Is the Jazzmaster the Best Kept Secret?

Baxter and Jonathan talk about the Fender Jazzmaster, and why its gaining so much popularity especially with new players.

[@davepatterson4774]

The middle position on a Jazzmaster with an edge of breakup tone, slight verb, delay and possibly a light chorus has got to be one of my most favorite sounds in the world.

[@capnjames]

Sounds like head in the ceiling fan by title fight

[@gabrielrf1]

@@capnjames Pretty sure title fight uses teles and les Pauls

[@analtarofnothing69]

For some of us they've been top dog for decades.

[@GoodmanRecordingsTokyo]

I have a recording studio. Jazzmasters are the perfect guitar for studios. Comfortable, tuning stability, sound quality. These day's I've been using them as building platforms for different kinds of guitars in Jazzmaster bodies. I actually have more jazzmasters than money.

[@djfree5435]

Any Model u can recommend? I cant decide between the vintera 2 and the am pro 2, wanna use 9s for easy bending

[@paullavallee1631]

My moms old oven had the same switches as the Jazzmaster

[@HaevyGlow]

I’ve owned all types of guitars except for Jazzmaster / Jaguar. I was offered Jazzmaster in a trade last month and I took it. I have no idea why I haven’t discovered Jazzmaster earlier in my life! Such a comfortable and great sounding guitar! Works very well for soundscapes / post-rock / ambient / worship.

[@keithmcduffie7182]

@HaevyGlow I've kicked myself for not really finding out about Jazzmasters early in life, too! I'd always been a Strat man. I finally bought one last year for my birthday (Squier Olympic White 40th Anniversary Gold) and I LOVE it!!! Had I known I would have bought an American Made Fender while I was making Good money & before the prices went up 3 years ago.

[@wendyandgeoffpattison2610]

You're right about things being cyclical, I remember when Fender stopped making Jazzmasters. They just couldn't sell them. They weren't in the catalogue at all. Now look.

[@caiusmadison2996]

One of the greatest guitars to take 60+years to get respect for being a fantastic instrument. I'm actually in awe that it was sat in the shadows like a dry dog turd by all the "greats". What exactly made the fab 4 the only guitars in anyone's hands is peer pressure. Simple as that. The JAG, Jazz, and even the student models DuoSonic, Music Master, and Mustang where also tones that could've been exactly what those drippy hippies would have wanted for certain songs. They play every bit as good as the other Fenders that everyone has.

[@leftwrite]

Michael Lemmo with Norm's Rare Guitars is all about the Jazzmaster - maybe its biggest advocate.

[@wongnaichungrd]

I’m down under and have used a Jazzmaster pretty much exclusively for the last decade since getting one in 2013. I record with one a lot, love the midrange articulation, and use it in two Big Bands I play with. What a Jazzmaster for Jazz? Yep works perfectly. It also means, on the crowded stages you often find yourself, that if someone knocks the guitar off the stand there’s no costly neck break. I have a lovely 175 but to be honest the JM does the job just fine. My songs are more Americana roots based and the different pick up configuration mean it’s perfect for that genre as well. If you look at a lot of studio musicians from the 60s you’ll see many Jazzmasters in use. I get it I think their versatility is unmatched in Fender guitars. I use flat wound strings on mine.

[@FoardenotFord]

Just got my first Jazzmaster-technically a Nash JM63. Walked into a guitar store just to do some research on my next buy, with the only stipulation being that it had to have P90s. I picked up the Jazzmaster because I was erroneously told it had Lollar Jazzmaster P90s (yes, I know regular JM pickups are not P90s) and immediately bonded with it over the Gibson, PRS, and Suhr guitars I had played before it. Left the shop to sleep on it and couldn’t get it out of my head, so I went back the next day and bought it. I love the weight, balance, and feel of the thing, but those pickups just sound gorgeous, clean or dirty. I’m still getting my bearings on it, but I’m looking forward to learning it inside and out.

[@surinderpunia2804]

A Jazzmaster is like a great mullet...it never goes out of style ✌️❤️🎸

[@MajicFreeman]

It's getting harder to say this about the Jazzmaster because as far as I can tell it's THE MOST popular fender guitar for players that are also online influencers. It's definitely probably more popular for people around age 30 and under maybe. i'm 40, but I've noticed how in the past 15 years or so it went from practically the least heard about fender (hell jaguars were more popular when I was coming up thanks to Cobain). Because no one really played them I never heard anyone give me a run down of the JM's merits until maybe the last decade and now myself am also pretty intrigued and interested in the jazzmaster, but I have yet to own a "standard" version of one yet as I have a g&l doheny and a jazzmaster xii. I just installed AV 65 pickups in my xii yesterday and did the intonation on it and it sounds fantastic now. I think I mainly like the body shape, it's definitely not the bridge or rhythm circuit I like so I don't feel like I'm fucking up by not having a straight away jm.

[@jackhaskell694]

I judge all guitars based on their playability while sitting in a recliner. The Jazzmaster has a very poor recliner rating because the lower bout is too large. This causes the recliner arm to push the fretboard out and away from my body. Les Pauls, on the other hand, have a very high recliner rating. The extra weight is supported by the user’s belly, and recliner users are often gifted in this department. My two cents 😊

[@caiusmadison2996]

For the reasons of neck dive when standing, Gibson fail to pass my test in general. Sitting they're fine, as you mention, but a saccharine gig where you sit down is very few and far between. For that reason, I sel and trade Gibson, I don't play or collect them in general at all. Guild does their tone and maybe even does it better.

[@Percivaldurham]

I got a Squier 40th Anniversary Jazzmaster on a whim, and it's one of the best guitars I've owned. The bridge pickup has this great jangle with a bit of growl to it. Never thought I'd be a Jazzmaster guy. Happy to be one now.

[@sonofboar13]

Jazzmasters started popping up in the mid to late 2010’s Now, ever since the PRS silver sky, I’m seeing Stratocasters starting to come back again

[@capnjames]

Thank you I’m not crazy, the Jazzmaster/offset thing has really been stewing for like a decade, don’t get me wrong I love them. But yeah I’m sure something else will become trendy or whatever

[@keithmcduffie7182]

I bought a Jazzmaster for my past birthday this summer (June 24th like my hero Jeff Beck..RIP!) 40th Anniversary Gold and I LOVE it!!! It concludes my acquisitions for types unless I win the lottery in which case a Gretsch will conclude my collection. 😁

[@Irkennalpha]

I came here to say that a JM with triple P90 and a bass cut & treble bleed in the rhythm circuit is amazing, you get lots of tones with that combination

[@rickfrancismusic]

Great talk boys! I have been playing for 58 years now and still counting. I have always wanted a Jazzmaster since I saw bands using them back in the 60s when rock was still kind of a new frontier after the Beatles tore onto the music scene. My direction in my guitar career over the decades apparently lead me down different paths away from a Jazzmaster, so I never owned one. I barely even played one! Then, about 3 weeks ago, I bought a Squier Classic Vibe Jazzmaster (Indonesia) on a whim for $349 (Canadian) brand new in a box, took it home, tore it into all its pieces and reconstructed it back to an absolutely perfect guitar. This thing definitely is an enigma in the guitar world. It has its own unique sounds and fits a lot of what I am hired to play on (in studios). I love it! It definitely has a jangle, chime thing to it, but also can sound great doing more jazzed stuff. It shouldn't ever be pigeon-holed as just a "surf" guitar. It's actually more an everything & anything guitar if you really dig into it and sus its sound potential out. Can't believe it took me this long to discover a classic guitar that seems to have not gotten much attention over the decades. I whole-heartedly suggest to any guitarist that they at least try a Jazzmaster. It put me in several happy places. BTW, because I liked your chat style here about guitars, I subscribed and liked. Thanks. Keep the videos coming! Cheers and regards from Stratford, Ontario, Canada. 😎✌🏻🎸

[@silverman169]

I love my strat and tele, but I would pick the Jazzmaster if I really really could only have one single coil guitar. The neck pickup sounds like a strat on coke and steroids and I love how lush it sounds. The middle position sounds awesome and the bridge pickup gets enough bite where I don't miss my tele so much anymore. The trem bar is so much fun to play with especially for the MBV style gliding.

[@jltrem]

The guitar of the future.....that showed up in 1958.

[@homegrownson]

Nice to have you both back and hoping Storm was kind to you & yours

[@belmontbutty4143]

Sorry, those soap bars resemble a three-year-old's crayon drawing of a pick up. Hence why JM's look like a guitar you'd expect to see in a band playing Tracy Island (Thunderbirds). Now, the Jaguar - that is THE cool offset. Love the scale length, too.

[@silverman169]

It's interesting the Jazzmaster/offset revival in the late 80s to 90s revolved around loud distortion music with alternative/shoegaze/grunge players taking up these instruments since they were cheap. Then in the past 10 years or so, younger players have taken up the Jazzmaster and Fenders in general for clean/overdriven sounds in pop, rock, folk, etc.

[@capnjames]

Shoegaze is bigger now than it’s ever been since it’s heyday, it’s one of the main alternative subgenres that is “on the rise” so to speak among the younger generation of rock musicians and listeners alike. The jazzmaster has been slowly coming back into the mainstream since the mid 2010’s around when it switched from squier vintage modified to classic vibe & when the J Mascis signature squier came out. Not surprised we’re at where we’re at with the jazzmaster currently. Fender will always see what is selling and absolutely triple down on marketing and iterations of the product

[@aaronhiggs]

I use my Squire 40th anniversary Jazzmaster for everything. I use it for metal since the low e is so pronounced. It’s the greatest single coil platform made IMHO.

[@mcfontaine]

Some of us saw the Jazzmaster light years and years ago. I hardly play any of my other guitars since getting my first JM.

[@Rando_Djinnsen]

No, it's the Jaguar :) The bridges are a big part of it for me. The Jazzmaster and Jaguar don't feel like strats. The trem is a different experience. I prefer it. Et cetera.

[@adambomb5000]

I replaced the 50k tone pot in the rhythm circuit with a 1 Meg pot so the rhythm and lead circuit are the same. Then I turn the volume down on the rhythm circuit so I can have a clean neck sound without it being muddy. Plus I can still roll off the tone if I want a dark tone too. Works pretty sweet.

[@grumpymikeguitar]

I kind of feel like Troy Van Leeuwen has helped the resurgence of Jazzmaster popularity. I've never owned a Jazzmaster, but I do plan to rectify that soon. Maybe before the end of the year.

[@BasementGuitarSuperstar]

I technically have half a Jazzmaster. My Fender Modern Player Marauder has a Jazzmaster pickup in the neck.

[@Yoyoda_del_umbra]

10:53 for sound demo

[@GoodmanRecordingsTokyo]

Also these days I've been rewiring my jazzmasters for the rhythm control to take the output of the toggle. 6 different sounds. Then I'm throwing in series/parallel switches. 9 tones.

[@Allison_Chaynes]

I'm a Strat/Jag player, personally. Jazzmasters are cool, but the jag is definitely my offset of choice.

[@caiusmadison2996]

It's likely due to the shorter scale making it play like butter. Mustang has this same feel scale wise.

[@randrothify]

I too prefer the Jag, but that’s because the JM is just too big and unwieldy for me. But the JM sure has a wonderful sound perfect for surf, moody, atmospheric, and mysterious music.

[@Allison_Chaynes]

@@randrothify Yeah... The jag has that surf thing, too. Especially when you have a jag with that mute switch. I have a 60s jag in Fiesta red. It really is a fun guitar to play. I fell in love with it the first time I saw one on the UNDER THE BRIDGE video when it first came out. I just always thought that was the coolest looking guitar. It stuck with me. Finally in 2014 my fiance bought me one for my birthday.

[@frankhughes5702]

The telecaster is definitely the Swiss army knife of guitars!! It can do the strat thing on the neck pup and you can get a lp sound from the bridge with the tone rolled back a little!

[@Hobinator17]

Telecaster does not sound like a les paul. It may be the closest you'll get to it out of fender's lineup. But nobody will doubt for a second it's a tele

[@frankhughes5702]

@@Hobinator17 it has a lot to do with adjusting the tone knob and high quality pups but a big part of it is your pick attack. Jimmy Page fooled people for years with his telecaster.

[@TommySG1]

Hey guys, I really need to get my ass on over to a guitar shop and try one of these out. These Jazzmasters definitely look like a real comfortable guitar to play, I love SG’s for that reason, nice and light and the thin body just works for me… especially if I’m sitting down and playing. Dig your feeds guys, thanks 🤙

[@denisflynn9082]

I’m in the market for a Jazzmaster with a CS strap.

[@AutismRocksOfficial]

I believe this is the first guitar video I’ve seen that went on a Paw Patrol side bar. 😂. Noice 🤗

[@ampman40]

the only way to go for Shoegaze, ambient and behind the bridge cool shit!

[@benlogan430]

Jazzmasters are cool after you change the bridge and pot values! Then Woot Woot!

[@capnjames]

I think it’s worth noting like every boutique guitar company circa 2012-2017 had their iteration of an offset guitar and there were TONS of jazzmaster clones flooding the low end market at that time….I think a jazzmaster/offset boom has been well on its way for the past decade

[@monmixer]

I have been going down this rabbit hole trying to make a decision for over a year now, JM, JAG, Mustang, Strat? So I'll end up doing what I normally do when I can't make my mind up. I'll buy a Guild Deluxe Surfliner.

[@DareBear2099]

Just got a J Mascis JM, great guitar.

[@writewheel]

Heresy some would say, but I love my Performer JM (strat trem). Lemmo's recent JM video made me realize that the jangle in the hands of a maestro could be wonderful. I, on the other hand, have only a sliver of his ability, and am addicted the crutch of palming my whammy-less trem.

[@danrunnoft6642]

I'm waiting for the Ibanez Roadstar's day in the sun.

[@gongcast]

Looks like they cobbled these together with some blender switches and some reject parts from Skylab. I think Reverend got the style sorted & offers good range of pickups..

[@jameshughes9706]

Starting to see more Les Pauls and SG’s in the worship realm

[@jonjones655]

So stoked because I get the choice of all!

[@morganghetti]

I've loved strats since the 90s. I also like that 4th tele option on my Japanese Tele, but I'd rather have it on a pot than a 4 way. However, doesn't really matter now that I exclusively play in my bedroom.

[@alexwoolridge94aw]

I have a Gibson V and Explorer along with a Gretsch billy bo. Love the weird shaped guitars so I feel a jag or a jazzmaster would be a Fender purchase I'd actually make.

[@ivanrosemusic]

Wonder how many people think Chris Stapleton wrote Tennessee Whiskey…not only is it a cover, but the chart is a copy of Etta James’ I’d Rather Go Blind

[@blaineadams7484]

I bet it was Lincoln Brewster. He still has a signature strat

[@unclelefteye3166]

Good lord I’ve missed you guys❤

[@unclelefteye3166]

I’m going to email you - I need an offset, please. I see a lovely red one behind you, is that for sale?😁

[@joemurphy5035]

what jazzmaster is that sparkly one on the wall?

[@CurrieNerd]

Looks like a J Mascis to me. May be something newer than that though.

[@BasswipeNC]

I’m an alternative kind of guy but I missed the offset trend. But you look back in alt music man they are everywhere. I was just not in the guitar world at that time. I’ve never really wanted one but I was close to getting an offset a couple years ago. But they are cool guitars.

[@Munchable420]

I've own one jazzmaster, traded it for a tele and never looked back. Yes its cool to have all the options and the trem but I could never keep it in tune, and the bridge constantly sunk due to vibration. Tones were great but I much prefer my tele, it does everything for me.

[@jamesonpace726]

Luv jazz discharge party hats, wait, whut....

[@silviopimentel7247]

The painmaster ! Cheese is back in.

[@BillAltman]

I’ve literally never held one in 45 years of playing lol😮

[@frankenstein4106]

I like the Jazzmaster shape, but I hate the trem on it. I built my own partsmaster with a Thornbucker bridge and 59 neck in it. I also but put a TOM bridge and hardtail plate on it. One volume and one tone control. It's a straight ahead rock machine now!

[@amandacatherine793]

I still want to be Lee Ranaldo when I grow up.

[@amandacatherine793]

Just don’t call me Karen…

[@HUGzJayGon]

Remember the memes about Jazzmasters being the 30 year old dad guitar?

[@stephenstgo]

Can you guys do a video on the leaked Fender Tonemaster Pro?

[@johnwhitaker545]

To say a jazzmaster is better than another guitar is subjective. Like… which jazzmaster? I mean, maybe all jazzmasters sound similar? But I can’t even say that. Really they’re no different than most electric solid bodies(wood, plastic, metal and some basic electronics). I think maybe what the thing is is how inspired the individual is with the guitar and that’s the big difference. Anyway i prefer the Jaguar lol

[@Highland_Paddy]

I guess I missed this one somehow yesterday.

[@Highland_Paddy]

good thing I have more Strats than Jazzmasters, then?

[@Highland_Paddy]

pissup a rope?

[@Highland_Paddy]

I still prefer short scale of Jag.

[@Highland_Paddy]

Well, if it's gainy POPULARITY, then is neigh a SECRET.

[@microdot4374]

Sean Daniels?, has 2 Jazz masters I believe, he got 1 with just V T + 2 Pickups, though he just got a Jazz master with all the bells and whistles, I have never played one myself there must be a whole different range of tones in both models!...🎸🎸🤘🏼😉🤘🏼....✍🏼

[@BobPerrone]

Absolutely....😊 My main geetar......

[@seanzinger]

Shhhhhh don’t tell anyone!

[@rebeccabailey527]

Anyone here saying they need to or have changed the bridge, or believes it and the trem are junk, all you need to do is put 11's on it. The jazzmaster was designed at a time when the lightest guage strings were 12's. 12's!!! The low break angle over the bridge wasnt an issue, the tension of those 12's was more than enough to keep the bridge stable. 11's will do the job just as well. You dont need a mastery, or heaven forbid a dirty tune-o-matic, or a buzz stop, or a stay trem or a shim in the neck pocket. 11's is all you need. In the late 60s, light guage strings became available, and people began putting them on jazzmasters and they began having all sorts of problems. They blamed the guitar, not the much lower tension of the light strings. This began being echoed in guitar magazines, and then on the internet, by a lot of people that didnt understand the guitar, and maybe had never even played one. But one final thing, if you go for a jag, remember it has a 24" scale, instead of the usual 25.5", shorter scale=less string tension, so you should go with 12's on those.

[@davidtreaster4397]

I have to say that I think strats are actually the LEAST versatile guitar. I love them for what they are.

[@capnjames]

More of a one trick pony rather than a Swiss Army knife

[@jmledesma88]

I work at a guitar store in Madrid and we carry a bunch of the "large" brands, including Gibson, Fender, Martin, PRS, Gretsch, Ibanez, Yamaha, D'Angelico, Danelectro, Guild, Epiphone, Squier, Duesenberg, Maybach, LTD, Jackson and Charvell... Most of the times it feels like we just carry all of it for the people to look at bright colours and funny shapes when they come in as most of the sales are Strats, LPs and Teles, maybe then come SGs tied with some affordable semihollows... It always varies a bit but it's usually the good old sunburst finish in most cases...

[@Lovell93]

I love my Charvel DK24. I can get almost any sound I want out of it, especially with the series/parallel switch! Never could get into Jazzmasters but I appreciate the history.

[@thesmellycatjazz]

I'm on the other side. I really like both my DK24s and my Jazzmasters. So much so, that I'm in the process of doing a "Charvel Pro Mod Style 1" Jazzmaster build. Just wished I could shave the heel without ruining the guitar

[@willcarter1210]

Not with a 1 meg pot they’re not…

[@thorn_ziegler]

"my guitar is better 'cause it has more switches"

[@ltcuaa]

basically a two soap bar guitar with a switch to go straight to neck pup with massive treble bleed.... you know, that warm jazz tone. love mine, wouldn't call it amazing or lame. just does what it does. what is lame though is gibson tune o matic with a whammy? doesn't work well, never did. they need a roller bridge to work well

[@capnjames]

Mustang bridge works great on a jazzmaster

[@dubhdavidblack2094]

Hmm I've never used a jazzmaster for contemporary Christian music but I have used one for archaic satanic black metal

[@zeroboyrick1717]

I hate my Strat. I keep trying to justify buying other guitars because it's fun but No the Strat closed the door. Anything else is going backwards.

[@caiusmadison2996]

I keep hearing the Tele is the way, but of all the Fender straight tones in the wheelhouse, I just don't like that tone. It's brash, versus any other one, even more so to me than Jaguar.

[@capnjames]

Tele sounds better sparkly and clean, but it took me a while to get into it. Jaguar has more options and tonal versatility but the tele has a very specific EQ that sits in a basic mix really well

[@beandog100]

Ah yes, the Jazzmaster, with its godawful bridge, ludicrous 'trem-lok' system, inaccessible truss rod and utterly redundant 'jazz' circuit that was never used by any jazz player ever. Looks beautiful, sounds fantastic and plays great (once you've binned the trem and upgraded the bridge). A thing of great beauty and a design traincrash.

[@unclelefteye3166]

🤣

[@effector3659]

Boomers!

[@thorstenmeder9134]

Good one! But what are you talking about…Jazzmaster coming up…it always has been since the day I was released! At least I my world! To me it just got more depth,more grace , just a more mature tone than all the other Fender models… So anyway to the Jazzmaster is Leo‘s Masterpiece !!!

[@richardroyster6631]

We are still talking about Strats, Gibbys, Pauls, and Teles, that are all 60 plus years old. Haven't we improved our music technology in Guitars in 50 years? Let us talk about new innovations.

[@DiscoBiscuit21]

While they have never been widely popular with Jazz players or the general public, studio players have used them since 1958.

[@dezb1]

It's all cyclical - when i started playing back in 1991 noone wanted a Telecaster it was all about the Les Paul then it was mustangs and other shortscale guitars because of some guy called Kurt - we'll all be wanting suoer strats and floydrose trems agsin soon.

[@capnjames]

I keep hearing super strats and pointy 80s guitars are likely the next trend to circle back around

[@roberthuffmann8204]

Secret to who? Truth is they are played out.

[@MichaelBCoats]

JM's are still a go to for surf guitar!

[@therustedtincan3385]

Me personally, i got a jazzmaster doop because i played a bass first. The “tdhoom” of the guitar is nice. The heavy body and thick neck were familiar. Picked it up and liked it a lot. No other reason.

[@MajicFreeman]

The Bridge Pisshop? is that like a catholic chess move where you piss off a bridge onto a priest playing chess?

[@haraldwestman6137]

Best kept secret? Seems like everyone is going for a JM these days. Sort of like the strat of the 2020ies.

[@Kabayoth]

They're my favorite Fender, and my favorite G&L (seriously, cut to the chase and get a Doheny. Everything you love in a Jazzmaster without the idiosyncratic nonsense that makes them harder to own.)

[@alangreenway6695]

My Lefty Jazzmaster is the last (honest) I am going to buy. I’ve always felt a Strat is just a posh version of a Tele. They feel related. A Jazzmaster feels nothing like either a Tele or a Strat. It’s a lot heavier than the other two and the bridge makes it feel different to play. The controls are slightly confusing me however.

[@mattdelany6799]

Tory Slusher

[@donaldengel4128]

Wow, I clicked on this after a week of almost exclusively listening to Dinosaur Jr. and half thinking about buying one just to learn some of J's stuff. Figured I'd see what you guys had to say about them... I had no idea that they are becoming popular. Just my luck... I decide to finally pick one up after 40 years and they go up in price a month beforehand..

[@radman1136]

You should have asked that girl giving you the Sweetwater tour about Jazz masters while you were busy never getting out.😂 I don't own a guitar with active pups and I've never owned a Jazzmaster, or a roasted maple neck. So I've been thinking about building a partsmaster. But I haven't come up with a reasonable adult justification yet. I will though. GAS it up, let's go.

[@ryangunwitch-black]

My kid was so hella infatuated with Paw Patrol and when I first heard someone say it I thought it was Papa Troll. I was like wtf is that. The real thing was even more weird. 😂

[@danielstoddart]

I love Jazzmasters, don't get me wrong, but they are a lot more high maintenance guitars than a Telecaster or a Stratocaster. Usually the issues are the bridge, the vibrato, shielding/60 cycle hum, and shimming the neck. You can overcome all these issues, install a Mastery, etc, but at that point you're spending a good bit of money on top of the price of the guitar, which some people balk at.

[@capnjames]

Idk man my jazzmaster was easier to set and forget than my tele. Granted I have a mustang bridge in it, and a 3 saddle bridge in the tele.