So I had a cool $3500 burning a hole in my pocket and I wanted a guitar to pass through the hands of some real knowledegable offset wizards (who would bless it with their expert yet eloquent discourse before kissing it and shipping it to me in a separately purchased G&G hardshell case) so I headed on over to see what Mike & Mike's guitar bar had and LO AND BEHOLD...
I kid I kid. This bad boy came in today and dang. I ordered it direct from Kinko Music on Sunday and here it is! And it's a real BEAUTY.
I haven't had much time with it yet, but for sure - it's one of the best new production offsets I've played.
It's light (7.3lbs on the scale - if you're buying direct, make sure you take a look at the weights, because there was another one that was a whole pound or more heavier), resonant, and honestly, despite being fit with 10s, after tuning, it's unsurprisingly playable out of the box, good action and nary a buzz even with the stock threaded bridge (which sits at a good medium height due to the way Fender Japan has been angling the neck pockets nixing the need for shims the past 2+ years). Dunno if Kinko sets these up before shipping them out, but wouldn't be surprised if they did!
For sure, this is more of a first impressions kind of post - to share with those who might be thinking about getting one - so I will follow up with more after I've really had some quality time with it. Firstly, The neck is fantastic and probably the star here. The rosewood board is nice and dark, and has a nice full profile without being a baseball bat. Feels a little flatter while simultaneously feeling beefier than my FSR Piano Black B&B Jazzy's rounder back profile from 2021, while still comfier than the Vintera. A quick visual scan looks like these actually might have a 9.5" radius as published (again differing from that FSR model which had 7.25" but will need to wait til tomorrow to dismantle and maybe get some calipers on it along with checking the guts and potentially modding this this thing with a descendant or AVRI trem and mastery or am pro bridge. The basswood body feels light and resonant and the finish throughout the whole guitar is perfect. I really really love that they finally paired the blocks & binding with the big CBS headstock and the transition era decal.
The pickups, when sent through my UAD Apollo (it's already late where I am, so I can't cook up the tube amps or my neighbors will kill me) and through Overloud's early 60s era deluxe reverb clone, sounds very similar to the pickups that came stock with the Heritage series Mary Kaye Jazzy I have. They definitely sound better and warmer than the V-Mod pickups that came in the FSR model - and if they are as I am presuming - then they are some of the best stock pickups I've heard in a jazzy series in sometime. I'll loop back on this once I'm able to play it through my IRL DRRI, and have also had a chance to look under the hood.
Another pleasant surprise (when compared to the FSR B&B) is that it looks like Fender Japan has finally done away with the ugly printed red tort! This one is nice and dark, blurry with minimal swirl, similar to what I've been seeing on more recent American & Vintera models, and not as horrendous as some of those sharp & swirly AVRIs.
Hope to share more shots, and thoughts, after I've at minimum strung it with 11s in a follow up, along with any mods I might decide to do. I can't make the call on whether it's dethroned my Heritage or FSR B&B bc those have upgraded bridges and trems and also pickups so we'll have to see.
But already, even stock - I can highly recommend getting your hands on one if you're in the market for a B&B Jazzy with a full neck and good pickups (with some room for improvement in the standard bridge and trem categories) and hoping to spend less than $1500. Just stay away from M&M's lol
