Fender Jazzmaster
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Fender Jazzmaster | |
 |
|
| Manufacturer | Fender |
| Period | 1958 — 1977; 1999 — present |
| Construction | |
| Body type | Solid |
| Neck joint | Bolt-on |
| Woods | |
| Body | Alder |
| Neck | Maple |
| Fretboard | Rosewood |
| Hardware | |
| Bridge | "Floating" Tremolo |
| Pickup(s) | 2 Single-coil, specially designed |
| Colors available | |
| (American Vintage Series, as of 2005) 3-Color Sunburst, Olympic White, Black, Ocean Turquoise, Surf Green, Ice Blue Metallic (other colors may be available) | |
The Fender Jazzmaster electric guitar was first introduced at the 1958 NAMM show and was designed as a more upmarket instrument than the Fender Stratocaster, which itself was introduced in 1954 as a higher-priced product than the company's Telecaster series.
The contoured body incorporating a snappy 25-1/2” scale length, the original lead and rhythm circuit switching with independent volume and tone controls, and the floating tremolo with tremolo lock were the keys to the Jazzmaster's character.
The Jazzmaster had a mellower tone than the Strat, which gave it a more jazzy sound, although it wasn't embraced by jazz musicians. (Joe Pass, however, used one during his stay at Synanon, as it was the only guitar he could get.) Instead, rock guitarists used the instrument, especially for surf rock. (The Ventures and The Fireballs were prominent Jazzmaster players.) Fender then recognized the need for a purpose-designed surf-guitar, and introduced the Fender Jaguar.
Both guitars fell out of fashion during the 1970s. Production of the Jazzmaster ceased in 1977, ironically, just as Tom Verlaine of Television, and Elvis Costello started giving the guitars a cult following. Thus, they were later embraced by the American Grunge and Indie rock scene. Sonic Youth are well known for their love of Jazzmasters, and for their unique customisation jobs (Jazzblaster). Thurston Moore contemporary and occasional collaborator Nels Cline (currently solo free-jazz artist and lead guitar for Wilco) has also used the Jazzmaster as his main guitar for decades. Robert Smith of The Cure, also used two Jazzmasters (called Black Torty & White Torty) for the majority of the Cure's early work. J Mascis of Dinosaur Jr is also a noted Jazzmaster player. His first Jazzmaster guitar was bought after painting the neighbor's house one summer. He says that he wanted a worn in Stratocaster but didn't have enough and purchased a Jazzmaster and loved it. The guitar has also had a large following in the "shoegazer" community. Kevin Shields and Belinda Butcher of My Bloody Valentine made liberal use of the Jazzmaster, and its picture is featured on the cover of their critically acclaimed album, Loveless. Russell Senior of Pulp used a Jazzmaster for several years before quitting the band. Mike Einziger of the modern rock band Incubus has used a Jazzmaster as his main axe for several years. In Japan, the Jazzmaster is popular with many alternative and indie rock bands - Tabuchi Hisako of Number Girl , Bloodthirsty Butchers. and Toddle, Abe Kousei of Sparta Locals, and Roger Lavallee of The Curtain Society among others, often use this model.
With the increasing popularity of old Jazzmasters, and the prices of old Telecasters and Stratocasters soaring out of sight in the 1980s, Jazzmasters became highly valuable. Fender has sporadically reissued the Jazzmaster during the last 20 years.
Many guitar players find fault with the design of the original Jazzmaster bridge, which features saddles that have many grooves cut into them (similar to screw threads). The idea behind this design was that you could space your strings to best suit your needs. In reality, the strings would jump out of the grooves while playing with any sort of force. As a solution, many Jazzmaster players replace the Jazzmaster bridge with a Fender Mustang style bridge, which only has one string groove per saddle. A cheaper and equally effective solution is simply to deepen the saddles. More issue is found with the rocking bridge design, which can pivot forward and backward and can occasionally get knocked in one direction or another. This is similar in concept to a modern roller bridge and works well in concept, but many players fix the bridge by wrapping its posts with electrical tape, however tuning can suffer when the trem is used. Another common Jazzmaster modification is the addition of a "Buzz Stop", a bar that mounts above the tremolo system and increases the angle of the strings behind the bridge, supposedly increasing sustain while decreasing string buzz (another common problem with the original Jazzmaster bridge). Some however claim that such implements are not necessary, forcing the bridge forward on some examples, and the trem can often bind on the buzzstop. Bridge buzz can be minimized, however, with a good setup. The most effective way is to raise the bridge, which will increase the break-angle of the strings, thus providing more downward force on the bridge.
[edit] External links
- Offset Guitars a discussion forum dedicated to Fender Jazzmasters, Jaguars, Bass VIs and other offset-waist guitars
- Fender Jazzmaster site on the evolution of the guitar from prototype stages through the changes after the final design
- Photos and info on vintage Fender Jazzmasters
