To anyone who's played a Fender Jazzmaster..

[astrozombie]

Ive been reading different things about jazzmasters, and it seems like it might kill a couple of birds with just one stone for me.

first off- it's got a type of single coil right? i understand that they dont sound as ducky and spanking as strat single coils, but its got to be close... right?

Similar?​

2nd- ive read in a couple of places that they are prone to feedback. how true is this? This is supposedly why Sonic Youth use them, because theyre noisy. I watched a few videos of someone using the trem on one, and it looked alright, and sounded good. from what i understand, its kind of a crappy
vibrato, but im sure a little lube and some decent tuners go a long way.

as noisy as this?

if any of this is true I could set my eyes on the jazzmaster as my next guitar, and after that id just play the jaguar and the jazzmaster and have those two guitars be my main guitars. I could buy an overwound duncan for the bridge and be done with it all.

 

[Left_Hand_Strat]

Re: To anyone who's played a Fender Jazzmaster..

yeah good point actually.....

 

[Bass_Medic_05]

Re: To anyone who's played a Fender Jazzmaster..

Why not!

 

[saladin]

Re: To anyone who's played a Fender Jazzmaster..

Will you pick me up one as well, while your at it!

 

[the guy who invented fire]

Re: To anyone who's played a Fender Jazzmaster..

Yes, they are single coils but no, they really don't sound much like Strat pickups.

Jazzmaster pickups are clean and bright without a lot of natural sustain and they don't do the glassy Strat thang...they actually have more of a funky twang thing happening.

Feedback...no more prone to feedback than any other guitar out there...vintage guitars are very inconsistant so some of the swueel and some do not.

SY used them in the earlky days becasue they could afford them, aft6er a while they had become part of their style...

The vibrato unit is not crappy perse but it is quirky and different...it's full floating and has a rather limited travel...good for shaking whole chords a little or stuff like that but not good for wide travel or heavy useage and they are prone to using issng issues that stem from basic design flaws...FWIW, most of these flaws have been correct with the new Classic Player Jazzmaster...I donno know if they work yet becase I have not tried o ne yet but hit me up next week and I'll know more!

Back to the noise issue I have no idea what you mean by asking is a Jazzmaster as noisy as a 335...335's have buckers are quiote unless you are asking about the hollowbody feedback issue and again it just depends on the guitar and the pickups and the situation...that said new pickups are a lot less prone to those old issues...

 

[astrozombie]

Re: To anyone who's played a Fender Jazzmaster..

Yes, they are single coils but no, they really don't sound much like Strat pickups.

Jazzmaster pickups are clean and bright without a lot of natural sustain and they don't do the glassy Strat thang...they actually have more of a funky twang thing happening.

Feedback...no more prone to feedback than any other guitar out there...vintage guitars are very inconsistant so some of the swueel and some do not.

SY used them in the earlky days becasue they could afford them, aft6er a while they had become part of their style...

The vibrato unit is not crappy perse but it is quirky and different...it's full floating and has a rather limited travel...good for shaking whole chords a little or stuff like that but not good for wide travel or heavy useage and they are prone to using issng issues that stem from basic design flaws...FWIW, most of these flaws have been correct with the new Classic Player Jazzmaster...I donno know if they work yet becase I have not tried o ne yet but hit me up next week and I'll know more!

Back to the noise issue I have no idea what you mean by asking is a Jazzmaster as noisy as a 335...335's have buckers are quiote unless you are asking about the hollowbody feedback issue and again it just depends on the guitar and the pickups and the situation...that said new pickups are a lot less prone to those old issues...

So Jazzmaster pickups are closer to Tele single coils than Strat single coils? As for the noise, and the comparison to the 335, I love feedback. I read in a few places that they are noisy, particularly if they aren't shielded. I didn't really plan on divebombs or anything like that, I was just wondering if the damn thing is usable.

I'd put in a hotter duncan pickup, or an antiquity. depends. :cool2:

 

[the guy who invented fire]

Re: To anyone who's played a Fender Jazzmaster..

So Jazzmaster pickups are closer to Tele single coils than Strat single coils? As for the noise, and the comparison to the 335, I love feedback. I read in a few places that they are noisy, particularly if they aren't shielded. I didn't really plan on divebombs or anything like that, I was just wondering if the damn thing is usable.

I'd put in a hotter duncan pickup, or an antiquity. depends. :cool2:

Jazzmaster pickups are not like Strat or Tele pickups...or Jag pickups for that matter....they are like Jazzmaster pickups, they are their own thing and have their own sound. Sort of dark and twangy, a little plinky and lack sustain.

They are no more noisy then any other single coil guitar and I see no connection at all between noise from single coil pickups and feedback...

The vibrato bar is useable, sure...a little less than a Bigsby...you can shake notes in a surf type of way and wiggle whole chords a little but thats it and even at that you will likely have tuning issues however like I said, some of these issues have been addresed wiht the new CP JM..I'll know more next week.

Hotter pickups are fine if thats what you want but they will be hotter using a JM pickup as a starting point...darkish, plinky and not a lot of sustain...

 

[Funkfingers]

Re: To anyone who's played a Fender Jazzmaster..

they are their own thing and have their own sound. Sort of dark and twangy, a little plinky and lack sustain.

They are no more noisy then any other single coil guitar and I see no connection at all between noise from single coil pickups and feedback...

The vibrato bar is useable, sure...a little less than a Bigsby...you can shake notes in a surf type of way and wiggle whole chords a little but thats it and even at that you will likely have tuning issues however like I said, some of these issues have been addresed wiht the new CP JM..I'll know more next week.

Hotter pickups are fine if thats what you want but they will be hotter using a JM pickup as a starting point...darkish, plinky and not a lot of sustain...

+1 TGWIF has pretty much nailed it. I have always found stock JM pickups ever so slightly disappointing.

AZ. Please stop looking at photographs and/or website pages. Go and play these guitars THEN decide whether they answer the brief. Better still, do the decent thing and buy that HH Jag from Empty Pockets, like you keep promising you will one day. :cool2:

 

[astrozombie]

Re: To anyone who's played a Fender Jazzmaster..

+1 TGWIF has pretty much nailed it. I have always found stock JM pickups ever so slightly disappointing.

AZ. Please stop looking at photographs and/or website pages. Go and play these guitars THEN decide whether they answer the brief. Better still, do the decent thing and buy that HH Jag from Empty Pockets, like you keep promising you will one day. :cool2:

I would, but I'm saving my coin for that cabinet I need to buy.

 

[jcthejester13]

Re: To anyone who's played a Fender Jazzmaster..

I don't know about describing them as "bright or twangy"...

They are flat-wound singles so they are really smooth and jazzy. The most accurate way to describe the JM pickup is "mellow". I have heard them described as "more piano-like than guitar"... and while that may be a stretch, it gives some aspect to what they really sound like. They are on the darker side of mellow. Personally I love them and they have spoiled the hell out of me. I can't play anything else now.

(Mine are replaced with Duncan Antiquity I's though).

As far as feedback goes- mine has never really been prone to feedback much. I really have to shove a **** load of distortion into it to get it to feedback... and I mean A LOT!

Just get a ****ing Jazzmaster already, Go******!

 

[IanBallard]

Re: To anyone who's played a Fender Jazzmaster..

There are some major design flaws with the original that have been corrected with the "Classic Player" series. Yeah, you don't want to do any divebombs with the trem and the neck pocket is questionable. But I love the way they sound.

 

[guitfiddle]

Re: To anyone who's played a Fender Jazzmaster..

AZ all you gotta do is think of a jazzbo playing on one, then you'll understand how the pickups sound.

Jazzers are into nice round darkish tones with good transient attack and not much sustain, cause they're moving away from that note almost as soon as they hit it. Lots of sustain would spoil that.

 

[astrozombie]

Re: To anyone who's played a Fender Jazzmaster..

Neck pocket? first mention of that in ANY conversation i've had.

Mellow? sounds alright to me! I've been listening to a record that I was informed was recorded with a single jazzmaster. I like the sounds it makes, its pretty wild with distortion. not wild in the sense of giant invader triple rectifier everything on 10 wild, but wild in the sense of big fuzzy tone that is actually kinda thin. i dig. i saw someone shaking the trem. i like the jangle. i havent heard much of the guitar using its rhythm circuit, but i was told it does the same the jaguar does, and thats good.

 

[astrozombie]

Re: To anyone who's played a Fender Jazzmaster..

Neck pocket? first mention of that in ANY conversation i've had.

Mellow? sounds alright to me! I've been listening to a record that I was informed was recorded with a single jazzmaster. I like the sounds it makes, its pretty wild with distortion. not wild in the sense of giant invader triple rectifier everything on 10 wild, but wild in the sense of big fuzzy tone that is actually kinda thin. i dig. i saw someone shaking the trem. i like the jangle. i havent heard much of the guitar using its rhythm circuit, but i was told it does the same the jaguar does, and thats good.

 

[jcthejester13]

Re: To anyone who's played a Fender Jazzmaster..

Nels Cline uses his trem quite a bit and it has always sounded good to me. I don't use mine much, but that is just personal style.

Going back to the sound and tone again. I almost use exclusively use it on the "neck-on" mode. It seems to be more bassy and mellow on the highs as compared to my Tele or P-90 equipped guitars.

 

[jcthejester13]

Re: To anyone who's played a Fender Jazzmaster..



I am not sure, but I think Nels uses his in neck-on here.

 

[the guy who invented fire]

Re: To anyone who's played a Fender Jazzmaster..

I don't find JM pickups disappointing but they are different...if you are looking for a more trad Fenbder thing (Strat or Tele) they can be a let down but they are a cool sound of their own...

 

[the guy who invented fire]

Re: To anyone who's played a Fender Jazzmaster..

I don't know about describing them as "bright or twangy"...

They are flat-wound singles so they are really smooth and jazzy. The most accurate way to describe the JM pickup is "mellow". I have heard them described as "more piano-like than guitar"... and while that may be a stretch, it gives some aspect to what they really sound like. They are on the darker side of mellow. Personally I love them and they have spoiled the hell out of me. I can't play anything else now.

(Mine are replaced with Duncan Antiquity I's though).

As far as feedback goes- mine has never really been prone to feedback much. I really have to shove a **** load of distortion into it to get it to feedback... and I mean A LOT!

Just get a ****ing Jazzmaster already, Go******!

I don't find anything about a Jazzmaster jazzy at all...I mean you can play jazz on any gvuitar you want but when I think about a jazz tone I think hollow body Gibson and a Twin reverb or a big SS amp like a Polytone...

To me thats like saying a Roland Jazz Chorus has a jazzy tone...just becasue it has jazz in the name doesn't make it jazzy...

 

[the guy who invented fire]

Re: To anyone who's played a Fender Jazzmaster..

Neck pocket? first mention of that in ANY conversation i've had.

There is not an issue with the neck pocket however the neck pocket was changed on the Classic Player model to fix the lack of breakover angle the originals have...

Vintage Fender guitars have a zero neck angle and a zero headstock angle but most of the time on Strats and Tele's it overcome by the rest of the design...the Jazz/Jag have that funky tremolo/bridge thing and all those thing together lead to almost no breakover angle anywhere in the string path...this leads to strings thet won't stay put in the saddles, poor tuning stability not to mention crappy tone due to no string tension to speak of...

On the CP JM they moved the position of the tailpiece to aid in correcting this and also routed the neck pocket at an angle to give a little neck angle to helpl correct this...it was a way to fix the issue w/o a complete redesign...

By all counts it has worked...

 

[jcthejester13]

Re: To anyone who's played a Fender Jazzmaster..

I don't find anything about a Jazzmaster jazzy at all...I mean you can play jazz on any gvuitar you want but when I think about a jazz tone I think hollow body Gibson and a Twin reverb or a big SS amp like a Polytone...

To me thats like saying a Roland Jazz Chorus has a jazzy tone...just becasue it has jazz in the name doesn't make it jazzy...

Jazzy was maybe not the best word to describe it, but they do have a certain quality behind them that seems to blend the notes better than a standard single-coil guitar would. "Mellow" is easily the first word that comes to my mind when I think of the standard JM sound.