Fender '62 Reissue Jazzmaster

I bought my American made '62 Reissue Jazzmaster about 3 months ago. It has 2 soapbox pickups. The rythme and lead channels are separate so that the tone and volume can be preset. That's a really nice feature to have. This guitar doesn't do well with flat wound strings if the gauge is higher than .010-.048. The tune-0-matic bridge is difficult to work with because its treaded. I have a 3 tone sunburst with a shell pickguard. 1 volume and 1 tone per channel with a 3-way toggle on the lead channel. This guitar has a lot of options

It has an overall warm tone and can sound really hollow when toned out on the lead channel. The soapbox pickups sound like humbuckers on the lead channel and have a warm and full single coil tone on the rythme channel. This guitar however is not as versital as I hoped it would be and frankly a good quality strat could out perform it any day. However, it does have good tone.

If this guitar was lost or stolen, I would replace it with something else. It would be a Fender, but not this one. Its a good guitar with a cool sound, just not what i'm looking for.

This is a 1995 '62 Jazzmaster Reissue from Japan. I have always felt that the Japanese, given the right tooling, can beautifully recreate classic guitars. This model has a slighly thin solid body with more switches and dials than anybody would ever need. I don't mess with them much, using the amp to shape my sound. It has 2 big "soapbar" pickups designed to attract jazz players of the 50's and 60's but they weren't swayed. It has a cool offset body, much different from the Strat. The vintage tuners worked in the 60's and they work now. Beautifully finished candy apple red body and headstock. That combination seems like the Japanese standard on this guitar.

I've tried a lot of guitars and I've liked them all but the Jazzmaster has become my main guitar. Sound is the main reason. This one, I can really hear a difference. I play a lot of surf music and this guitar's tone and Fender's reverb go well together. It sounds equally as well when playing blues.

The guitar wasn't well set up when I got it new but I enjoyed going completey through it, tweaking it just the way I like it. I love the red finish and it is a quality paint job. The 3-way selector switch was noisy from the begining and a little tuner cleaner fixed that right away. I can set the action fairly low without any fret buzz. I started out with a set of 9 strings but I would recommend at least 10's with the Jazzmaster. I was resistant at first to the glossy finished maple neck but soon found it can be as fast as satin.

I'm sure this guitar would do well as a regualr gigging guitar, You just have to take care of it. I haven't experienced the same bridge problems that others have. Must have something to do with playing style. The fitting for the tremelo bar came apart after a short period of time which was easily re-assembled. (Though we shouldn't have to be doing that on any guiitar). This is a dependable guitar, although I don't think I would play any gig without a backup guitar.

I do my own set ups and repairs so customer support would not be an issue.

I've been playing for 35 years and own 2 Fender Strats that I really like but the Jazzmaster gets the most use. If I was to replace this guitar it would be with an American-made Jazzmaster or Jaguar. Probably not finished in red, since so many red ones are out there. I like the thin neck because I have small hands. Overall good balance. It's a great fit for me. I'm sure with closer 60's matched pickups the tone would improve but this guitar has great tone as it is. I bought this guitar for resale but it didn't take long to decide it's a keeper.

My 96 Jazzmaster is Candy apple red with matching headstock, white/black/white scratchplate and vintage machine heads.It has the usual floating trem , 21 nickel silver frets, the body is alder and the neck is maple with rosewood fingerboard . it has 2 volume controls and 2 tone controls with a 3 way toggle switch

I play alternatave/ punk rock and the jazzmaster is ideal, the only pproblems i have are that it buzzes quite alot and i keep picking up mobile phone calls. apart from that the sound is great, im using a marshall valvestate vs100r and you can get sounds ranging from crispy clean to harmonic laden sounds at the flick of the rythm/lead switch

i could not find many faults allthough the bridge is fiddly and hard to get the intonation spot on and the 3 way switch is quite noisy

this guitar is very durably but during a gig 2 of the bridge height screws wiggled their way out ,, witch was not good. and scratches on the paint are very visible as the metallic paint is very reflective of light

ive been playing for 8 years now, i had strats , ive had jagstangs and a mustang, and i can honestly say my jazzmaster is the nicest sounding guitar ive ever played, from the sexpistols to hendrix this guitar has the widest range of sounds imaginable

Made in Japan... I've been told that it's Basswood, by some, Alder by others. Maple neck, Rosewood fretboard. Candy apple metalic red, nice glassey finish.

the sound is good, and versitile, with the added circuit, for the jazzier tone.

This is an update on a review I wrote about 2 years ago for this guitar, now that I'm not so enchanted by the newness of this guitar I can be more critical... If you want to read my origional, scroll down to the bottom (email at the time was DAgrunt@webtv). I have several major problems, which have delegated this guitar to underneath my bed. The main and seemingly unrepairable problem is with the crummy bridge, which, I have since replaced the saddle piece with a Les Paul saddle, to keep the strings in place, when you bend notes, the strings flop out of the screw-type saddles, I've read the different remedies (i.e. washers, filing, et.al.) and decided the Les Paul would work, and it did, fairly well, but a few mods were made in the process. If you want to keep your origional bridge saddle piece, I recommend a few winds of black electrical tape around the poles, next time you change the strings... this will keep the saddle from moving laterally, and it will stay in tune better. Another big problem is the fact that, beyond the 12th fret, any bending of any string results in the string fretting out and choking... unless the action is above an acceptable level. Another: The bottom "E" string dominates over all others, just washing out the sound of the others.... Another.... The tremolo bar sits very loosley in the hole for it, causing flutter in the tremolo action, and a little grounding scratchey noise, I wrapped one width of clear packing tape around it, to fix this. Again with the tape???? Another... The frets seem real super-duper cheap!!!! I don't play out, and I don't even play that much, and the frets, especially around open D, A, E, etc. chords are showing substantial wear. Other than these... the finish , and all other components seem to be holding their own, quite nicely.

..... The tuning pegs are much better than my origional feeling. Very smooth, and reliable feelikng. I don't plat out, but I would NEVER, under ANY circumstances, go to a gig, with this guitar, without a backup, or at least a good battery in the tuner!

If this guitar wound up missing, can't say I would replace it... Except for an origional '60's model, I still love the looks and the sound is great, but the I can't see the reissue enduring like the origional. In retrospect, I wish I had bought an origional, for a few more bucks, or a decent Stratocaster. If somebody has some suggestions, please email.

This guitar was apparently made in 1998 or 1999 in Japan. It's got a solid top, I suppose...1 volume, one tone on each channel...3 way selector on the lead channel. It has two single coils, they aren't P-90s but they are similar in appearance to them. It has a Fotoflame maple top finish, and of course, the Jazzmaster contoured body shape. The bridge is weird, you traditionally don't see these on Fender guitars, normally they are on Gibsons...the tuners are vintage, and the neck is thin and fast, although the laquer coating on it got in my way...so I shaved it off.

I play mostly metal, punk, and the like...this guitar sounds like shit for that kind of music, but ya gotta learn to play stuff with soft dynamics sometime =). I use this guitar with a Marshall JTM 60, and the guitar's pickups have a normal amount of single coil buzz on the 1 and 3 positions, but nothing out of the ordinary...vintage strat pickups have more buzz than these. It has a very bright, treble-y sound most of the time, but if the tone is rolled all the way down, I can get a very rich crunch...
If you don't turn the volume knob down to about 8 when the tone is on full, you will get an unpleasant amount of microphonic feedback...it would be a good idea to only turn the guitar's volume to 10 when you need a cutting sound for solos.
I just wish that the guitar could get a slight more amount of crunch and bottom end, and had a bit less treble...

The bridge wobbles...
At least mine DID. To fix this problem, buy some black electrical tape, and wrap some around the bottom part the bridge the next time you change the strings...the bridge will pull right out. Wrap the electrical tape around those two little poles, the tape will fit them perfectly. Wrap as needed, then put the bridge back. No more wobble.
Other than that, this guitar was damn near perfect...the strings sometimes go out of place if I bend too hard, but then again, that's having to bend pretty far...

I'd think it would withstand live playing as long as you played with care...you don't have to be TOO careful, it's durable all right, but I wouldn't try to destroy it. The finish will definitely last. I changed the strap buttons. Stock strap buttons are gay, you should change them no matter what to locking ones. I could depend on this guitar, and I would use it on a gig AS a backup...probably, this would be my soft song guitar, or my alternately tuned guitar...but not my number one.

This is an awesome guitar for blues rock and stuff from the 60's. It sound damn good playing Iggy Pop and the Stooges. It shines when I play Hendrix songs as well. If you like Sonic Youth, you'll probably want to make some modifications to this guitar, such as adding a humbucker and possibly installing a Gibson Tun-O-Matic bridge, because this guitar won't just do the punk thing right off...it feels PERFECT for it though. I didn't get this guitar expecting an ESP or a Jackson, I got it because it FELT good and I knew that I would be able to mod it later if I needed or wanted to...but the stock hardware is growing on me, thanks to my expansion of taste...
To those of you that DO play metal stuff-this guitar will NOT drive a Mesa/Boogie or Marshall to ultimate saturation...you probably will want a fuzz pedal or a really saturated distortion pedal for this guitar, since the pickups don't have enough output on their own to drive a tube amp to anything beyond medium-hard rock and blues. It's a great guitar though, I give it an 8.

Japanese reissue jazzmaster. Candy apple red with matching headstock. Wide single coils, independent volume and tone controls. Horrible bridge, and very small frets. The jazzmaster has a huge neck which makes it fun to grab. Old style tuners, and I got a bag with the guitar.

I got suckered into the jazzmaster because of how good it looks. I probably should have done more research on Harmony Central. The jazzmaster is the thinnest guitar I have ever heard. My tele and strat are twice as full as this guitar is. I thought since the single coils were wide, they would sound kind of p-90-ish. I play lots of different music, and am a fan of various genres. I think what sucks out the tone is the crappy bridge. My jazzmaster has a very plink,plink sound. Also with the little frets and the combination with the bridge does not ad for much sustain. I have a reissue strat, and it is SO much thicker than the jazzmaster. I don't really like tinny tones. I like rich sounds. If one was to change the bridge, and change the pickups I think the sound would improve, but I don't think it could be used much more than a rythmn guitar because of the little frets. If thin sounds are your thing this could be your guitar.

The candy apple red finish looks great. The action is way to low for my liking,as there is a lot of fret buzz when playing the e,a or d strings. I have had the probelm of stings popping out and the low e string goes sharp, when I play the jazzmaster for a period of time. The electronics seem to work fine.

It seems ok to play the jazzmaster in my house, but I think with the crappy bridge, it wouldn't be the most reliable guitar to play live.

I am getting rid of this guitar this weekend, cause I don't really need it. I don't want to throw in the money for the tune-o-matic bridge, and seymour duncans. I think i will miss the guitar just because it looks so cool. Actually now that I am writing this, i am having second thoughts of getting rid of it. The little frets though, don't make for a very lead based guitar. If this guitar had a better bridge, hotter pickups, and bigger frets, it would be a lot better. People that usually used jazzmasters played them becuase of how inexpensive they were. Now with inflation of the vintage guitar market, these guitars are pretty expensive. And the reissue's do not to seem to be that much different. I do not understand why fender stopped making them, and now they are only made in the U.S. Maybe they will be made in mexico soon, that would be cool. I love the neck shape, and if you are fender mad, then you may like the jazzmaster. I don't really like the jazzmaster though.

This is the Japanese "reissue" of the 1962 Jazzmaster, manufactured in 1998 or 1999. Guitar has the standard maple neck, alder body and rosewood fretboard. Twenty one frets. Has the 2 standard single coils with which I have already had an all too familiar problem--they double as CB antennae!The circuitry is the standard Jazzmaster "double circuit" with separate rhythm and lead circuits. Controls include lead circuit with volume and tone and rhythm circuit with volume and tone along with a 3-way toggle for the [3] lead circuit pickup combinations. I'm not particularly enamored of this "dual circuit" set-up. It strikes me as being somewhat cumbersome. And very confusing. The guitar has the standard Jazzmaster "floating" tremolo and stop tail piece along with the Jazzmaster's unique bridge set-up with individual "lifters". I personally find this arrangement very attractive. I play with my fingers and this permits me to make individual adjustments--not only as to string height but placement of the strings on the fretboard itself. I can, for instance, move the B and E strings closer together. This gives finger players something of an advantage. And I consider it a very useful feature. My guitar was purchased new--but rather disappointingly, the folks at MARS had lost the tremolo bar! So after almost 2 weeks I'm still waiting for them to come up with one...[but not holding my breath]. I finally found one at a vintage guitar shop. I never use the bugger, but still think it would be nice to have a "complete" guitar.

I'm a jazz player--with classical training. And mechanically, the guitar is perfect for someone who plays with the fingers. Or has a lot of experience with nylon strings. The problem isn't the "ergonomics" of the guitar--it's the sound. If you think Telecasters have a "twang". try a Jazzmaster. I knew this, however, before I purchased the guitar--and use an effects processor to deal with the peculiar tonal characteristics of this guitar. I play through a Roland Jazz Chorus 90 with my solid bodies and archtop, but I also utilize a Crate Acoustic amp for my classical and steel string acoustic guitars. Using a Line 6 POD and a BOSS Acoustic emulator, I can pretty much shape the sound of the Jazzmaster. So the objectionable tonal characteristics aren't much of a problem. I have also played this rig through my acoustic amp with some very interesting results. I'd like to ditch the single coils for the Seymour Duncan "Hot" Jazzmaster pickups--or really get bold and re-wire the rascal with 2 humbuckers. The pickups are noisy at volume settings over 7. Other problems include bass "rumble" at low volume. And radio interference. Still, using a digital effects processor, this guitar has a great deal of potential. It can ring very clearly. The tone can be warm. And the sustain is very very good. Much brighter than other Fenders. Too bright, however, for most Jazz players.

Alas, my guitar was not set-up properly. [Not to mention the missing tremolo arm!]I had a problem with fret buzz--which was quickly eliminated using the bridge "lifters". The pickups seem to be OK as to height. The fit and finish actually seem quite good. My guitar is suburst finish--and for a factory guitar, the work is really exceptional. Tuning hardware, electrical switches [and rollers] all seem to be in good working order.

I think this guitar is reasonably well built. Time will tell...however. Personally, I'd never use this guitar [or any other guitar] without back-up. And the Jazzmaster is considerably more complicated [and idiosyncratic] than most guitars. And because of that, more "high-maintenance"...

I've had no dealing with the company, but my experience with MARS has been less than satisfactory. In effect, I bought a new guitar without a part [tremolo arm]. Also, they provided me with no warranty. All in all, a "sucky" deal.

I've been playing over 40 years. I own a custom made Chandler Telepathic, two MIDI/Synth ready Fender Strats, a Travis Bean Standard, a Hohner archtop, a Yamaha classical, an Ovation Adamas SMT and a Fender Tornado. I use a Roland GR-30 Synthesizer, a Roland VG8, a Roland GT3, and a BOSS Acoustic Emulator. I own a Roland JC-90, a Crate Acoustic Amp, a Fender Princeton Chorus and a Roland Keyboard Amp [necessary for playing a guitar with the Roland VG8]. I also own a couple of very cheap [and very portable] practice amps, a small Crate and an even smaller Epiphone. If this guitar was lost or stolen, I would replace it in short order [using a different retailer this time]. It's a very good guitar for fingerstylists. I had wanted to own one for some time. And had tested it at various retail stores over the past 6 months or so. It will never be my principal guitar, but it's the right guitar for some venues. Assuming you keep the original pickups, I'd recommend playing this in conjunction with a POD or some kind of effects processor [and/or digital modeller] to deal with the sound issues. Still, from a mechanical standpoint, it's a very unique guitar.

I bought this guitar early in 1995 from a guy who had it for "almost a year." It came with all the standard features including a three color sunburst finish and a red shell pickguard. I want to take this opportunity to comment on the extensive modifications I have made to this instrument and the condition it is in after four years of playing gigs with it as my primary guitar.

I began my modifications a few days after purchase with the installation of a humbucker in the bridge position, leaving the stock single coil in the neck position. I had to make a plate with a hole routed for a HB and glue it on the pickguard to hold the pickup. I also had to drill holes in the body cavity for the height adjustment screws. I currently use a Dimarzio Air Zone with a nickel cover (my own mod to the pickup)and the two pickups sound phenomenal. They compliment each other very well. I get a thin twangy sound when using both pickups, which, used sparingly, can add a nice effect to a song. After breaking the original second channel switch, I removed the second channel entirely and replaced it with a dpdt switch I use as a coil tap. I also replaced the original 250k volume pot with a 500k which is more suited for humbuckers. With the 250k, the sound of the guitar would get extremely muddy as soon as I backed off the volume. This problem was solved with the 500k pot. The stock single coil is very responsive and clean with a fat low end and smooth highs. I couldn't ask for a better neck pickup.

This guitar feels amazing. The neck is well crafted and the frets are beautifully dressed. After four years of daily play it is finally time for a fret job. The neck is just a bit misaligned, though, and my low E string has a tendancy to fall off the side of the neck if I am not careful when playing the upper frets. On the other hand, there is plenty of room on the high E side of the neck. The lower frets play well and I have not experienced the problem enough to do anything about it. After approximately five years, the finish has its share of dings but has held well. The body wood was not properly dried, however. When I first bought it, the gloss finish on the back of the guitar looked like glass. Now, however, it has noticable ridges which follow some of the wood grains, as if the wood has expanded over the years.

The hardware issue is one which all the user comments contain. The bridge really sucks. The singer/guitarist from Jawbox (now Burning Airlines) showed me a trick to remedy the moving string problem. He suggested placing small washers behind the bridge pieces (in with the springs) and threading the strings through them. This has worked extremely well for me and is much easier and cheaper than replacing the bridge entirely. Also, the individual action adjustment screws kept coming loose (while I was playing) after I purchased the guitar. I adjusted them how I wanted them and put a light coat of clear fingernail polish over them. Almost four years later, I still have had no further problems, even after adjustment. The tuners are vintage-styled, which may be how the guitar originally was made, but deny the advancements of modern, more rugged tuners. My low E tuning peg bent after I lightly bumped it on a music stand. My suggestion is to replace them with the modern cast metal tuners of your choice or budget. I replaced my strap buttons with strap locks just after purchase and still use them to this day. As I stated before, I broke the switch for the second channel, and the three way toggle fell apart about a year ago. I always take a backup to a gig. It once refused to make a sound entirely during a show, but worked fine the next day. That's just Murphy and his Laws.

I probably voided any warranty there might have been on this guitar by doing all my own work.

I have been playing for 10 years. I run this guitar through a Marshall JCM800 head (the one with three pre tubes and 6550s, unfortunately) and two upright 2x12 cabinets (ADA and homemade). If it were stolen, I would have to build a guitar from raw parts, so I could have exactly what I want with no problems. I love the way the Jazzmaster feels with the 7.25" radius and the placement of the pots and switches. When I bought it, I had designed a guitar to build similar to it, and bought the JM to make the mods only when I found it for sale used.

Basic Jazzmaster setup- two jazzmaster single coil pickups (quarter pounders, they're slightly bigger than humbuckers), 3-way selector switch (neck, neck/bridge, bridge), standard input jack, floating tremolo (strung like a non-american P-bass, strings go through holes in the bottom of the tailpiece, located at the bottom of the guitar and are suspended over an independent bridge piece, which does not have string grooves), a 2nd mode switch on the upper portion of the body, which you can set for a 2nd tone/volume mode, re-issue style tuning pegs, offset body, Rosewood fretboard with 21 medium jumbo frets. Basically a unique solid body experiment model.

(Okay- before you read this, not that I am a Sonic Youth/Pavement/Sebadoh/Stereolab/Yo La Tengo fan. Some comments that are made will be biased to the sound I prefer.) The first thing that you must consider, when purchasing a Jazzmaster is the reason you are buying it. I know it looks "cool", but it has a unique sound and feel, which would give some guitar players regret for buying this guitar. Let's go over the problems first- as stated in every critique, the bridge piece on the Jazzmaster is horrible. It wobbles, and the screws vibrate after constant play. Not only that, but the intonation on your guitar with this setup will be compromised. Sometimes, it gets to the point where some frets are dead. Solution- CHANGE BRIDGE PIECE!! Many people have stated that they switch it with a mustang bridge, this is not a bad choice, but there is an easier and more accessible option- a gibson tune-o-matic bridge piece. Any good guitar dealer has them in stock, I got mine for 15 bucks!!! That was lucky, i've been quoted 45. This bridge works perfectly, since I have installed this, my jazzmaster has improved a great deal, in tonality and control. DO NOT KEEP THE OLD BRIDGE, SET IT ON FIRE OR DISMANTLE IT FOR PARTS. Next problem- buzzing in bridge pickup. Solution- keep the tone on this guitar no higher than 6 or 7, unless the buzz and high twang is part of your sound (recommended for surf, rockabilly and old punk). This will solve your buzz problem. The best sound (dirty and clean) is aquired in the middle selection (for feedback, switch to bridge). The last problem, the 2nd Mode feature (for "bridge pickers" or people who play low, this can cut your arm up pretty good), not only that, but it is uncontrollable and often is not what you expect. Solution- if you want the 2nd mode- put tape over the top of the switch to cover the ridges, if you don't use or want it, tear that thing out!, make sure you do it clean and professional like- don't just clip!. Put tape over the holes (electrical prefered). Well that's it for the bad, the good can be explained in short- it's clean gives me goose bumps and it's dirty raises the hair on my neck (note- i use a fender blues deville 212). Great for my style, I love my baby. I have some tips for buyers- before you buy- play this guitar at your shop many times (like hours), get used to it and PLAY DIFFERENT MODELS!! All jazzmaster models (especially re-issues) are unique. I played one where the bridge piece was perfect, but the sound sucked. For some good tech info, visit the Sonic Youth page and go to the tech center, you will learn what nic close (sy's guitar tech) does to the jazzmaster to make it playable. The URL is www.evol.org/music.html

Action is good, the factory set-up (due to the bridge)sucks, the 3-tone sunburst finish looks good, the neck's finish is good, and the fretboard (with proper care) should give you no problems. The tuning pegs should be changed as well.

If you can afford a vintage (which I can't), buy one, you will run into less problems, and probably achieve a better sound. The finish is fragile and gigging will require some care. DO NOT ABUSE THIS GUITAR, YOUR GUITAR HEROES WHO THROW THEIR GUITARS AROUND HAVE GUITAR TECHS, YOU DO NOT!!!

Don't rely on Fender, they will just refer you to your local dealer. it all depends on them. Remember, it's Fender "Corporation". You know that deal.

Like I said, great guitar, for unique tastes. Buy wisely, don't buy a jazzmaster if- You like heavy metal, you don't have money to invest in it's care or improvement, you think it just "looks cool", or if it is your first electric. I've heard humbuckers in this guitar, and I don't like it (you won't either). For the Heavy Metal fans, if you like Fender- go with a Big Apple or Custom Shop (make sure it's not your amp), for people with not a lot of money, get a strat, save up and then fancy a jazzmaster, for people who just think it "looks cool", image isn't everything (you will look stupid playing a cool guitar with a horrible sound according to your music), for beginners, your first electric should be one that requires little mantainance like a tele, or a squire anything. OH! If you have small hands, see if you can find a model with a smaller neck (refering to the uniqueness of each model). Okay, enough of this- for me it's great, and I can help you out anytime you need.

This is a '98 model in beautiful Candy Apple Red. It features two (extremely fat) single coil pickups, with a three way switch, a rosewood 21 fret 25.5" scale vintage Jazzmaster neck, a secondary tone circuit switch with independant tone an volume controls, vintage machineheads, and the now famous Fender "Floating" fulcrum tremolo unit. In terms of the features it offers it is certainly unique, and has more tricks in its little bag than you can poke a stick at. For mine, a more versatile guitar than any on the market.

Up until this point, I have been playing on some reasonable quality, but fairly cheesey guitars. I had a squier strat with replacement pickups, which I thought sounded pretty good, but when I plugged it into my amp, I only needed to play one chord. The bridge unit is a little shrill for you Les Paul players out there, tonally sitting somewhere between a Telecaster and a P-90 Les Paul (strange, but true) played clean it gives a great trashy clang, and with a dose of Distortion it makes a great Rock Rhythm. The front pickup is a warm, rich tone, evoking the sound of far more expensive hollowbodies (not quite as woody, but no feedback problems) I wouldnt reccomend it for bashing out chords with distortion on, however, as it becomes a little too muddy for my liking. A terriffic sound for playing clean, with a little reverb or delay. The secondary tone circuit is a little too dark for my liking. Even without any gain chords sound slabby with no definition. I dont use it personally. My favourite setting by a country mile however, is with both pickups engaged. It evokes the rockabilly sounds of Brian Setzer, and is perfect for a really thick, juicy lead sound, combining the best attributes of both pickups. Drool. All in all a highly versatile and beautiful sounding guitar. The best i've heard so far.

When I recieved the guitar, it was strung with .009 gauge strings, which are a little light for my liking. I must concur with my fellow reviewers in saying that the bridge is a heap of shite. This is easily remedied by taking the guitar to a shop, who will, for a nominal fee, sort out the bridge by using nut files to put deeper grooves in the thing. I certainly cannot complain about the general fit and finish (you cant fit a piece of tracing paper between the neck and body joint) the frets are quite small, but well dressed, and the paintwork is deep and luxurious. The selector is a little noisy, but not violently so. The big gripe I have is the Neck. It feels good, but the combination of smaller frets, and a rounded fingerboard profile means that wide bends up the high end of the neck choke. Very frustrating for one who is essentily a blues player, but this forced me to learn the use of the trem arm. I am now glad it did. I actively avoided the trem on my old guitar (utter rubbish. the slightest hint of use and it was a semitone out) however, on the Jazzmaster the trem is solid as a rock. Even Lee Ronaldo style abuse refuses to shift it, and the fulcrum arangement means you can be rough as you like on the bridge while palm muting and not worry about bending, unlike on Fender standard and Floyd Rose Equipped examples. If not for the aforementioned gripes, an excellent arangement.

With the new bride filing, i would have no hesitation in using it to gig with. A solid two hours of playing and it stays in tune. And of course, like all Fenders, Solid as a rock. A little more delicate than a tele or strat, but anyone stupid enough to abuse their guitar deserves all the get.

Have never had to deal with Fender. They build their equipment to last.

I have played for two years, and I have lusted after a Jazzmaster since I saw Thurston Moore playing one in the Filmclip to "Sister" at about the sme time. Finally I have the capital to own the instruments that I really want, and every time I buy some new gear, my desire to play increases. I love this guitar. No, I REALLY love this guitar. If it were stolen, I would Kill. And Kill again. The mix of versatility, rockin' tone and THAT Tremolo makes it the ultimate playing experience as far as i am concerned. If I could only track down a real '62 Jazzmaster, i'd have think i'd died and gone to heaven.