Fender Gold Foil Jazzmaster 2023

[GreenKnee]

I've tried watching a bunch of video demos, and explanations of Gold Foil pickups, and I'm not any closer to figuring out what they are. It seems that the only thing they all have in common is the cover is a gold coloured grill. Which as far as I can tell has no tonal impact. One guy said they're basically a way for pickup companies to experiment.

Or do I have this wrong and there is indeed a particular Gold Foil tone that people would expect a guitar like this to have? And if so, any links to a guitar being demoed that has that?

So my understanding is that goldfoils were a pickup made with cheaper materials and construction. Instead of your usual alnico bar or strips of magnets they are made of rubberised magnets (the same type that fridge magnets use). Wire was then wrapped around this magnet and et voila you have a pickup. The gold foil was put on top of this and then the casing put on purely for aesthetic purposes. There are a few different types but this is generally what is meant when talking about gold foil pickups.
They are relatively low output and so I usually use them with an always on boost to make them a bit livelier.
A lot of production gold foils are just standard pickups with a gold foil aesthetic. This new Fender guitar has mini humbuckers that look like gold foils, completely different.

This video is what made me try some out for myself. Without going all buzz wordy to describe their sound I would say they are clear sounding with no scoop or boost across the frequency range. Good note separation.

https://youtu.be/l2E_HCaW1Js

[F15hface]

I dig these. Obviously yes it would be cooler with the right vibrato, but that's something you can fix. I love the plastic button tuners especially, really ties the once-cheap vintage vibe together,

[gishuk]

I think these are kinda cool, not enough that I'd ever consider buying one mind you, but they've got something about them for sure

[thegreatbigsby]

I have a couple of goldfoils by Mojo - the foil has nothing to do with the sound. As stated, the magnets and general "cheap" construction are what makes them sound different than other pickups I know.

Most pickup makers making them now distinguish between "DeArmond" (as used in American cheapos, i.e. Silvertone) and "Teisco" (as used in Japanese made guitars) specs. It's true that there are a couple of different versions, all are said to sound slightly different. I have only experiences with those two. To me, the DeArmond ones sound a bit tighter, with a bit more focused mids. The Teisco ones sound very full with at the same time very clear trebles.

Good examples for the American ones to me would be this. Tommy Brenneck and a bunch of other guys from the Daptone circle use Silvertones.

One of the best examples and sounds incorporating a Japanese gold foil pickup is this. Blake Mills might very well be responsible for half the hype.

[BlueMelody]

Very cool, would’ve preferred if it was MIJ at that price point.

[skeletonsmith]

I think these look horrible. No Hate for Bigsby's, but why would someone want a JM with one?
The Pickup-Idea and the Jaguar-Plate are interesting, but that's all for me.

[Unicorn Warrior]

If they go through the trouble of tooling up new bodies for these pups and a bigsby, why can’t they tool up necks with correct size blocks?

Yes, I’m that guy. It was only a matter of time before someone mentioned it.

And I’ll also say their marketing is off. These guitars never existed. A lot of the garage guys were playing whatever they could get their hands on. If they were lucky they could get a nice Jaguar or Jazzmaster. Which are already perfect for whatever genre they’re trying to make these new guitars appeal to.

It doesn’t get much more garage than the offsets already in their line up. Just make us high quality vintage spec guitars. Thats garage enough

[Flurko]

The guitars are probably fine, but yeah, nothing is less garage than buying a brand new instrument from one of the world biggest music brands, but especially one that is designed to ape a cool cheap guitar from the days when garage was a real thing. The old silvertones are expensive now, but the equivalent in 2023 would be to get onstage with your Yamaha Pacifica or squier strat, not a brand new fender thing.

[Ceylon]

I like it a lot but it should have been a Squier.

[andare]

There really is no pleasing you guys.

A Bigsby is a different feel from an offset vibrato. This is not a standard Jazzmaster, why would it have a standard vibrato?

They already make several Jazzmasters, from modern to vintage correct. One could say a proper vintage spec Jazzmaster is missing from the Squier product line but afaik that has always been the case.

I'd like to see more unusual guitars in the Fender standard offering. Make a Jazzmaster with a Mustang vibrato, make a Strat with an offset vibrato, make a Duo Sonic with a Bigsby. Bring back the Coronado II with its unique tremolo. Make a Marauder II with all the switches!

The only negative I see is marketing this as gold foil when the pickups are actually mini humbuckers. That's just deception.

[BoringPostcards]

A Bigsby is a different feel from an offset vibrato. This is not a standard Jazzmaster, why would it have a standard vibrato?

Because the offset vibrato is a better, more stable system. Why put something inferior on a Jazzmaster, just to fit an aesthetic?

[bessieboporbach]

A Bigsby is a different feel from an offset vibrato. This is not a standard Jazzmaster, why would it have a standard vibrato?

Because the offset vibrato is a better, more stable system. Why put something inferior on a Jazzmaster, just to fit an aesthetic?

I think it's extremely questionable that an offset vibrato is "better" or "more stable" than a Bigsby.

I'm sure you have anecdotal experience, but so do I. In my anecdotal experience, a Bigsby is rock-solid and far easier to set up than any other system to boot. A well-setup Bigsby stands up at least as well to heavy use as any offset system, in my anecdotal experience.

They are different. That's all. Different sound, different feel, equally valid.

Honestly I'm a bit surprised by this comment. I get that this is the offset guitars forum, not the "general guitars forum," and that one can assume it's full of enthusiasts of this type of guitar and their appointments. I am an enthusiast too. But what I didn't expect was to encounter the belief that anything about these instruments was objectively better than the alternative rather than more to one's taste or, you know, what it is. I don't even know that it's possible to declare positively what's "better" when each different system has different musical uses. If stability is the be-all and end-all, use a Floyd.

[del]

Sort of a cool variation, but I'd rather see true goldfoils (a la Dearmond, Teisco, Guyatone) surface mounted onto a solid (no pickup routes) JM body with the JM trem.

And, really, I'd prefer to see that on a Jaguar style body with Johnny Marr-style switching and controls.

[GreenKnee]

You'd probably be in to my AO. It currently has 2x Mojo goldfoils, soon to be 3x in a couple of weeks

https://www.mojopickups.co.uk/product/f ... gold-foil/

[JSett]

There's a tele version to and there's this hilarious video of a guy pulling the dumbest 'guitar solo' faces I've seen in a long time

They don't sound even remotely like goldfoils.