84-462: 33°38′46″N 111°53′57″W / 33.6460322°N 111.899058°W / 33.6460322; -111.899058 The Fender Musical Instruments Corporation ( FMIC , or simply Fender ) is an American manufacturer and marketer of musical instruments and amplifiers . Fender produces acoustic guitars , bass amplifiers and public address equipment; however, it is best known for its solid-body electric guitars and bass guitars , particularly
168-436: A brushed aluminum face plate with blue or red labels (depending the model) for the guitar and bass amplifiers became standard features, starting in late 1968. These first "silverface" amps added an aluminium trim detail around the speaker baffle until 1970. Other cosmetic changes included a new "tailless" Fender amp decal and a sparkling orange grillcloth on certain amplifiers in the mid-1970s. Regarding guitars, in mid-1971,
252-411: 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
336-544: A 9.5" fretboard radius and moving the tremolo plate around 1 cm forward towards the bridge. The tailpiece was moved forward not for cosmetic or functional reasons, but to reduce the manufacturing cost of the Jazzmaster and Jaguar guitars in the same factory. Because of the Jaguar's shorter neck length, the tailpiece is placed relatively further forward than the Jazzmaster's. To use the same jig, both guitars are made with
420-459: 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
504-575: 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
588-516: A bar magnet at the base instead of the magnetized polepieces of the original pickups. 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
672-588: A bound neck with larger, pearloid dot inlays, matching headstocks on custom colors, and a black G&G reproduction case with black tolex and a red plush interior. As with the AVRI models, Fender offers limited production Thin Skin 1965 Jazzmasters. The hardware and accessories remain the same as normal production models, though the finishes are, as with the original Thin Skins, available in additional colors. Also, as with
756-622: A campaign initiated by then CBS Musical Instruments division president William Schultz (1926–2006), the Fender Electric Instrument Manufacturing Company employees purchased the company from CBS and renamed it "Fender Musical Instruments Corporation" (FMIC). The sale did not include the old Fullerton factory; FMIC had to build a new facility in nearby Corona. The vast majority of Fender guitars sold in 1985 were made in Japan. In 1987 Fender established
840-470: 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
924-471: 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
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#17327800788621008-511: A greater propensity toward mechanical failure of the guitars. During the CBS era, the company did introduce some new instrument and amplifier designs. The Fender Starcaster was particularly unusual because of its shallow, yet semi-hollow body design that still retained the traditional Fender bolt-on neck, albeit with a completely different headstock. The Starcaster also incorporated a new Humbucking pickup designed by Seth Lover , which became known as
1092-407: A large inventory of Fender parts and unassembled guitars. However, the sale also led to a reduction of the quality of Fender's guitars while under the management of "cost-cutting" CBS. Several cosmetic changes occurred after 1965/1966, such as a larger headstock shape on certain guitars. Bound necks with block shaped position markers were introduced in 1966. A bolder black headstock logo, as well as
1176-506: A metal truss rod into the necks of his guitars allowed for the much needed ability to fine-tune the instrument to the musician's specific needs. With the design of the Telecaster finalized, mass production began in 1950. The Telecaster's bolted-on neck allowed for the instrument's body and neck to be milled and finished separately, and for the final assembling to be done quickly and cheaply by unskilled workers. In 1950, Fender introduced
1260-456: A new flash-finish method meant to create a thinner lacquer finish, and vintage-reproduction paperwork and manuals. Some improved vintage details included neck shape, thinner cases, decals, colors, pickups, tuners, and various production techniques. The American Vintage line includes a single Jazzmaster model: the 1965 Jazzmaster. In keeping with the original 1965 models, the AV 1965 Jazzmaster includes
1344-635: A number of instrument brands and firms, including the Guild Guitar Company , the Sunn Amplifier Company, and SWR Sound Corporation . In early 2003, FMIC reached an agreement with the Gretsch family and began manufacturing and distributing new Gretsch guitars. Fender also owns Jackson , Olympia, Orpheum, Tacoma Guitars , Squier , and Brand X amps. On October 28, 2007, Fender acquired Kaman Music Corporation , which owned
1428-629: A number of otherwise unavailable Custom Colors, and many of the Custom Color Thin Skins featured period-correct matching headstocks. The Thin Skins were 100% nitrocellulose, including the sealer, which was polyurethane on the normal '62 Jazzmaster. This, in addition to thinner color and clear coats, created a much thinner finish than the normal. Also offered through Wildwood was a unique model, the American Vintage Reissue Thin Skin 1959 Jazzmaster. The '59
1512-412: 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
1596-585: A qualified electronics technician, Fender had repaired radios, phonographs, home audio amplifiers, public address systems and musical instrument amplifiers , all designs based on research developed and released to the public domain by Western Electric in the 1930s, using vacuum tubes for amplification. The business also sidelined in carrying records for sale and the rental of company-designed PA systems. Leo became intrigued by design flaws in contemporary musical instrument amplifiers and began building amplifiers based on his own designs or modifications to designs. By
1680-505: A small manufacturing facility in Ensenada, Baja California , Mexico and in 1990 Fender and their Japanese partners FujiGen started guitar manufacturing in the city. Mexican Fenders appeared in the catalog from January 1991. The plant was rebuilt in 1994 after a fire. Player, Vintera and Acoustisonic models are now made there. In 1991, FMIC moved its corporate headquarters from its Corona location to Scottsdale, Arizona. In January 2020,
1764-550: 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
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#17327800788621848-526: 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
1932-639: A veneer fretboard when the American Vintage Series were revamped in 2012. Fender revamped their Jazzmaster offerings and makes the following models. Starting at the bottom with the Squier Affinity Series, a traditional Jazzmaster with Seymour Duncan -designed wide single coil pickups, Squier Classic Vibe 60's Jazzmaster and there is also the Mexican Classic Player series which have a vibrato-unit closer to
2016-402: 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
2100-635: Is also available in Copper Age with maple fingerboard, black block inlays and binding since August 25, 2020. The vintage Jazzmasters (original series) were produced in the following colors: Some available Custom Colors (this is not an all-inclusive list): Vintage Jazzmasters were available in most of the common Fender Custom Colors of the era. Fender would also occasionally paint guitars in colors owners requested that were not otherwise available as 'official' Custom Colors; due to this, there are Jazzmasters in colors that deviate from Fender's offerings from
2184-606: 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
2268-489: 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
2352-418: Is the pickup circuit featuring unusual "roller" thumbwheel controls and a slide switch at the upper neck end of the pickguard. The slide switch selects between two different pickup circuits, the "lead" and "rhythm" circuits. When the switch is in the lead position, the guitar's tone is controlled by the conventional tone and volume knobs and the pickup selector switch. When it is in the rhythm position, it selects
2436-608: 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 , but later certain color options of the '65 American Vintage Reissue Jazzmaster appeared with that option. After
2520-611: The Fender Rhodes electric piano (until 1983). In addition, Fender produces effects pedals and picks . According to American guitar expert George Gruhn, the Fender Telecaster, Precision Bass, and Stratocaster are "three of the most important models in the history of the electric guitar", and were all introduced between 1950 and 1957. In 1953, Fender also introduced the Stringmaster, a double-pickup model which
2604-683: The Jazz guitar market which until then was dominated by acoustic guitars. Fender even promoted the Jazzmaster as a premium successor to the Stratocaster , an accolade it never fully achieved. Despite being shunned by the Jazz community, the guitar found a home in the growing surf rock music scene, one that would go on to influence the Jazzmaster's successor, the Jaguar in 1962. The Fender Jazz Bass
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2688-706: The Ovation Guitar Company , Latin Percussion and Toca hand percussion products, Gibraltar Hardware , Genz Benz Amplification, Charvel , Hamer Guitars , and is the exclusive U.S. sales representative for Sabian Cymbals and exclusive worldwide distributor of Takamine Guitars and Gretsch Drums . In 2011, Volkswagen partnered with Fender to manufacture premium sound systems for its vehicles in North America . Volkswagen vehicles in North America that offer optional Fender Premium Sound are
2772-668: The Stratocaster became more popular. Squier guitars have been manufactured in the United States , Japan , Korea , Indonesia and China . Manufacturing company Too Many Requests If you report this error to the Wikimedia System Administrators, please include the details below. Request from 172.68.168.150 via cp1114 cp1114, Varnish XID 920694402 Upstream caches: cp1114 int Error: 429, Too Many Requests at Thu, 28 Nov 2024 07:47:58 GMT Fender Jazzmaster The Fender Jazzmaster
2856-581: The Stratocaster , Telecaster , Jaguar , Jazzmaster , Precision Bass , and the Jazz Bass . The company was founded in Fullerton, California , by Clarence Leonidas "Leo" Fender in 1946. Andy Mooney has served as the chief executive officer (CEO) since June 2015. In January 2020, Servco Pacific became the majority owner after acquiring the shares of TPG Growth. The company began as "Fender's Radio Service" in late 1938, in Fullerton, California . As
2940-611: The Volkswagen Golf , Volkswagen Beetle , Volkswagen Jetta Sedan, Volkswagen Passat , and Volkswagen Tiguan . In February 2015, KMC was sold to Jam Industries by FMIC. In January 2019, Fender purchased the Bigsby Electric Guitar Company from its partner Gretsch.The subsidiary operates independently, and produces the popular Bigsby vibrato tailpiece as well as several Paul Bigsby -designed electric guitars. In November 2021, Fender purchased
3024-729: The Wide Range pickup. This pickup also gave rise to 3 new incarnations of the classic Telecaster: the Telecaster Custom , the Telecaster Deluxe and the Telecaster Thinline . Though more recent use by Jonny Greenwood of Radiohead has raised the Starcaster's profile, CBS-era instruments are generally much less coveted or collectable than the "pre-CBS" models created by Leo Fender prior to selling
3108-469: The 2000s by companies such as Mastery, Staytrem and Halon. The body is larger than that of other Fender guitars, requiring a more spacious guitar case. The Jazzmaster has unique wide, white 'soapbar' pickups that are unlike any other single coil guitar pickup . Although they closely resemble Gibson 's P-90 pickups, they are constructed differently; the P-90 has its magnets placed underneath its coil, whereas
3192-605: The AVRI Thin Skins, some '65 AV Jazzmaster Thin Skins are available with the modern 9.5" fingerboard radius and larger 6105 fretwire. Some dealers, such as Wildwood, also tout lighter body weights. The Fender Custom Shop also produces various Jazzmaster models, including reissues, relics, and models with modern appointments, such as flamed maple tops, humbuckers, hardtails, and modified or non-production bridges. Fender's Japanese facility produces offset-waist guitars which have been sporadically available outside Japan since
3276-476: 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,
3360-491: 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
3444-422: The Fender companies to CBS in 1965. In 1966 Fender opened a much a larger facility at 1300 S. Valencia Drive adjacent to the existing factory at 500 South Raymond Avenue. Guitar and amplifier production, which had already increased 30% in CBS's first year, soon increased another 45%. In 1981, CBS brought in new management: three executives, John McLaren, William "Bill" Schultz and Dan Smith. They were experienced in
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3528-544: 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 –
3612-511: The Jazzmaster was no exception. 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
3696-531: 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
3780-551: The Jazzmaster's signature bridge and tremolo setup with a Stratocaster-derived assembly. This modification is in the 1990s Japanese Squier Vista Series Jagmaster guitar. 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
3864-482: 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
3948-628: The Louisiana-based PreSonus Audio Electronics , a manufacturer of professional audio equipment and software. In June 2023, it announced a partnership with Kevin Shields of My Bloody Valentine (band) . Fender published the Fender Frontline magazine as a source of product, artist and technical data for the company's customers. The first half featured interviews and articles about the guitars and
4032-565: 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,
4116-535: The Swinger (also known as Musiclander) and Custom (also known as Maverick) were perceived by some musicians as little more than attempts to squeeze profits out of factory stock. The so-called "pre-CBS cult" refers to the popularity of Fenders made before the sale. After selling the Fender company, Leo Fender founded Music Man in 1975, and G&L Musical Instruments in 1979, both of which manufacture electric guitars and basses based on his later designs. In 1985, in
4200-599: 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
4284-653: The Thin-Skin models. These models were identical to the normal production AVRI models, with the exception of the thickness of the finish (due in part to a thinner, nitrocellulose sealer), as well as additional colors and matching headstocks (though this option was not present on all Thin Skins). Some available colors: Their pickguards came in Mint Green or Brown Shell colors. Jazzmasters featured bound necks with dot inlays in 1965, with block pearloid inlays from 1966 until
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#17327800788624368-557: 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
4452-487: The company's UK arm, Fender Europe, was fined £4.5 million after admitting resale price maintenance (a form of price-fixing ) between 2013, and 2018, in breach of the United Kingdom's Competition Act 1998 . The Fender "spaghetti logo" was used by Fender from 1954 to the mid-1960s. By 1965 Fender used a transition logo which was a thicker gold-and-black logo (this logo is associated with CBS). FMIC has purchased
4536-567: The copycat guitars were coming from, even working with those companies. On March 11, 1982, Fender Japan Ltd. was founded. In 1983, the Fender Stratocaster received a short-lived redesign including a single ("master") tone control, a bare-bones pickguard-mounted output jack, redesigned single-coil pickups, active electronics, and three push buttons for pickup selection (on the Elite Series). Additionally, previous models such as
4620-428: The early 1940s, Leo Fender had entered into a partnership with Clayton Orr "Doc" Kauffman , and they formed the K & F Manufacturing Corp to design, manufacture, and market electric instruments and amplifiers. Production began in 1945 with Hawaiian lap steel guitars like the "Champion" (incorporating a patented pickup) and amplifiers, sold as sets. By the end of the year, Fender became convinced that manufacturing
4704-467: The end of their original run in 1977; the headstocks were also larger ("CBS-style") in this era. They have featured matching headstocks (headstocks painted the same color as the body) at several points throughout the guitar's history. Matched-headstock versions generally fetch a higher price. In 2012, Fender replaced the AVRI line with the American Vintage (AV) series. The AVRI 1962 Jazzmaster
4788-447: The entire guitar from going out of tune if one string breaks. The Jazzmaster also had an extra-long tremolo arm . The bridge and tremolo construction is very different from that of the Stratocaster , and gives the Jazzmaster a different resonance and generally less sustain. The bridge sits on two fulcrum points and moves back and forth with the tremolo motion. Aftermarket versions that provided more sustain and less buzz were created during
4872-594: The era. Additionally, many of the Custom Color Jazzmasters have matching headstocks. Blonde and sunburst models did not feature this option. In 1999, Fender added the Jazzmaster to the American Vintage Reissue series. The American Vintage Reissue (AVRI) 1962 Jazzmaster was produced in the following colors: There were also limited edition variations of the American Vintage Reissue Jazzmaster available, most notably
4956-580: The first mass-produced solid-body electric guitar , the Telecaster ("Tele") (originally named the Broadcaster for two-pickup models and Esquire for single-pickup). Following its success, Fender created the first mass-produced electric bass , the Precision Bass (P-Bass). In August 1954 Fender unveiled the Stratocaster ("Strat") guitar. With the Telecaster and Precision Bass having been on
5040-484: 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
5124-580: The interviews and features section, and Frontline became an annual illustrated price list until 2006, when it was replaced with a product guide. Fender's core product are electric guitars, namely the Jaguar , Jazzmaster , Mustang , Telecaster , Stratocaster , Duo-Sonic , Meteora, and Jag-Stang . This is alongside bass guitars in the Mustang , Jaguar , Jazz , Precision and Meteora models. Fender also manufactures acoustic guitars, lap steel guitars , banjos , electric violins , guitar/bass amplifiers and
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#17327800788625208-409: The introduction of the Jazzmaster, Fender used 250kΩ potentiometers on their guitars. The Jazzmaster's lead circuit uses 1MΩ potentiometers instead, contributing to its unique tonal characteristics. As a concession to its more conservative audience, the Jazzmaster was the first Fender guitar carrying a rosewood fingerboard instead of maple. The fingerboard had "clay dot" position inlays and was glued onto
5292-615: The late 1980s, either from Japanese dealers willing to ship overseas, or from US dealers who have imported them. Since 1996, its Squier offshoot has manufactured a budget version called the Jagmaster . In May 2008, Fender introduced the Classic Player Series Jazzmaster, which was made in Mexico. Fender made changes to the original design. This included replacing the bridge with a Tune-o-matic type, giving it
5376-414: The maple neck. Some early pre-production/prototype examples came with a one-piece maple neck, others with an ebony fingerboard, 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
5460-637: The market for some time, Leo Fender was able to incorporate input from working musicians into the Stratocaster's design. Following the Stratocaster's release, the Precision Bass received a major makeover, aligning it more with the Stratocaster as opposed to the Telecaster. In 1959, Fender released the Jazzmaster guitar. Like the Stratocaster before it, the Jazzmaster was a radical departure from previous guitar designs. The offset body, vibrato system and innovative electronics were designed to capture
5544-427: The middle pickup position. This position eliminates the typical mains hum that is inherent in most single-coil pickups. The Jazzmaster has a mellower, 'jazzier' tone than the Stratocaster, although it was not widely embraced by jazz musicians. Instead, rock guitarists adopted it for surf rock . The Ventures , The Surfaris , and The Fireballs were prominent Jazzmaster users. One of the Jazzmaster's notable features
5628-475: The music industry, having previously worked for Yamaha Musical Instruments. They needed to deal with quality control issues, so the Fender Fullerton plant was virtually shut down in order to revamp manufacturing. Fender was also struggling to fight against lower cost copycat guitars on the market. They needed to manufacture the guitars somewhere else, so decided to move production to Japan, where some of
5712-474: The neck pickup only with the brightness rolled off slightly due to different values of the potentiometers (500k Ω vs 1MΩ in the lead circuit), and the volume and tone are controlled by the two thumbwheels; the other controls are bypassed. The intention was that this circuit would allow the performer to quickly switch to a "preset" volume and tone setting for rhythm playing. The lead circuit potentiometer values also stray from Fender's usual specifications. Up until
5796-450: The pole pieces of the Jazzmaster pickup are magnets themselves. Also, the JM coil is wound flat and wide, even more so than that of the P-90. This is in contrast to Fender's usual tall and thin coils. This 'pancake winding' gives them a warmer thicker tone without losing their single coil clarity. Additionally, due to the pickups being reverse-wound, the pickups provide a 'hum cancelling' effect in
5880-575: 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. 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
5964-539: The saddles and increasing clearance over the tailpiece's domed screws (this is more commonly achieved by increasing bridge height with a tapered neck pocket shim, or a factory-machined angled pocket on some models). The contentious relocated tailpiece has remained in some of the Mexican Jazzmaster line ever since. Fender has also sometimes used different, specially-designed P-90-type high-output single-coil pickups on limited lines. These P-90 pickups operated with
6048-490: 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
6132-451: 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. It wasn't uncommon to see modern copy variants replace
6216-524: The stars who played them, and the second half was a catalog section. Fender published 27 issues of the magazine from 1990 through 2000. Notable interviewees included Kurt Cobain in Fall 1994, in what was his last interview. Fender had designed a hybrid guitar for Cobain, known as a Jag Stang. Other notable interviews featured Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour , Glenn Hughes from Deep Purple , and King Crimson 's Adrian Belew . In 2001, Fender eliminated
6300-405: The tailpiece in the same position, meaning the Jazzmaster's tailpiece sits closer to the bridge than it does in higher-end Fender models. This move changed the visual style of the guitar slightly making it distinct from all other Jazzmasters. While altering the visual style, the relocated tailpiece imposed solutions to two of the important setup issues in the guitar, by increasing the break angle over
6384-432: The usual four-bolt neck joint was changed to one using only three bolts, and a second string tree for the two middle (G and D) strings was added in late 1972. These changes were said to have been made to save money: while it suited the new 'improved' micro-tilt adjustment of the neck (previously requiring neck removal and shimming), the "Bullet" truss rod system, and a 5-way pickup selector on most models, it also resulted in
6468-418: Was designed for comfort while playing the guitar in a seated position, as many jazz and blues artists prefer to do. A full 25.5-inch (647.7 mm) scale length , ' lead ' and ' rhythm ' circuit switching with independent volume and tone controls, a 'floating tremolo ' with tremolo lock, and a uniquely designed bridge were other keys to the guitar's character. The tremolo lock can be manually activated to keep
6552-482: 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". The Thin Skins were offered in
6636-422: Was more profitable than repair, and decided to concentrate on that business instead. Kauffman remained unconvinced, and he and Fender amicably parted ways by early 1946. At that point, Fender renamed the company the "Fender Electric Instrument Company". The service shop remained open until 1951, although Leo Fender did not personally supervise it after 1947. Leo Fender's lap steel guitar made in 1946 for Noel Boggs
6720-410: Was offered in a variety of colors, and a special version in blonde was offered featuring vintage appointments instead of the 6105 fretwire and 9.5" radius fingerboard. In 2012, Fender discontinued the entirety of the American Vintage Reissue (AVRI) series, including the 1962 Jazzmaster. The line was replaced by the American Vintage (AV) series. The new series featured more accurate vintage appointments,
6804-563: Was popular with western swing steel-guitar players. Fender manufactures and distributes all musical instruments sold under the EVH brand, including Custom Shop models and replicas of the Frankenstrat . Squier was a string manufacturer that Fender acquired. Fender has used the Squier brand since 1982 to market inexpensive variants of Fender guitars to compete with Stratocaster copies, as
6888-419: Was probably the first product of the new company, bearing an early presentation of the cursive "big F" Fender logo. In the late 1940s, Fender began to experiment with more conventional guitar designs. Early Broadcasters were plagued with issues; while Fender boasted the strength of the instrument's one-piece maple neck, early adopters lamented its tendency to bow in humid weather. Fender's reluctant addition of
6972-879: Was released in 1960, a year after the Jazzmaster. In January 1965, Leo Fender sold his companies to the Columbia Broadcasting System ( CBS ) for $ 13 million ($ 126 million in 2023 adjusted for inflation). CBS entered the musical instruments field by acquiring the Fender companies (Fender Sales, Inc., Fender Electric Instrument Company, Inc., Fender Acoustic Instrument Company, Inc., Fender-Rhodes, Inc., Terrafen, Inc., Clef-Tronix, Inc., Randall Publishing Co., Inc., and V.C. Squier Company ), as well as Electro-Music Inc. ( Leslie speakers ), Rogers drums , Steinway pianos, Gemeinhardt flutes, Lyon & Healy harps, Rodgers (institutional) organs, and Gulbransen home organs. The sale enabled CBS to bring in money and personnel who assembled and put to market
7056-441: Was subsequently replaced with the AV 1965 Jazzmaster. The current American Vintage Jazzmaster comes standard in the following colors: This series has also been offered in limited quantities in some of the following colors: As with the AVRI '62 Jazzmaster, Thin Skin models are available, also in additional Custom Colors, including: Like their vintage counterparts, pickguards come in Mint Green or Brown Shell colors, depending on
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