Fender '62 Reissue Jazzmaster

Japanese 'CIJ' Jazzmaster. Candy Apple Red, 200? manufacture I think. Mine's hardly been played, think it has the factory set-up (shocking, in case you were wondering).

Features are all there - tremelo arm is very loose fitting, perhaps that's what these guitars are like though, I've no prior experience of them so I've no idea.

I like playing all sorts, from jazz & soul to styles bordering on metal. I bought this with the intention to replace the Strat I normally use as an all rounder - that has Lace Sensors at neck and middle and Kent Armstrong at the bridge, meaning it's good for most styles apart from trad jazz and very heavy stuff. Although the Jazzmaster is nice acoustically, when amplified it sounds MUCH thinner in all positions than my Strat, leading me to deem it - at present - a below par Strat in tone ad this I blame on the pickups, which some internet research leads me to believe are pretty much cheap Strat pickups in a large casing. So, I'm going to replace them with Seymour Duncan Antiquity II models for which I hold out high hopes. The guitar sounds great acoustically, so I'm sure with the decent pickups it'll sort itself out. It certainly feels as if it has potential there.

Seems like very good quality build. Nut wasn't amazingly well cut, and of course the stock bridge is a waste of space. Mine has a Mustang bridge on there so it's much better. I'd say it's a very well made guitar with a rubbish factory setup, but I'm very confident my guitar tech friend will sort it out easily so don't let that put you off.

Seems very solid all round, though I've not used it on gigs much so I don't really know how it'll perform. Treat the switches with respect and it should be fine I think, since in all other respects it's pretty much like an oversized Strat with an 'interesting' tremelo. I'm confident that with my Hiscox case it'll travel the world with me with minimal complaints, so thumbs up.

Dunno...

I've been playing over 20 years, professionally for about the last 5 of those. I do studio and live stuff of various different styles. As a touring electric guitar I mainly use my Strat since I know that it's likely to come off an airplane in one piece, and if it doesn't then it's relatively easily fixed/replaced. However I'm a bit bored with it and I plan on using the Jazzmaster as a more quirky replacement.

I've got loads of guitars: Strat for all styles, 80s Yamaha AE1200 for jazz, 78 Yamaha SA 2000S as alternative all rounder (comes in handy for everything including heavy styles because of the weird combination of insanely powerful yet very versatile pickups - if you ever get the chance then buy one!). The Jazzmaster seems like it'll work well for multiple styles when given a good set up and some decent pickups. Without these it's not up to too much, apart from looking fantastic...

So overall, it's a well made and lovely looking guitar that has - with a bit of attention - the potential to be extremely good.

This guitar is a left-handed japanese reissue from the 90's that I bought used in new condition.
21 frets - I wish it had 22 but I love the way the neck sounds.
I had installed Seymour Duncan Hot Neck and Quarter Pound Bridge pickups ASAP, filed a groove in the center of each saddle, and drilled a small hole into the end of the tremelo arm to place a clip through the end so it wouldn't fall out of the trem.

This is the best clean guitar ever, in my opinion. I use it to play Ventures-style instumentals, punk-new wave, etc.

I use a silverface Fender Princeton Reverb for recording, or a Super Twin Reverb with the Boss Deluxe Reverb(bridge pickup)/Bassman(neck pickup) pedals - I can get just about any 50's/60's rock n roll, surf, or garage sound I can imagine. And it seems easy to play any other style of music in this fashion.

I also use the Boss Overdrive/Distortion pedal set on distortion mode with the gain level turned all the way down using the bridge pickup for a very fierce fuzz sound. Not much sustain, but Two-note chords, double-stops, and Randy Rhoads-style legatos sound pretty damned good like this.

However, without a humbucker, larger levels of overdrive or distortion sound like ****e.

I don't really use any effects with this guitar other than reverb (sometimes tremelo).

On a Fender Guitar, I like two different types of action, each with their own advatages and flaws;

Low action - the strings produce an awesome twangy slap (like The Ventures' Fugitive) and fretting any chord, triple stop, etc. is very easy, but the b and high e strings fret out when bending anywhere on the fretboard.

High Action - solves the string bending problem for me, but it usually messes up the intonation to where bar chords sound out of tune, so I have to resort to power chords with added thirds, etc. instead.

The alder body and maple neck seem very durable.

The hardware needs to be replaced; the vol & tone knobs aren't working, the rhytmn circuit switch broke, the frets are worn out (heavy downstrokes on bar chords and too much lead will do that to a guitar in over 5 years) - I'm thinking about replacing the nickel frets with stainless steel.

N/A

I've been playing for over 20 years.
I also have a Fender Jaguar with humbuckers.
If someone tried to steal this guitar, I'd use it to beat them senseless.
This is my favourite clean/dirty guitar ever - for overdriven & marshall type sounds I use said other guitar.

Jazzmaster CIJ in Vintge White color.
The guitar is wonderful but the white pickups covers and the white knobs are horrible...I have replaced these with 2 USA Jazzmaster pickups covers in vintage white color and 2 knobs in vintage whte color.
Now is 10!!!

The suond is good...but is very different from the true Jazzmaster. I have replaced the stock pickups with 2 Seymour Duncan Vintage SJM-1: these pickups are made as in 1957.
Attention: if you want put in you japanese jazzmaster some duncan's pickups, you must change your covers because the 6 holes of japanese models don't fit in duncan's pick ups...
I'm lucky: I bought 2 american covers because the stock covers are horribly white...
Anyway we have 2 different sounds...

STOCK SOUND: really good...but is something like a Strato...
In the pickups there isn't more copper and it sound with no more expression...Vote 7 with stock situation.

SJM-1 VINTAGE: Now is amazing. You can find a thin and bright sound and at the same time a muddy jazzy sound. With distortion you have a sound look like Sonic Youth/dinosaur Jr
Vote 10

The shape of the guitar is wonderful....The bridge, the headstock and color is very beautiful...
The only problem is the bridge: I have replaced it with a mustang bridge and a buzzstop...now you can play from soft to hard!

The guitar is very solid. All the buttons are perfect and everything works perfectly.

3 years warranty

I have a Gibson SG and with this Jazzmaster now I can play every kind of music.
Great distortion from Gibson and great Fender sound.
If you love Sonic Youth, Velvet Underground and everything indie this guitar is what you are searching for.
Japanese model is better than American model because if make these little changes (bridge, pickups and covers) with 900??? you have a guitar better than the American (1600???)

Purchased a used, tort on Black, Stock '62 American Jazzmaster Reissue, which includes the stock Tailpiece/Bridge (that for me and many other internet jazzmaster players consider a bit difficult to work with when it comes to harder playing). With a bridge alteration/and a stable vibrato tailpiece, the factory vintage Fender Tuners hold the strings in tune very well. Im not sure if the neck is an A, B, or C, curve, but its maple/rosewood combination with an overdose of vintage tinted nitro-laq that called for a brillo massage. Since this guitar was purchased used in 2006, the guitar came with its stock "Fender" stapled case without its case candy (strap, short cable, tail bar, polish cloth, etc...) supplied if purchased new. I'm not sure of the year of its birth, but I know its called an "American Reissue". Its' equipped with a three way toggle, for pick-up, selection/combos, 1 volume and tone knob for the bridge pickup, while the neck pick up kind of has its' own roller system when it comes to tonal combos. The guitar came with its' stock pickups (American Vintage Reissue), but I decided I would replace the bridge with a S. Duncan Quarter-pound. Maple wood for the neck, roserwood for the fretboard, alder for the body, smothered with Nitro- Laquery goodness. Overall this guitar looks delicious. Yum.

After a few weeks of playing the stock bridge pickup, I decided that It lacked sustain when it came to being distorted by a Marshall TSL 100. So I did a little bit of pick-up research and found a few possible choices...Curtis Novaks Pickups that people seem to really enjoy, Jason Lollars replacement model, a Seym. Duncan model of a dozen to choose from, or if I wanted to shell out the cash, have a custom wound one.... So I decided on the Quarter-Pound by S. Duncan at a price of about $60 and I'm very pleased with this decision. In addition to the new pickup, I added a buzz-stop tail piece and a mustang bridge and had it set up at a local shop. The results added a significant amount of sustain and playability that made this guitar an instant favorite that is arguablely the most sonically versatile guitar that I own..I like the neck, but as I mentioned above, the nitro is a tad over kill on the neck and headstock and required an equal scrub on the back of the neck to tame the elmers' stickiness.....The guitar before the pickup change sounded great as well...just a little too sharp for me when at high volumes on a distorted Marshall.

I dont know about factory Questions..but the local shop did a great job with the setup. No flaws that I care of....The Fender logo was a little off it's headstock....... which could have been the previous owner, who knows, I dont care, It's used and works! ....

This guitar seems like a pritty tuff dude/dudess. It seems like everything should last, but who am I to know its future?.....I would certainly gig with it no problem...I break less strings on this guitar then a Les Paul I have..so I guess this may be good for gigs in that respect?

No warranty, bought used w/out one....If I need support I go to a local shop not a corporate chain for support (take too long, bad service department...etc.) besides, I bought it at a local shop.....So if you can, support your community... support your local shop.

I have been playing since '96, and have owned too much equipment over the years....It is my most played guitar (over a Les Paul that costs twice as much). It would be silly for me to say this is a better or worse guitar then so and so....So I think the Jazzmaster is its own thing, and I would bite the person in the face really hard if it were lost and stolen because.... I love this thing, modded or un modded!

Fender 1962 Jazzmaster. A reissue, of course. The colour you ask? Ocean Turquoise.

The sound of this guitar is exactly what I had been hearing in my head for the past few years. I was just coming off of a MIM Fender Strat, so it took a little time to re-tweak the Jazzmaster with my current rig. First of all a Jazzmaster can stay in tune. When I first bought this I was abusing the trem like no tomorrow. Guess what? It stayed in tune very well. The trem system is very nice, and great for nice subtle tremelo nonsense, but not for divebombs. Played clean with a fender hot rod deluxe is a beaut. Crystal clear cleans with lots of "kick". The guitar istelf had a very rich and phat sound that I never did get out of my strat. I play with distortion. Fuzz to be exact. The Jazz rips with a skreddy mayo. THe Jazzmaster can be a tad noisey but only with gain. Using the Neck pickup or the bridge pickup with distortion can cause uncontrollable feedback. Solution? Use both the neck and the bridge pickups with the toggle switch in the middle. You can manipulate the feedback much easier and playing is not; how I would say, Sonic Youth sounding. The Lead switch IMO totally outshines the Rtyhm side. The Rthym switch's downside would be that it is too woody sounding and not as versatile. You can play pop, shoegaze, grunge, punk, and perhaps metal with the amp/pedal. I haven't tried the last, so don't quote me on that. I play a mix of Smashing Pumpkins/Nirvana/Swervedriver, so this guitar suits me to the T.

The guitar came from the factory pretty well set-up. I of course adjusted the pickups and the bridge for personal reasons. The only drawback is the bridge. Perhaps with 11 gauge strings or up you will be fine. But I play 10's with a half step down tuning and after about a week and a half the bridge flaw became present. It was a struggle but I soon decided to throw on..........a mustang bridge and the guitar has not given me any problems since then. Strings only jumped out of the saddles once for me with the original bridge. And that was due to excessively hard strumming on my part. Didn't happen again though.

I have had this bad boy since April and with only one problem withstanding, that being the bridge, I would gig with it and would like to think it will stand the test of time. It's truely a solid guitar.

I have yet to deal with the company. So I wouldn't really know, now would I?

Let's say it like this: If Jazzmasters were banned all across the world I would either quit playing guitar or get a Jaguar. Not much else to say, play the guitar and you will see for yourself.

I hope the Jazzmaster misconception continues to grow so us Indie-rock Geeks can continue to have "our" guitar and sound.

"Architecture, nature, alcohol
Space travel, rock n roll"

It's a '62 Fender American vintage Jazzmaster Ice Blue Metallic. It is a standerd model

It has a great sound, nice clean, rock, jazzy and pop. With the different switches you can create manny sounds on 2 pick-ups.

The finishing could be better. It played great but it need some adjustment. On the other hand, the rest was perfect!

This guitar is meant to last forever. The older it will be the better it wil play...

It's the best guitar ever!

1996 MIJ burst with red tortise shell pickguard. SEXY. Same options and features as the ones listed below.

The most beautiful sounding guitar i own. I had an american strat prior to this and this definetly sounds better. Clean, warm and very retro sounding. I would give it a ten but nothings a ten.

Japan workmanship. Perfect. No flaws anywhere on this guitar. I am considering a getting a second one. The american reissues are nice but the you get hung up easily on the neck due to the proper finish for that era. The japanese re-issues are every bit as nice as the americans but with the modern satin finish Fender is now using on there necks.

The bridges on these guitars have to go. Prob the worst bridge ever put on a guitar. Replace it with a mustang bridge or better yet get the Warmoth.
With the exception of the bridge i have no other complaints.

Great.

If it were stolen i would have to get another. These guitars sound amazing. There clean sound is just unreal. Dont expect to play heavy metal or hard rock, this isnt your guitar (unless your J Mascis).

-2003 MIJ jazmaster. Limited edition one of 350.
Japan all the way.
-p-90(ish) pickups. Look like soapbars from the top, but underneath, thecoils aren't much wider than normal single coils. Sounds different than a strat though.
Candy apple red. gloss gloss gloss!
-3 way toggle, rhythym circuit with volume/tone roller circuits, cruddy main volume/ tone knobs.
-standard crappy jag/jazz bridge. Ordered a mustang bridge. It's in the mail. "ALL PARTS" offers replacement mustang saddles pretty cheap too.
-guitar came with an allen wrench to adjust the crappy bridge.

aesthetically this guitar is freaking sex. It looks so hot. Mechanically, the bridge and volume/tone pots have to go.

this guitar is perfect for my style. I play danceable throw-back indie-pop. A little abrasive, but melodic as well (think Gang of four, Strokes, Pixies, Sonic Youth, Wire, XTC, Cure, Pavement, Kinks, Elvis Costello).
I've been using a 1968 silvertone twin, but I'm looking for a fender twin reverb. The thing about fender gutiars is they usually sound great through most any amp, but they hit their stride when paired up with a fender amp.
-I use two delay units, an mxr booster, and a jekyll & hyde overdrive (sparingly).
-The sound is warm and rich, slightly abrasive at times which is perfect. AS a lead instrument, the gutiar is lacking. It's tough to break through for a solo with this guitar. It just lacks that little bit of "oomph" ti needs. I think I could fix this with some aftermarket p-90's. Gibson makes a good hybrid, the p-94.

-the action was a little high, and the tremolo was not adjusted. With a minor tweaking, I had it set up great.
-THe pick-ups are even sounding, neither one really dominates the other in volume.
-The one flaw with these japanese jazz/jags is the bridge. The saddles are horrible. They buzz all the time. You gotta use like 13's to keep it on. I put 13's opn it and the low e still popped off the saddle on every song. It really became a major problem at each show. I'd have to adjust the strings and retune after each song.
The screws vibrate out and the strings slip off the saddles all the time. This can be fixed by replacing the saddles with fender mustang saddles. (18.99 online).
-The volume/tone pots are bad. Volume hums at 1-5, then builds at 7-10, tone just takes away volume. This guitar will get new pots.

I've had it 8 months and besides the bridge issues, it's a keeper.
here are current and future mods:
-reissue mustang bridge/mustang saddles
-chrome strap-locks
-new volume/ tone pots
-fender p-90 pickups

Guitar is great, I do gig with a backup as this one is out of tune constantly. Chalk that up to my style I suppose. I always finish with a bloody right hand.
hardware should be okay, except for the bridge and pots.
finish looks good.

called musicians friend, they had no idea how to adjust the trem.

I've been playing for 5 years. I've owned 18 different guitar in that span. I own an early 70's epiphone coronet, a 2001 taylor big baby acoustic, 1968 silvertone twin twelve, 1960's lindell combo, 1960's teisco bass, various other instruments: accordion, synths, keys...

I give this guitar a 7 because of it's cool factor. The tone is great, and it feels so good in my hands. Seriously, girls want to have sex with it. I've had several offers, but turned them all down.
The saddles and pots WILL be replaced soon. Other than that problem, it's a great guitar, much beter than my jaguar reissue I bought

Mine is a metallic placid blue MIJ Jazzmaster. I has those wide p90-esque pickups, standard pickup switch, and "revolutionary" rhythm switch. Ditto for the rest.

Played clean, this guitar still retains the fender snap despite the "warm" sounding p90 like pickups. I would say that the bridge pickup is quite even without sounding sharping or ice-pickish. The neck oup is quite fat and still retains some nice definition across chords. In combination, you have a nice hum-cancelling sound that is more acoustic sounding than you would expect. This guitar excels at clean or slight overdriven sounds.

With some distortion this guitar reveals itself to me more of rhythm guitar than lead. The pickups do not lend themselves to soloing when distorted as it sounds a little strained. However, if you want a nice wall fuzz or white noise (think mbv) this guitar does it well.

The neck is nick and sleek although not as slinking as a tele. The tremolo is quite effective and considering it is non-lcoking, is a great unit, particularly suited to the "surf" sound. Finish is nice and even.

My biggest grip is the quality of the tone circuits and pots. Treble controls rolls of very quickly so you can really on play with treble all the way on or off.

When you engage the rhythm circuit the guitar (at least mine) seems to roll off post of the treble, which is too much even for the most timid of rhythm guitarist. I am planning on getting a guitar tech to install nicer treble circuits the roll off evenly, ditto for the volume too.

As for the bridge...well it just plain sucks....put on a mustang bridge..problem solved. Definately worth doing as it is a non destructive change.

Quite a heavy guitar...wouldn't like to get hit with one.

In my opinion, the Jazzmaster is the coolest guitar ever. I have coveted one ever since first caught sight of one. Not quite that most practical of guitars, and it certainly is not a jack of all trades.
Nonetheless, pure class.

Japanese reissue Jazzmaster, Lake Placid Blue (unique color, especially since most Jazzes found in stores now are sunburst), pretty much stock equipment (though mine was shipped without the trem-bar and mute).

I just recently picked up this guitar, and knew it mostly from the artists I've seen using it (Radiohead, Sonic Youth, Nirvana). I've been playing a Strat for about four years now so basically everything I have to say about the Jazz is in comparison to it. This is a very versatile guitar. It has a rhythm/lead switch (at least that's what I've been calling it) and seperate volume and tone controls for each (indicative of how old this particular guitar design is, but you get used to it after playing for a while). When in "rhythm mode" the guitar has a very strong midrange, and the tone slider causes the guitar to go from a fairly biting attack to almost not attack at all (a sound similar to the "between-pickup" settings on the Strat). When switched to lead, this guitar is extremely bright. The pickup selector has a similar effect to that of the Strat, accentuating bass, midrange, or treble depending on the pickup. The selector on mine only seems to work on the lead setting, however. I'm not sure if this is intentional, but I'm perfectly happy with the tones I can already get from the rhythm circuit so it isn't a big deal. This is a great guitar for both rhythm and lead playing.
I've read some complaints about the Jazzmaster's performance with distortion, and to a certain extent this is a fairly messy-sounding guitar when the gain is cranked. However, I found the sound to be an interesting alternative to the tighter distortion I get from my Strat. This is not the messy sound of a cheap knock-off, but Nirvana-style controlled chaos. Roll the tone all the way up on the rhythm circuit and you get a chimey, harmonic distortion. Roll it all the way down and (much to my surprise) you get a Smashing Pumpkins-esque hum (think most of the heavier tracks from "Siamese Dream"). This is a sound I've been trying to get out of my Strat for a while now. The lead circuit is well-suited for it's name. This guitar doesn't sustain very long, but it is well-suited for quick, mellow solos.
Regarding the buzz from the bridge; this is apparently a common problem for the Jazz, as mine has it too. I've read about others replacing their bridges with Mustang bridges and whatnot, but I've noticed that normal ball-end strings don't seem to fit well in the string-holes, so I'm going to try putting some Fender Bullets on this guitar and see if it makes a difference before I try anything drastic.

According to the description of this guitar on good-ol' Ebay, this particular Jazzmaster had been a display piece before I got my grubby little hands on it. It shows. The guitar still had the plastic wrap on the pickguard when it came in, and the finish shows no sign of wear. The action of this guitar is pretty standard Fender action and will be comfortable for anyone who owns a Strat or Tele. That said, the neck has a noticably longer scale length than that of a Strat, though this didn't take as much getting used-to as I thought it would. The tuners are very effective; I have yet to knock this guitar out of tune. They did, however, need a little oil. As I said before, the guitar came missing the trem-bar, but there are a whole mess of them available seperately on Ebay, and the absense of the mute wasn't a big deal as most guitarists seem to consider it more of a conversation piece than a useful accessory.

As with most Fenders, the Jazz has a bolt-on neck and a solidly constructed body. I haven't owned this one long enough to put it through the gauntlet, but I have faith from my good experience with the Strat. The strap buttons are solid and the finish is of good quality (not to mention a very nice color). My one gripe is that the strings it shipped with feel pretty old, but I plan on restringing it soon anyway. I would feel confident playing a gig with this is my only guitar, but it's always good common sense to have a backup in case strings break or some other disaster happens.

I've never had to deal with Fender directly, but I'm quickly becoming addicted to their guitars.

I've been playing for about five years now, and my other guitars are a venerable old Harmony acoustic and a Fender Standard Strat. I run my electrics through a Marshall AVT50 and spice things up with an Electro-Harmonix Small Clone Chorus. The Jazzmaster works beautifully with the Marshall, as this amp adds some nice crunch to what is normally a fairly mellow guitar. Will the Jazz replace my faithful Strat? No, because the Strat can do things the Jazz cannot, and vice-versa. These two guitars fill the holes in each other's sounds very well, so I intend to keep using them both. Overall, the Fender Jazzmaster is an easy-playing, versatile guitar. This is not a metal axe, but it suit my alt-rock and surf tastes just fine.

2003 Made in Japan Fender Jazzzmaster. The rest of this section has been written down a thousand times.

One thing everybody must know is that the jazzzmaster sounds like crap. But it is some kind of crap you end loving. I love that crap. Holy crap. This precious guitar doesn't have any sustain, and it definately sounds WAY better with clean sounds, or some crunch, but don't try to distort its sound too much.

There are a lot of possibilities with the jazzmaster. In the "normal position", the 2 pickups offer a good amount of sounds you'll like and dislike. The neck position sounds warm, somewhat bluesy. That's what I use most of the time. The bridge position is too much trebly for my taste, I'm not saying it does sound bad but you must adjust the tone control to use it.

Now on the mid position. Here's where the jazzmaster shines. You can NEVER get this sound from any other guitar... it is definately the sweetest guitar sound out there.

The sound of my band is something like Radiohead, Luna, the Cure, Pavement and this kind. The jazzmaster fits it perfectly. But it can perform many other sounds... I LOVE to play surf with this guitar, this is definately what it was built for and it's what it does better.

One thing I stringly recommend is putting heavy gauge strings (.11 or .12) This solves the bridge problem everyone mentions and greatly improves the sound of the guitar, though you lose some playability (bends get really hard to accomplish with heavy gauge strings) Anyway, that doesn't bother me, that isn't my style.

Mine came very well adjusted through a long trip, so I guess this is a good guitar.

The action is very comfortable, no problem here.

One thing that I must point here is that my jazzmaster NEVER gets out of tune because of the tremolo bridge, wich is perfect for me, sonce I use it constantly.

Mmmm... not very good here. Switches are cheap plastic, but for the price it's still a great guitar.

The question of backups during gigs... even if your guitar is the most perfect guitar ever made, you must always have a backup during gigs, because sometimes strings break and so ;)

Never had to deal with fender

I've been playing in bands since was 13. Now I'm 22. I've been using a tele-like guitar for several years, and bought the jazzmaster recently. Teles are great guitars for my taste, but if you are looking for an unique sound, then the jazzmaster is your guitar.

One important message. I've known many people that uses jazzmasters and jaguars only because of their alternative look, but then they get disapointed with the sound. This isn't a guitar for distortion, unless you want to sound like Mudhoney or Sonic Youth.

Of course, there's no need to say that if you like metal you can forget this treasure and buy some of those ugly Ibanez guitars with digital crappy multieffects.

This guitar is for people who likes sensitive music. And the most important of all, the jazzmaster is so so beautiful that you'll have WAY much more success with girls with it on the stage. Trust me ;D

This review is of the most recent "CIJ" Jazzmaster Reissue series. This guitar has been very faithfully rendered to replicate the feel and dynamics of the original 62-65 L-series. It features the original 24.25" scale with 21 frets. The neck feels reminiscent of the "B" neck on my old 64 L-series Jazzmaster.

The series was a limited run of 350 each in Candy Apple Red and Lake Placid Blue, and was originally intended for the Japanese and European markets, NOT for US export. It is spec'd slightly different from the US export MIJ and CIJ Jazzmasters of the recent past.

What makes this guitar special is (I hate to say this!) a far higher standard of quality than the previous US export guitars showed. Although Fender of Japan has been making terrific world-class guitars since the 1970's, the simple fact is that they were not in the class of the best of the US Custom Shop reissues, nor were the export models quite as nice as the ones the Japanese factory produced for the Japanese home market. The Japanese are not immune to a bit of old fashioned ethnocentricity, and when producing for their own, they feel bound to do their very best in every respect.

On the two 2003 Japan Jazzmasters I have purchased, this REALLY shows! First of all, the hardware appears to have been upgraded from early MIJ and CIJ models. Perhaps the rumor I've heard is true, that they used US reissue hardware. Second, the quality of the finishes is superior. Their rendition of the Candy Apple Red is faithful to the original multi-stage CAR finishes that Leo insisted be used back in the day. This is probably the nicest metallic finish on any Fender product ever.

Under that beautiful finish, is NOT BASSWOOD, but alder, the original wood used on non-Sunburst Jazzmasters. It goes a long way to recreate the authentic feel and vibe of the early American J/M's.

As opposed to the 70's and 80's Japanese efforts, the switchgear and electronics on these seem on a par with the US-made guitars.

The tuning keys are excellent Gotoh reproductions of the original Kluson top-loading tuners that I grew up with and loved. I don't know about factory set-up; both guitars, a CAR and LPB were set up and fine-tuned by a Fender Gold-Certified technician at the dealer who sold me the two guitars. Intonation is dead-on, the best I've yet encountered in a factory-made Fender. String action, a little on the high side, easily tweaked with a bridge that allows individual saddle-height adjustment or, adjustment of bridge height at each end using the same Allen wrench as on the saddles.

In the course of getting familiar with these guitars, I've experimented with putting a "buzz-stop" on one, and noticed an incerase of down-force of strings over saddles, which definitely is a worthwhile improvement, now keeping the strings in the threaded grooves I selected, to maintin comfortable and even string distance,
and a better sustain quality, although, that's not a big issue with these latest Jazzmasters. Let me digress slightly:

In the early 1970's when I was first learning to play, I scored a 64 L-series Jazzmaster for $110.00 used from a local dealer! I was in 7th heaven as at the time, and today too, The Ventures are one of my favorite bands of all time, and they made the Jazzmaster famous between 1960 and 1964 when they started endorsing and playing the Ventures Mosrites.

However, the 64 Jazzmaster was far from perfect. My number-one complaint was LACK OF SUSTAIN. Number two was that the guitar needed an EQ in order to produce decent, aggressive tones, EVEN for playing traditional SURF music, which is my style. In the 80's I finally sold the 64 Jazzmaster and took to playing Strats for the duration, because they had the range of tonality, the sustain and the aggressive attack I wanted.

Okay - back to the subject of this review: This 2003 Jazzmaster feels so much more alive and delivers a tremendous amount more natural sustain, I have to

This will be brief as I've already covered some of this topic in the features paragraph.

The neck pickup is bassy and boomy, NOT my style. The bridge pickup does not seem equal to the neck pickup, and produces a shrill, trebly tone, which you have to roll the tone knob down to 3 or under to modulate. My favorite position is middle, with both pickups. To address the imbalance of pickup output, I've lowered the neck pickup about 1/2 inch, and raised the bridge to about 1/16th inch under the strings. This makes a very noticeable difference, and renders a sound and tone quite suitable for surf/rockabilly, etc.

I have not noticed any higher level of noise than with any other Fender I've played. Because the neck and bridge pickups are wired reverse of each other, in the middle position you get a humbucking effect.

With an auxiliary EQ the tone can be shaped to get a lot more versatility out of the Jazzmaster - it all comes down to taste.

The only dislike is the bridge, as stated above, an easy inexpensive fix.

I found no flaws in fit, finish or electronics. Guitar was set-up at dealer, therefore, I can't comment about factory set-up job.

Everything suggests a very maximal level of attention to detail and quality - I have no unresolved complaints with this guitar, I would gig with it and bring the other 2003 along for backup.

Compared against my old 64 L-series Jazzmaster, this guitar feels every bit as well-put-together and durable as the original. Other MIJ Fenders I've recently encountered, have displayed MINT condition finishes, even the 15-20 year olds, if they were cared for and not abused, so I would expect the finish on this one to perform similarly.

Strap buttons are solid, show no sign of looseness.

I feel comfortable depending on this guitar. If I had to take only ONE guitar with me to a gig, I wouldn't hesitate to take this one!

I'm hanging onto these fine examples, and perhaps in 15-20 years will consider selling them.

Have never dealt with Fender Customer Service, although their Parts Service is horrible - ordered pickup height adjusting screws to replace a couple of ones with stripped heads, and was sent entirely wrong screw!

I'm 51, been playing since age 15, first electric was 58 Fender Duo-Sonic, have played and loved Fenders to the exclusion of anything else I've tried, except the occasional Gretsch.

I would not only buy another just like them if either were stolen, I'm considering buying and having more of them just because they are soooo gooood!!

Get your hands on one of these ASAP. They are quickly vanishing and once they're gone, you'll be hard-pressed to find an owner willing to part with one. By the way, these comments pertain ONLY to the 2003 Japan reissues, on which the Serial Number begins with "Q".

You may well ask yourself, with all 9 ratings above, how I come to the 10 that I'm giving the guitar overall. To me, as a musician, there are intangibles that make a world of difference between one guitar and another.

Even after dissecting and anally analyzing each picayune detail, we still have to come down to the question of How I Like This Guitar When Taken as a Whole Entity. In the case of the 2003 Q series Japanese Jazzmaster reissue, THE WHOLE IS DEFINITELY GREATER THAN THE SUM OF THE PARTS. This guitar has SOUL. When I received the first one, I plugged it right into my Zoom GFX-4 and '66 Fender Reverb unit, going into a silverface Fender Deluxe Reverb amp.

I proceeded at a loud, clean volume of 4 to play a whole lengthy list of classic, traditional instro-songs. Both my wife and my next-door neighbor commented, "That sound is so beautiful!" whereas I've never gotten that comment from playing any Strat, or other guitar.

Those comments tell me these Jazzmaster reissues are WINNERS!!!!!!!

I have a USA '62 Reissue Jazzmaster that I received from a trade about two months ago. I LOVE THIS GUITAR!!! I recently went through a period where I was exclusively playing 70s Fenders, I had a '77 Telecaster Deluxe and a '73 Thinline Telecaster -- I loved these guitars, however, they never felt really solid/stable considering their age, and was never quite satisfied with their sound. I would up selling both of these guitars after receiving huge cash offers for both, so I decided to pickup a jazzmaster. I spoke with a local pro-guitarist in NYC who exclusively played jazzmasters, and he raved at the quality of the USA reissues. So rather than plunking down the ridiculous amounts of money people are paying for vintage guitars these days, I decided to pick me up an American '62 reissue.

Many people complain about the bridge saddles and how the strings either keep popping out or buzzing issues. I did experience this and tried a buzzstop (which I hated). It solved the problem, but really impeded the cool harmonic type effects you can get with the extended strings behind the bridge. After speaking with a guitar tech, he suggested swapping out the jazzmaster bridge saddles, for Fender Mustang saddles. POOOF! that solved the problem. It's really that simple.

Much like many contemporary guitarists who use the Jazzmaster, I play more experimental rock (more textures and atmospherics) along the lines of Mogwai, MBV, Radiohead, flaming lips, electronica stuff, to the cure, jellyfish, police, joy division, and the lot. This guitar is so flexible tonally that you can do so much with it. It is definitely not a METAL guitar, it's much more subtle and dynamic.

My Current Rig:
Jazzmaster (w/ ebow +) --> Boss TU-2 --> Analogman SD-1 (808) --> Boss HM-2 --> Analogman Clone Chorus --> Digitech Whammy I (reissue) --> EH Deluxe Memory Man --> Fender Hot Rod Deluxe.

I swear, this guitar has really inspired me, and I am writing more on this guitar then I have on any of my other guitars. I have always loved fender guitars, and was a devote Tele player until I picked up my Jazzmaster.

The factory setup was your typical factory setup. Action was a bit too high. I brought it in to my guitar guy in NYC and he did wonders with it. He secured the bridge a bit more to keep it from sliding about too much, raised the neck a hair and lowered the action. Now it is perfectly ready to rock.

Right now, I'm not playing with a back-up guitar -- this is my main axe, and I don't have any fears in terms of it letting me down. I replaced the strap buttons with strap locks, so outside of the setup, the strap locks, and replaced bridge saddles (w/ Mustang saddles), the guitar is as I bought it. Mine is a sunburst, and eventually I would like to swap the pickguard for a black one, I've never been a big fan of the tortise design.

The guitar is friggin' solid. So no complaints. Again, I really suggest installing Mustang saddles -- this really does make a huge difference.

Haven't had to deal with Fender.

I have been playing for about 12 years, and have had a host of guitars -- 90s american Telecaster Plus, 77 Telecaster Deluxe, 73 Telecaster Thinline, Epiphone Sheraton and Joe Pass Emperor, Gibson L6-S, and a few others, and this is by far my favorite of the bunch! If it were stolen or lost I would not hesitate in buying another one. I have played vintage jazzmasters before, and none hold a candle to my 62 Reissue. People have completely gone off the deep end for "Vintage" guitars, and though vintage guitars look pretty and are worn in nicely, the prices people are willing to pay for them is absolutely ridiculous!!! Do your self a favor and save a couple thousand bucks and buy an American Reissue -- though i hear the Japanese Reissues are quite nice as well.

CIJ JAZZMASTER REISSUE. YEAR? 2 FENDER P 90'S, LAKE PLACID BLUE. TONS OF FEATURES FOR A GUITAR. HAS THE THREE WAY SWITCH AND THE TOP RHYTHYM SWITCH THING. PLUS A VERY SUBTLE WHAMMY BAR.

I PLAY GARAGISH RNR. I PLAY IT THROUGH A MODDED (BLACKFACE W/EL 34'S)'71 FENDER TWIN, ANALOGMAN TS9 AND AN ORIGINAL MAESTRO FUZZTONE. IT HAS THE HUM VIA THE P90'S. IT CAN GET RAW AND IT CAN GET SMOOTH. ITS ALL THERE FOR ME. AS FAR AS STOCK SOUND IT SUCKED. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND PUTTING IN THE SEYMOUR DUNCAN QUARTER POUNDERS AT BOTH NECK AND BRIDGE - A COMPLETE WORLD OF DIFFERENCE. THERE WAS ABSOLUTELY NO BOTTOM END WITH THE STOCK P/U'S AND THEY HAD NO CHARACTER AT ALL. FLAT TINNY SONDING PILES OF POOP.
STOCK SOUND WAS A 4
NEW P/U SOUND IS A 8 OR 9

SET UP WAS WAY OFF. NECK NEEDED TO BE STRAIGHTENED AND THE ACTION WAS TOO HIGH. MY BIGGEST COMPLAINT RIGHT NEXT TO THE CRAPPY PICKUPS IS THE GAWDAWFUL BRIDGE. I TOOK THE ORIGINAL AND PUT A MUSTANG ONE IN INSTEAD. 100% BETTER. THE STOCK ONE WAS LITERALLY FALLING APART. NO WAY I COULD HAVE FINISHED A GIG WITHOUT PIECES FALLING ON THE GROUND... NO LIE.

THIS THING WILL BE JUST FINE. I BOUGHT IT FOR THE DURABILITY FACTOR AND FOR HOW MANY DIFFERENT TONES IT CAN PRODUCE. VERY HAPPY I BOUGHT IT.

N/A

I GIVE IT A 9 AFTER THE NEW BRIDGE AND PICKUPS. IT PLAYS LIKE A CHAMP AND SOUNDS GREAT NOW. NOTHING I HATE ABOUT THIS GUITAR, VERY VERSITAL AND SOLID. ONE OF THE BEST BUYS OUT THERE FOR THE $$$. REALLY WISH THEY WOULD USE THE MUSTANG BRIDGES INSTEAD AND USE BETTER PICKUPS... I WOULD BUY ANOTHER IF IT WAS STOLEN.

2003 standard CIJ jazzmaster, vintage white, tortoise pickguard.
badly designed bridge that doesn't keep the strings in place very good.

the sound of this guitar suits my music style like a glove, since it's highly inlfuenced by bands such as my bloody valentine, sonic youth, dinosaur jr, grandaddy and flaming lips, all of whom are wellknown jazzmaster users.
i bought the guitar quite recently, and at the first rehearsal i felt like, for the first time, everything fell into place as far as guitar sound goes.
it's pretty noisy, (except when you use both pickups in the lead circuit) but not to such a degree that it bothers me. the pickups have a much fuller sound than your regular single coils. to me the sound is more balanced, the wound strings cut through better and the plain strings are a bit more mellow if you compare to a telecaster for instance. i know the japanese stock pickups are wound narrower and taller than the originals but i think they sound great.
i use a silverface twin reverb amp and a mxr micro amp (boost pedal), a rat (distorion pedal), and a deluxe memory man (analog delay pedal). i play VERY LOUD (much too loud if you ask my amp), and i haven't had any problems with feedback (unwanted feedback, that is).
i think it's a pretty versatile guitar, i seem to be able to get a large variety of sounds that all sound good.
my main dislike is the bridge (of course). the wound strings keep popping out of place when i get a little rough. but i'm planning to get a mustang bridge and a buzz stop to solve that problem.
another thing that bothers me a bit is that there's quite little sustain in the plain strings, while for some reason the wound strings have tremendous sustain.

the guitar was very badly set up at the factory, the neck was curved like a banana, it buzzed like hell, and the pickups were set too near the strings. but it took me about five minutes to fix it all. the buzz disappeared when i tightened the tremolo spring, and i tightened the truss rod, and lowered the pickups. after that it was tip top.
the finish, electronics and hardware are without flaws.

again, the bridge is a big problem, but as i mentioned i'm going to take care of it and i doubt that i will have any problems with it after that. the tuners are very reliable, i hardly ever need to re-tune. and the rest of the guitar seems reliable too.
i don't use the strapbuttons, i use a dimarzio clip-lock strap that's attached with screws directly into the body.
i would never do a gig without a backup, but that has nothing to do with the guitar itself, it's just that have a tendency to break a lot of strings. my playing style is pretty violent. but if it weren't for the string issue i would definitely use it without backup.

one year warranty

i've been playing for about 10 years, and have had a lot of guitars. i currently own (appart from the jazzmaster) a telecaster and a hagstrom HIIN OT. soundwise, the jazzmaster is the best one i've had so far. playability-wise, the best i've had was a -74 telecaster deluxe (i deeply regret selling it).

i think the jazzmaster is a really great guitar, apart from the crappy bridge and the poor sustain of the plain strings.

2003, Japanese made Jazzmaster reissue. Standard Fender scale, frets etc. Solid body (alder is my guess judging by the feel), lack placid blue finish (pleasantly unique color in my book), 2 large Japanese Jazzmaster single coils (American vintage uses a differently constructed JM single coil from the Japanese ones), passive electronics, dual circuit (rhythm and lead circuitry exchange via switch), maple neck, slab rosewood finger board with plasticy dot markers (perhaps made to cheaply simulate the old clay dots), floating tremolo with trem lock (eccentric unit, get to know it well if you're into Jaguars and Jazzmasters), non-locking Gotoh-made Kluson replica tuning machines, standard fender neck width. Tools included: reissue term arm (remember the reissues and vintage models use different arms, the vintage ones having a ridge at the base of the arm), small hex key to adjust saddle heights (i.e. action)

This Fender is unique among Fender models, even Jazzmasters. Jazzmasters are known as warmer Fenders than teles and strats, possessing perhaps a little less sustain and a unique sound not unlike playing an electric guitar inside of a giant tube. The Japanese (as opposed to their American cousins) remakes have a brighter sound than the American ones, owing to a taller and narrower winding of the pickup. Nevertheless, these are by no means strat pickups, they are indeed warmer than your average Fender single coil found in the Big 2 models they make. Like all Jazzmaster pickups, they are prone to picking up the pesky hum that comes with electro-magnetic fields. My guess is that the pickguard is not shielded, ot at least adequately enough to stop the humming. Despite this, the humming can be gotten rid by carefully positioning yourself. Neck pickup alone is fairly warm, a nice rhythm sound on botht he lead circuit and the rhythm circuit. Both pickups engaged gives a "plunky" sound, classicly exemplified by artists like the Ventures. Bridge alone is beefier than a strat bridge, but still not quite a p-90 or a humbucker fullness. Still, it is quite good for leads. The guitar has a decent amount of variety in the sounds, but if you're looking for the classic 60s Jazzmaster sound, you may have to roll back the tone knob and volume wheel a bit. I personally find the sound to be wonderful, it is unique, but not too thin or thick. I play surf, rock, and some new wave-esque music, so the guitar suits these styles quite well.

The workmanship is solid all-around, not quite American made, but still pretty good for the money I paid. The pickups came somewhat out of adjustment, I raised one, lowered the other and balanced them. An easy job... Pickup controls, knobs, switches all silent of unwanted noise- a must in a new guitar of decent quality.

The Jazzmaster, is both robust and fragile. I hate to make such a paradox, but the truth it that with a bolt-on neck, a solid body, and good construction the guitar is robust. Yet, the floating trem with trem lock is fragile as bridges go, often needing adjustment. The trem is feather light in operation, so handle with care. Despite that, the guitar will last with proper care. Thrashing on the bridge unit and dive-bombing won't go well. Strap buttons, all other basic hardware is solid. Gigging without a backup of somekind is not particularly wise, but if I had to do it with this I would.

I haven't dealth with Fender, I've heard they're either very good or very bad.

This is a solid guitar, and a good value buy. For $600-800 ranges, this guitar performs quite well, although it is out ranked in quality by more expensive Fenders, Gibsons, G&L, etc. If you're looking for a Jazzmaster in that price range and have a choice between this and a knockoff imitation, by all means this is a good instrument to choose. If you can afford the American version, I would honestly choose that simply because it's better overall. I compared this guitar to the American version, vinatge examples, no-name knockoffs, and this guitar did better than any of the knockoffs. Still, the American and Vintage guitars were better (but of course the price is a factor there). My only complaint is a tendancy to buzz at the floating bridge (a result of a low downforce due to a rather small string angle). If lost or stolen, I would be displeased and try to get it back. I would buy a new one if I had to. The guitar is fairly complete as is, if I had to add anything I might replace the pickups with American Vintage models or Seymour Duncans. A mute like the old Jags would be interesting too, though they can be more trouble than they're worth sometimes.
An additional note: many Strat and Tele players see this model as a "warm fender" that they can jump right into. If you're in this category, try before you buy. This is a model, that while being a Fender, has features and eccentricities that make it very unique. You may well like it, but don't go on blind faith due to the Fender name. This is a very different guitar.

Mine is the Japanese '62 reissuse. It is very bear in terms of the Features the Floating Tremolo Lock mechanism is missing from the Jap version for instance. However what's there works fine there are two P90 type Pickups which are quite noisey but do produce a quite Bold tone the neck ppickup especially. However because of the shape of the Jazzmaster body, the bridge pickup is further away from the strings and therefore seems underpowered in comparision, raising this and lowering the neck one seems to compensate to a degree.

The tone from the neck pickup is bold and beautiful whereas the bridge one gives out a much more crunchy feel. The tremolo works well except that the trem arm doesn't screw in like on my strat which isn't ideal for jumping around on stage with. However if you've bought or thinking about buying a Jazzmaster Jumping around should be the least of your priorities as the guitar is not meant for heavey metal and such. I use mine primarily for a sort of bluesy funk which i play alot of and it suits me a treat. However overall this guitar is capable of little tonal variation in comparison to my strat and other such guitars and so would not be ideal for a recording artist.

Here's where my jazzmaster fails to some extent. The wiring on the pickup selector was a bit dodgy at first as was the buzzing bridge (somthing you'll find on any Japanese jazzmaster/Jaguar). However i managed to fix both of these. The bridge problem took me about a day to irradicate as as well as the action needing to be raised, the itonation and truss rod needed adjusting afterwards.

The Finish is very durable, i dropped the guitar from standing onto the corner of my pedal board but this only resulted in a minor chip. The Machine heads are excellent, after playing the guitar for three hours and leaving it over night, it was still in tune!!!

I've been playing guitar for going on three years and this guitar alothough won't be ideal for MOST PEOPLE it's certainly a durable and great looking companion. The offset body is fantastic looking. In comparison to my USA Stratocaster, the Jazzmaster is quite pathetic but hey there's over #100 difference.

2002 U.S. made '62 Reissue Jazzmaster in surf green with all of the standard Jazzmaster controls. I installed a buzz-stop and it removed the bridge-buzz (as opposed to fret-buzz) occuring at the lower frets but added bridge-buzz to some upper frets. I'm keeping the buzz-stop on because I prefer the significantly improved sustain and that it keeps the strings from falling out of the bridge saddles. The bridge-buzz can only be heard acoustically and not when the guitar is amplified.
I like the extra controls for the more mellow (aka Jazzier) tone. It's a nice sound for Chet-style thumb-pick playing.

I really like the sound of the larger single coils pick-ups, especially the neck pick-up. I use strictly Fender amps including Twin Reverbs, Custom Vibrolux, and a Super. I favor a full bottom in the tone and I use strings guaged 13, 17, 20, 36, 46, 56. I don't do distortion. I play fingerstyles and instrumental-surf.

It was set up well at the factory for light gage strings.
The neck is fairly low profile as they were in the '60's and it feels as if there is a bit more space between strings as compared to a Strat. I consider that extra space a luxury.

The volume control for the alternate "jazzier" controls is not functioning and is set to full gallop so it's ok but I should get that fixed. All of the other workmanship is good. For heavier strings I needed to tighten the truss. I notice that Fender had to shim the neck so I take a couple of points off for that and one off for the bad volume control.

This guitar will not withstand live playing for anyone who plays with a bit of gusto UNLESS such a player installs the buzz-stop. I have personally experinced the strings jumping out of the bridge saddles prior to installing the buzz-stop and I am not mister thrash. The trem bar sort of snaps into place as opposed to screwing into place as it does on a strat. This means it can fall out with out unexpectedly. Everything else about the '62 U.S. Jazzmaster in terms of finish and strap buttons and hardware is fine.

I've been playing with dedication for over thirty years. I own mostly Fenders and Fender amps and prefer Strats for everything but I do like the Jazzmaster for the better pick-ups and the extra room on the fretboard.

USA Fender '62 Reissue Jazzmaster

First of all, I'm influenced by indie bands like Yo La Tengo, Luna, and Sonic Youth (who all use this guitar,... I've seen them live). I'm also very interested in classic rock, blues and surf. As my guitar heroes use this guitar, I was looking at a Japanese version several years back. The one I looked at felt like a cheap guitar, and sounded ok but I was skeptical on its authenticity (to tell the truth, it was probably a good deal for its price, however I wanted a professional level fender, so I purchased a USA Nashvile Fat Tele (humbucker in neck, like Keith Richards). When I found out that they started making USA Jazzmasters, I was very interested, so I took the chance, and ordered one (store only had green, I wanted sunburst).

The lowdown is this: the finish is beautiful, and is very sturdily built. I personally love the whammy, however it should be noted that I use 11 gauge (they sound better than 10 on this guitar and won't slip). I play with a Fender Super Reverb and a Fender Champ (1970s all tube) and the guitar sounds incredible, and is very comfortable to play. It also nails the original Jazzmaster sound perfectly (keep in mind I haven't a/b an original, this is based of recordings by bands who use originals and live shows, including my friends band who has an original). In fact, this is now my favorite guitar (especially the bass strings, they stand out so good). The guitar definitely stands up and may even surpass my $1300 tele. Please keep one thing in mind... I still have my tele as it is better for a multi styles of guitar (classic rock, blues, indie rock, indie country)... only owning a Jazzmaster would be limiting and not recommended. However, if you like the Jazzmaster sound are are looking for a second Fender, you will blow people's minds, as the sound of this guitar stands greatly on its own, providing an amzing amount of character.

Sunburst finish is a work or art... trust me its woth the extre $50. You must use 11 strings of higher. The guitar is contoured, making it very comfortable to play. Amazing feel for lead guitar, but prefer my tele if I want ot hammer out noisy chords. I love all 3 pickup settings (neck is warm, middle humbucks with a nice middle road, and bridge provides a nice surfy twang).

As long as you take care of it, it will last (I think I could be rougher on my tele, however).

Like I mentioned before, I have my Tele for versatility, however every single notes sings with this guitar through my Fender Tube amps. It makes me smile every time I play it, and would be the exact same guitar if it were stolen.

1994 MIJ Fender Jazzmaster , 21 frets, standard Jazzmaster controls, three-colour sunburst finish with a tortoise-shell pickguard.
The tremolo arm that originally came with it had a ridge at the base which allowed the arm to snap securelt into its socket. Unfortunately I lost it and the replacement did not have the same feature!
I find it rather amusing that the price of Jazmmasters, Jaguars, etc. have risen steadily over the years and now dramatically with the appearance of the American-made re-issues. People originally bought Jazzmasters for one of two reasons: unique sound and CHEAPNESS! That is likely the real reason most early-90s grungies played them. This way they could still have a genuine Fender guitar without paying a lot of money. Sadly, far too many guitarists are interested in how "cool" a guitar looks (i.e. whatever is trendy at the moment? and do not consider what the guitar is useful for. Most people perform so many modifications to Jazzmasters that they would likely be better off buying something else. Indeed, I have noticed that they have the highest re-sale rate of probably any Fender guitar. If you want a good utility all purpose guitar get a Stratocaster!
Love the JM as she comes, boys and girls, don't try to make her into something she isn't.

My guitar playing was heavily influenced by Robert Smith of The Cure and Kevin Shields of My Bloody Valentine. Eventually I learned that both used the Fender Jazzmaster (Robert Smith used one exclusively from 1979-1983 and Kevin Shields only used Jazzmasters and Jaguars). Naturally I wanted to recreate this sound. It produces the sounds I like though I would not recommend it for heavier, precise sounding music.

The finish is quite good and very shiny. I have heard some people claim that the wood grain is actually a decal underneath the varnish. Who cares! I've never understood this pompous attitude of many guitarists who complain that their instrument is not some magically transported piece of equipment from the 1960s. It wouldn't care if the damn thing was made of plastic! Its the sound I'm interested in, not whether it looks like a good piece of furniture!

I have had some of the problems other people have mentioned. So what? As I said before take the good with the bad. I knew the Jazzmaster would be tempermental. Anyone who expects otherwise is a fool. To my mind this is part of the charm. I replaced the strap buttons with Schaller straplocks. I do this for any Fender guitar as their strap buttons often come loose.
I grow tired of people complaining of the quality of the Japanese guitars. So they're made of slightly cheaper materials. Big deal. You get what you pay for. Personally I believe the Japanese have a better work ethic than some fat guy wearing a too-small shirt, eating a burger and asking for a break every fifteen minutes! I'm not saying this to be anti-American we Canadians are just as bad. In essence, who gives a crap where it's made, even if its Bangladesh!

I've owned American Fenders and had the misfortune of trying to deal with the corporation. They sell you an instrument and then boot you in the ass on the way out the door. They're almost like an insurance company: trying to get anything out of them is like getting blood from a stone. Good old Fender (poor Leo must be spinning in his grave).

I love Jazzmasters I play it as my main guitar (My back-up is a Danelectro DC-59, but that's another review). I would probably buy another as a back-up, since the Dano is not so much a back-up as an alternate sounding guitar.

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 ...