“A truly incredible design” I can’t agree more! Having out there so many offset designs, imho the Jazzmaster is the most ergonomic guitar for those like me that play sitting down. Wonderful playing Chris, I wish we could se you more playing Jazzmasters
Wow! Beaut playing Chris, as always. The late Magic Slim played Jazzmasters extensively on the Chicago blues scene. Check him out using finger and thumb picks.
That’s a Jaguar, Joe Pass is playing. The Jazzmaster is still a great guitar. My first good guitar was an early ‘60s sunburst Jazzmaster, subsequently refinished white. Bob Bogle, of the Ventures, probably was the main influence in the purchase, but Fender had the market pretty well tied up, in the ‘60s. Everyone wanted a Fender of one model or another. I’m surprised at what they are asking for that vintage Jazzmaster. Vintage Jazzmasters typically have gone in the 5-6 thousand US dollars range. Really like your outro.
The Jaguar was a loan guitar belonging to the rehab program he was in for some time. Forget the name of the hospital but that’s the story behind him playing the Jag.
I got a '60s Fender Jaguar back in the '70s. It was my first good, American made guitar. Guys like me gravitated towards Jags and Jazzmasters because they were an inexpensive way to get a Fender. Fenders were all American made back then. Then they became famous with indy and grunge guitarists that bought these guitars for the same reason I did.
Some old country session players used the Jazzmaster as well. Chris Stapleton is probably the only known country player using one today. The Jazzmaster also gave birth to the 62' Jaguar from the feedback of the 61' Jazzmaster.
Heresy, I know, a strat trem on a Jazzmaster. But I absolutely adore my American Performer Jazzmaster and it is my daily player. I can credit being a child of the Ventures and Beach Boys era I suppose. The sound just sends me back to a happy place.
Strat trem on a Jazzmaster but with Jaguar controls was essentially the original design rationale for the Fender Marauder that never reached production. I have a Stetsbar on my Marauder replica that's routed for a Strat trem - best of both worlds.
That was an astonishing beautiful solo in the middle. It had subtle tone to mid subtle to a Fender amp on a very light setting. I have to admit I feel like I know absolutely nothing about guitars. I only have a Washburn Floyd Rose, a Washburn Acoustic, and a Donner Telecaster and 3 pedal boards. But I love them 3 guitars and 3 pedal boards. I do not know much about guitars, nor am I collector of any sort. Never even heard of a Jazz Master. But I prefer to focus on my playing instead of more gear.
yeah good call, I know I get caught up with the thought of, if I get that amp or that guitar, when I should be concentrating on the weakest link already, my playing
I know that Joe Pass is always credited with playing a Jazzmaster but in all the photos he's actually playing a Jaguar. I once read that he played it because when he was in drug rehab at Synanon it was the only guitar at the facility.
I had a ‘65 Jazzmaster bought brand new in a small shop in Upper Darby, PA in 1978; I loved the body shape, feel, & whammy bar (the best ever) but the pickups weren’t very good; I guess with the more advanced amps & pedals of today they would sound better (I did have an original 40 watt Supro amp that made every other guitar sound incredible) plus I find those big, white pickups pretty darn ugly; according to pre-CBS production manager Forrest White, the Jaguar was supposed to be Fender’s top of the line (by the way, my ‘65 Jazzmaster got stolen)
Not trying to jinx cardinal black, but mark my words, Chris is gonna end up with a band that has a female singer with a soft mellow voice, killer drummer and a groovy bassist playing bluesy jazz.
It wasn’t fender that was wrong. It was the customers. 😬 My favorite guitar model by far, owning five. Bought my first one - a 62 - in early nineties after seeing all my idols using them, paying roughly 1000 bucks for it. The jazzmaster wasn’t reissued first in 99, btw. I think Fender Japan released their reissue in 89 or so. I got an early nineties Japan jm for many years which now is owned by a friend and a bandmate.
I'll nit-pick just a little here.... It's true late Fifties jazzers stuck with their Super 400s and L-5s and stayed away from Jazzmasters in droves, but the rockers fell in love instantly. Their only problem was the US$329.50 list price, NOT including the tweed case. That was another $50, and unless you were somebody special, the list price WAS the street price. In today's USD that's $3685, and it's 3,055 Pounds Sterling. Unless you were as rich as the Third World thought you were, you weren't getting anywhere near a Jazzmaster, and many a wanna-be (yours truly included) left many a nose-print on many a music store window, as if Sandra Dee and Jayne Mansfield were right there, live and in person-- in swimsuits..... That did change some as used Jazzmasters began to hit the market and all those wanna-be's began to get after-school jobs, but it all came to a crashing halt when George Harrison's Gretsch Country Gent lit up a zillion TV screens just a few years later.
If video makers realised, they're getting erased / banned, one person at a time, they'd stop joking and clowning around. 🤡 Once we all erase him, then only the clowns are watching him. It will soon be the clown talking to the clowns.
@@danafortier4085While I do think originally the name done more harm than good I must admit that Jazzmaster aged as a model rather gracefully. It went from being a flagship luxury feel model, to an underdog played by flannel wearing teens with a lot of fuzz, to again a dignified gentleman. And I think the name - Jazzmaster couldn't be more fitting. It's not a master of jazz, but it's effortlessly cool like a jazz cat. I like to think of it that way.
Amen! Tired of walking in to a shop, looking for something with P90s, and being handed a Jazzmaster. Those goofballs will nearly fight you if you tell them those aren’t P90s.
I just want you to know that I really appreciate your attitude, information, and insight you put into these episodes. However, I must admit that the BIGGEST reason I tune in, is to watch and hear your RIGHT HAND! It’s a friggin’ work of art and I can tell you are always giving it more attention than most guitarists care to, AND IT SHOWS. Tasty, tasty playing as always my friend. 🤟
I'm ALWAYS blown away by your solos. But I'm utterly mesmerised by your occasional "jazzy" efforts such as this outro (and the one from "I can't stand this pedal").
Some really powerful and dynamic playing in the intro, the sound feels almost out of place from a guitar that has a laid back vibe to its perceived personality. But then Chris is a true master. Perhaps Fender should build a custom model for Chris called a Tonemaster.
Thank you for such a great review of an iconic guitar. Thank you even more for showcasing this guitar without an overdrive of one type or another. I wish more reviewers would follow suite. Well done as usual!
No mention of one of my favorite features: the little button that allows you to lock the tremolo. This gives you the ability finish a song in tune if you break a string.
A friend of mine had one in the early 70s. He bought it used from a pawn shop for a mere pittance. At some point he traded it for a Japanese Les Paul imitation, a piece of junk. His Jazzmaster was a great guitar to play. I know he wishes he still had it. And I know he's kicking himself for letting it slip away. It just wasn't cool at the time to be a rock player and be playing a guitar designed and marketed for Jazz players. I wonder if there is a guitars today, that is quietly great but not cool... a guitar that someday will be as sought after as the Jazzmaster?
Its been my favorite since i had a 60 hang tags on it still in70s since my 58 that was bastdzd.in late 70s punk era w t tops stripped finish bare wood toggle only 3 way best vibrato stock arm still is i paid 600 owner saying it was a jag srewed up had great action grear sound great freak git you couldnt pay to get the sound out of anything.
You dont get it .(yet)sad.amazngly great 2x sad.its allright i hope it stays extremely unpopuler for at least my life time its allready to latemascus costello sonic y. And to many unfortunetly others now.exquisite sound im one whom never understood until my 60 mint hang taged never touched perfect sounding git. To die for i was after of course marshall 50 strat lespaul cliched to death sound which was excellent iggy stooges dead boys everyone who snarled sound .
The first vintage guitar I played was a 63’ jazz master and matching Fender Mustang that a guy’s dad bought brand new and kept in its case “because there were always too many kids around.” A magnificent guitar to say the very least. I was the first electric guitar player to play it in 35 years(ish) and I was very honored by it the gentleman loaning the guitar to me for an afternoon of incredibly loud fun. (Jazz master through a 5150 3…).
The playing in this video is on another level Chris. I feel this one really brought something out of you and you seem to suit each other. Beautiful all the way through.
A ton of classic punk and post-punk bands used them. But I suppose if someone isn’t into those kinds of bands, then they would rarely hear or see them used.
@@kevinmurtagh4996 Lemmo was one of the first guitarists I got into when I started playing guitar a couple years ago. I got into the post punk stuff after
@@evanrichter3893 Nice! Lemmo is awesome. You can tell that he has had high level training, and has really worked his ass off to get as good as he is. I often wonder if Lemmo is into the classic Jazzmaster bands, i.e. Sonic Youth, Dinosaur Jr., My Bloody Valentine, Television, etc. I don’t really hear the influence in his personal playing style, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t into those kinds of bands.
As a Jazzmaster player for almost 30 years now, I love this breakdown of it's history. That said, I can't believe I just saw Chris fingertap on one in the opening jam. Great playing, absolutely, but it's so funny to me that I fell in love with the Jazzmaster BECAUSE it wasn't a shredder guitar! Ha! Nice video.
Another great video Chris. Your masterful playing never ceases to amaze and inspire, and your well-researched and articulate commentary rivets my interest from start to finish-thank you! For future consideration, would love to hear your thoughts or musings on Steve Howe along with his extensive gear and/or repertoire. I’m particularly interested in his routine use of seemingly out-of-place jazz boxes for his amazing work with Yes in the ‘70s. Thanks so much in advance. Also, very much looking forward to Cardinal Black’s forthcoming album, BTW. Cheers.
I always thought the Jazzmaster had such a sweet clean sound. Perfect for modern jazz, not so much for traditional jazz sounds. When you were putting it through its paces, right away I thought of the surf rock sounds of the 60's, then you mentioned it as taking hold in that genre of musicians. Spot on!
The J Mascis Jazzmaster Indonesian made Squier is a really amazing JM for the money. Mine came set up perfectly, and my favorite of my collection amongst fender tele and strat, prs, and schecter tele deluxe by a lot.
Wow you really put that trem system through it's paces! And not just gratuitously but beautifully integrated in to a killer composition. And then of course there's the playing.... which i can never find the words to describe 😍
Yeh, they got the original intent incorrect; but son, the music they caused with these guitars! And it started out early, too. Probably the first use of a Jazzmaster was in the recording studio in November or December of 1958 during the recording of "Dream Lover" by Bobby Darin, which came out in early 1959: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-wVHAQX5sSaU.html I cut some of my guitar teeth on my older brother's brand new 1960 Jazzmaster, when he wasn't looking! "Ghost Riders In The Sky" was a lot of fun on that thing! A shim up high by the body under that neck does a lot to keep the strings nailed down over that bridge! Great show, Chris!
Don’t forget before the Esquire, Fender was making lap steels. Of course these didn’t have the staying power, but we’re still pretty cool. Jazzmasters may be misnamed, but they are comfortable
The trick with a Jazzmaster, especially with stock wiring, is you're constantly managing the high end. You can get too much to too little and back again very very quickly. I have mine wired with 500k audio volume pots in both lead and rhythm circuits. You absolutely can play jazz with them, but you need the flat wounds in 12+. The high end really helps cut through with effects and not loose your base tone. I have a thin skin avri with the Shelby Pollard black bobbins and they're phenomenal. It's hard to describe the sound you get out of a well dialed in JM, they sound very vocal with a laid back "wise" vibe. The thing is this more than I think any other guitar style the offsets are a thing you just kinda "get" or don't. I own a bunch of other high end guitars, but my JM(s) are homebase.
Chris, If I knew you in person I would have to tell you , '' You have to do an Album ? of your own material, the other stuff you are doing is nowhere good enough, to show your playing
