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On Sat, 10 Nov 2001 wrote:
> I have noticed most
> often Jaguars are used for lead, and Jazzmasters for rhythm.
Hello everybody, this is my first post on this list. Thanks to Brian for
setting it up. I wanted to pipe in on this, cause I love Jazzmasters but
feel at best ambivelent about Jags.
Jazzmasters may not have been used much for lead by the first wave of surf
musicians, who tended to either stick to Strats or Jags, but they were
used for rhythm. The exceptions were Randy Holden of the Fender IV
(though I've also seen him with a Jag), the Illusions (Jezebel), and the
Nobles (I think). Anyway, my point is that I believe that has changed
quite a bit during the third wave (nineties surf music). Let's look at
the lead guitarists using Jazzmasters:
Frank Blandino (the Fathoms)
Chris Barfield (The Huntington Cads)
Zak Izbinsky (the Treblemakers)
Phantom Frank (The Treble Spankers)
Mel Waldorf (Los Meltones, now the Sea Monkeys)
Mikko Lankinen (Laika & Cosmonauts)
Dalibor Pavicic (the Bambi Molesters)
Pekka Laine (the Hypnomen)
Pete Curry (the Halibuts)
I've probably left out quite a few others, but that's what i can think of
off the top of my head. The list of Jag users is probably even bigger,
and Strats bigger than that still, but I think that's quite an impressive
list of Jazzmaster users. It's a big vote of confidence for this guitar
that so many talented lead guitarists are using it nowadays (and a couple
of them are actually using Jap reissues, too!).
I've also used my limited edition Jap (blonde) Jazzmaster w/ Seymour
Duncan pickups on about a third of the Space Cossacks songs, and I LOVE
that guitar!! It's every bit as good as my American made Strats, and set
up right (with 12-gauge flatwounds), I never had any bridge problems
(except for the tremolo socket teeth breaking from being tightened up too
many times - thanks Dana!). Jags sound thin to me, and I hate the
scale. They even look really dated with those metal pickguard parts. The
Jazzmaster has a timeless look. Of course, this is all completely
subjective. Just adding my own penny.
StratoCossack
