Lefty looking for Jazzmaster buying advice

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SkiffleHanded
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Lefty looking for Jazzmaster buying advice

Post by SkiffleHanded » Sat Sep 18, 2021 6:36 am

Hi all,

I am relatively new to offset guitars. I mostly owned strat style in the past but an impulse buy of a Cobain jaguar has turned me on to this body shape. I'm interested in buying a jazzmaster but want to make sure I'm buying one I can keep a while and won't feel the need to replace any time soon. Buy once cry once, right? Here are the options as I see them for me considering I'm a lefty:

Squier classic vibe 60s
American Pro 2
Fender mod shop

I was leaning towards the classic vibe because a lot of reviews say this is the most "true" form of the Jazzmaster as far as tone and feel, but my concern is long term I might be better off getting the Am Pro 2 and swapping pickups to get it to sound right or just going mod shop to spec what I want. I don't need the guitar ASAP and I have enough disposable income that I can save/budget to afford the models I've mentioned along with anything else in that price range or a little higher. What is the right move? I didn't include anything used/vintage since inventory and price are hard to predict but if that's what will get me the real Jazzmaster experience and sound without going too crazy on price I'm open to recommendations on which models to keep an eye open for. Thanks in advance for reading my long post and for any advice!

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Re: Lefty looking for Jazzmaster buying advice

Post by SexingtonVonHercules » Sat Sep 18, 2021 10:13 am

I'm not sure if you're interested or aware of the current MIJ "traditional 60s" jazzmasters out there right now, but there are still a few available online with some good colour options. The "u" shaped neck and 7.25 radius might be a make or break situation for you though... I took a gamble, having never played neither before and am super pleased with it.

The real issue for us lefties is there don't seem to be any models around locally that we can just go try out, so we have to take a risk and buy blind. Although these past two years have brought us more options than ever before so I hope fender keeps this up with the jag and mustang.

I actually just ordered an MIJ traditional 60s jaguar this morning. Having never played a jag before, it could end up being an expensive gamble.

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Re: Lefty looking for Jazzmaster buying advice

Post by SkiffleHanded » Sat Sep 18, 2021 10:35 am

Where is the best place to find MIJ guitars? I've heard Fender purposely makes it very difficult to buy them in the US. The issue I'm having is finding a high quality Jazzmaster that's true to the original sound. It could be complete BS but most YouTube reviews say to stay away from any Jazzmaster with the V-mod pickups because they are just big strat pickups. Nothing wrong with that, but I have a strat already and I'm looking for a different sound.

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Re: Lefty looking for Jazzmaster buying advice

Post by SexingtonVonHercules » Sat Sep 18, 2021 10:59 am

I bought my JM and jaguar from shops in UK and was willing to deal with shipping cost and wait time. I can't really find much info on the MIJ limited run stuff but they seem to send most of them out to Europe. I think you're right about North America not getting any but IIRC, Chicago music exchange has a few MIJ JMs right now.

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Re: Lefty looking for Jazzmaster buying advice

Post by SexingtonVonHercules » Sat Sep 18, 2021 11:03 am

Actually I just checked and CME is sold out.
Man these offsets sell fast. Before I pulled the trigger on this jaguar, there were four UK shops with one in stock, and now they are sold out.
Last edited by SexingtonVonHercules on Sat Sep 18, 2021 11:08 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: Lefty looking for Jazzmaster buying advice

Post by SkiffleHanded » Sat Sep 18, 2021 11:08 am

Ugh, seeing all the cool righty Jazzmasters they have is killing me haha. All their lefty Jazzmasters are American Pro 2 according to their site.

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Re: Lefty looking for Jazzmaster buying advice

Post by Shadoweclipse13 » Sat Sep 18, 2021 1:43 pm

I don't know what your budget is or what you personally like, but only JM right now is a Classic Vibe 60s Squier. You can't go wrong with one for $400. The neck is my favorite neck ever. Sure, I gutted it, changed electronics, and hardware, but for $400, you can't beat that as a platform with solid bones.
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Re: Lefty looking for Jazzmaster buying advice

Post by SkiffleHanded » Sat Sep 18, 2021 2:09 pm

That helps! I guess my question is this: if I buy a Classic Vibe is there something it doesn't have that pricier Jazzmasters have that would make me want the more expensive guitar? I don't need it to say Fender or be American made. I just want a playable guitar that is an accurate representation of what a Jazzmaster should be. I'm fine with swapping parts if need be down the road.

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Re: Lefty looking for Jazzmaster buying advice

Post by SkiffleHanded » Sat Sep 18, 2021 2:18 pm

Also, funny you mentioned the neck on the Squier being so good. I have a Highway One strat that I thought I liked until I randomly bought a 1997 MIK Squier strat and now I never play the Highway One. The Squier sounds cheap but feels so much nicer! I'm going to upgrade the wiring and pickups over the winter and then it'll hands down be the better of my strats.

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Re: Lefty looking for Jazzmaster buying advice

Post by sal paradise » Sun Sep 19, 2021 5:07 am

FWIW, I have a lefty Japanese JM from 2014. Or whichever year was the first FSR year they bought them back. Anyway, I digress.

As with all things lefty MIJ Fender, the neck is amazing. The pickups were trash. I put some Creamery pickups in there, a Mastery bridge and with a super-low action setup it’s by far the nicest playing guitar I’ve ever owned.

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Re: Lefty looking for Jazzmaster buying advice

Post by SkiffleHanded » Sun Sep 19, 2021 8:00 am

Beautiful guitar. There is a '96 MIJ JM on Reverb but $1,500 for a guitar I'm going to swap the pickups out of is steep. I wanted to buy new because I could budget for it and know the guitar will be there when I'm ready but maybe I just need to lurk on forums and online marketplaces until I find a good MIJ if the necks really are all that.

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Re: Lefty looking for Jazzmaster buying advice

Post by Shadoweclipse13 » Sun Sep 19, 2021 6:03 pm

SkiffleHanded wrote:
Sat Sep 18, 2021 2:09 pm
That helps! I guess my question is this: if I buy a Classic Vibe is there something it doesn't have that pricier Jazzmasters have that would make me want the more expensive guitar? I don't need it to say Fender or be American made. I just want a playable guitar that is an accurate representation of what a Jazzmaster should be. I'm fine with swapping parts if need be down the road.
I mean, some of the hardware might be better on the others, but I think that stuff doesn't matter. Most people upgrade or change things anyway.
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Re: Lefty looking for Jazzmaster buying advice

Post by JVG » Wed Sep 22, 2021 4:47 am

This thread is like a lefty convention - I love it!

Are you set on buying a guitar off the shelf, or would you consider assembling one yourself? Many of us lefties have gone down down the self-assembly path, as it allows you to build pretty much anything you want. Companies like Warmoth, Musikraft and Guitar Mill (among others) make components as good as you will find anywhere. It ain’t cheap, but it’s fun and you end up with a great, unique guitar.

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Re: Lefty looking for Jazzmaster buying advice

Post by Lost In Autumn » Thu Sep 23, 2021 2:29 am

SkiffleHanded wrote:
Sat Sep 18, 2021 2:09 pm
That helps! I guess my question is this: if I buy a Classic Vibe is there something it doesn't have that pricier Jazzmasters have that would make me want the more expensive guitar? I don't need it to say Fender or be American made. I just want a playable guitar that is an accurate representation of what a Jazzmaster should be. I'm fine with swapping parts if need be down the road.
the primary differences between the Squiers and more expensive Fenders boil down to this: Wood- Squiers are typically made of Basswood or Poplar, 3-5 pieces per body; Fender's are typically Alder, 2-3 piece bodies. Electronics: Squier uses cheaper import pots and capacitors; Fender uses CTS or equivalent, for the most part. Pickups: Squier uses Artec made OEM pickups; Fender winds a lot of them in house. Nut: Squier = Plastic, Fender = Bone or other premium material. Tremolo: Fenders are a bit better in terms of fit & finish, particularly the tailpieces. Squire Classic Vibe bridges are nice.

For the money, Classic Vibe Squiers are hard to beat, especially if you plan on replacing the pickups, any way. if I were going to get one, I'd get a CV, replace the wiring, pickups and tailpiece. At that point, I'd be just under the cost of a MIM Fender, but I'd have a much better playing & sounding guitar. Resale would be dicey, but I've never bought a new guitar thinking about selling it down the road.

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Re: Lefty looking for Jazzmaster buying advice

Post by sal paradise » Sat Oct 16, 2021 1:45 am

Yeah, I’ve been reflecting on this. Whilst my Japan JM is an amazing guitar. With the mods it’s cost me at least £1500.

You could get most of the way there for £700 with the Squier CV. I’d jump on that now if I were in the same boat. & If the neck isn’t great- there’s loads of choice out there for not much money.
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