I bought this 2017 Fender Player Jazzmaster off of my son. It’s a MIM model. I love it. Stays in tune well and as I’m a big whammy bar user, and it works well on this. I just got back my Fender Blues Jr Tweed with a bunch of mods and I’ve been playing these two all week. It’s just a great sound, even on its own. With the band, it’s one of those guitars I can really abuse. It cuts through and it’s fun to play wild solos on it.
It is not true that Jags were "more affordable." They were the absolute most expensive Fenders and were top of the line throughout the 1960s. They were introduced as a reaction to the Jazzmaster catching on with surf players, and were sort of intended as an even more "surfified" version of the Jazzmaster. They only became "affordable" in the mid-'70s when people started dumping them into pawn shops.
I’ve been playing Jazzmasters since the early ‘90s. I’ve owned several vintage and modern JMs. I see a lot of the typical Strat/LP-centric nonsense in this thread. The JM was the top of the line Fender until it was supplanted by the Jaguar. Both were higher up on the ladder than the Strat or Tele. The notion that their electronics were bad is just plain wrong. I’ve owned several vintage JMs with all original electronics and never had a single problem. They used exactly the same electronics as Strats and Teles. If you owned a vintage guitar with bad electronics, it was likely an issue with how that guitar was handled or stored before you got it. Again, same electronics and the same people assembling them as Strats and Teles. As for the bridge, if you know how to set it up, it’s not an issue. I never had a problem with a vintage JM bridge. As for sustain, not everyone gives a damn about that. I’m not Joe Satriani, and never wanted to be. I’ve owned Strats and Teles, and did not find them nearly as comfortable to play as a JM. I won’t slag them off though. They are great guitars, just not for me. To each their own.
you just don't KNOW you're sorry lol I can understand not liking SY even if I don't agree, but Television? MBV? gtfo lol
Addendum: The bridge was made for heavier strings. If you are trying to put 9s on a JM or Jag, you are probably going to have issues. As for sustain, how much do you need? My JM has all I need. If you are expecting a note to ring for 2 minutes, no, it won’t do that. This might also be a set-up issue. These guitars need to be set up correctly. If you know how to do that, they are no more finicky than any other guitar.
Exactly. Both the JM and Jag were the top of the Fender line when they were introduced and stayed the number 1 and 2 until they went out of production in the ‘70s. Keep in mind that Les Pauls were out of production from approximately 1961-1968, and Strats were somewhat out of favor in this era. IIRC, they were thinking about discontinuing them until Hendrix came along and nearly single-handedly brought them back into favor. The whole Strat/LP supremacy thing was the result of people wanting the guitars that their heroes played (Hendrix for Strats and Page and Clapton for LPs, mainly). In the early/mid 60s, Jazzmasters and Jags were more popular than both. The Tele is a different case. It’s always been a workhorse. It was never really the guitar of the moment, except maybe among country players, but it’s always had its place among players.
I am always baffled by the “no sustain”complaints. I’ve owned Strats and Teles. I didn’t notice a significant difference in sustain compared to JMs. Again, it might all come back to set-up.
Never been into Fenders other than Teles. Or Gibsons for that matter. Never owned one of either make.
Does anybody have the Classic Player Jaguar? Mine came with a really long vibrato arm, which I replaced with a strat arm that fits and feels much better. However, I'd like it to stay in place when I let go. Would a standard strat spring work?
I also had a strat arm on my CP HH Jag a few years back. I had no idea they made springs for that issue, I could use that on one of my strats! No idea if it would fit the Jag, but I'd imagine if the trem arm fits in there that the spring would.
The Classic Player Jaguar (and other modern Jaguar models) moves the entire vibrato system about an inch closer to the bridge than in vintage Jaguars (discussed in this video), which may be why a (shorter) strat arm feels okay on your model. Other than the positioning, I believe the tremelo system is still the same as on a vintage Jaguar. A Jaguar tremelo system is not the same as a Strat tremelo system. Two ways people fix loose tremelo bars on an offset guitar are (1) bend slightly the part of the bar that goes in the hole, so it stays in the hole (video), and (2) pinch together the walls of the hole, so it holds the bar tighter (video). But you should check whether your guitar's trem system is designed so the collar holds the arm, or it's meant to be used with a screw-in trem arm (bending the arm won't work for the latter). Also, the part of your strat arm that goes into the hole may not be as long as what you have on a proper Jaguar arm, so you may have to figure out whether either fix works on the arm you are using.
Thanks for your help! I will compare the two trem arms when I get home. I think both are screw-in. I have two jags: this Classic Player HH and the Vintera single coil model, which is entirely based off vintage specs (I think.) Radically different guitars, in terms of feel and sound!
If you look at sold listings of the Classic Player Jaguar HH on Reverb, you can see how some guitars have the longer vibrato arm and some come with a short arm. When I first got the guitar in 2008, it had a short arm. I bought it new and it came that way. I sold it years later but then bought the same model again (used but the guy hardly played it.) That one came with the longer arm, which the guy said was there when he bought it new in 2012.
Exactly. When I was in full on Strat mode while starting out doing the Buddy Holly tribute shows, some books mentioned that Fender had even considered following Gibson and discontinuing the Strat altogether in favor of the Jag or maybe the Jazzmaster when it was found that caught on more with Surf Rock than Jazz players. One thing that has stuck in my mind is about 8 or so years ago, my family with my parents went to Ocean City, NJ and there was an arts festival on the boardwalk. Outside the music pier there was a little instrumental combo (bass, drums, guitar) playing some Jazz and Surf instrumentals. The guitarist was playing a 1959 or 1960 Jazzmaster in gorgeous shape, one which he bought originally. I got talking with him during their break with my dad, and he was impressed that I got the date range right for the guitar. I told him that if his family isn't interested in guitars, put me in his will. He laughed and my dad chimed in, "He's not kidding."
When I started playing guitar in late '63-early '64 the Jaguar was considered the coolest guitar around, at least where I lived. And at least one Ventures album cover showed them with Fender guitars and Don Wilson (I think) was holding a Jazzmaster. And there was a group from Colorado back then called The Astronauts and they played the them top of the line Fenders. I'm thinking that as surf music declined in popularity, so did Fender guitars When I could afford my first electric guitars in 66 and 67, Gibson was top dog. And then Jimi...
It's probably been mentioned, but I'd love a Jaguar with Jazzmaster scale length. I love both Jags and JMs, but I prefer Jags for everything aside from their short scale. I'm a big guy. (I do like some shorter scale basses.)
