the great tuning stability I was having, so once I “fixed” the issue with the tremolo, my tuning stability when out the window. slaps forehead but that is actually a pretty easy fix as well which I’ll tell you more about in a little bit.
The other beef I had was that this kit didn’t come with any shielding whatsoever. And p-90s need shielding. Bad. They are extremely sensitive to RF interference. So I used some aluminum foil and spray adhesive to make a home brew diy shielding job. I won’t go into details here because I now have a video dedicated to it. A video in which I completely botch the description of what RF interference actually is...but I promise, the shielding hack works, it made a big difference on this guitar, it’s much much quieter now...