NEW! "Blacktop" Fenders [Strat, Tele, Jazzmaster]

mickie08 · Post by **mickie08** » Wed Nov 10, 2010 2:39 am

Fran wrote:
ekwatts wrote:I'm seriously considering selling my Jaguar and using the bones to grab a Blacktop Jazzmaster.
Pfffft. Why are you joining a Feeder covers band? Upgrade the humbucker though, you'll need to to get that 'buck rogers' tone.

I STILL fucking hate this blacktop series, sorry guys. They are way too expensive in the UK, Â£560 for a MIM diluted/modified Fender is just pure bullshit, how dare they?!!?

As usual, you guys get screwed price wise on these. When they hit the used market at $300 a each over here I may pick one of each up. Shit 450 new and with xmas coming up, they will be down to under 400 USD out the door soon enough... That is not a bad deal.

ekwatts · Post by **ekwatts** » Wed Nov 10, 2010 2:46 am

Fran wrote:
ekwatts wrote:I'm seriously considering selling my Jaguar and using the bones to grab a Blacktop Jazzmaster.
Pfffft. Why are you joining a Feeder covers band? Upgrade the humbucker though, you'll need to to get that 'buck rogers' tone.

I STILL fucking hate this blacktop series, sorry guys. They are way too expensive in the UK, Â£560 for a MIM diluted/modified Fender is just pure bullshit, how dare they?!!?

Nah, I've been seeing them at Â£450 on the net, and I'm willing to bet that price will drop a bit after Christmas is over and done with. Anything sub-Â£600 is half-decent for a "proper" Jaguar/Jazzmaster in the UK. Even the Mex Jags and Jazzmasters are sticking to Â£650 or over almost anywhere I've seen them, and Jap Jags rarely drop below Â£550 brand new.

I also just really, really like the Blacktop Jazz. Although it might actually be cheaper to just butcher a cheapo Jagmaster, I guess.. hmm.

cobascis · Post by **cobascis** » Wed Nov 10, 2010 2:48 am

mickie08 wrote:
Fran wrote:
ekwatts wrote:I'm seriously considering selling my Jaguar and using the bones to grab a Blacktop Jazzmaster.
Pfffft. Why are you joining a Feeder covers band? Upgrade the humbucker though, you'll need to to get that 'buck rogers' tone.

I STILL fucking hate this blacktop series, sorry guys. They are way too expensive in the UK, Â£560 for a MIM diluted/modified Fender is just pure bullshit, how dare they?!!?
As usual, you guys get screwed price wise on these. When they hit the used market at $300 a each over here I may pick one of each up. Shit 450 new and with xmas coming up, they will be down to under 400 USD out the door soon enough... That is not a bad deal.

yeah, once they hit the used market it will reallllyy be hard to resist these babies.

Fran · Post by **Fran** » Wed Nov 10, 2010 10:32 am

If they are Â£450 i still think that's way too high. Its still proper money for a questionable design, average spec guitar that i'm betting will need upgrades (Fender humbuckers fail everytime).
Its the aesthetic that draws a lot of people in obviously but when you think you can pick up a used Gibson LP Studio up for Â£100 more or a couple of Yamaha SG200s for that money you have to question it. Surely?

ekwatts · Post by **ekwatts** » Wed Nov 10, 2010 1:17 pm

Fran wrote:If they are Â£450 i still think that's way too high. Its still proper money for a questionable design, average spec guitar that i'm betting will need upgrades (Fender humbuckers fail everytime).
Its the aesthetic that draws a lot of people in obviously but when you think you can pick up a used Gibson LP Studio up for Â£100 more or a couple of Yamaha SG200s for that money you have to question it. Surely?

My Batwing was supposed to be around Â£400 when it came out, and those RRP's are shifting up slowly but surely, and many would say that's too much for a Korean guitar. If the Blacktop Jazzmaster starts to slide down to around Â£400 or even lower, then I'm going to jump at it. If I see one secondhand, equally so. Point out a brand new Jaguar-like guitar on the UK market you can get brand new for Â£450 right now. Sure, we get screwed over the UK prices for Fenders, but that's basically what they're actually worth in the UK (not in my opinion, of course). There isn't that huge wealth of choice out there, Fender are never going to sell as many guitars here than in the US, and the taxes and shipping are always going to ramp the price up artificially. It wouldn't be any different if I wanted to order an SX guitar from Rondo Music. Slap on all the bullshit and a $120 Strat copy ends up costing around Â£250, defeating the point entirely.

I'm well aware I'll need to be swapping a couple of pickups almost as soon as it's in my hands, but it was no different to the squealing, weak, anaemic pickups of my Jap Jaguar, either. And those are meant to be "better" guitars, right? What it comes down to is that I just really like the Blacktop Jazzmaster. I like the way it looks.

Of course, if I manage to get a job before Christmas then I'll probably just save up for the Mexican twin-humbucker Jaguar in white.

Fran · Post by **Fran** » Wed Nov 10, 2010 2:04 pm

ekwatts wrote:Point out a brand new Jaguar-like guitar on the UK market you can get brand new for Â£450 right now.

Jagmaster.
They also have a swimming pool route so if you fancy Jazzy pups and or humbuckers its quite an easy mod. The obvious differences you cannot change is it has a Strat trem and it does'nt say 'Fender made in mexico' on the headstock. Now that's worth Â£250 extra of anybodys money

I understand people like the aesthetic, i love Jag shapes myself and im not knocking the taste. Just pointing out cost over quality in comparison to similar priced guitars, especially when Squier already have a model available which is very similar for below half of the cost.

Fran · Post by **Fran** » Wed Nov 10, 2010 2:11 pm

Besides, you've already got a CIJ Jaguar that you got cheap, upgrade the pups and put a better bridge on it. It will be a better guitar, dual circuit, better tremolo...

cobascis · Post by **cobascis** » Thu Nov 11, 2010 11:49 pm

Watts are you looking at the sunburst one? Pictures are not very flattering online, but I played one today in person and it looked GREAT.

The one I played today was set up shittily, so I wasn't sure if I liked the neck really, but it certainly wasn't bad.

The neck pickup sounded GREAT through the Blackstar amp I had it running through. Seriously good sounding tones out of the combo. Humber wasn't astounding but I didn't really give it a chance.

I would buy one of these in a second if I had the money, its perfect, I only use the single in my jag on the neck, and this one has a humbucker in the bridge. Hopefully I can get one by/on christmas.

Good guitar.

taylornutt · Post by **taylornutt** » Wed Nov 17, 2010 5:28 am

Andy from PGS did a demo of the Blacktop Jazzmaster. Finally a good demo of this guitar.

[youtube][/youtube]

Post by **Mike** » Wed Nov 17, 2010 8:09 am

A great selection of songs here, bloody hell.

Lounge Act
Glory Box
Piss Bottle Man

The guitar sounds great to be honest, I'm sure he's picked amp and effects well, but still. Nice.

lorez · Post by **lorez** » Wed Nov 17, 2010 10:04 am

that does sound nice and with some prices over here dropping to Â£420 its starting to get tempting

Ankhanu · Post by **Ankhanu** » Wed Nov 17, 2010 12:16 pm

Great demo!
I wasn't impressed with his demo of the Telecaster, but the Jazzmaster sounds terrific.

George · Post by **George** » Wed Nov 17, 2010 12:25 pm

That guitar sounds the tits. FUCK.

taylornutt · Post by **taylornutt** » Wed Nov 17, 2010 4:07 pm

Andy could sell igloos to Eskimos! Mike is right, because he picks songs that really let you hear the guitar's tone. Every other demo I have seen of this guitar has too much reverb, no gain or distortion and people trying to play surf music instead of the marketing it for the people it is intend for, which is not the surf crowd. I understand that JM and Jaguars started out as surf guitars, but they have more application than that. I was favoring the Sunburst model, but the black with mint guard is nice. Just needs Bronco Knobs.

Freddy V-C · Post by **Freddy V-C** » Wed Nov 17, 2010 4:24 pm

Fran wrote:
ekwatts wrote:I'm seriously considering selling my Jaguar and using the bones to grab a Blacktop Jazzmaster.
Pfffft. Why are you joining a Feeder covers band? Upgrade the humbucker though, you'll need to to get that 'buck rogers' tone.

This is especially funny because my Feeder-obsessed friend just bought one.

hotrodperlmutter · Post by **hotrodperlmutter** » Wed Nov 17, 2010 4:36 pm

god damn that thing sounds marvelous.

jcyphe · Post by **jcyphe** » Wed Nov 17, 2010 4:44 pm

I think this Koll sounds awesome.

[youtube][/youtube]

Ankhanu · Post by **Ankhanu** » Wed Nov 17, 2010 9:36 pm

jcyphe wrote:I think this Koll sounds awesome.

[youtube][/youtube]

It does... but what a price point!

dezb1 · Post by **dezb1** » Wed Nov 17, 2010 10:24 pm

Ankhanu wrote:
jcyphe wrote:I think this Koll sounds awesome.

[youtube][/youtube]
It does... but what a price point!

it does... but it's Fugly

Ankhanu · Post by **Ankhanu** » Thu Nov 18, 2010 12:04 am

I like it.