Three guitars, three pickup manufacturers, different tones.
1. JW Van Custom Jazzmaster body + Fender Blacktop Jazzmaster neck + Mastery bridge + AVRI electronics + Lollar JM pickups
2. Fender Custom Player Jazzmaster + Mastery bridge + Novak JM-90/WRHB pickups.
3. Warmoth Custom Jazzmaster + Staytrem bridge + AVRi electronics + Smits Bucker Lite/Classic Coil pickups.

Jazzmaster Showdown Lollar Vs Novak Vs Smits

Sneak peak at my "solo" project.  It's basically me and my brother Chris but there may be some special guests before it's all said and done.

The World Leaders - I Wanna Be Well

A sneak peak from the forthcoming "Help Send The Ex-Optimists To Space Camp" cassette.

The Ex-Optimists - Supersonic Robots

A tale of five Jazzmasters with different pickups, all played through the same amplifier, same pedals, same mic, same interface, into the same DAW.  All guitar controls on 10.  Neck, then middle, then bridge.  First pass clean, second pass through Timmy overdrive (volume at 11 o'clock, drive at 9 o'clock, treble and bass wide open).  Amp is Carl's Custom Fender 5E3 Tweed Deluxe clone w/Weber 12A125 alnico speaker into normal channel on 3.  Tone on 9 and unused channel on 6 for first 3 guitars, 11 for last 2 (to account for louder signal from P90s and humbuckers).

JM#1 - 2012 Fender AVRI 62 w/Pickup Wizard pre-CBS Style Pickups (Alnico 5, bridge 10% overwound).
JM#2 - 2016 Fender Roadworn JM w/Sunday Pickups Fat 5/2's (Alnico 5 on wound strings, Alnico 2 on unwound strings, bridge 10% overwound)
JM#3 - 2015 Fender Classic 60s JM w/Sunday Pickups Woodchime Plus Pickups (Alnico 2, 10% overwound bridge)
JM#4 - 2012 Fender AV65 JM w/Novak Wide Range Humbuckers
JM#5 - 2012 Fender AVRI 62 w/Novak JM90's

Five Jazzmaster Pickup Comparison

One of the finest songs I've ever written, as performed by Seattle power pop band Victory Lap.  Recorded with Matt Brookes March 2000.  Scheduled for release on "Our Lady of Perpetual Motion", an album that was due on Not Lame Recordings in early 2001, but the band broke up before the album could be completed and released.  Still, I'm awfully proud of the performance and the song.

Michael A. Collins - vocals, guitars
Dan Leary - bass
Kelly Minnis - drums



Victory Lap - Apollo High (Seattle, WA 2000)

The last band I was in before I left Owensboro for good in 1994.  It was a weird band.  A collective almost.  We rented a house in the country to practice in for $45 a month, power included.  There was no running water in the house.  Don't bother with the toilet.  The singer and guitarist worked together for years prior.  The bass player was a guitarist.  The 2nd guitarist never learned the songs...on purpose.  We had a conga/trombonist.  Yeah, weird.  But fun.  The singer and guitarist operate this band still to this day, playing most of these songs still.  This one's from the "Motorcycle" album, recorded at Joel Osborne's loft studio in the summer of 1994.

Jeff Vineyard - vocals
Larry Cook - guitar
Todd Maszaros - guitar
Betel - bass
Kelly Minnis - drums

Cody Yeiser plays all kinds of stuff elsewhere on this tape.

Dashing Skull Club - Public Werks (Owensboro, KY 1994)

In 2008 Mary-Charlotte Young AKA Magic Girl asked Atarimatt for someone to play "dirty drums" on her "Poor Man's Queen" album.  Well, that pretty much sums up what I do in two words so I was brought on board for that very reason.  I've played live with her ever since.  In 2010 M-C asked me to produce her next album, and with Atarimatt on the faders again we created "Dove and Raven", the new Magic Girl & Her Ex-Husbands album.  

Mary-Charlotte Young - vocals, acoustic guitar
Jason L. Clark - bass
Kelly Minnis - drums, electric guitar

Magic Girl & Her Ex-Husbands - White trash Empire (College Station, TX 2010)

The Hangouts are Bryan/College Station's premiere punk rock band.  Matt and Niki Shea are awesome people that I've been friends with for several years and, almost as long, label partners with (they run both 979Represent and Sinkhole Texas Inc. with me).  In 2007 I was asked to join the band but the timing wasn't right.  I subbed on tour with them in the Fall of 2009 and then earlier in 2010 was asked again to join and I couldn't say no this time.  Glad I didn't, because this band is an awful lot of fun.

This recording is from a 6-song 7" due on Cutthroat Records out of Houston in late 2010 or early 2011.

Niki Shea - vocals
Matt Shea - guitar, vocals
Marty Durlam - bass
Kelly Minnis - drums, vocals

The Hangouts - I Don't Wanna Get Straight (College Station, TX 2010)

First guitar is a 2012 Squier VM Jazzmaster (stock); 2nd is a 2011 Squier J Mascis Jazzmaster (stock); and 3rd is a 1994 MIJ Fender Jazzmaster w/Mustang bridge & Pickup Wizard 58's.  Guitars plugged into a Mesa Boogie Mark I reissue head (set on tweed 60w) into channel 2 (the Blackface side) with volume 2 at 4, master at 2, treble at 7, mids at 5, bass at 5 & presence at 5.  Cabinet is a Peavey Classic 410E with stock Sheffield speakers.  Dirt on 2nd half of each demo comes from a 1980s Rat clone with gain at 5 o'clock, filter at 2 o'clock and distortion at 9 o'clock.  Not much difference between the 1st and 3rd guitars.

Squier JM vs Squier JMJM vs MIJ JM

The 2012 AVRI has Pickup Wizard 1958's (with a slightly overwound bridge pup) and a Mustang bridge.  The Thurston Moore is stock with Seymour Duncan Antiquity II's and adjustomatic bridge.  Both played into a 1999 Mesa Boogie Mark I reissue head and Peavey Classic 410E 4x10 cabinet.  Treble mids bass set flat at 5, volume 2, gain 4.  The first passes are clean, the second passes are through an Upstate Analog Rat clone (vol maxed, filter at 3 o'clock, gain at 9 o'clock)

The comments are screwed up so i can't place the comments at certain spots in the wave, so...
It's AVRI JM neck then both then bridge then with Rat bridge then both then neck.  Then TMJM neck both bridge, with Rat bridge both neck.

AVRI Jazzmaster vs. Thurston Moore Jazzmaster

Had just recorded this a couple of weeks ago.  Can't express in words how much Kraftwerk means to me.  Performed on the Moog Grandmother.

Invasion Boys - Hall Of Mirrors (MIX 1)

InvBoys submission for Holy Crap Records Goodbye Donald compilation.
All instruments and voices by Kelly Menace.  Thank gawd for Avengers.

Invasion Boys - We Are The One (Avengers cover)

I'm a multi-instrumentalist who's been playing in bands since 1989.  I've been in three dozen different bands at last count, and this profile is an attempt to chronicle my strange journey as a musician.  Drummer first, then later a singer/guitarist and electronic music composer.

kellymenace

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