Fender Jazzmaster

The Fender Jazzmaster is an electric guitar designed as a more expensive sibling of the Fender Stratocaster. First introduced at the 1958 NAMM Convention, it was initially marketed to jazz guitarists, but found favor among surf rock guitarists in the early 1960s. Its appearance is similar to the Fender Jaguar, though it is tonally and physically different in many technical ways, including pickup design, scale length and controls.

Fender Jazzmaster

Fender

1959–1980; 1984–present

25.5 in (647.7 mm)

"Floating" proprietary Vibrato

Two Jazzmaster pickups

A one-ply, anodized (aluminum) gold pickguard was stock from 1958 through mid 1959, after which a four-ply brown "tortoise shell" pickguard was used.

A thicker, ‘slab’ fingerboard was used from introduction in 1958 until mid-1962. From mid-1962 on, a thinner, 'veneer' fingerboard was used. An optional maple fingerboard was briefly offered in the mid-1970s.

Binding was added to the Jazzmaster fretboard in 1965.

In 1965, clay dot fingerboard markers were changed to pearloid; in 1966 the dot markers were replaced by pearloid blocks. Black binding and blocks were used on Jazzmasters that were optioned with maple fingerboards.

7.25 in (184 mm) radius fingerboard with 21 frets. This remained unchanged until 1980.

In 1965, Kluson tuners were replaced by Fender "F" tuners. Some CBS Jazzmasters were equipped with Grover tuners that had pearloid buttons.

A transition logo, with a larger "Fender" font, was used starting in 1965. This was replaced in 1967 by the black CBS logo, with "Fender Jazzmaster" in large, bold lettering.

Finishes were lacquer from 1958 to 1967, switching to polyester finishes in 1968.

nitrocellulose

The headstock remained unchanged from 1958 to 1967. In mid-1967, the headstock was changed from the original Jazzmaster shape to the same, larger "CBS" style headstock that was used on the Stratocaster.

Wiring transitioned from cloth to plastic in 1968.

Potting of pickups became inconsistent after the CBS purchase in 1965.

By the mid-1960s, the one- and two-piece ash and alder bodies were supplemented by three- and four-piece bodies.

The Jazzmaster was spared the change to the 3-bolt neck that was implemented on the Stratocaster.

Eddie C. Campbell

of Wilco plays "WATT", a 1959 Jazzmaster once owned by Mike Watt of the Minutemen and Firehose.^[6]

Nels Cline

^[7]

Elvis Costello

of the Shins and Deep Sea Diver plays a Jazzmaster.^[8]

Jessica Dobson

^[9]

Sam Fender

of The Astronauts

Rich Fifield

of the War on Drugs^[10]

Adam Granduciel

of Cocteau Twins^[11]

Robin Guthrie

of Luna Sea uses his signature "Road Worn" model^[12]

Inoran

of Yo La Tengo^[13]

Ira Kaplan

of Brand New^[14]

Jesse Lacey

of Queens Of The Stone Age^[15]

Troy Van Leeuwen

^[16]

Clara Luciani

of Dinosaur Jr.^[17]

J Mascis

of Thirty Seconds To Mars^[18]

Tomo Milicevic

and Lee Ranaldo of Sonic Youth^[19]

Thurston Moore

of Mumford & Sons^[20]

Marcus Mumford

of Feeder^[21]

Grant Nicholas

of the Cars^[22]

Ric Ocasek

guitarist with Peter Gabriel, Random Hold and Blancmange^[23]

David Rhodes

of Slipknot plays several different Jazzmaster guitars with a HH setup

Jim Root

of My Bloody Valentine^[24]

Kevin Shields

of the Cure played a Jazzmaster with a Woolworth Top 20 guitar pickup installed.^[25]

Robert Smith

singer, songwriter and guitarist ^[26]

Chris Stapleton

lead guitarist and Jimmy Gilmer rhythm guitarist of The Fireballs

George Tomsco

of The String-A-Longs

Jimmy Torres

of Arctic Monkeys^[27]

Alex Turner

of Television^[28]

Tom Verlaine

Don Wilson and Bob Bogle of ^[1]

the Ventures

of The Aquabats^[29]

Ian Fowles

^[30]

Madison Cunningham

of Incubus

Mike Einziger

Three-Color as standard

Sunburst

The vintage Jazzmasters (original series) were produced in the following colors:

Some available Custom Colors (this is not an all-inclusive list):

Vintage Jazzmasters were available in most of the common Fender Custom Colors of the era. Fender would also occasionally paint guitars in colors owners requested that were not otherwise available as 'official' Custom Colors; due to this, there are Jazzmasters in colors that deviate from Fender's offerings from the era. Additionally, many of the Custom Color Jazzmasters have matching headstocks. Blonde and sunburst models did not feature this option.

In 1999, Fender added the Jazzmaster to the American Vintage Reissue series. The American Vintage Reissue (AVRI) 1962 Jazzmaster was produced in the following colors:^[47]

There were also limited edition variations of the American Vintage Reissue Jazzmaster available, most notably the Thin-Skin models. These models were identical to the normal production AVRI models, with the exception of the thickness of the finish (due in part to a thinner, nitrocellulose sealer), as well as additional colors and matching headstocks (though this option was not present on all Thin Skins). Some available colors:

Their pickguards came in Mint Green or Brown Shell colors.^[48] Jazzmasters featured bound necks with dot inlays in 1965, with block pearloid inlays from 1966 until the end of their original run in 1977; the headstocks were also larger ("CBS-style") in this era. They have featured matching headstocks (headstocks painted the same color as the body) at several points throughout the guitar's history. Matched-headstock versions generally fetch a higher price.

In 2012, Fender replaced the AVRI line with the American Vintage (AV) series. The AVRI 1962 Jazzmaster was subsequently replaced with the AV 1965 Jazzmaster. The current American Vintage Jazzmaster comes standard in the following colors:

This series has also been offered in limited quantities in some of the following colors:

As with the AVRI '62 Jazzmaster, Thin Skin models are available, also in additional Custom Colors, including:

Like their vintage counterparts, pickguards come in Mint Green or Brown Shell colors, depending on the color.

Colors of the signature editions:

Fender: The Golden Age 1946–1970, by Martin Kelly, Terry Foster, Paul Kelly. London & New York: Cassell (2010) 1-84403-666-9

Fender Jazzmaster