Why aren't the Player Jazzmasters HS like the Player Jaguars ?

[CivoLee]

By this point Fender are aware that there is a market for musicians who like how their Offset Contour Body guitars feel/play, but prefer a more mainstream sound. So they've provided a number of JMs and Jags loaded with humbuckers, latest of which is the Player models. The Player Jaguar has a hum-single setup, so it retains at least a bit of the unique Jaguar sound, but the Player Jazzmaster has dual humbuckers, making it just like any of the myriad of dual humbucking guitars on the market. What's the deal with that? Is it really too expensive to include a JM pickup in the neck? Are they afraid of limiting the market? Most players don't even use the neck pickup all that much to care. Was the Blacktop HS such a failure that they're gun-shy about putting out another model like it? Haven't they noticed how desirable the Blacktop HS JMs have become on the used market (especially the black ones, since they go for more whenever they do pop up)?

[HarlowTheFish]

I think it's because the Shaw-designed humbuckers across the range barely blend with each other or with regular singles, and putting a proper Jazzmaster neck pickup would make their flaws all the more apparent when it's side by side like that.

I'm only half kidding, the Shawbuckers are okay in an HSS Strat if you want it to be versatile, but they don't excel at anything and the pickups across the Player range in general are serviceable but easily the first thing to swap out.

[Embenny]

My guess is that the blacktop JMs didn't sell all that well so they decided to try that configuration on Jaguars instead.

There have been multiple HH and HS MIM Jazzmasters in recent years so they probably had data on whether another one would be a good idea or not.

[Veitchy]

Slightly off topic, but I love neck pickups - especially single coils - especially JM pickups. They're probably where I spend most of my time.

[blunderbuss]

Slightly off topic, but I love neck pickups - especially single coils - especially JM pickups. They're probably where I spend most of my time.

Neck and middle until I die. Hardly ever play bridge.

[CivoLee]

My guess is that the blacktop JMs didn't sell all that well so they decided to try that configuration on Jaguars instead.

There have been multiple HH and HS MIM Jazzmasters in recent years so they probably had data on whether another one would be a good idea or not.

Really? What else besides the Blacktops?

[Snowmonkey]

I have the HH Player Jazzmaster, and you can split the coils which gives you both single coil and humbucker sounds.

Having said that, while this configuration gives a wide range of sounds, I don't think the pickups themselves are up to much. I will be looking to upgrade them (when I get my head around what I want to get).

[Joey Ace]

My fav JM sound is both pups together.