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heads on fire « Vintage style, modern features. »
Published on 12/07/11 at 11:19Specifications:
Made in Mexico
Body Material: Alder
Body Shape: Jazzmaster®
Neck
Number of Frets: 21
Fret Size: Medium Jumbo
Position Inlays: White Dot Position Inlays
Fingerboard Radius: 9.5" (24.1 cm)
Fretboard: Rosewood
Neck Material: Maple
Neck Finish: Gloss Urethane
Nut Width: 1.650” (42 mm)
Scale Length: 25.5" (64.8 cm)
Neck Plate: Vintage Style 4 Bolt
Truss Rod Nut: 3/16" Hex Adjustment
Electronics
Pickup Configuration: H/S
Bridge Pickup: Hot Vintage Alnico Humbucking Pickup (Bridge)
Neck Pickup: 1 Duncan Designed™ Single-Coil Jazzmaster® Pickup (Neck)
Pickup Switching: 3-Position Toggle: Position 1. Bridge Pickup, Position 2. Bridge and Neck Pickups, Position 3. Neck Pickup
Controls: Master Volume, Master Tone
Hardware
Hardware Finish: Nickel/Chrome
Bridge: Vintage Style Adjustable 6-Saddle Bridge with “Floating” Tremolo Tailpiece
String Nut: Synthetic Bone
Switch Tips: Black Switch Tip
Tremolo Arm Handle: Vintage Jazzmaster® Tremolo Arm
Tools
Truss Rod Wrench: 0.1875"
Miscellaneous
Strings: Fender® USA Super 250L's, NPS (.009-.042 Gauges)
Unique Features: HS Pickup Configuration, Simplified Controls/Switching, Black Skirted Amp Knobs
Accessories
Included Accessories: Truss Rod Adjustment Wrench
Control Knobs: Skirted Amp Knobs
The Blacktop series Jazzmaster is a great guitar for the price. The pickup combination is unique, and super versatile! With a bridge humbucker that bites and a neck soapbar-style that sings, this guitar can do many genres very well: classic rock, metal, indie, southern rock, blues, jazz, country... The only genre that I can think of that the guitar would be out of place in would be just brutally hard, technical metal, and the guitar could even get away with performing that in the studio for recordings.
The playability is great right out of the box, with the neck profile and depth being very comfortable to my hands. Factory workmanship is great, with the frets being well dressed, and the finish being spot on. I'm not a fan of the original Jazzmaster tremolo systems, yet this guitar didn't seem to go out of tune after using the bar. I was very surprised by that fact. One minor inconvenience is that the tremolo bar has no retaining screw/nut/snap feature, so it will not stay inside the guitar if the instrument is turned with the strings facing the ground. The bar will fall out. For many people, this won't be a problem, but for anyone that likes to get really into the moment in an impassioned onstage performance, this could be a huge problem, even creating a potential safety/tripping hazard.
Fender has done a great job incorporating vintage elements with some new modern ideas - the tuning keys are a great update, as well as the interesting pickup combo. I'm very happy with this guitar, and I think it's a great deal for the money - around $450-500 new from a dealer. Check it out!
Made in Mexico
Body Material: Alder
Body Shape: Jazzmaster®
Neck
Number of Frets: 21
Fret Size: Medium Jumbo
Position Inlays: White Dot Position Inlays
Fingerboard Radius: 9.5" (24.1 cm)
Fretboard: Rosewood
Neck Material: Maple
Neck Finish: Gloss Urethane
Nut Width: 1.650” (42 mm)
Scale Length: 25.5" (64.8 cm)
Neck Plate: Vintage Style 4 Bolt
Truss Rod Nut: 3/16" Hex Adjustment
Electronics
Pickup Configuration: H/S
Bridge Pickup: Hot Vintage Alnico Humbucking Pickup (Bridge)
Neck Pickup: 1 Duncan Designed™ Single-Coil Jazzmaster® Pickup (Neck)
Pickup Switching: 3-Position Toggle: Position 1. Bridge Pickup, Position 2. Bridge and Neck Pickups, Position 3. Neck Pickup
Controls: Master Volume, Master Tone
Hardware
Hardware Finish: Nickel/Chrome
Bridge: Vintage Style Adjustable 6-Saddle Bridge with “Floating” Tremolo Tailpiece
String Nut: Synthetic Bone
Switch Tips: Black Switch Tip
Tremolo Arm Handle: Vintage Jazzmaster® Tremolo Arm
Tools
Truss Rod Wrench: 0.1875"
Miscellaneous
Strings: Fender® USA Super 250L's, NPS (.009-.042 Gauges)
Unique Features: HS Pickup Configuration, Simplified Controls/Switching, Black Skirted Amp Knobs
Accessories
Included Accessories: Truss Rod Adjustment Wrench
Control Knobs: Skirted Amp Knobs
The Blacktop series Jazzmaster is a great guitar for the price. The pickup combination is unique, and super versatile! With a bridge humbucker that bites and a neck soapbar-style that sings, this guitar can do many genres very well: classic rock, metal, indie, southern rock, blues, jazz, country... The only genre that I can think of that the guitar would be out of place in would be just brutally hard, technical metal, and the guitar could even get away with performing that in the studio for recordings.
The playability is great right out of the box, with the neck profile and depth being very comfortable to my hands. Factory workmanship is great, with the frets being well dressed, and the finish being spot on. I'm not a fan of the original Jazzmaster tremolo systems, yet this guitar didn't seem to go out of tune after using the bar. I was very surprised by that fact. One minor inconvenience is that the tremolo bar has no retaining screw/nut/snap feature, so it will not stay inside the guitar if the instrument is turned with the strings facing the ground. The bar will fall out. For many people, this won't be a problem, but for anyone that likes to get really into the moment in an impassioned onstage performance, this could be a huge problem, even creating a potential safety/tripping hazard.
Fender has done a great job incorporating vintage elements with some new modern ideas - the tuning keys are a great update, as well as the interesting pickup combo. I'm very happy with this guitar, and I think it's a great deal for the money - around $450-500 new from a dealer. Check it out!