Fender '62 Reissue Jazzmaster

My '62 reissue Jazzmaster was made in June of 2002 according to the date on the neck. It has all the standard Jazzmaster features with the two sets of volume and tone controls and the lousy bridge design featuring deliberately reduced sustain and probably not so deliberate shallow saddles from which the strings like to slip. It also buzzes, so I installed a "Buss Stop". It still buzzes, although less so, but the sustain has been improved and the strings don't fall easily off the saddles.
The nicest feature of the guitar is the tone and the seemingly wider distance between strings (in comparison to a Strat). On tone alone, the guitar would get a 10 in this category BUT the bridge, the bridge, the bridge.

I love the sound of this guitar. The large single coils sound better than the smaller strat single coils. I play it through various Fender amps including a Twin, a Super and a Vibrosonic.
I even use the often ignored Jazz tone setting (via switches on the upper pickguard).

Mine was not set up well so I tightened the truss, lowered the bridge and set the neck angle. It still doesn't have the greatest action but it's not bad. The rest of the guitar is without flaws.

It's dependable.

I've been playing for 30 years. I would probably replace the guitar if stolen.

I'll just say that the jazzmaster,along with the jaguar has the greatest line up of pickup controls you can immagine.full stop.
mine is an early 90's sunburst 'crafted in japan' model.

this guitar has tone,not much power if you're used to gibsons or american tele's and strats,but it has got incredible tone.
The problem with my particular guitar is that the bridge pickup had a much lower output than the neck one,so i just bought a seimour duncan 'hot' pickup....now it's fine!
I play psychedelic/noise/alternative rock, i play through various pedals:ds1/big muff/rat/polyflange/dano delay....into an Orange ad140tc...for my personal taste,way of playing and genre this guitar is a must...

Sorry to put an 8 here,but the pickup problem and the way the guitar was set up just dissapointed me a bit...
other than that,i have to say that this guitar has the BEST neck i've ever played,and i've played quite a few guitars...
about the strings slipping off the bridge saddles: just file the saddle to make a deeper groove!about 2 minutes worth of work...

The finish looks pretty well done,the hardware seems solid enough...i would take it around the world without backup...

never dealt with them

Okay,i explain the ten: with the pickup change,the bridge set up and the saddle filed(really not an enourmous amount of work)i've ended up with an absolutely perfect guitar.
On top of the sound and playability,this guitar is hands down the sexiest,most beautiful guitar ever made.

This is a late 90's (?) "crafted in japan" model jazzmaster. not to be confused with the basswood mid 90's basswood model, and, instead, the alder designed jm. it is not a snobby thing, but only a clarification for some that need to know. two soapbar, p90 size single coil pickups, and mine is in sunburst color. it has rhythm and lead switching function, with volume sliders and pickup selection from a toggle switch. this is really pretty standard if you are familiar with the jazzmaster/jaguar design. for me, i think the sound options presented are almost limitless; therefore, i pleasantly rate the features at a sound 10.

this is so subjective, but let me take a crack at it. first, the sound can go anywhere from lush, thick chordal and melodic tone to brighter, jangly tones. i changed the stock bridge pickup to a custom p90, and left the neck stock. the sound is extremely full and not at all without low end. my setup is a '65 fender deluxe reverb w/jensen p12n and my effects are: a fulltone new custom mini deja vibe, boss tu-2, ibanez ts9/808, ts9/808, ibanez cp-835 ii compressor, and an eb volume pedal. with both ovedrives on and the compressor working it can be a bit noisey; however, it is not at all obtrusive to your playing. when i turn those pedals off, specifically the overdrive, the noise level is almost zero (i use both pu's nearly always). i play music from emo light rock to blues and this guitar has never let me down. i do not do covers, but if you want a good reference, listen to My Bloody Valentine for an intro to the guitar's potential. i think it goes way beyond that frontier, but that is the point: i have nearly limitless sound opportunities with this guitar. again, therefore, i rate this pleasantly at a 10 for my needs and expectations.

many users in the past have complained about this part of the jazzmaster/jaguar experience. i couldn't disagree with them, but i must have lucked out. my setup is exactly what i needed when i bought it. just make sure you choose your string guage before you setup the guitar. otherwise you'll have intonation problems. i use roundwound pyramids 11-52, so if you do lead/rhythm guitar these will not at all inhibit your playing. i really can't rate my finish as perfect, as i'm sure a tech had to do some stock clumsiness adjusting, but i have not had any problems with buzzing or strings slipping out the saddles. try deepening the grooves if you suffer from this, it is known remedy for many users.

this is a pretty sturdy guitar, but not something you should beat up for fun. i would recommend something cheaper and less classy for that type of fun. no problems thus far, but it is a bit too early to give a perfect rating; therefore, i will give it the best feedback i can give with such a new guitar (3-4 years).

never dealt with fender, so can't say much. i bought this through a music store, --chambers guitars in tenessee. great people!! they would get a 10 if it was there production guitar.

I have been playing nearly 9 years now, and I have tried on a lot of different guitars during those years. From a G&L ASAT tele classic to a pre-cbs fender mustang. This guitar has met my expectations for nearly any musical style i could think of performing/writing. I dearly love the G&L, but my jazzmaster is the prettiest/sexiest, and by far, the most versatile in my lineup. So many people will say how this guitar is a surf, clean-only instrument, but that is BS, and you should ignore that type of ignorance. It does not love heavy gobs of distortion, but i have twin ts9/808's and it has never farted out on me before. People have stereotyped this guitar, along with the jaguar because they did not give it a fair chance, or could not think of a solution to a problem within thier setup. Trust me, you can do hard rock and lighter music with this guitar. It lies in your pickups and your gear setup. GEt a good base, and build from there. If this guitar were ever lost, stolen, or destroyed, I would promptly replace it within days. It is my must have piece of equipment. I think the sound options are pretty generous, so I have no preference to add any more controls to it. Remember, I'm only a subjective voice, so go out and buy the guitar with your ears, and not your eyes while watching ebay. YOu really need to hear this instrument first, and then you'll know what to expect. Only I say this will be vague to a degree, because the sound options are expansive when you have time to tweak them. If it buzzes, pops, or does anything else out of the ordinary, then simply take it to the store you bought it from and have it fixed. It is most likely not a lemon, and is only in need of a setup. Most (generalized, i know) people would be happy if they tried these simple tasks before giving up. So be patient with these babies, because they are by far, one of the most unique guitars any maker has to offer.

I bought the Jazzmaster re-issue in 1997. I foolishly had let a guy talk me into selling my original '62 Jazzmaster. I had owned three Jazzmasters since the late 60's. Hell you could buy one for $200.00 used at any music store or hock shop. After I sold my Jazzmaster, I started looking around an discovered to my dismay, there aren't any $200.00 Jazzmasters out there anymore! So I ended up buying this one new from a friend of mine who has his own Fender dealership for a really good price! It was a stock cherry red re-issue Jazzmaster.

It played OK. after I've been playing guitar since 1952. I play all types of music as a saloon singer! I played it through a Peavey Bandit. I use an Ibanez digital echo and a Dunlap "Crybaby."

I wouldn't say the action was set up too good at the factory! I messed with the adjustments for several months. I did notice the "lock down" button on the tremelo had no function at all! I have had 3 other American Jazzmasters as I stated. I took this one apart to fix the "lock down" feature, but the button had no mechanism to fix! It was just there so it would look like a real Jazzmaster! The finish was nice, but the back of the neck had a "sticky" feel to it? I also HATE "slot in the top" tuners! But more about this later.

It was a sturdy guitar. Had trouble finding a case to fit it? It stayed in tune fairly well. It seemed as it had a "decal" covering the body? At least that's what another music store told me? I played it a lot without a backup. No problems.

I have dealt with the music store I bought it from for over 20 years. It's Alan Atkins Discount Music in Birmingham, AL. I've always had the best support from his store! No questions, he just stands rock solid behind his products!

I was trying to install some Grover tuners in it and I split the headstock! It would have cost me more than the guitar was worth to put another neck on it. I didn't have a computer for E-bay to buy a neck at the time. The manager of the local Fender dealship had a US made Jazzmaster neck. But, he wouldn't sell it to me? He wanted to build his OWN Jazzmaster. So I traded straight across for an Ibanez "Art Star 80" in pristine shape. I won't spend money for a re-issue again. You're just buying a name. The difference between the MIJ and the "made in the good ol' USA," is quite noticeable. Especially to me as I cut my teeth on American made Fenders! I'm gonna keep my eyes open for a Fender Jazzmaster that's made right here. Maybe I'll find someone who is as dumb as I was to sell mine?

?Crafted in Japan? in 1997 (I don?t think that MIJ or CIJ makes any difference) with 21 frets and more selector switches than anything this side of a sixties Vox Guitar Organ. Looks pretty ? classic sunburst. I had the stock tone and volume knobs and three-way selector switch replaced with custom American-made hardware (not Switchcraft, they?ve lost it quality-wise recently) because the Japanese ?ware gave you on and off with the knobs and the selector switch was giving out after a few years? use. I also replaced the stock pickups ? although the neck one sounded great, the bridge was completely underpowered and noisy, and no amount of adjusting would change that ? with Seymour Duncan Hot for Jazzmaster pickups (darker tone than the Ventures had in mind, but still not a complete change of mood like the Quarterpounders will do). I also had a shim put in the neck in order to fix intonation troubles. I DID NOT REPLACE THE BRIDGE. People that play too hard not only will have a problem keeping the strings in the bridge, they will also sound like crap in the recording studio. If you replace the bridge with a tune-o-matic you lose the whole floating tremolo concept. You still have one of the coolest-looking guitars ever made, but hey, the floating tremolo was an attraction for me at any rate.

My review score is an average - before I fixed it up, it was a 5, afterwards, a 10. The neck pickup was great, but that was all you could work with; with the SD's in there, a whole range of sounds is available. I play indie pop, some Django-esque jazz, and some more experimental but melodic stuff and this is a great platform for all three. The sound is not like any other guitar - and I don't know anyone who hasn't liked it. Not thin or too sparkly bright, dark and deep but not muddy for the neck and sharp and solid with the bridge, and with effects all sorts of neat stuff can happen, especially with the tremolo arm. E-Bow works very well with this - I like the sound better than what I've gotten from humbucker-equipped seventies Les Paul and SG models I've played.

Not well set up at all when newly bought - major rehab was necessary, although there was nothing structurally or fatally wrong with the guitar. It did travel a long way from Japan to get here, after all, maybe she was just tired (yes, her name is "Kyoko"). I put in new pickups, knobs and switches and had shims put in as described above. The neck however, saves this one rating-wise - best I have ever played, and the action was perfect. I have medium-sized hands but longish fingers and it is absolutely the best.

This guitar is built to last - now that I fixed it up. I played a number of Jazzmasters, both American and Japanese, before buying this one and I realized that whatever Jazzmaster I bought, I would have to lay down some cash to fix it up in any case, so why not buy a less expensive one? The sixties JM's will all be needing new pickups very soon (yes folks, old pickups do die, and the golden era JM's are all pushing 40+) and are not a consistently high quality lot (whether through player misuse or bad days at the factory we can argue), and the reissue Japanese and American ones are a very mixed bag (great parts, poor assembly).

I never gigged without a few guitars, but this is my main axe.

Never dealt with them - SONY/Fender/Fender Japan are megamonster corporations without souls, so who cares? Get a good guitar tech and you don't need customer service.

I have played for about 20 years. I play the Jazzmaster through a Marshall JCM900 live and through old Sears and Magnatones to record. I own a lot of effects - stereo reverb, tape echo, fuzz, analog delay - but don't use them all the time or all at once that often. I would not buy another one; for the money I spent in total ($700 new cost + $250 fix ups and new hardware and pickups = $950) I would have one made for me by Warmoth or via Ebay parts shopping and assembled by my guitar tech. It would absolutely have to have the exact specs as the Jap reissue (especially the neck specs, dang it's great). As I indicated above, I think finding the perfect Jazzmaster is a lost cause - you're better off making your own. Or stealing mine ...

1984 Made in Japan 62 re-issue Alder body White finish (try and find one) vintage style tuners solid as a rock stays in tune for weeks on end. 21 frets, vintage tremelo when set up correctly this will not let you down. Tone circuts you've read about above.
no case included had to find one -part of the fun!

Sounds great if you work on it. Suits my style fine, Listen to Roy Lanam, or any early 60's session player these guys are using JM's
Not for metal unless you have a room full of boxes and like to go Rzzzzzzzzz. great punch, nice deep sounds rich and filling.
if not careful has the tendency to go "bink" again get it set up.

I had it set up by a professional and have only had to raise the saddles every once in a while since they vibrate. I have read about people putting tape, glue you name it on the bridge - The bridge is susposed to float. This guitar is very nice and I can't find any flaws the inside wiring was very neat and solid.
Pickup are ok with the re-issues but I changed mine to SD vintage to get it as close to spec as you can with a re-issue

Have played it with groups of friends without a backup. too lazy to bring other guitars. This guitar has been around since 1984 and nothing on it has failed. I depend on it, I love it. The finish is looking more vintage the more I blow cigarette smoke on it.

Have not dealt with the company

YOU MUST BUY THIS PRODUCT NOW!

I've got a '99 reissue Jazzmaster, crafted in Japan. The last Japanese one that Musician's friend will ever have in stock. I love this guitar! The dual circuits are a great feature, and Don Randall should be given saint status for designing this great successor to the Strat.

The pickups are awesome for what I play most times, like Jazz (go figure) or blues. However, my '99 American Standard Strat still gets the nod for best pickups... I think I can solve this problem with a little help from my pal Seymore Duncan though... haha.. but honestly, the sound is great nice and warm, and when played through my '69 Super Bassman head, it is AWESOME. nuff said.

This guitar (no joke) was more playable, and better set up from the factory than my Strat... no joke, plus it has that great vintage 7.25 neck profile that I adore... no flaws, just perfect.

I'vee dropped it... scratched it, and the only things that I ever need fixed are the seasonal neck adjustements, and the occaisional pots will slip loose... I have always depended on this guitar, and I'm more afrain to use my Strat without backup. This guitar's durable finish is sunburst, never a problem... good hard paint.

I've called Fender about my Strat before, and the guy and I had a converstaion about my Japanese Jazzmaster.. haha.. gotta love it.

I love this guitar! Wouldn't change it!

i bought this guitar through good old ebay. i'm a lefty, which i'm proud of, and finding the right guitar is always troublesome. so when i randomly looked on ebay and saw a left handed Japan Reissue Jazzmaster, i had to buy it. i was actually looking for a Jaguar but this is just as good, in my opinion. i love this guitar. it's the exact same as all the other reissued Jazzmasters, just left handed.

i play emo, post-hardcore, alternative, which are in a way the same thing, but i was looking for a distinctive sound other than the classic strat or tele sound. i use a Peavey Classic 30 and a Mesa Boogie Subway Rocket. anyone who knows amps knows that these are some sweet sounding ones. i primarily use the Classic 30 cause i like the distortion better. i don't turn up the gain too much, but when i do it still sounds good. people may say that these Jazzmasters are for a certain style of music, but they're wrong! you can just as easily use a cello in hard rock or a trumpet in Rap to get people's attention with a new sound. anyway, i'm done with that.
there is some noise with a lot of gain in the bridge setting but i record all the time and i get get by this problem fairly easy. email me and i'll tell you how. if you don't know what this guitar sounds like, go to a music store and play it through a twin reverb or something and you'll hear how unique it is. crap, i ended in a preposition.

the action was pretty low when i received it, but i had to put heavier stings on it anyway. i tune down to weird tunings anyway. there was some dirtiness to the connection that i just had to solder the jack to fix the problem. this guitar plays so sweet and clear. and the bridge problem everyone's talked about? mine came with a Mustang bridge already fitted on it so i didn't have to worry about that.

i primarily use this guitar for recording along with a cheap lefty epiphone with Gibson pickups in it with that Subway Rocket, so it's held up and probably will hold up for a long time. this is a guitar i'll probably have the rest of my life. this is my faithful guitar.

i've been playing for a good 7 years and this is the one guitar that i've shelled out more than $300 for. all my other guitars are cheap $300 guitars that still sound good and i'm never really shopping for looks, but this Jazzmaster looks and sounds great. i use to record with a Line 6 POD but now that i have some nice sounding amps, i use them and the recordings sound sweet.
AND HEY, IF YOU'RE IN THE COLUMBUS AREA AND WANT TO RECORD, I HAVE A COMPUTER BASED RECORDING STUDIO IN MY BASEMENT. i'm pretty much a wienie about this so just email me with any questions.

This is '62 reissue made in Japan, and I got got it straight from the shop for 920 Euro's.
It is a long scale arm with 22 frets, it has a wolume and tone knobs and a three way selector on the main circuit, but there is also a second circuit which is controled by two wheel rolling control knobs for volume and tone. But I don't use this circuit often.
There are two soapbar pickups, but unlike the the original U.S. pick they sound not very good.
I imidiately replaced the Jazzmaster bridge with a Mustang bridge. The bridge is defintely the worst part on this guitar. It sucks!!
The tailpiece has the floating tremolo, one of Feders trademarks and it is fine.
The tuners are quiet ok. Also not as good as U.S. made but certainly not bad. The neck has a rosewood fingerboard (I think) and plays very good.

I play surf music, so this guitar suits my style perfectly and I got it hooked up on a Electro Harmonics Holy Grail and a Dinasour Digital Delay on a sovtek MiG 100.
The guitar plays pretty clean but the sound of the MIJ pick ups is too thin. They sound very bad when played thru a distortioned channel. So that is why I will replace them by Seymour Duncan Pick ups.

The guitar was nicey set up at the factory, I only lowered the bridge pick, but this was very easy.
I double checked the guitar on any kind of flaws, but I couldn't find any.

This guitar behaves very good at live gigs, only the whammy bar fell out once, but this is due my fast playing and jumping around. The problem was also easely cured afterwads. I can take this guitar to a gig without backup for sure.
The overall quality of this instrument is very good and reliable.

Fender has a very good customer support (In Europe that is) They where very helpfull and answered all my questions via e-mail. Thumbs up for Fender Germany.

The warranty lasts one year.

I play guitar for about 12 years and played a lot of guitars and different styles of music. I owe a Ibanez 440 SST and a Bellwood SG, a Melody maker guitar (very kitch disco guitar) and an Applause semi acoustic guitar + a very old Vox cello body Bass guitar.
Thanks to Fender I knew everything I wanted to know before purchasing this guitar.
If it where stolen, I would hunt the thief down and beat him with my melody Guitar to get my Jazzmaster back!! or I would replace it.
Since a U.S. made Jazzmaster was out of financial range I setled for the MIJ JAzzmaster. But it was a good choice.
I would only wish they would replace the horrible bridge at the factory and replace it with a Mustang one. It would saved me a lot of trouble.

1998 MIJ '62 Reissue Jazzmaster

Standard JM scale

Two tone circuits -- Lead circuit (neck & bridge pu's available): master volume, master tone, 3-pos toggle. Rhythm cirucit (neck pu only w/ preset tone upon activation): activated by 2-pos slide sw, separate roller controls for volume and tone.

Basswood body

Candy Apple Red w/ matching headstock

Jazzmaster/Jaguar floating bridge

Kluson (the BEST)

Tolex covered case

Two stock Fender single coil soap bar pickups -- some hum when activated by themselves, hum-cancelling when activated at same time.

I'm strictly a chord-playing rhythm guitarist schooled in "grunge" and early 90's "alternative" rock. Since I'll never weave sonic tapestries like David Gilmour or shred like Billy Corgan (not really much of a soloist), it suits my style just fine! Sounds best when played through 45 Watt Fender Hot Rod Deluxe. Full single coil sound w/ the right amount of bass and treble response when played clean. I mainly use the neck pu in the lead circuit for clean parts and use rhythm circuit for distorted parts (kind of a mid-range "boost", it seems, when this circuit is activated). I can get some pretty good "metal" crunch using Boss MT-2 Metal Zone.... I find the bridge design somewhat comfortable for palm muting. No problems w/ unwanted ringing from behind the bridge when chording. Get pretty good harmonics when playing distorted power chords. Get great "psychedelic" noises when purposely strumming behind the bridge (a la Sonic Youth). I don't solo much, but when I do, lack of sustain bothers me

Factory set up was great... instantly comfortable and pleasing to the ear...

Have had major problems w/ stock bridge, but it IS a Jazzmaster after all.... Just purchased Mustang replacement bridge and looking for free time to install it... When intonation is not acting up, the tuning on this thing is solid as a rock! Finish and hardware seem durable.... Because of bridge problems, can't say that I don't keep a backup... If the Mustang bridge pans out, you can bet I'll go solo w/ the JM!!

Been playing for about 10 years (lots of improvement needed, though)... Own '93 Lake Placid Blue Mexican Strat w/ two Gold Fender Lace Sensors in neck and Middle and Seymour Duncan Hot Rails in Bridge, Black Mexican Telecast w/ DiMarzio Noiseless single coils in neck and bridge and '99 Natural Finish '72 Reissue Fender Telecaster Thinline (all stock)... Dunlop Univibe (the red one), Boss OD-2r overdrive, Boss PH-2 phaser, Boss MT-2 Metal Zone, Boss BF-2 Flanger, Boss DD-3 Digital Delay, Boss CH-1 Super Chorus, Boss floor tuner all wired on a Furman SPB-8 Stereo Pedal board... Play through Fender Hot Rod Deluxe (45 Watt, all tube) or Peavey Studio Pro 112 (60 Watt, tube emulation circuitry)...

Would I by another Jazzmaster if lost or stolen? Yes! And I'd replace the bridge instantly!

I love the styling, and I love the comfort of the neck.... I have big hands, and it's the comfortable playing guitar I've got...

I wish Fender would make Vintage Noiseless JM pickups; I'd put them in in a heart beat, but only if Fender produced the necessary electronics to keep both the lead and rhythm circuits intact...