This is the 60s lacquer surf green Jazzmaster. According to the specs, it's basically an AVRI Jazzmaster made in Mexico (Made in Mexico by Mexicans, as opposed to Made in America by Mexicans, as the old adage goes…). Nitrocellulose finish, vintage style bridge and the tremolo unit in the 'right' place. What sold it to me was the frets - proper vintage frets that I prefer. Available in any colour you like as long as it's surf green. All supplied in a proper Fender hard case. Ideal.

I suppose I have the Swiss to thank for this. After they restructured their financial system the Euro dropped in value, saving nearly £200GBP. Time to pull the trigger! I kind of discovered this for sale at an online site in Germany. It was £150GBP cheaper than my Classic Player, and looked fabulous. I stared at the screen, liked it, wanted, dug out my brand new credit card, and bought it. A week later it was here.

This is what I saw when I opened the case. Doesn't show the faint whiff of nitrocellulose, though. Silica pack in the case and under the strings.
image

Straight out of the box it was set up well, fast and easy to play. To be honest it was a different league to my Classic Player. The colour was gorgeous and the white scratch plate looks nice in contrast. Makes it look kind of fresh and clean somehow.

Playing it through a Musicman 110RD 50 it sounds fantastic. Bright, clean highs and a nice growl to the bottom E. All the controls worked with no issues. The front pickup has a nice hollow twang to it, while the bridge pickup has a good trebly bite, but not ear piercing. The rhythm circuit always sounds nice for mellow songs. The switch felt better than my Classic Player, as did the pickup selector switch. Here's a comparison between the two (I replaced the Classic Player pickups and plastic)

The one single criticism for this guitar is the non locking term. The handle is low compared to the CP, but I had that adjusted in the shop as it was even lower. So a slight adjustment may be necessary, and a possible future tremolo replacement for a locking version.

At less than half the price of a AVRI, this feels like an absolutely quality guitar - it's in a different league to the CP, and actually feels like a proper Jazzmaster at last!

(fixed the photos at last!)

http://thewaterboarders.bandcamp.com/

Last edited: Feb 10, 2015 16:37:16

Only able to see the last image you posted. But that looks awesome! Congrats!

man that is sure nice looking! it's got a pick up selector switch just like my TVL Jazzmaster,

how does it play? sound?

To me, they feel like a gift to surf guitarists from Fender. "Now stop whining about Jazzmaster and Jaguars!", especially as they are only in Surf Green. Previous models were probably for grunge fans, and now it's our turn.
I would definitely check one out, it feels like a quality guitar.

Comparing it to my Classic Player (with Elvis Costello pups) it feels a quality guitar. It certainly plays much better, as I much prefer the thinner frets, and I prefer the neck radius too. You'd think you wouldn't notice the difference, but you do.

The beer gut cutout on the body doesn't seem as deep as it does on the CP, but it must only be a matter of mm's. More wood, the better, right? Besides, I don't have much of a beer gut.
I can't really fault it - I had some problems with the CP bridge dropping, and getting the action low, but this one is faultless. Straight out of the box it's good to go.
It'll be interesting to see what the used market will be like. They are hard to find in the UK, though the market for this guitar is likely to be pretty small...

http://thewaterboarders.bandcamp.com/

7.25" radius!!!

Beautiful sir; nice score & thanks for the review & pics.

Wes
SoCal ex-pat with a snow shovel

DISCLAIMER: The above is opinion/suggestion only & should not be used for mission planning/navigation, tweaking of instruments, beverage selection, or wardrobe choices.

Ooooooh, and slab board too!

Nize.......

ed

Traditional........speak softly and play through a big blonde amp. Did I mention that I still like big blonde amps?

Aren't fenders beautiful and that one is gorgeouse.
good deal.

da-ron wrote:

SurfingJagwar wrote:

Quick question on these MIM Jazzmasters. Do the Lacquer series, 60's road worn, and TVL Jazzmasters all have the AV65 pickups in them?

Quick question, but slow answer! Apologies!

This is the 60s Lacquer and it has the AVRI pickups. Don't know about the others.
Honeymoon period is over and I still love it. Bridge rattles a bit, but it comes and goes. Hopefully it'll go more than it comes, soon.

Was thinking of upgauging the strings to 11s, but I bought three packs of 10s with the guitar

Thanks Palo, it looks even better in the flesh

I would go for 11's Da-Ron and some nail varnish or red Loc-Tite on the rattly bits.

Los Fantasticos

11's should do it.
i put thread tape on the threads of the screws at bottom of bridge.
and along with the 11 gauge strings it presses it down.
i also folded a little piece of masking tape and throw it in the long holes that the bridge goes in to pad it a little.
it works for the four jags of mine.

Last edited: Apr 25, 2015 03:17:18

I am resurrecting this old thread because I am considering purchasing this model Jazzmaster and have a question about the tremolo; hope someone sees this and can comment.

This model, 60's Jazzmaster Lacquer, comes with a non-locking tremolo. I am wondering if the non-locking tremolo can be replaced with a locking tremolo without having to do any additional routing to the body. In other words, is a locking tremolo a direct replacement for a non-locking tremolo.

I asked Fender and their answer wasn't really clear; something about how they are "strictly a new instrument manufacturer" and do not support any modification.