2017 AMERICAN PROFESSIONAL JAZZMASTER/JAGUAR

[eligit]

If you doubt string thickness makes a difference to the depth of the note, try tuning your high E down to your low E and compare the sound!

I don't disagree it makes a difference, but this example is pretty extreme. The difference between a Low and High E compared to two slightly different gauges of Low E is DRASTIC.
Of course it's going to sound like king flub if you tune a high E to low E.

to make a much less extreme example when i used a .49 for a low E it felt and sounded noticeably wobblier than the .54 i have on there now. When i tune to "drop D" it's even more apparent. a .42 on the low E would obviously exaggerate the issue even more.

Beyond what is normally thought of as tone/frequency response/etc i think the heavier strings lend the JM (and i can only assume even more so the shorter/looser Jag) a feel of greater overall structural integrity.

All that said: I have no doubt that a looser more jangly/wonkier feel that comes with using 9-42s has a certain eccentric appeal as well. Easier on the calluses and the less linear/solid response can lend a certain fun janky trebly pawn store vibe, like when you hit a chord really hard and it wobbles slightly in/out of tune, as opposed to 11s or 12s which yield a more pianistic solid/even feel and make bending much more of a task.

[BuddyHollywood]

I decided to join this forum after reading all 52 pages of this thread!

I haven't played one of these yet but I plan on checking them out. I personally really like the direction Fender chose to go for these new Professional Series guitars. I think the Jazzmaster is almost perfect. I don't mind the toggle on the upper bout but I like the placement of the toggle better on the Squier Vintage Modified Jazzmaster Special than where it is on these new Fenders. I don't have any experience with the rhythm circuit because I never wanted a guitar with one so I'm actually happy they chose to ditch it. It makes the guitar more appealing to me. I'm a fan of simple and I've discovered that less wiring usually equals clearer tone. Regarding the bridge I think they should have made the saddles smaller so the string spacing would be perfectly aligned over the pickup poles. I would have to hear the pickups in person to accurately assess them but I like what I've heard in the videos.

[eligit]

Random aside: These new JMs are making the show biz rounds. I saw *both* guitar players on Seth Meyers' show playing them the other night. So that's in addition to Conan's show, where Jimmy was playing em. Sounded just fine if not particularly "jazzmaster-y" imo.

[marqueemoon]

Spent a little time with the JM other day. Yeah, those pickups are not very Jazzmastery at all.

[crankheart]

Spent a little time with the JM other day. Yeah, those pickups are not very Jazzmastery at all.

Finally played one last night also. Definitely not very Jazzmastery. They're good, but indistinctive: just a really nice, typical, single coil sound.

[adamrobertt]

I've had my AM Pro Jag for a couple weeks now and I have to say it's a great guitar. Plays really well, sounds really good. My only issue with it so far is that the tuners kinda stink. They look and feel nice but the guitar goes out of tune pretty quickly. Ordered some locking tuners for it. Other than that I really dig it.

[bdf83]

not sure if it's already been covered but aren't they strat pickups masquerading as JM pickups?

[eligit]

I've had my AM Pro Jag for a couple weeks now and I have to say it's a great guitar. Plays really well, sounds really good. My only issue with it so far is that the tuners kinda stink. They look and feel nice but the guitar goes out of tune pretty quickly. Ordered some locking tuners for it. Other than that I really dig it.

speculative: since Jag pups are basically strat pups then the new Jags sound more like traditional Jags than the new JMs sound like traditional JMs.
If that makes sense.

[adamrobertt]

I've had my AM Pro Jag for a couple weeks now and I have to say it's a great guitar. Plays really well, sounds really good. My only issue with it so far is that the tuners kinda stink. They look and feel nice but the guitar goes out of tune pretty quickly. Ordered some locking tuners for it. Other than that I really dig it.

speculative: since Jag pups are basically strat pups then the new Jags sound more like traditional Jags than the new JMs sound like traditional JMs.
If that makes sense.

Yeah, I'm usually more of a JM guy but from watching the videos online the Jag really caught my ear much more than the Jazzy. If only the Jag came in that Mystic Seafoam color too! I have to say though, so far I'm loving the short scale. The new switching options are also better for me and the new neck profile + frets combo is pretty sweet.

Adding locking tuners is a must for me, though.

[eligit]

I've had my AM Pro Jag for a couple weeks now and I have to say it's a great guitar. Plays really well, sounds really good. My only issue with it so far is that the tuners kinda stink. They look and feel nice but the guitar goes out of tune pretty quickly. Ordered some locking tuners for it. Other than that I really dig it.

speculative: since Jag pups are basically strat pups then the new Jags sound more like traditional Jags than the new JMs sound like traditional JMs.
If that makes sense.

Yeah, I'm usually more of a JM guy but from watching the videos online the Jag really caught my ear much more than the Jazzy. If only the Jag came in that Mystic Seafoam color too! I have to say though, so far I'm loving the short scale. The new switching options are also better for me and the new neck profile + frets combo is pretty sweet.

Adding locking tuners is a must for me, though.

interesting.
I also custom modded my own JM to have a flatter radius and taller frets than stock so I can relate. Neither has altered the tone and both have increased playability.
curious to hear if the tuners will change the stability or if it's more about bridge, setup, etc. Once I got my bridge sorted out the tuning got better, even with the vintage style slotted pegs. I find that tuning issues often have as much to do with the bridge design/set up, the strings being heavy enough, and the nut (the slots being well lubricated and properly fitted to the string gage) as they do with the tuners (assuming the strings are tightly wound on the peg natch).

enjoy it!

[adamrobertt]

interesting.
I also custom modded my own JM to have a flatter radius and taller frets than stock so I can relate. Neither has altered the tone and both have increased playability.
curious to hear if the tuners will change the stability or if it's more about bridge, setup, etc. Once I got my bridge sorted out the tuning got better, even with the vintage style slotted pegs. I find that tuning issues often have as much to do with the bridge design/set up, the strings being heavy enough, and the nut (the slots being well lubricated and properly fitted to the string gage) as they do with the tuners (assuming the strings are tightly wound on the peg natch).

enjoy it!

Yes, the locking tuners immediately solved my tuning issues. I had them on my last guitar and maybe I'm just used to having them. The stock tuners didn't seem shitty or anything but they went out of tune quite easily. I bought some Kluson Contemporary locking tuners and they work great. I don't get people who say that locking tuners don't improve tuning stability... they absolutely do.

[optofonik]

I think it's cool that the offset "look" is finally gaining mainstream ground.

After having my VM Jag & VMJM for awhile and updating (retrograding) the pickups on the VM Jag to Fender Pure Vintage '65 pickups (the VMJM is next) I'm really happy. I do think it would be cool if Fender reproduced affordable vintage speced versions with that "Fender" headstock most of us want (whether we admit it not) at a MIM price point. However, after recording with both my VM Jag with the new pickups and the stock VMJM (https://www.offsetguitars.com/forums/vi ... 3&t=104204 ) I realize that, for me, it really is a vanity issue. I'll never tour so if the more expensive AV '65 is a more robustly built guitar I would never know the difference.

Several years ago there were how many offsets on the Fender website? "The times they are a changin'", indeed.

[andy_tchp]

I do think it would be cool if Fender reproduced affordable vintage speced versions with that "Fender" headstock most of us want (whether we admit it not) at a MIM price point.

They do. The Classic Lacquer models.

[optofonik]

I do think it would be cool if Fender reproduced affordable vintage speced versions with that "Fender" headstock most of us want (whether we admit it not) at a MIM price point.

They do. The Classic Lacquer models.

I think they use a Mustang bridge.

[sunburster]

I do think it would be cool if Fender reproduced affordable vintage speced versions with that "Fender" headstock most of us want (whether we admit it not) at a MIM price point.

They do. The Classic Lacquer models.

I think they use a Mustang bridge.

They don't.