I bought a Squier Jazzmaster with ZERO regrets 

Puisheen's hammer trick solves the clicking arm problem. Anniversary and Classic Vibe Squier models are pretty outstanding these days.

I have a $249 Aria 335 copy years ago ... plays better than any 335 I've ever picked up ... sometimes ... you find treasures beyond and name ...

I have a 40th Anniversary Squier jazzmaster, same color as your JM, but with a maple neck and I love it too.

I agree with you: one of the best guitars I've ever played and owned! You actually can just push the vibrato arm deeper in to the hole to stop it from clacking around.

Cheap guitars have their limits. A few years back I bought a Harley Benton Tele copy that was quite below average. A bit earlier I'd purchased a Squier Strat for around $250 that was way better, even though it had some fret sprout. The biggest thing is that while for some a guitar for $499 is a 'cheap guitar', for many others it's not so cheap. The guitars that are vintage now (and thus go for a LOT more) were once sold for around $300 to $400... but today those go for 4 or 5 times that while the quality in some respects isn't nearly as good, in spite of the CNC process making things much more consistent from instrument to instrument. Twenty years ago the Chinese and Vietnamese luthiers were turning out crap while the Indonesian luthiers were (and still appear to be) the best overall. Today that's different with the Chinese luthiers turning out guitars that are consistently quite good. It's just the fit and finish steps that are left out, which is why they're cheaper overall. Great video, Jon! Love your channel and the consistenly COOL libraries that you and your cohorts create. Cheers to you and all at Somerville Sounds.

I love watching your videos, the color grading and b-roll are always so nice to watch, and of course the content is always great! Thanks for being an inspiration on RU-vid!

First! I recently bought a Harley Benton strat - sounds great and don't worry about leaving it lying round the house

Your track sounds nice, reminds me of seeing the band Palace Winters maybe ten years ago in Manchester; great tracks like Running & Menton. I'm an acoustic guitar player too. And my J. Mascis Jazzmaster is one of my favourites too. I have a few guitars from cheap to moderately expensive, and I like this one more than most of them. Other guitars I appreciate a lot as an acoustic player, that punch above their price, are the Epiphone Casino (I upgraded my pickups to Lollars), it's acoustically loud too, sounds really nice even unamplified. And the Larry Carlton H7V (an ES-335 style, with P90s). The Epiphone Les Paul Special is damn decent for the money too, the sound is up there with the Gibsons. There's something about the responsiveness of P90, or P90ish pickups, along with a resonant body, that appeals to acoustic players. Feels very natural, responsive to the touch and expressive.

6:50 In regards to basic triads all over the neck: May I suggest the D-shape as well - so for F major that would be xx4565. I like it especially for soloing if you add some pull-offs as you would with a D major/Dsus4. Basically it's the same as the C-shape but with more options for embellishment on the higher strings.

at 4:31 immediately Cindy Lauper kicks in: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-VdQY7BusJNU.html

The Eskavon swounds awsome. But, I'm prett confident I'll find most of the samey sounds in the absolutre MYRIAD of virtual instruments that came with NI Komplete. But as a deal, it sounds great! Also Squiers can be great. I think they're way more consistent now than they were back in the day, and with some work and some upgrades they can be absolutely incredible instruments. Maybe even out of the box.

3:55 when you start playing piano, you played time after time intro? its F G EM F. but nice video, i enjoy every time

Squier

the original squires that were made in japan were very well regarded and were certainly not considered to be junk. they fetch a lot of money these days.

I just bought a Jazzmaster a month ago and learn again the basics. A Fender MIJ LTD Hybrid II Jazzm Noir. Twice the price, but so in love with the neck, and the overall quality "made in Japan" for this modern Jazzmaster. Thanks for the inspiring video and THIS timing :)

To me, the most important, and first thing I look for on a guitar, is how the neck feels in my left hand. The rest can always be modded/upgraded. My first electric guitar was a Gibson L6S Deluxe (1978). Broomstick thin neck. I have lengthy/piano fingers, but I got used to playing on a narrow neck, so with most other guitars I press my fingers between the strings. I only have praise for Squier. Their Affinity range have the silkiest of narrow necks. As for brand names, my Gibsons and Fenders are in storage. I have replaced them all with Japanese Tokai’s.

I've a fair few guitars but my favourite is my Squire Tele. I put new electrics, pickups and tuners on it because it played and felt so nice. I learnt the neck early on as my first hero was Mark Knopfler who's all about that.

My favorite bass i own is a 1998 mim squire when they were made in mexico for a few years. this bass is my life line it will be buried with me it is the best guitar i have ever played. it feels so good from the neck to tone i wont change anything about it. anything over 350 in the new squire field is really good 400 and up is way better. dont knock cheap gear some of its good!

I've had Les Pauls, Taylors, DLX Strats, Kiesels, etc - while I"m certain I've paid for some name recognition therein, they were all awesome. I am also grateful I grew up having to mod something like a Tokai Les Paul or Squier Strat into a metal guitar. I just found an import series of Gretsch gears I think has "nice bones" for the price - another fav is an Oscar Schmidt 335ish sorta thing. My Donner Circle looper isn't coming off my otherwise expensiveish pedal board until it breaks. Instantly rejecting because of price or unknown brand can be a mistake.

I have a Harley Benton Travel GS I bought for my seven year old at the time. £90. For finger style, capoed between 2nd and 7th frets, It’s one of my favourite, go-to guitars. It is what it is, it does what it does, and I love it. 🤷🏻‍♂️ I think age helps you let go of the ‘label’ thing. ‘Do what you can… Use what you have… Start where you are.’ 👍

The J Mascis JM is hands down my favorite guitar and I own an American Stratocaster that costs over 3 times more. The first time I played it I absolutely fell in love with the neck. I did replace the tremolo because I wanted the "dive only" option, but other than that, the guitar is fantastic.

I have a Squier P Bass that I upgraded the electronics and pickups on and it plays and sounds every bit as nice as any of the Fender ones I've played

i love you jon :)

I brought a Squier affinity telecaster, literal dogshit.