Fender Jazzmaster

My 63 Jazzmaster has been in my arsenal since 1988 and was one of my main stage axes until I retired it recently. It has an alder sunburst body that was refinned in black laquer decades ago. The neck is Maple/rosewood with no binding and clay dots. It was modded when I got it with Schaller tuners, a Gibson tunomatic bridge with some roller saddles and the trem lock locked. I never had a vibrato arm on it. Electronics are stock except for the bridge pickup. It was real weak so I put in a Duncan Jazzmaster 1/4 pounder single coil in. It is an exact fit replacement. It came with a brown Fender case that is original and still in good shape. It has been refretted twice since 88. The preset controls for the pickups are a sweet feature that bumps up my rating here.

This guitar has a lot of sentimental value to me as it has been a studio and gigging mainstay for many years. I recently retired my 68 Tele,57 and 62 reissue Strats and this jazzmaster, replacing them onstage with new Mexican guitars (60's strat, 72 strat, and Tele Custom reissue) This guitar excells at loud slightly distorted rhythms and also sounds wonderful driving effects. It gets used often for chimy sounds and I record 50% of all my rhythms with it. I love the action and shape of the neck, and tuning is rock solid with the tunomatic and schallers. The thing was noisy as hell till I used copper foil to shield it. I love the offset shape as it is very comfortable. The tortoise guard is super pretty, unlie many modern ones. It has a great 60's vibe and gets compliments a lot. I run all my axes into a Crybaby, Rat distortion, and a tube echoplex into 2 blackface Fender Bandmasters and 2 Ampeg 412 cabs loaded with Electro-Voice SRO 12 speakers.

Well-it is a loved but beat refinned refretted non-original utility axe, but it is tough as nails and the one bad pickup is the only problem ever. It has been refretted twice with Dunlop 6100 wire. The hardware is oxidized and it's pickworn, but it looks great and has a nice vibe. Everyone that plays it likes it, even guys that don't really dig Fenders. Non-original stuff :Schaller tuners and straplocs, Duncan pickup and Tuneomatic bridge. Also during the last refret I had a new bone nut installed. It is well played and has held up like a champ. Also, the black paint is OVER the original sunburst-Dunno if this is original or oversprayed.

Tough as a ballpeen hammer! I never have used it without backup but it never breaks strings and tuning is rock solid as the vibrato is locked off. I would not be afraid to use it as my only axe,but I choose not to. For a 41 year old axe it has held up great, considering it's been gigged with hundreds of times

this is a pre-CBS fender. Support from Fender is a non-issue with this one

I ve been playing heavy alternative rock since the days when that ment HuskerDu, Replacements, Buzzcocks, etc. This little Jazzmaster has been with me longer than any other except my first electric (a Gibson LP Jr. I still have) and if something happened to it I would be dvastated-I retired it for just that reason. It compares favorably with my strats, teles, and other axes. It's just a big part of my sound and an inspirational tool for making music. No money could replace it and really, I've played a lot of Jazzmasters and this one is unique. I couldn't replace it at all!

Nothing special, typical Fender Jazzmaster. Mine was Made in Japan, I believe it was made in the early to mid 80s. 21 frets, 2 single coil pick-ups, Maple neck, Rosewood finger board. It's got the dual circuit that all Jazzmasters have, pretty cool how you can change the volume and tone at the fkip of a switch, but other then that not much in the way of features.

Here's my current set-up: Jazzmaster > Boss FZ-2 Fuzz > Cry Baby Wah > Big Muff Pi > Boss CH-1 > MXR Phase 100 > Boss NS-2 > Peavey Amp. My only gripe about the sound is that the single coil pick-ups do hum a fair bit, BUT it's nothing my NS-2 can't handle. I play Alt. Rock, and this guitar suits my style perfectly. I use a fair number of effects and I like experimetning with them and I sometimes try to get the weirdest sounds I can. Aside from the hum, I have no complaints at all.

The action on this guitar is great. I bought it used, and the previous owner had it set-up very well, I've only had to make one or two VERY minor adjustments to get it the way I want it. There were a few chips in the finish, and the pick-ups do hum a bit, but other then that, it's held up very well for a 20 year old guitar. No noise from the pick-up selectors or any other controls. I also like the off-set design, it makes this a very comfortable guitar to play.

I've gigged with this guitar a few times without any trouble. Very solid. The only thing is that the finish has a few chips, but other then that, it's in good shape, and I expect it will stay that way. I always bring a back-up guitar in case, but I don't expect I'll need it. I definately feel I can depend on it.

The guitar didn't come with a case when I bought it, so I went to the local Fender dealer to order one. The guys at the store were pretty good about it, phoned them right there while I was there to get one ordered for me. My gripe was that the guy in charge of cases was on vacation so it took an extra two weeks for them to get it here, but I got the exact case I wanted, and even with the two week delay, it only took about 3 and a half weeks total. Other then that I've never dealt with Fender

I've been playing for about 5 years now, bought this about 2 years ago. This is essentially my dream guitar, I was shocked to see it one day in a store and after trying it out I bought it almost immediately. It fits my style and sound perfectly, and it's so comfortable to play with it's off-set design. Two thumbs up!

This Jazzmaster had the usual stock features: Soapbar pickups, tremlock vibrato,Kluson tuners, rosewood fretboard, and original beige case.

To be honest, I don,t really know how good this guitar sounded through the right amp. I bought this guitar in 1983, and at the time, I was playing through a Fender super twin. These amps don't sound very good unless you play them LOUD, and I'm not a loud player. This is why it"s essential to match the guitar with the right amp. During that time, I was into heavy Rock, and because of the weak pickups, and the fact that I used the master volume for overdrive, I didn't get the sound that I should have. I traded this guitar for a Gretsch tennessean that some donkey put humbuckers into; BIG mistake!! I give this guitar a 9 for what this guitar MAY have sounded like through a better amp.

The finish was rather boring; the previous owner had taken off the original finish and laquered over the natural wood. If I still had this guitar, I would refinish it an olympic white. I didn't experience the the usual loose-bridge problems, as I didn't have this guitar for very long. There are many JM owners who complain about the lack of sustain. The problem is because of those threaded steel saddles! They are C-R-A-P!! Why do telecasters and Les Pauls have lots of sustain? because they have brass saddles, thats why. I don't know if brass saddles are available for jazzmasters, but they are fairly simple to make. Any competent repairman or machinist should be able to make them, And it should't cost much either. I have never tried this with a jazzmaster, but I would be willing to bet that it would improve the sound 100%. As for the action, it was as good as a Fender can get; nice vintage feel and smooth action.

What can you expect from any Fender solidbody? So solid you could bash your way through a door with it (not that I would). Aside from the cheesy bridge, I think they are very solid and reliable.

Never dealt with them.

I miss this guitar very much, and I,m still kicking myself for gettin rid of it. When I can afford it, I would like to get another one, even if it's a Japanese reissue in need of upgrading. I have been playin for 26 years, and right now, I own two telecasters, a Squire strat, A fender copy bass, a 1976 Ibanez Les Paul copy, a '77 Yamaha acoustic, and a 1950's Kay archtop (my first guitar). The only thing missing is a Jazzmaster. I would like to include a list of classic Jazmaster recordings:


Walk Don't Run-The Ventures
Honky Tonk-The Ventures
Perfidia- The Ventures
Little Sister- Elvis Presley (w/Hank Garland)
Mean Woman Blues-Roy Orbison(w/wayne moss)
money-Waylon Jennings(w/Wayne Moss)
Money-Waylon Jennings(w/ Wayne Moss)
Almost anything by Jerry Cole and His Spacemen

This is a follow-up to my review of my 1967 CAR Fender Jazzmaster which was stolen from my flat.

Thanks to this review forum, my guitar was identified by a reader and I managed to get it back!

many thanks to Mark for all his effort and time and also Harmony Central for forwarding his information to me.

without their help recovering the guitar would have been impossible.

1962 Jazzmaster; sunburst; alder body; maple neck w/rosewood fret board; two "soap bar" pick-ups; vibrato tail with Trem-lock; advertised on E-Bay as a 1963, but neck date stamped May 1962 and neck plate serial no. is five digits (no "L" prefix); three-way toggle switch for pick-up selection on lower horn, rhythm circuit with switch and thumb-wheel controls (volume, tone) on upper horn; came with Fender black tolex hard case, probably a later edition

Perfect for my '60s "oldies" - surf, doo-wop, folk rock, prom-type ballads; very bright with good "bite" for surfing lead riffs; played through vintage Fender amps: Super Reverb, Pro Reverb, Vibrolux Reverb, Bandmaster, Tremolux, Bassman, Dual Showman Reverb, Twin Reverb, Quad Reverb; matches well with these amps, except my '70s Twin Reverb (comes out very shrill, probably the amp, not the guitar); slight preference for the JM over my '63 Jaguar (25.5" vs. 24.0" scale); use light-gauge 10s; string buzz does not impact the amplified sound, partially solved by removing bridge cover; will also have the nut checked as a possible cause, or change to a different gauge

no mods apparent; neck pick-up was weak - sent out to be re-wound and guitar set-up; back of body is NOT sunburst, but a very dark green (almost black) - if a re-fin, must have been a "pro" job as it is indistinguishable from original; very clean with minor dings and scratches - no belt buckle rash, cracking, or checking

very reliable with a lot of life left; finish appears durable; cosmtically, I always wipe down my instruments after each use; no loose connections with input jack, pots, switches, pick-ups

Fender authorized dealer and service centers available; guitar is long out of warranty, but work performed was more than satisfactory; no problems since pick-up re-wound and set-up done

playing almost 39 years; playing with this JM for three years; had a re-issue MIJ Jazzmaster previously, which was quite good, but this is better (it may be in only my mind); other guitars - 1963 Jaguar, 1967 Mustang, 1972 Telecaster Thinline, 1970's Mosrite Avenger, 1994 standard Strat w/vintage pick-ops, Silvertone Hornet (Jag-style body); Fender amps listed above, plus Silvertone 1484 (Twin Twelve piggy-back), solid state Fender Twin Reverb

My jazzmaster was made Japan in 2001 equiped with two P-90 pups. Ireplaced the bridge pup wayh a SD JB. Beceause it fits my playing style better. Like all jazzmasters. A vintage tremelo system, classic tuners.I really like the switching options on this guitar.

I play jazz, rock, pop and a little funk. With the JB in the bridge, it works perfectly for me.
Another fun part of this guitar, is the noises you can make.

The factory setup could be better. And the bridge is really crappy.
But the feel on this guitar is very good. (I tested it in a store, and just fell in love, I was lucky to trade it in with a Ibanez RG620)

I just have no backup guitar, 'till yesterday (i bought a Schecter hollywood classic special millenium edition!!! A unique piece)
And gigged and rehearsed with it for over a year, and it never lets me down. I switched strap buttons for strap locks. But i always do that.
And it stays in tone very well

Never needed customer support so i can't tell.

I play for about eight years now, and this was my first decent guitar i have. I was getting sick of the floyd rose bridge on the Ibanez. Breaking a string during performance is a disaster with it, switching string is a pain in the ass, and if you want to try other tunings, you have to adjust the bridge every time again.
If my jazzmaster was stolen, i would try to find another one.

made in 1965. sunburst. clay dot inlays. this was actually built after the CBS aquisition, but it was early on and was still built to pre-cbs specs. no binding on fretboard. features seem pretty well described by others, but i love the versatility of the pick-up configurations. full range of tonal possibilities. the longer neck/scale gives it a great low end--almost baritone sounding (not really but kind of). the tremolo is great and works perfectly in locked mode.

this is now my main choice. i've always loved les pauls, went through a strat phase. then it was on to an affair with tele's. once i tried this one out i knew it be be my main guitar forever. the sheer variety of tones is amazing. a little bit noisy with just one pickup, but not a big deal. i can use it for anything--rock,surf,country--i guess not death metal, but we've all got our BC Rich Warlach's and Jackson Flying V's for that, right?. through any amp it's great--but through my hiwatt it is a religious experience.

the neck is perfectly broke in, like an old baseball glove. i had it refretted, and they did a nice job. the guy who did it is a JM freak. he set it up perfectly, shimmed up the neck a bit so the action is perfect (this might be a solution for anyone with action problems). my pickguard is cracke in several places, looks like it's falling apart but hasn't yet. someone (maybe Jimi) took a lighter to the pickgaurd as well, so there are some melts and burn marks. the finish is beat up--but that's what make's it cool. adds character.

bought it in 2000. it's been set up once. and i live in MN where the summers are humid and hot, and the winters are freezing and dry. never had a problem with it yet. this thing has seen some wear in the 40 years it's been on the planet--but it functions today probably as it did back then.

i spent $1700 on a '65 Fender that has better tone, more options than a strat, and is a fraction of the price. i'm glad Jazzmasters are a fringe guitar. let all the others get caught up with strats and teles and LP's. we can still get our vintage Jazzmasters (and Jaguars for that matter) at reasonable prices.

1967 CAR Fender Jazzmaster with matching headstock (and transition logo - neck stamp 13OCT66B).

Non-original body finish, pickguard, bridge, pickup cover, tone pot and trem arm.

Mine got stolen sadly from my flat 2 months ago (Highgate area, London), so the review is going to be in past tense.

This is the ideal guitar for me, so I'll give it a 10.

The guitar suited my style of playing very well. I like playing mostly alternative/indie music, but I also like jamming along to anything I hear or takes my fancy.

The amp I used it with was a 70s silverface Fender Musicmaster Bass amp (12 watt, 1x12, tube).

The pedal setup I used (which also got stolen alongside the guitar) was Colorsound Wah > Zvex Super Duper > Zvex Fuzz Factory > Holowon Tremolo > Boss DM > Boss RV2 + a monkey FX looper

and no, I had no insurance.

*bangs head on desk*

anyways, the sound of the guitar clean was heavenly. My favourite position on the Jazzmaster has to be with both pickups on. That's the one I used more often.

The neck pickup on it's own was full and round, but the bridge pickup would never sound good to my ears for some reason...it was a bit too weak...lacked body...and all in all sounded quite uninspiring, so I hardly ever used it.

By the way, with both pickups on, the buzz is eliminated as well, so that was another reason to keep the pickup switch in the middle position.

The guitar also handled effects very well, especialy my Zvex stuff.

When I got the guitar (about 1 1/2 years ago) it was very well setup (a surprise for a Jazzmaster!!).

sadly, it was set up for 9s.

Big mistake....I changed the strings to 10s, and was going to go onto 11s as well. That eliminates buzzing, which loads of people always complain about. The bridge never gave me any problems (I used to have a Jaguar too - no problems with that either - just use heavy strings), and the tremolo was a joy to use (I had the trem lock setup properly too - brilliant invention)

The headstock of this particular guitar had still it's original finish, but the body had been refinished to match the candy apple red on the headstock.

The matching of the colours in my opinion wasn't very good. It looked a 7 out of ten (the finish on the headstock looked 30 years old, while the finish on the body looked about 30 minutes young!).

In any case, that had nothing to do with the playability of the guitar, which was excellent. The bound neck with the blocks looked like a million dollars, although a very small (almost triangular) piece of the binding was missing somewhere round the 5th fret.

the finish on the back of the neck after all the decades of play had also worn off, and sliding up and down the neck was a joy.

A brilliant guitar - the best I've ever owned.

the only points off are for the refinish, and the binding bit missing.

This guitar would definetely withstand live playing, it felt solid, and with the added straplocks I put on, I had no qualms to use it live with no backup.

never dealt with them.

I have been playing for 12 years or so, I'm slowly rebuilding my gear collection after the burglary, so not much to list just now (80% of my gear was gone - no insurance, so it's a slow process)

Well, it DID get stolen, and I feel sick every day I think about it. I got a 64 Jazzmaster on the way, but I still want that old CAR 67 back. I sold a 64 Mustang and my old MIJ Jaguar to get it, you see.

*sigh*

great guitar

wish I had it back.

To get started, I have a review for my other 1962 Jazzmaster just a couple down from this one.
1962 Fender Jazzmaster serial #90977. This one is a later '62 that has a neck date of September of that year.
21 fret Brazilian rosewood laminate fretboard w/ 'clay' dot inlays
Olympic white refinish with matching headstock.
Other than the refinish it is 100% original.
Single line Kluson tuners.
Tortoise shell pickguard.
orig frets have absolute minimal wear.
original tan HS case w/ gold hardware.

This Jazzmaster stays in Bb Ab Db Gb Bb Eb tuning that is used by Sune Rose Wagner of the Raveonettes. He uses a 1961 Jazzmaster as his main guitar, so this can approximate his sound quite nicely. It is set up with fairly low action and I use 10-52 gauge GHS strings. Here is my pedalboard setup, which is connected w/ george L's vintage red cable and powered by a godlyke powerall:
->dunlop hendrix oct/fuzz -> mxr blue box -> turbo rat -> russian big muff -> mxr 10 band graphic eq -> EHX frequency analyzer -> mutron vol/wah -> Fender Musicmaster bass amp or Fender Champ (both silverface). I also occasionally use a Boss DS-1, but it is pretty noisy. This guitar sounds amazing in this tuning. The bridge pickup just growls like an old Gibson P-90, but with slightly less girth and more clarity. It is especially fun to hit the low Bb really hard and then watch it squirm. The dynamics this guitar can produce are surprising. See, because of the bridge/tailpiece design, Jazzmasters have a very distinct sound when played hard. It is because the length of string behind the bridge rings out and creates some weird harmonics and semi feedback like sounds. But at the same time, you can ease up on your right hand (if you're right handed that is) and avoid these sounds. Also, without distortion, these noises are nearly nonexistent. I also like to actually hit the string behind the bridge.
The neck pickup is very nice also. It is basically what you would expect from a nice Jazzmaster. It is really round and thick sounding when compared to a strat. It is smooth also. I love the fact that these pickups retain alot of clarity even when played hard with alot of distortion. Overall, this Jazzmaster sounds much more aggressive than my other '62. I am not sure why, maybe a combination of the setup and how the pickups have aged.

I got lucky upon receiving this one. The action was very nice, although slightly low for my taste and strung with 9's none the less!!! Whatever floats your boat, but 9's don't do it for me. I promptly strung it up with a new set of GHS Boomers in 10-52. I also checked the arc of the bridge saddles and then raised the bridge slightly. I did make a really important discovery in terms of Jazzmasters because of this guitar. IF YOU HAVE A JAZZMASTER AND THINK YOU BRIDGE IS RATTLING< READ BELOW!!!!
There are two metal ferruls in the body of Jazzmasters and Jaguars. The bridge fits into these hols and rests only on the sharpened points of two small screws. What happens is the bridge can sometimes slip forward and the posts of the bridge can actually touch the edges of the ferruls and buzz like a damn chainsaw (well not that bad, bud frustrating still). You can adjust your saddles until the cows come home, but if this is the reason behind it, it will never improve. My fix is very simple. I pull the bridge and put ONE or two wraps of electrical tape around each bridge post close to where the top of the ferrul is, close to the bridge itself. Now when the post touches it won't make any noise. Some may object and say that rubbery tape will kill tone, but the bridge is still resting in the bottoms of these ferruls, metal on metal, so tone, in my experiences, is unaffected. It is still important to keep your bridge adjusted properly, so no amount of strategically placed tape can cure a maladjusted one.
Now onto the finish. It is Olympic white and refinished. I do not know for sure, but I would say the finish is more than a few years old, though. It has begun to yellow and has some places that are more yellow than others. I had to clean it up some when I got it, but nothing major. It has a few small nicks and a couple scuffs from the wonderful original Fender case. The original case is in beautiful shape also. It looks like brand new compared to the case with my other '62. All 3 latches work and are still gold, the leather is still wrapped around the handle, and the leather ends are still soft even. The little leather tab on the flap that covers the inside storage area is even still there!!

This is as reliable/durable as they come. There are no problems at all. No cracks around the neck pocket. Nothing wrong at all. All of the adjusting screws still turn without trouble, as do every other screw in the bridge. All the pots are fine. The 3 way toggle was slightly corroded when I got it, but after a cleaning it functions well. One thing that I am very thankful for is that the pickguard has not shrunk a whole lot. The pickups can still be adjusted with no problems. I didn't even have to sand the holes like I did on my other 62. I have several other old Fenders, which I will list below. This, like the rest, is ultra dependable. I would not be afraid to gig without a backup.

No idea here, but short of a lifetime transferrable warranty, I imagine they would be of little help. But, I don't think I would ever need them to help me with this guitar anyway.

My collection of guiars is always changing, but I have a few that I will never part with. This is definitely one of them. Here is my current family:
1962 Fender Jazzmaster -dakota red
1962 Fender Jazzmaster -olympic white
1973 Fender Musicmaster Bass -olympic white
1969 Fender competition Mustang -Red
2003 Fender cij Jazzmaster
1995/96 Fender Jagstang
1997 Fender cij '57 strat
Fender cij blue flower Telecaster
90's gibson cl-20 standard plus acoustic

Silverface Fender Champ
Silverface Fender Musicmaster Bass...new jensen speaker & RCA tubes
early 90's Fender tweed Blues deluxe
50's or 60's Harmony H-400

It should be obvious that I am a very large Fender fan. I have owned many other brands, but I always end up deciding that a Fender suits me the best. Jazzmasters are the most perfect guitar I have ever come across. Perhaps this biases my opinions. Check one out for yourself. If you buy an old one, you won't have any trouble reselling it if you aren't happy with it. One last thing, if anyone reading this has a 1970's Jazzmaster that you are willing to sell or trade, let me know. Any condition is fine. Thanks for reading all this!!!

1995 MIJ. white with red tortois pick guard.

you're doing your JM a disservice if you're playing thru a solid state amp. And i recommend an eq pedal for a little extra gain and high-mid. Its tone is distintly unique, and if you really get to know and understand it, its hard to use any other guitar. A telecaster is a good alternate in the studio.

facory set up rating: 1. miserable. the "locking" trem didn't even lock.i had to mcguyver it. 6 months of experimentation with the action/ set up paid off. near perfect playability, what you would expect from a good fender. i've played many other Jm's its amazing the width of their different personalities. that's what makes this guitar so special. I've found the 60's ones to be a bit noisier, but were also had more zing.
amazingly road worthy for such a feature rich guitar. pots get dirty stragely easy.

the warrenty is only as good as where you buy it from.

been playing in chicago for 6 Years. i bought the JM cuz nirvana was my favorite band. thank goodness KC has exquisit taste in guitars. i would like to see some comparasions to jaguars in future reviews.