The Jazzmaster is an electric that was introduced in 1958 at the NAMM Show, designed as a more upmarket instrument than the Fender Stratocaster which was originally to replace the Telecaster model. The name suggests that the guitar was aimed at Jazz guitarists but it was more commonly played by surf rock guitarists during the early 1960’s and more recently indie rock artists.
The Jazzmaster features a contoured “offset-waist” body design which was intended to the guitar more comfortable to play in a seated position as many Jazz player were known to do. With a full 25-1/2” scale length, lead and rhythm circuit switching with independent volume and tone controls these were some of the key features of the Jazzmaster’s character. The guitar also featured a floating tremolo with a tremolo lock which could be manually activated to prevent the guitar from going out of tune should a string break. As the body was larger than most other Fender guitars, it also required a larger guitar case.
In 1980 the Jazzmaster was officially discontinued, however there are some reports that say that no more guitars were made after 1977 and that those guitars sold from 1978 to 1980 were old stock. However in 1986 the Jazzmaster was re-introduced as a 1962 re-issue from Fender’s Japanese factory. Fender introduced the Jazzmaster as a solid body alternative to the hollow body archtop guitars that were common amongst Jazz guitarists at the time, the guitar never really caught on amongst its intended audience however it found success with California based surf music and the instrumental rock scene.
In 2007 Fender released the J-Masics signature Jazzmaster, in honour of the Dinosaur Jr frontman, in 2008 the Elvis Costello Jazzmaster was released and was the 2nd signature guitar released. In 2009 it was announced by Fender that they would produce Lee Ranaldo and Thurston Moore Jazzmasters in honour of the Sonic Youth guitarists.
If you are interested in getting your hands on your own Jazzmaster why not swing by The Guitar Lounge in Sydney and try one out?
No comments:
Post a Comment