What's so great about Fender Jazzmaster and Jaguar guitars?

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Turnaround, Jan 3, 2019.

  1. tables_turning

    tables_turning In The Groove

    Location:
    Mid Atlantic, USA
    I think Glen Campbell used a Mosrite 12-string briefly. Larry Collins had an early Mosrite double neck, Ricky Wilson of the B-52s used one with the G string removed, and members of the Strawberry Alarm Clock had odd looking custom Mosrites made for them.
    Have to agree, though I loved the sound and the pickups, that strange neck profile eventually did me in. I found many friendlier necks out there from which to choose.
     
    wwaldmanfan likes this.
  2. Doctor Fine

    Doctor Fine "So Hip It Would Blister Your Brain"

    I have owned and played both Fenders and they are wonderful in their own ways as part of "the Fender House sound."
    Heard Jimi playing his white Jazzmaster at the Armory in Fort Lauderdale before he left for England to start The Experience.
    He had that Jazzmaster sounding so funky I asked him what amp could do that.
    "It's an old 4X10 Bassman tube amp and I won't turn it up over 5 and I'll fill this whole place," he answered.
    I never heard a jazzmaster sound that funky in my life!
     
  3. douglas mcclenaghan

    douglas mcclenaghan Forum Resident

    Wow. The Showman is a great amp; road-tested to destruction by the mighty Dick Dale. Marshall has been living off their mythology for decades, but I know which amp I'd prefer.
     
    YardByrd likes this.
  4. My '63 Fender Jazzmaster has been my main guitar for 20 yrs. I love its neutral sound and even though I play primarily surf influenced intros it never dictates what I play.
    When I play my Tele or Rickenbacker 12st - I tend to get pulled in certain directions that emphasize the tonal qualities of those guitars.
    I love the feel of the Jazzmaster neck and after I changed the saddle to a Mustang one and don't have any problems with strings popping off the bridge.
    I also use 12 or 13g flatwounds and that has made all the difference in my tone too, so much better than thin roundwounds on this guitar.
     
    Brian Hoffman likes this.
  5. Brian Hoffman

    Brian Hoffman Obsessive fanatic extraordinaire

    Location:
    Cincinnati, Ohio
    +1 on flatwounds. I'm currently rocking some Thomastik BB113 Medium Light Jazz strings and couldn't be happier. They're more expensive but they seem to last longer as well. The DAddario XL Chromes are cheaper but not bad.
     
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  6. Schoolmaster Bones

    Schoolmaster Bones Poe's Lawyer

    Location:
    ‎The Midwest
  7. ROFLnaked

    ROFLnaked Forum Resident

    Location:
    California
    May someone please tell me what purpose the note card on his pickguard serves? Some sort of string dampener? This has eluded me for 25 years...
     
  8. douglas mcclenaghan

    douglas mcclenaghan Forum Resident

    The original pickguard was anodized which looks great but wears quickly. It was for protecting the guard's finish, I believe. Note that the Fender Custom Shop now makes Jazzmasters with the requisite "wear" on the guard.
     
  9. ROFLnaked

    ROFLnaked Forum Resident

    Location:
    California
    I'm not so sure. The notecard isn't taped flat to the guard; it's right up to the strings. Also, I wouldn't think that in 1959 he would proactively protect the pickguard on his brand new Jazzmaster on the off-chance that it might wear quickly.
     
  10. Paul Gase

    Paul Gase Everything is cheaper than it looks.

    Location:
    California
    I tried using my son's Jazzmaster with my cover band, mostly because we'd just added Chris Stapleton's Tennessee Whiskey and Fastball's The Way to our set list and I thought that would be a good guitar for those. I was right about that, but I was also surprised how well the JM just seemed to fit in with our band's sound. It's got some bark and bite and I can really attack it, and I love the whammy but also it just feels like a "less is more" guitar. And that suits our material and my playing just fine. I was pleasantly surprised.
     
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  11. ROFLnaked

    ROFLnaked Forum Resident

    Location:
    California
  12. Boulder Bob

    Boulder Bob Senior Member

    Location:
    Boulder, CO
    love the card protecting the pickguard - this is a cool LP
     
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  13. Schoolmaster Bones

    Schoolmaster Bones Poe's Lawyer

    Location:
    ‎The Midwest
    Quoting myself from the Guitars thread:

    Squier (Indonesia) Jaguar, 2012

    [​IMG]

    The conventional wisdom with these models is they're nice guitars after you swap out the pickups and hardware. But you would be wrong with this one.

    The pickups are this guitar's strong suit - wide range and deliciously microphonic. The bridge required some careful attention at first (and Loctite), but everything on this guitar is solid.
     
  14. Ed the Dog

    Ed the Dog Forum Resident

    Location:
    Greeley Colorado
    Daniel Lanois on a Jazzmaster. I think imagonna start a new thread...
     
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  15. Guitarded

    Guitarded Forum Resident

    Location:
    Montana
    My 59 and 60 Jazzmasters were both bought from the Baker Estate.
     
  16. danielkov86

    danielkov86 Playing Devil's Avocado Since 1986

    My main guitar is a Jag:

    [​IMG]

    Secondary guitar is a Tele:

    [​IMG]

    My Jag is a modern model routed for humbuckers (I use P-rails which are single coils, p90s and humbuckers all in one) and fixes all of the problems that older Jag models used to have with going out of tune, etc.

    I love my Jag because number one it sounds incredible and I can pretty much get any sound I want out of it - bright and sparkly, surfy, Les Paul rock, etc. I also LOVE the 24" short scale neck (I have smaller hands) and the switch at the top is a kill switch, which comes in handy for me all the time. Also love the floating tremolo which I sometimes hold in my hand and accent as I strum (a la Kevin Shields). I'll never sell this guitar.

    Never played a Jazzmaster but love the way they look. Their sound to me doesn't really stand out like a Tele, Strat, LP or Jag does.

    My Tele is a different beast. It's so light weight that it puts almost zero strain on my shoulders and back. I can play it for hours and not feel like an old man when I put it down. Sound wise I enjoy all three pickup sections equally, though I mostly use it in position two.

    Been thinking about getting a Strat lately. I hear good things about the Squier Classic Vibes...
     
  17. Boulder Bob

    Boulder Bob Senior Member

    Location:
    Boulder, CO
    Classic Vibe Fenders (Squiers) are very good values - you might want to tweak the electronics (pickups, pots) but I believe the basic guitar is very good
     
  18. Evethingandnothing

    Evethingandnothing Forum Resident

    Location:
    Devon
    Love the Jazzmaster. Hate the Jaguar.

    A bandmate used to use a Jag and there was no note definition at all, just a barrage of ice picks hammering on the ears. Probably just the way he used it, but it put me off the idea of owning one. I do have a homebuilt "partscaster" Jazzmaster though. It's got SP Custom Jazzmaster pickups, Schaller locking tuners and I put an extra switch in the "Rhythm" circuit to choose between vintage and modern wiring. Thinking of getting a Mastery bridge for it. I don't love it more than my other guitars, I love them all equally.....almost.
     
    Last edited: Jul 4, 2020
    Jet Age Eric likes this.
  19. kirkhawley@q.com

    [email protected] Forum Resident

    Location:
    Phoenix, AZ
    It's a little-known fact that all Telecasters come with a device that allows you to reduce the twang any amount you please. It's amazing, it means you can play a song with twang, and then play a song without twang, and then a song with SOME twang. You can even change it in the middle of a song. It's called a tone knob.
     
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  20. segue

    segue Psychoacoustic Member

    Location:
    Hawai'i
  21. ROFLnaked

    ROFLnaked Forum Resident

    Location:
    California
    Years ago I read a Mickey Baker interview where he was asked about the particular Jazzmaster with the gold anodized guard on the cover of Wildest Guitar, and he relayed that shortly after cutting that record, he was checking out of a hotel when he gave that guitar and an amp to the bellhop to put in the trunk of a cab waiting outside for him. By the time MB got out to his cab, he discovered that the bellhop had inadvertently placed his gear into the trunk of the wrong cab that had driven off!
     
  22. ROFLnaked

    ROFLnaked Forum Resident

    Location:
    California
    Nice! Great to know that Billy Davis is still with us, too. Love those white tolex '64 cases: they abandoned them too quickly! I had a '64 sonic blue Strat with one of those cases. Of all the guitars I've bought and sold that I wish I could have back, that one is at the top of the list. Sold it for far too cheap.

    So it goes.
     
  23. Guitarded

    Guitarded Forum Resident

    Location:
    Montana
    There were about a dozen or so Jazzmasters in his posession when he passed. The 2 I grabbed were the only ones he had not modified in any way.

    He did have 1 other Goldguard in there, though it was pretty beat. The one I nabbed was in nice, original shape.
     
  24. danielkov86

    danielkov86 Playing Devil's Avocado Since 1986

    Yeah that’s what I hear. I went to my local music shop today and tried out a few strats. They didn’t have any CVs but I tired two Squier Affinities and a Fender Player. Hated the Affinities. Player was better but honestly I wasn’t hearing anything I don’t already get with my Tele... I thought I would like all the middle pickup selections cause I dig Gilmour’s tones but it didn’t blow me away. Will go back and play a Vintera next time.
     
    Boulder Bob likes this.
  25. Guitarded

    Guitarded Forum Resident

    Location:
    Montana
    HM Strat w/ and an Emerson Electronics kit in it is the budget Strat for me.

    Those Set Neck Korean Models are a bargain. The Teles, too. Love set-neck Fenders.
     

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