This is where I was going with my answer as well, and I agree with removing the factors that have no influence on the Jazzmasteryness of said guitar.hwestman wrote: ↑Mon Jun 10, 2019 5:04 amI think this ties in with my answer a bit.Steadyriot. wrote: ↑Fri Jun 07, 2019 12:45 amMaybe we should consider the Jazzmaster as a list of factors. If it ticks an X amount of boxes; we can call it a Jazzmaster. Just as how we diagnose certain conditions. If you posses 6 out of 10 symptoms you have syndrome or disorder x.Ceylon wrote: ↑Thu Jun 06, 2019 3:07 amIn addition I like to think that you might consider something a Jazzmaster based on what it does. Let's take as an example the original Fender Jazzmaster - production model, not prototype - and imagine that's the essence of a Jazzmaster. It has a vibrato, two pickups, 21 frets and a rhythm circuit. That's what a Jazzmaster is because that's what a Jazzmaster does.
Take the rhythm circuit out of there but leave it otherwise stock, you now have something that's pretty close to the original thing - the thing itself - but still less than it.
Now, replace those single coils with humbuckers. Arguably you've gained noise cancellation and (most likely) output, but you've lost a bit of frequency range at the same time. You could argue that it's both less and more than the original thing
Now, if you reduce that down to a Jazzblaster, two humbuckers and a single volume control, you have something that's unarguably less than a Jazzmaster.
Replace the vibrato on that with a hardtail, like on the Jim Root, and you have something even less than a Jazzblaster.
But then consider you have an otherwise vintage-spec Jazzmaster and you add an extra fret to the fingerboard. In a very real sense it is now more than a Jazzmaster because it does the exact same thing and then some.
Add a third pickup without taking away any of the switching options a two-pickup Jazzmaster has. More than a Jazzmaster?
Replace the vibrato with a Floyd, increasing vibrato range and tuning stability but also eliminating the third bridge-element. More or less than a Jazzmaster? Imagine it's a Kahler-type vibrato instead that allows you to keep the third bridge but which adds a locking nut. More or less?
What factors should we consider in that case? And how many boxes should we check? Do they all weigh equally or is there a distinction between those factors which weighs more heavily? Interesting stuff..
☐ 25,5" scale length
☐ Jazzmaster headstock
☐ Jazzmaster decal
☐ 21 Frets
☐ 7,25" fretboard radius
☐ Vintage tuners
☐ Vintage frets
☐ Heel trussrod adjust
☐ Jazzmaster pickguard
☐ Rhythm Circuit
☐ Toggle switch
☐ Jazzmaster Pickups (vintage style)
☐ Jazzmaster bridge
☐ Jazzmaster Tremolo
☐ Witch hat knobs ?!
☐ Offset body Shape
☐ Bolt On neck
☐ Made in America?!
☐ ...?
BUT I think some of the above have no real influence on the Jazzmasteryness of a guitar such as
- number of frets,
- fretboard radius,
- fret size,
- tuner type (although the modern ones Fender puts on everything these days are hideous - vintage tun),
- point of trussrod adjustment,
- knob type,
- country of manufacture
It seems to me that rather than being either a Jazzmaster, or not, all "Jazzmasters" exist on a spectrum going from something completely unlike a Jazzmaster (Dave Mustaine signature?) to fully a Jazzmaster (100% vintage specs).