Posted on Apr 19 2017 08:18 AM
I got one of these two weeks ago, as well! It's astounding, and I regret that I haven't had a lot more free time to play it.
It's my first Jazzmaster, and only my second offset ever - the first being my Surf Green Squier VM Jaguar, which I got almost a year ago and which had already opened my world to the concept of working on your own bridge saddles & setup to tailor everything to my touch / tastes.
I really wanted the 60s Lacquer Jaguar, to keep exploring the shorter scale but with more authentic neck & pickups - and because I've gotten familiar with the ups & downs of the VM Jaguar - but this Lacquer Jazzmaster was in stock at my friend's guitar shop, and it beckoned me from the wall o' Fenders with a stunning surf green (?) color that's a bit more intense and beautiful than my already beloved Jag. The poor ol' Jag looks pale by comparison. (I know... pictures would help)
Plus, it has the amber/orange neck tint that some complain of - but nothing's ever too orange for me.
He made me an offer I couldn't refuse, so home I went with quite a guitar.
Anyway, my first impressions of this fine JM versus my modest Jag are:
1) Wow, what a light body! The shop owner said this appears to be random and that I got a light one for sure.
2) Wow, what a fine neck and great frets. The scale length felt normal and wrong after playing so much Jag for so long, but I guess it's just like my Strat or Tele (BTW, I'm primarily a P-bassist)
3) WHOA... THIS SOUNDS AMAZING THROUGH THE GOMEZ G-SPRING... almost as if the Jazzmaster sound 'activates' the drip better somehow. Or, is it the roundwounds
4) I really need to get these tiny stock strings off of here (I have flatwound 12s on my Jag)
5) (after several hours of recording tests over several days) I heretically kind of like these stock strings!
I need to spend more time with her - the color is swoon-worthy in person and (I should have written this part first!) the whole Jazzmaster rhythm circuit sound seems to take me to Chuck Berry / Champs / Allessandroni / I daresay, Grady Martin rockabilly territory much more readily than the very dark rhythm circuit of the Jag. And the lead circuit ain't bad, either
Even with the "wrong" strings, this Jazzmaster does the Astronauts, Pyramids and so many other surf sounds with authority - and it sounds heavenly on my original tunes, every genre. She's a keeper, and I'm missin' her even as I type.
edited for (attempted) clarity
Last edited: Apr 19, 2017 11:10:26