Fender Jazzmaster: История и Эволюция Модели

Electric guitar

The Fender Jazzmaster is an electric guitar designed as a more expensive sibling of the Fender Stratocaster. First introduced at the 1958 NAMM Convention, it was initially marketed to jazz guitarists, but found favor among surf rock guitarists in the early 1960s. Its appearance is similar to the Fender Jaguar, though it is tonally and physically different in many technical ways, including pickup design, scale length and controls.

The Jazzmaster's contoured "offset waist" body was designed for comfort while playing the guitar in a seated position, as many jazz and blues artists prefer to do. A full scale length, 'lead' and 'rhythm' circuit switching with independent volume and tone controls, a 'floating tremolo' or a black painted aluminum pickguard. Longtime Fender associate George Fullerton owned a 1957 Fiesta Red pre production body coupled with an unusual and experimental fretboard manufactured in 1961 using vulcanised rubber — reportedly one of two ever made. Rosewood became a standard fretboard material on other Fender models around 1959. The walnut 'skunk stripe' which covers the truss rod channel on the back of one piece necks, is absent where the truss rod was installed from the top, and the rosewood fretboard glued on afterwards.

As with many other Fender models, there are significant differences between pre CBS models and models made after the CBS acquisition of Fender. The changes implemented by CBS after their purchase of Fender were largely universal, and the Jazzmaster was no exception. A one ply, anodized (aluminum) gold pickguard was stock from 1958 through mid 1959, after which a four ply brown "tortoise shell" pickguard was used. A thicker, ‘slab’ fingerboard was used from introduction in 1958 until mid 1962. From mid 1962 on, a thinner, 'veneer' fingerboard was used. An optional maple fingerboard was briefly offered in the mid 1970s. Binding was added to the Jazzmaster fretboard in 1965. In 1965, clay dot fingerboard markers were changed to pearloid; in 1966 the dot markers were replaced by pearloid blocks. Black binding and blocks were used on Jazzmasters that were optioned with maple fingerboards. radius fingerboard with 21 frets. This remained unchanged until 1980. In 1965, Kluson tuners were replaced by Fender "F" tuners. Some CBS Jazzmasters were equipped with Grover tuners that had pearloid buttons. A transition logo, with a larger "Fender" font, was used starting in 1965. This was replaced in 1967 by the black CBS logo, with "Fender Jazzmaster" in large, bold lettering. Finishes were nitrocellulose lacquer from 1958 to 1967, switching to polyester finishes in 1968. The headstock remained unchanged from 1958 to 1967. In mid 1967, the headstock was changed from the original Jazzmaster shape to the same, larger "CBS" style headstock that was used on the Stratocaster. Wiring transitioned from cloth to plastic in 1968. Potting of pickups became inconsistent after the CBS purchase in 1965. By the mid 1960s, the one and two piece ash and alder bodies were supplemented by three and four piece bodies. The Jazzmaster was spared the change to the 3 bolt neck that was implemented on the Stratocaster. From 1968 until the model was discontinued in 1980, it remained largely unchanged.

After years of dwindling sales, with instruments being pieced together from leftover factory stock, the Jazzmaster was officially discontinued in September 1980, but has since then been re released in many forms and modifications. The Jazzmaster was re introduced in 1986 as a 1962 reissue model from Fender's Japanese factory, with a 1966 model existing parallel to it (with block inlays and binding, but paired with a small pre CBS headstock). The American Vintage Reissue Series version was introduced in 1999, also based on the 1962 model. In 2007 Fender released a 'thin skin' Jazzmaster reissue with thinner vintage nitrocellulose finish. The 1962 model was discontinued in favor of a 1965 model which was equipped with a bound neck and a veneer fretboard when the American Vintage Series were revamped in 2012. Given the recent resurgence in popularity of the Fender offset models, Fender revamped their Jazzmaster offerings and currently makes models in all pricepoints. Starting at the bottom with the Squier Affinity Series, Squier Vintage Modified Jazzmaster, a traditional Jazzmaster with Seymour Duncan designed wide single coil pickups, there is also the Mexican Classic Player series which have a vibrato unit closer to the bridge, a reworked bridge and hot P90 pickups, the Classic Lacquer series with AV65 pickups and the traditional appointments, and the American Special, and American Professional series which both omit the rhythm circuit, opting for a single circuit layout.

Fender intended the Jazzmaster to represent a solid body alternative to the hollow body archtop guitars that were then ubiquitous among jazz guitarists. As the Telecaster and Stratocaster had done in other popular musical genres, Fender hoped to initiate a revolution in jazz guitar, at the expense of competitor Gibson. While the Jazzmaster never caught on among its intended audience, they were most successful in the burgeoning Southern California based surf music and instrumental rock scene of the late 1950s and early 1960s. Fender headquarters were located in Southern California, and Leo Fender himself actively solicited local players' input and guidance in designing the Jazzmaster's followup, the Jaguar. Jazzmasters, along with Jaguars and their imitators, fell out of fashion among players during the 1970s largely due to their "old fashioned" appearance and sonic characteristics. The 70s rock sound meant "fat" humbucker tone and much sustain, so guitarists gravitated toward the Gibson Les Paul and its copies. Fender continued to offer the Jazzmaster as part of its product line until 1980. Just as Fender discontinued the Jazzmaster, Tom Verlaine of Television and Elvis Costello started giving the guitar a cult following. They were later embraced by the American indie rock scene.

There are a wide array of budget priced Jazzmaster imitations, particularly from the 1960s and '70s. Eko, Greco, Dillion, Univox, Epiphone, Yamaha, Framus, Teisco, Aria, Jansen, Harmony, and National are but some of the brands who released guitars in the spirit of the Jazzmaster, mainly to capitalize on the surf rock sound of the 1960s. Most of these manufacturers took inspiration from the Jazzmaster, but made significant changes to their finished product before bringing them to market. Foreign Jazzmaster inspired guitars with faithful pickup variants are rare, though examples of nearly identical tremolo systems were far more common. Until a recent wave of useful information being made more readily available in the realm of proper setup techniques, it wasn't uncommon to see modern copy variants replace the Jazzmaster's signature bridge and tremolo setup with a Stratocaster derived assembly, altering the character of the guitar considerably but making it more palatable to players used to the Stratocaster. This modification is perhaps most well known in the 1990s Japanese Squier Vista Series Jagmaster guitar. Vintage copies are rising in price, with guitars costing under $100 as little as 10 to 15 years ago now selling for as much as $600 to $800. Fender has since introduced more faithful recreations of the original Jazzmaster, with genuine Jazzmaster bridge and tremolo assemblies. There are also several manufacturers of high end Jazzmaster styled guitars, such as Danocaster, Nash, Bilt, Rhoney and Kauer.

American made Jazzmasters were out of standard production entirely from 1980 to 1999. In 1999, Fender expanded the American Vintage Reissue (AVRI) series to include two offset models, one of which being a reissue of the 1962 Jazzmaster. The reissue was mostly true to the original 1962 Jazzmaster, featuring vintage inspired pickups, hardware, a period correct brown tolex case with a gold interior, and a variety of Custom Colors. The Custom Color Jazzmasters in this line did not feature matching headstocks, a feature that was a hallmark of the original Custom Color Jazzmasters in the 1960s. Originally, the model was offered in an array of Custom Colors, such as Candy Apple Red and Sherwood Green Metallic. However, by the end of the model's production run, Fender offered only three colors: Black, Olympic White, and Three Color Sunburst. With the exception of the discontinuation of color options, the model remained largely unchanged from its introduction in 1999 until it was discontinued in 2012.

In the late 2000s, Fender produced limited quantities of the 1962 Jazzmaster known as Thin Skins. These were almost identical in spec to the standard AVRI Jazzmasters, with the notable exception of the finish, though some, such as those offered by Wildwood Guitars in Louisville, Colorado, offered Thin Skins with a 9.5" radius in lieu of the vintage spec 7.25". Some improved vintage details included neck shape, thinner cases, decals, colors, pickups, tuners, and various production techniques. Some dealers, such as Wildwood, also tout lighter body weights. September 2010 saw the introduction of the Mexican made Black Top Jazzmaster HS. This guitar sports a Duncan Designed single coil Jazzmaster neck pickup and a hot vintage alnico humbucking bridge pickup, with other distinctive touches including skirted black amp knobs, a Jazzmaster tremolo tailpiece (without locking button) and a three way toggle switch. Other features include an alder body, maple neck with 9.5" radius rosewood fretboard, 21 medium jumbo frets, gloss polyester finish and chrome hardware. The Jazzmaster Standard was evolved from the Blacktop model. The Standard featured two coil tapped Blacktop humbuckers and a Pau Ferro neck; often mistaken for Rosewood. Outside of these changes, the Standard had identical specs as the previous Blacktop model, including the relocated tailpiece. Despite numerous modernising design changes, the Standard shipped with a vintage bridge, long lambasted for its instability and frequency to buzz. This caused many customers to replace the bridge with a Mastery or Staytrem after market bridge. The Player Jazzmaster replaced the Standard in 2018. While specs remained similar, the neck was extended to 22 frets, pickup rings were replaced with scratchplate mountings and the humbuckers replaced with more 'vintage' voiced models. Knobs and other plastic details (excluding scratchplate) were switched from black to white.

In January 2013, Fender added the Carved Maple Top Jazzmaster HH to its premium Select series. The instrument features an alder body with a carved maple top, a pair of new Wide Range Special humbuckers controlled by a three way switch, volume and tone (with push pull S 1 switch), and an Adjusto Matic bridge and tailpiece arrangement. It also features an innovative "channel bound" rosewood fingerboard, in which the fingerboard itself is inlaid into the maple neck. In 2016, Fender released a "Limited Edition American Special Jazzmaster" which featured stripped back controls and a Bigsby B50 tremolo/tailpiece instead of the traditional Jazzmaster tremolo/tailpiece. It also had a different type of bridge. In January 2018 the American Performer Jazzmaster was introduced, featuring Yosemite pickups with Greasebucket tone circuit and a vintage style Stratocaster tremolo bridge. Fender's 2017 "American Professional Series" includes a new version of the Jazzmaster which has a Deep C shaped neck with 22 narrow tall frets and features different controls and V Mod pickups. Fender's 2020 "American Ultra Series" The American Ultra Jazzmaster features a unique "Modern D" neck profile, and the tapered neck heel allows easy access to the highest register. A 10" 14" compound radius fingerboard with 21 medium jumbo frets makes for easier soloing at the upper frets, while the Ultra Noiseless Vintage pickups and new wiring options provide a wider variety of available tones. Other features include sealed locking tuning machines, chrome hardware and bone nut

In July 2007, Fender released the J Mascis signature Jazzmaster, in honour of the Dinosaur Jr frontman. This model is much the same as previous Jazzmaster models aside from its Adjust o matic bridge (the Fender equivalent of the Gibson Tune o matic bridge), and its unusual purple sparkle finish. It was for a time the only model of Jazzmaster in production with a matching headstock, After the Fender version was discontinued, Squier released a J Mascis Signature with similar specifications, in antique white with a gold anodized aluminum pickguard. In the past, a Nokie Edwards (of The Ventures) signature model was produced in Japan, without rhythm circuit. April 2008 saw the introduction of the Elvis Costello Jazzmaster, the second signature Jazzmaster model made at the Corona facility – a faithful replication of Elvis Costello's 1960s Jazzmaster used during his 1977 debut album, My Aim is True. This signature Jazzmaster guitar features a solid walnut stain finished alder body and a modified tremolo bridge for Costello's trademark "spy movie" sound. In June 2009, Fender announced Lee Ranaldo and Thurston Moore signature Jazzmasters, in honour of the guitarists of Sonic Youth. These models were released on July 1, 2009. Both editions have a pickup switch that operates from side to side, a black headstock, and only one volume knob. The difference lies in the pickup, bridge, colour, and the relative placement of the volume knob to the jack input. Ranaldo's instrument has a Sapphire Blue finish and features dual Fender Wide Range humbucking pickups that are re spec'd to Ranaldo's specifications and a Mustang bridge. Moore's version features a Forest Green finish, a pair of Seymour Duncan Antiquity II Jazzmaster single coil pickups and a Tune o matic bridge. In October 2011, Fender introduced the Squier J Mascis signature Jazzmaster with gold anodized aluminum pickguard, featuring several custom specifications from J Mascis including slightly warmer "P90" sounding pickups, fast satin finished neck, and nonfloating bridge. During the NAMM Show in January 2014, Fender debuted a Jim Root Signature Jazzmaster, based on the recommendations by the guitarist of Slipknot and formerly Stone Sour. While the guitar is a Jazzmaster by name it features none of the normal Jazzmaster accoutrements, except for the silhouette. Instead, it features high output EMG 60 and 81 humbuckers, black satin lacquered mahogany body, a single volume control with three way pickup selector switch, a Stratocaster style hard tail string through body bridge, locking tuners, compound radius ebony fretboard, contoured neck heel and a squarer body (instead of a traditional body contours). On April 21, 2020 Fender introduced the Jim Root Jazzmaster V4, featuring a bound ebony fretboard with white rectangular block markers, satin Polar White finish and a pair of EMG Jim Root signature Daemonum open coil active humbuckers. During the same NAMM Show, Fender also unveiled a Troy Van Leeuwen signature Jazzmaster, in honor of the Queens Of The Stone Age guitarist. The TVL Jazzmaster is based on a late 1960s Jazzmaster, with block pearloid fretboard inlays, unique gloss Oxblood finish with matching headstock, Mustang bridge, and other late 1960s style features including a bound rosewood fingerboard and white "witch hat" knobs. This model is also available in Copper Age with maple fingerboard, black block inlays and binding since August 25, 2020.

Fender: The Golden Age 1946–1970, by Martin Kelly, Terry Foster, Paul Kelly. London & New York: Cassell (2010)