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Ever since playing a Jazzmaster at the Songbirds Guitar Museum earlier this year I've wanted one, just for a fun change of pace. So recently I picked up a Squier "Classic Vibe 60's" Jazzmaster. I was surprised with the guitar. It was quite inexpensive, but is a very nice looking instrument. The fret work is excellent. I strung it up with TI JS112's and adjusted the truss rod a bit for the heavier strings, and there are no buzzes or sharp fret ends to worry about. The neck is very comfortable, a medium "C" is what I'd call it. The shape really is comfortable to hold. My only complaint was the plastic protective film on the guitar. It came off the pickguard okay, but the plastic seems to have adhered or even deteriorated on the chrome tremolo-bridge assembly. I couldn't get the plastic to come off easily by any means. Eventually I just gave up and ordered a tremolo assembly from StewMac and replaced the stock one. Picture below shows the point at which I gave up on the plastic film. That didn't upset me very much for some reason, but I know others would be incensed, so you need to know some of these might have that problem.
I like the distinctive tone of this guitar. As you likely know it has two tonal "systems." One is the usual Fender style, a three-way switch and a master volume/tone. But the jazz master has a switch that takes that whole circuitry out of action and runs on the neck pickup alone, with a different value tone pot and a different value tone cap. It's a shade darker, more of what we think of as a jazz tone.
I find this guitar sounds wildly different on different amps. On the Tone Master Twin Reverb it sounds very smooth and dark, but on the Princeton Reverb it has much more of the articulate, detailed single-coil sound, ditto on the Polytone. ON the Twin, I keep the volume/tone at 10, but on the Princeton I need to dial out some of the highs, though it also has a bit of the jazz single-coil tone quality that I enjoy in older recordings.
So here are a few pictures and a quick clip.
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10-02-2020 02:42 PM
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Happy New Guitar Day, lawson! The Classic Vibe series by Squier are very fine guitars.
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Nice, Lawson. I've been stalking Jazzmasters for a couple of weeks now and thought I'd dip my toes in with either a Squier CV or Squier J Mascis. From what I read, the CV has more "jazzmaster"-like pickups and the JM is hotter and more P-90ish. I do like the tone you're getting. The JM supposedly has a chunkier neck of the two, which I think I'd prefer.
With the COVID precautions we are taking it'll be a mail order thing either way.
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Very nice, Lawson. I am in the same place as Michael N. One of the reasons I am considering the JM is for comfort. The consistent comments are that the JM is very comfortable seated. Would be interested in your thoughts. Maybe with the strap it is less of an issue for you. Thanks. Larry
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squier mascis jm is really nicely made ...great qc...but it differs from a "real" vintage style jm in a number of ways
the pickups are designed like p90's...so less clarity than true jm pups...with a little more mids growl...mascis also uses a tuneamatic bridge and moves the trem piece closer to bridge...changes the break angle...changes the sound
so has some modern tweaks...the build and neck on mascis jms are great tho..definitely a worthy guitar but different from a vintage set up jazzmaster...
a true to vintage spec jm is a lovely thing...the original squier vm series was pretty close...squier classic vibe ^ is good too
jms for everybody! hah
cheers
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I have one. I liked it so much I had a Warmoth neck for it made, just like my tele.
The output jack went out on me a month ago though, I need to clear time to get it fixed, because im the world's worst solderer.
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That's another positive testament for the CV. Which profile did you choose? Fret size?
Originally Posted by mr. beaumont
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They're both boatnecks, 1 3/4 nut for the tele, 1 11/16 for the JM. Ebony fretboards, 10-16" radius, frets are 6105's...for me, they're pretty much perfect. Originally Posted by Michael Neverisky
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Factory radius is 9.5", how did you manage the difference at the bridge? Originally Posted by mr. beaumont
I like the specs on the Boatneck too.
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This clip takes a chorus of "Out of Nowhere" noodling over the changes, first with the Telecaster then the Jazzmaster, the latter on the "rhythm circuit" switch setting. Played through a Fender Princeton Reverb Reissue, mic'd with Shure SM57.
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jm bridge saddle is moveable in every direction..front to back and up & down... Originally Posted by Michael Neverisky
biggest problem with screw type saddles is strings can jump the screw threads...there's tricks around it..starting with heavy strings
cheers
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jm by ko...the notes have so much more color and bloom Originally Posted by lawson-stone
cheers
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I do like the JM better all around. I think the pickup design really does make a difference. Originally Posted by neatomic
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I love my Squier J Mascis Jazzmaster (JMJM). The P90 pickups are right up my street purely for rock music and jazz tunes.
Always the tweaker I swapped out the lead circuit pots down to 500k log, orange drop caps and the phatest orange drop cap I could find for the rhythm circuit. With a valve amp I can set the amp to edge of breakup, dial back on the lead volume to 7 and 5 on tone to clean up then flip to the rhythm circuit with some phatness for mellow jazzz.
For practical reasons the JMJM is a great 'pit' guitar and can quickly change to any type of tune. While I was in a covers band the JMJM was the best choice.
Did I mention the 43mm width nut?
I've recently swapped the bridge for a roller saddle one. Needed to shim it to get close to 9.5" radii as all roller bridges seem to be 12" radius.
It's had flatwounds (delicious), pure nickel 12's (great compromise) and just now nickel 10's (joyfully widdly widdly wahhh).
The trem was set to just downward instead of floating, I'm contemplating swapping this for a more correct trem with the locking button but I'll see about that.
Somewhere on this forum I posted the tweaks but the pictures have gone :-(
So Lawson, enjoy the JM in good health and keep on twannging.
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Nice guitar and playing, Lawson! Congratulations, and play it in good health!
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I thought they all sounded great! Nice playing! Originally Posted by lawson-stone
And, they had a more classic warm jazz tone than I would have expected from those guitars.
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I replaced mine with a Mustang like saddle, found cheap on Amazon...just a single groove per saddle, solved the jumping problem. Originally Posted by neatomic
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just for info, the actual fender mustang bridge does not have up & down screw adjustments for individual saddle height and radius Originally Posted by mr. beaumont
why i always recommend an asian made version (sold cheaply on amazon)...(which is what mr. b has on his jm)...it has the mustang single saddle slot, but also height adjustment screws..win win!!
the only other jm style bridges that have same capabilities are pricey boutique bridges like the mastery..which costs almost half the price of the squier jm
there are however some set up tweaks that will help keep the strings in slot on a typical screw saddle jm bridge...but the amazon bridge is a good bargain
cheers
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With a bit of jiggery pokery...
A low action ref:Blay..
With flatwounds this action is sublime!
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Amazon link, please. Originally Posted by neatomic
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Unbox the guitar, put on 11 gauge half rounds, tweak the truss rod and go. My dog, who you can't hear, is groaning about my new toy interfering with walk time.
I agree with Lawson about the fretwork and the sheet of plastic which seems forever fused to the metal.
The neck feels flatter and wider in the hand than I expected. I would have guessed it was a 12" rather than the 9.5" radius as specified. My Mustang, at 9.5" with medium jumbo frets, feels rounder. An illusion, I guess. I prefer the narrower, smaller frets of the Squier which are... what... 6105?
Strings are close to the neck pickup, the tips of my fingers occasionally brush the plastic of the pickups.
I do like like the bevel on the back, which makes the guitar nestle against my chest. I always sit when playing.
All together, a nice guitar and excellent value for the price.
I stole Chris's most recent arrangement here.
Last edited by Michael Neverisky; 10-12-2020 at 07:08 AM.
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May have to start a Jazzmaster/Jaguar owners group thread! Originally Posted by Michael Neverisky
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