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

endsjustifymeans · Post by **endsjustifymeans** » Sun Sep 05, 2010 6:18 pm

benecol wrote:Eh? No they don't.

► Show Spoiler
Are you sure you hadn't left the handbrake on?

The one I saw went:

1x 4
x3x
2 x5

Justyn · Post by **Justyn** » Sun Sep 05, 2010 6:27 pm

That's the problem with white scratchplates on black guitars

overrated imo

Mages · Post by **Mages** » Sun Sep 05, 2010 6:39 pm

it's quite uncommon on offsets though.

don't think that looks bad at all. pretty cool actually.

laterallateral · Post by **laterallateral** » Sun Sep 05, 2010 6:40 pm

And it can be made to look ok, as evidenced by above pic.

Justyn · Post by **Justyn** » Sun Sep 05, 2010 6:41 pm

Yeah that's kinda cool.

As lame as it is to say, I think the best results are with a maple fretboard

Its still pretty low on the totem pole for me though.

soundofseventythree · Post by **soundofseventythree** » Mon Sep 06, 2010 1:07 am

I donno, these look kinda cool. They are not ground-breaking by any means; but they seem like affordable player-friendly guitars. Probably some corners have been cut to meet a recession (or great depression mkII) price point, but if they they sound good and play well it seems like just some more options for us guitarists no? I personally think the Jazzmaster looks appealing with the two different pickups in it. Like I said, these are not mind-blowing by any means, but I like that the Jag and Jazzmaster body styles are available from fender for under $500.00.

paul_ · Post by **paul_** » Mon Sep 06, 2010 1:36 am

endsjustifymeans wrote:
benecol wrote:Eh? No they don't.

► Show Spoiler
Are you sure you hadn't left the handbrake on?
The one I saw went:

1x 4
x3x
2 x5

Free-Way Switch, actually 6-position.

Introducing the unique switch originally used in the Jimmy Page Les PaulÂ® Custom guitar. It does the work of multiple standard switches, with 2-pole, 6-position transverse toggle action to broaden your guitar's wiring options and tone possibilitiesâ€”a guitar gearshifter!

Justyn · Post by **Justyn** » Mon Sep 06, 2010 1:45 am

peecheeclean · Post by **peecheeclean** » Mon Sep 06, 2010 6:43 pm

so a local guitar store just got one of the jazzmasters in stock.
it was one of the sunburst models...

the neck on it was decent, but would have been better if the neck didnt have a finish on it...i wouldn't say it's nearly as good as the CIJ necks on normal jazz and jags, but way better than squier necks. it does look funny without the big CBS-style headstock however. fretwork was nice though.

pickups were meh. some height adjustment needs to be done to it to ensure that the p90 isnt louder than the humbucker. the humbucker sounds weak in comparison to the p90.

hardware was surprisingly good...i still think that the knobs look out of place on the guitar.

pretty much in a nutshell, for 450, it's a pretty good deal. a nice platform to mod on or keep stock...also a plus if you want a jazz w a humbucker and a p90.
better than a jagmaster for sure.

Mustang Melx · Post by **Mustang Melx** » Mon Sep 06, 2010 7:45 pm

peecheeclean wrote:so a local guitar store just got one of the jazzmasters in stock.
it was one of the sunburst models...

the neck on it was decent, but would have been better if the neck didnt have a finish on it...i wouldn't say it's nearly as good as the CIJ necks on normal jazz and jags, but way better than squier necks. it does look funny without the big CBS-style headstock however. fretwork was nice though.

pickups were meh. some height adjustment needs to be done to it to ensure that the p90 isnt louder than the humbucker. the humbucker sounds weak in comparison to the p90.

hardware was surprisingly good...i still think that the knobs look out of place on the guitar.

pretty much in a nutshell, for 450, it's a pretty good deal. a nice platform to mod on or keep stock...also a plus if you want a jazz w a humbucker and a p90.
better than a jagmaster for sure.

they have p90's in now?

I've still yet to see one in the flesh so to speak. how did the black pickguard look on the sunburst?

peecheeclean · Post by **peecheeclean** » Mon Sep 06, 2010 8:36 pm

Mustang Melx wrote:they have p90's in now?

I've still yet to see one in the flesh so to speak. how did the black pickguard look on the sunburst?

my bad...its a jazz pickup (according to the specs), but in all honestly it sounded like a p90.

peecheeclean · Post by **peecheeclean** » Mon Sep 06, 2010 8:46 pm

also didnt really dig the black on sunburst...the sunburst was really dark on it...prob change it a tort pickguard.

Mustang Melx · Post by **Mustang Melx** » Mon Sep 06, 2010 9:10 pm

peecheeclean wrote:also didnt really dig the black on sunburst...the sunburst was really dark on it...prob change it a tort pickguard.

It seems a slightly odd choice to me too if I'm honest, I never liked sunburst strats with black pickguard.

othomas2 · Post by **othomas2** » Mon Sep 06, 2010 10:32 pm

It's a 70s thing...

soundofseventythree · Mon Sep 06, 2010 10:34 pm

othomas2 wrote:It's a 70s thing...

So are the knobs I believe (a la Tele Custom). Strange they would not go with the large 70s headstock for the Jazzmaster???

othomas2 · Post by **othomas2** » Mon Sep 06, 2010 11:12 pm

To me the range are a hybrid of many things whilst maintaining original aspects... making them easy & cost-effective enough to put together, adding that new twist on an original concept. At the same time I think that's what many don't like, a bit of a Frankenstein.

peecheeclean · Post by **peecheeclean** » Tue Sep 07, 2010 12:05 am

othomas2 wrote:To me the range are a hybrid of many things whilst maintaining original aspects... making them easy & cost-effective enough to put together, adding that new twist on an original concept. At the same time I think that's what many don't like, a bit of a Frankenstein.

exactly...i like the fact that they are releasing it at a more cost effective price, and i can even dig some of the changes fender made...
that being said, that jag is butchered as hell...they should have at least kept some resemblance of the chrome switching system...

i still cant believe they didnt do a mustang one...i totally would have bought that sight unseen.

Fran · Post by **Fran** » Tue Sep 07, 2010 12:05 am

othomas2 wrote:whilst maintaining original aspects...

o_0

Justyn · Post by **Justyn** » Tue Sep 07, 2010 5:09 am

It doesn't have the big headstock?

Pfft.

Dealbreaker.

hotrodperlmutter · Post by **hotrodperlmutter** » Tue Sep 07, 2010 4:40 pm

well, to be fair, i don't think they ever had the 'big' headstock (with the exception of the aenmaster). they had bigger headstocks than pre-cbs strats, but smaller than mustangs/jaguars and the like.

► Show Spoiler

plus i haven't seen close-ups of the headstock to confirm whether or not the headstock is the 'right' size. that's pretty weak if headstock size/shape is a deal breaker.