Fender Jazzmaster

1960 Fender Jazzmaster, serial #48077,originally sunburst, the body was refinished to a dark brown in 1978 by the previous owner after he saw Elvis Costello perform, "Radio Radio," on S.N.L.,as seen on youtube. Now worn, and lighter/transparent natural body finish. Very light weight(7.2 pounds) 2 piece alder body, with the deeper/wider maple neck shape of the very early jazzmasters,7.25 radius slab rosewood fingerboard,clay dots,reftretted with 21 dunlop 6105 frets,20 year old seymour duncan vintage neck/seymour duncan quarter pound bridge pickups,(installed in 1987, original pickups in storage.)"Pat Pending" back plate(Pat Pending #'s arrived on 1961 models),soft bend tremolo bar, nitrocellulose tortoise shell pickguard. The offset body design is extremely comfortable and Jazzmasters were the first Fender guitars to have a rosewood fingerboard, (the thick slab rosewood design only lasted through the first few years of production), near p-90 style pickups,dual pickup controls and the subtle and beautiful sounding tremolo are the main features of this guitar.

I play mostly old school rock, blues, funk, and some folk and country and the guitar can handle any of these styles with ease. I now play through a new mesa boogie 5-25 express combo, digitech Ex-7, and seymour duncan lava box overdrive. The neck position sound is strat like with a blooming bottom, warm and round. The in-between setting again sorta sounds like a strat's in-between setting, but fuller and heavier like a humbucker,(cancelling most of the hum as well) and is big and open sounding. When overdriven in the middle position it has the power of a Les Paul with more bite and clarity. When I turn down the volume pot on the guitar, I can get a very pleasant, near acoustic guitar sound. The bridge pickup setting is cutting, almost tele like as roars and bites at the same time, twang and kick, Clean, overdriven, distorted, the pickups maintain warmth, clarity, and huge character.

The guitar is 47 years old with a recent dunlop 6105 refret and plays like a dream. I play with slightly higher than average action and 11-52 to 12-54 strings( depending on how strong my fingers are feeling)The guitar was designed with heavier strings in mind, so with a heavier gauge string the tuning is very stable and the strings don't pop out of their ridges on the bridge. However, for the low E string, my tech guy also brought up the little screw in the hole just south of the string slot, a few millimetres up, so the string cannot move out of the slot= no worries, can slam away without fear of the string moving.I recommend this easy 1 minute mod.

This guitar is built like a tank. Super solid feeling, quality everything, feels absolutely bulletproof. Just needed new frets after all those years.

hehehe. None required.

I have been playing guitar for 28 years and this is the first guitar I have ever played/owned.( gift from older brother)It is a remarkably flexible instrument that also has it's own distinct voice and is very expressive. The thing about jazzmasters is that they have an incredible "attack", I think more so than a strat or a tele. What you trade off a bit in sustain somewhat due to the bridge design, you gain back in attack and presence. I love it because it looks, feels, and sounds so beautifully vintage, but can handle many modern sounds as well,and it's natural tone shines in any occasion. Even when playing around acoustically without plugging it in, it sounds magnificent. I own many great guitars, but this guitar is my #1. I have received many, many compliments on this guitar over the years. An incredible and special instrument from 1960.

This review is for a 2007 "Crafted in Japan" (CIJ) alder body Jazzmaster in "Old Candy Red" (I'm guessing supposed to be aged candy apple red) with matching headstock, vintage-style mint green pickguard and pure white pickup covers. This is a color combo not offered on the current US models, and it looks great. The finish is fantastic, although it is poly, not nitro (poly is tougher but does not age the same way). The fretboard is rosewood. Two soapbar style Japanese pickups. Has separate "pre-set" tone and volume settings for lead and rhythm - a feature well ahead of its time. Has the highly publicized but erstwhile forgotten by Fender floating tremolo system that My Bloody Valentine showed the world the possibilities of and which was a big reason for my buying this guitar. Part of the tremolo system is a floating bridge that's held in place by nothing but string tension - this can be finnicky, though I think it just requires a certain amount of care to set up right (see below).

The Japanese pickups are not like the US pickups, and most people replace them with US pickups. I probably will too eventually, but I'm quite happy with the sound from the stock pickups. I'm playing through a little Marshall practice amp, so maybe not the best way to judge, but it sounds warm, rich and deep to me, which is a Jazzmaster hallmark (of course, real JM pickups might sound even warmer, richer and deeper; I have no basis for comparison on my amp). There is some hum when using only one pickup at a time - these are flat-wound single coils, not humbuckers. When used together, the hum is greatly reduced.

One thing about the tremolo is that it was not designed for big bombs. It'll only take you up or down about half an octave max. It was designed for the way guitarists used tremolo in the 50's. Not a problem for me but maybe a problem for some. I'm more interested in using it as a true vibrato or for interesting chord bends, and for that it's a fantastic design because it just does not take your guitar out of tune no matter what you do with it.

The build quality of the guitar is top-notch - no flaws whatsoever. Absolutely a beautifully made instrument. Factory setup seems average. String height is a bit high but not unreasonable and easy enough to adjust (I just haven't bothered yet). The stock strings that were factory installed are quite heavy, but this is what the Jazzmaster was designed for. Intonation seems ok. One thing that tripped me up about the factory setup - and I wonder if this actually might contribute to some of this guitar's reputation - is that the factory had adjusted the floating bridge so that it was straight with the strings loosened for shipping. When I tightened them, the bridge moved to the pickup side (it's designed to move as part of the tremolo system). I played like this for a while before I realized it, and I was getting lots of buzz from the bridge during that period. Finally one day I slapped a bridge cover on just for kicks and I noticed how odd it looked... because the bridge was tilted 2-3 degrees. I loosened the strings, reset the bridge and the buzz went away completely. So, anyone who's having bridge buzz on a Jazzmaster, check your bridge and make sure it's straight!

I would absolutely gig with this guitar. I would probably deal with the string height first (no big deal, the guitar can certainly withstand insanely low strings), but I feel like everything as stock is basically gig ready. It's a friggin' Fender! And the Japanese absolutely know how to build guitars; there's nothing about the country it was made in that affects its durability. Some say the Japanese tremolo springs are not always as strong as the American ones, but I haven't taken mine apart to verify this - it seems strong enough to me. The other hardware all feels top notch. The knobs actually feel *better* to me than the ones on the US reissues!

Never had to deal with Fender support; not sure what would happen since it's a Japanese model. There is a one year warranty but I have a feeling I'd have to ship it to Japan... anything that could possibly go wrong could probably be fixed cheaper locally even paying out of pocket.

I love this guitar. When I first opened the gig bag it came in (no hard case like the US models), I thought it was possibly the most beautiful guitar I had ever seen, and I've seen a lot of guitars. I still can't take my eyes off of it, especially in this finish with the matching headstock. In playing terms, it has that intangible quality about it that makes you feel like you're playing a real guitar, not one of those cheeseball light-stringed metal guitars that are still popular with some people even today. The sound is warm and deep and will probably be even moreso if I ever throw in some "real" US pickups (or the Curtis Novaks). And the tremolo is seriously just a work of art if you ask me.

Some people don't like the bridge, and to them I say "nuts". You've got to use the heavy strings the guitar was designed for. I haven't had a single problem with strings jumping around, and as long as the bridge is straight, I've got no buzz either (the bridge stays straight once you set it that way; you just need to do it when you re-string). This guitar is a *system*; everything's designed to work together in a certain way. You can customize it to make it more suited to your play style if you need to, but you need to think how any change is going to affect the rest of the guitar. It works perfectly out of the box if you use it as designed. And it's really got a lot of character. The Japanese models are a great deal at only about a third of the price of the US reissues.

1959 Fender Jazzmaster. Ash body w/ blonde finish. Original fatter body type which was only produced in late '58 and early '59. Gold guard. Great floating tremelo design...lead and rhythm circuts with lots of tonal variety. Great 50's Fender quality...neck is killer and the guitar is very resonant.

Sounds very sweet...musical, bright, spanky (probably due to the ash) and thick. Not noisy, sounds great. You can play many different styles on a vintage JM, from punk to indie to country and r&b.

I use it mostly with BF Fender tube amps.

Very nice for a Jazzmaster, which can occasionally have some issues, most of which can be resolved by someone who knows these guitars well. No factory set up here, as it's 48 years old, but set up very well. Bridge height/adjustment/angle on these JM's is very important to how they play, so do some research online to find the optimal set up...especially if you're frustrated or having tuning issues. Some flaws which can be expected from a vintage piece, but they're irrelevant, IMO.

Very reliable, very durable...this guitar was not a closet find, it's definietly been played throughout its life and it's held up very well. Overall, a nice broken-in feel.

N/A

Been playing 15 years...i've owned other vintage JM's and this one is superb. As stated above, killer neck and very resonant body. Ash wood on Jazzmasters is the best...alder sounds great, too, but there's just something about an ash/blonde JM! Pickups are very musical and still have nice output...very distinguishable tone between the different pickup settings.

It is a fender japan Jazzmaster with 21 frets. The colour is a nice Candy apple red on both the body and the headstock with a sort of glass layer over it. The bridge was (when i got it) a origional jazzmaster bridge but as jazzmaster/jaguar players will know its not the best bridge for a guitar, so now i have a mustang bridge on it. It also came with the origional tremelo arm which are a bugger to find if it wasn't included.
Also there is the contols, it has a 3 way selecter 2 pairs of volume and tone knobs/slides and a rhythm-solo selecter.

it sounds great, the best sounding guitar i have played. It suits my music style aswell as i play grunge because it has the look and sound of a grunge guitar (sonic youth, nirvana, dinosaur JR)
Thinking about it it maybe the settings i have on my Line 6 spider II
that is making it sound good because ive never put it through another amp.
When i replicate the noises Kurt cobain uses in the songs like Endless Nameless or Radio friendly unit shifter i find it easy with the temelo system, i beat the hell out of it when im playing live and i come out with some amazing werid noises, the temelo system is my favorite feature on the guitar.

The down side of this guitar is that it isn't perfect in the Action and Fit department, i costantly have to get cheakups by experts on it and things need to be ajusted like every month which a guitar shouldnt have to do, the main problem is the bridge even when ive changed it it still drops and bends, it probebly dosnt help when i beat the tremelo system but thats how i play it so im gunna have to get used to it :)

is also isnt very reliable because when im playing live the strings jump out of the saddles also the strap buttons are loose, every time i tighten them the come loose again, it would be embarassing if the strat buttons fell off while i was playing live, at the moment i am using this guitar as a backup because my strat copyy is more reliable, but that will change soon when i get it sorted out.

1965 Jazzmaster. When I first bought this guitar, the original sunburst finish was gone, the pickguard was cracked, had humbuckers, roller knobs and pots were gone as well as the vol and tone knobs and pots. Had(and still has)a tuneomatic bridge. I ordered a new brown tortoiseshell pickguard, Knobs, pots and switches and Seymour Duncan quarter pound pickups. Still has the original Kluson tuners and vibrato assembly. Like most JM players, I don't use the roller knobs.

Killer sound!! unbelievable!! These quarter pound pickups have guts! Why don't more humbucker freaks try these pickups and leave the humbuckers in the guitars that they were meant to be in?!! You can still get the Fender snarl, but with increased mids and bottom end. I think the tuneomatic helps as well. In clean mode it has a darker sort of twang, sort of a cross between a Tele and a Strat. I hardly get any pickup buzz. Sounds best with 10-46 guage strings.

Nice vintage feel and vibe. The neck has that smooth, solid feel that you just don't get on new guitars. Minimal fret wear. Plays like butter. I love the offset body. Seems to hug me like a beautiful woman. My brother did a fabulous factory job with the white finish.

Everything is Fender rock solid and tight. You cant't really rely on the vibrato to do the heavy metal dive-bomb thing, but it still works for Ventures/surf/Stray Cats type stuff. I don't use this guitar as a workhorse. Just when I feel like it. I use my Squire Strat and Tele as workhorses, depending on what style I'm playing.

Could be better. Takes a long time to get new parts

The worst thing I could say about this guitar is that it is not quite as versatile as a Strat(you just can't sound like Mark Knopfler on this thing). It is your ultimate Surf guitar, good for country and it certainly rocks if you use better pickups. I submitted a review on 04/30/2004 about a Jazzmaster(1963) that I regretted selling in 1983 because of the weak stock pickups. This 1965 JM is my much sought after repacement. I have been playing for 28 years. This is what I use for other gear: Telecaster, modified Squire Strat, !976 Ibanez Les Paul copy(for slide) Precision Bass copy,1977 Yamaha acoustic, 1950's Kay archtop(my first guitar)and a recently purchased Linkon D10 pedal steel. For amps, I use a 1979 Peavey Mace, early 80's Ibanez GX100 and a Randall amp for my bass. For effects, I use a Digitek RP100 processor, Boss Super Overdrive, Ibanez tremelo, boss CM-3 compressor and a crybaby wah. Like I said, My Tele and Strat are my workhorses, but this JM does get playing time. If this guitar was lost or stolen I would be devastated. I'll never sell it.

My Jazzmaaster was bought for #570 this year (2006), made in Japan. If you're looking at this page you'll already know broadly the features of a Jazzmaster: The body shape, no. of frets etc.

Mine has a sunburst finish, rosewood fretboad and redd-ish / black pickguard. It looks fantastic - best looking guitar in my opinion (just ahead of a telecaster). Which is why I iniitally considerd getting this as my first "proper" guitar, having spent the previous ten years playing a '69 Hofner Colorama inherited from my Dad.

The floating tremelo system is quite wierd, but works fine. The tremelo however is quite slight - even if you have the wahmmy bar pushed right down to the body, the guitar is not all that detuned. Which is in contrast with a strat, say, where the tremelo arm is very sensitive and can be used for big dive-bombs etc. The Jazzmaster tremelo arm isn't really good for Van Halen histrionicx, but more for David Gimour (yes I know he played a Strat, that't no the point) / Hank Marvin type wobbles.

This is a bit if a shame because I used to enjoy butchering my guitar with tortuous whammy masturbation when practicing. But in reality this isn't much of a loss since in the process you'd inevitably end up with an out-of-tune guitar anyway.

Right, I'm not expert on guitar elactronics etc.. I don't a massive number ofguitars so I can only speak from my own experiences:

When I was looking to get myself a new guitar, I was looking for something that obviously played well etc, but also something that could replicate the chunky "sound" of my previous guitar.

In the guitar shop was impressed by the variety of sounds I seemed to be able to get. I could easily go from a "fat" chunky sound, to a round bluesy kind of tone, to a trebly edgy sound. Compared to other guitars I've played (colorama, stratocaster, telecaster), you seem to be able to get a lot of variety.

I've had no problem findind a really nice sound for myself. If anything I'm spoilt for choice and find myself constantly experimenting.

The guitar seemed set up fine when I got it. No flaws.

Now here's the controversial bit:

THE LEGENDARY JAZZMASTER BRIDGE.

I had no idea about the Jazzmaster bridge issues whn I got the guitar.

Over the week following getting the thing I fiddled with the actin a bit to get the optimim set up for me. Then had a band practice and found myselkf thinking "hmmmm, something sounds a bit odd here". At the end of the tune I look down and discover that my high E, B strings have mysteriously lowed themselves several millimeters and are now in contact with the fretboard. I got out my allen key and readjusted, shrugged my shoulders and off we go again. Only for the same thing to happen after further moderate guitar-battering.

I then looked on the web and discoverd that my bridge problems are far from unique. I've even had the whole bridge lower in height. This is apain in the a*se but there is a solution.

THE SOLUTION:

I spoke to my local guitar tech and he suggested using beeswax to grease up the saddle screw threads. I borrowed some from my housemate who uses the stuff to grease her dreadlocks (trivia fans). De-strung my guitar, took the bridge apart, smeared big dollops of beeswax all over the saddle scre threads, but bridge back together again, wiped off excess beeswax with, restrung the guitar. Problem solved.

Since then, a few weeks ago, I've not had the string actions budge at all. Yet the screws are still loose enough to be adjusted should I want to.

Another problem I've noticed some people having is the low E-string jumping off the saddle. Take advantage of the saddle design by adjusting it's angle, so that the low e-string saddle is angled upwards, towards your head while your playing slightly. This absorbs the downward force on the low e-string that might make it jump out. Since I've done this that problem is solved as well.

You should also experiment with youor string weights. Previously I'd always played with ligh-guage strings. I restrung my jazzmaster with regular gauge strings, and found it was still exceptionally easy to play. Now moved up to heavy strings and still easy to play, and the extra tension makes string-jumps and fret-buzz really unlikely. The thing now plays like a dream. Keeps in tune beautifully.... Nice.

So there are definately issues with the reliability of the bridge, but I've found that these are quite easily solved. I've got a mustang bridge taht I intended to try out but since using the beeswax, I've had no need to try it out on this guitar.

Bever had to speak to them.

Been playing for about ten years, mainly rock stuff (anything from Pink Floyd, Nirvana, Radiohead, Pixies).

The only downside to this guitar is the bridge, but like I say, if you have a little patience, it's not a difficult problem to solve.

I compared this guitar to a Strat and a Telecaster. The strat I didn't like because the sound felt too thin (almost puny to me - Hendrix would probably disagree but what did he know? Amateur). The telecaster was chunkier but just not as flexible as the Jazzmaster.

1965 Jazzmaster ; the real mccoy . Burst finish , original case accompanied . All parts present and original except possibly bridge cover .

It did not suit my style ; I bought it in 1984 and sold it in 2001 .
Used with many amps . Was noisy depending on single / double coil selection and standing angle. Sounded nice on a good day with the right amp .

Seemed OK all around ; just a typical production model of the period .

Could not withstand much of anything . The strings routinely leave their setting grooves with just a bit too much touch . Typical wimpy switches .

No experience

Playing 35 years ; now stuck in a Gibson electric Guild acoustic rut .
I wish I'd bought more guitars just like this one as it was all original , cost $300 , sold on eBay for $1600 in 2001 . I would never buy another now at today's prices .

'62 re-issue manufactured around 1992. Made in Japan - where else?
21 frets, vintage, rosewood neck cambered fretboard small and tight. I have huge hands, but can pay jazz chords easily on this wonderful guitar.
Typical Jazzmaster setup - I prefer to switching set to the Jazz neck pup.
Original Japanese pups - great sounds with am set to about 2 on the bass dial and a little reverb on.

With the pickups selector set to the neck 'Jazz' switching - the sound is the best ever. To appreciate this guitar you have to be a player. You must be in love with the concept of taking chordwork and soloing to an altogether higher level.
Never use any effect as I like the gain circuit set to 7 and treble controls set to high.
Not too many sounds with this guitar. The setting using the two pickups together are for surf music and shrill type solos.
There nothing I dislike about this guitar. It could be improve, but there again, so could I.

Not factory setup. I set it up properly using steel rule etc,. The guitar has a quick smooth action and the pickups are set high.
Quality of build is outstanding. All contributors who own a Japanese Jazzmaster know exactly what I mean. The finish on this guitar is as good, or if not better than Fender USA.

This guitar is another Fender workhorse. It will play whatever you wish. It is very well constructed.

Never contacted Fender.

I have been playing 30 years. I prefer this guitar to any of my other ones. That incudes: Gibson 335 and Fender Strat.

1966 Jazzmaster, sunburst, mostly original. I had to change the two way switch, because it was broken. And I'm missing the volume knob (white witch hat, chrome topped). If anyone has one I'm interested.

wkuhns1@aol.com

I played with an old blues legend in Chicago (Eddie C. Campbell), who has an old 50's model that he loves - and so do I. I moved to the west coast and had to try to replicate that tone. I got pretty close with my '66.

I use it sparingly at gigs unless I can commit to keeping a close watch on it. Too expensive and too many thieves out there. I run it through Mesa Boogie or old Fender tube equipment and it always gets compliments.

Fortunately, I have a local shop in Laguna Beach that did a great set-up after it arrived. Everything checked out, everything works.

It's reliable, but I'm scared to take it solo to a gig. I guess I'm always safe ...

I tried to find my volume knob through Fender - what a joke.

It rocks. It's hard to bend strings on this one, because of the bridge set-up. Anyone have suggestions?

I have a 2004 MIA '62 reissue made in Fender's custom shop in Corona, CA. The thing ships with a hardshell case, which is good 'cause the Jazzmaster's offset body makes it a little hard to fit into some of the off-the-shelf cases.

The stock soapbar pickups are a little mellow for my tastes. I'm doing the unthinkable and having some Seymour Duncan humbuckers put it in. For non-noise cancelling pickups, the hum is hardly noticeable ... quite a relief compared to my Telecasters. Even with the mellow tone of the stock pickups, it's got a sound that's unique and cool.

This guitar's fit and finish, however, make this thing come alive every time you hit a string. This guitar just has a body and neck that work so well together that it's incredible. It's such a comfortable guitar to play, I've grown quite attached to it. I bought it after putting my had around the neck of a Jaguar ... from that time on, this guitar style haunted me until I bought one.

I've used it live and love it. With a guitar this good-looking, you just gotta be seen with it! It feels a little more delicate than my Telecasters, but that shouldn't suggest that it feels flimsy. Hadn't had a problem with it so far.

As car as backups .... I don't play any gigs without a backup guitar.

Never had to take advantage of service on my Telecasters, Mustang bass, or Squier Jagmaster. I don't feel as though I'll ever have to take advantage of it.

I just love this guitar. The ocean turquoise finish is just plain eye-catching. This thing feels like it was made to fit .. whether you're playing it sitting or standing. The neck is one of the most comfortable necks I've ever played on.