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NGD: Fender Blacktop Jazzmaster. With Video Demos.


Noise...

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I know a lot of guys here on HCFX were interested in these Jazzmasters, so I figured I'd post my review on it, along with some demos. :wave:

 

First of all, the quality here is outstanding. Everything is solid, feels quality, hell - the fretboard edges are even rolled. The body is gorgeous two-piece alder. Center joined and matched quite well. The fit and finish are perfect - far better than even my CIJ Jaguar. The sunburst is a very nice three tone burst, with a nice gradient, rather than a bullseye type finish. It looks great!

It was nearly in tune out of the box, and came setup VERY well. Intonation is spot on, pickup heights are perfect, etc. All I had to do was tune it and pop the trem arm in.

 

I'm in love with the neck. It plays gloriously. The finish on the neck, while glossy, isn't that sticky, thick kind of gloss. It just feels smooth. The frets are perfectly done, and as I said above, the fretboard edges are rolled - which feels amazing. Some were concerned about the headstock and the decal. The headstock is normal Jazzmaster shape. In my opinion, the decal looks good. It's sized properly, and while minimal, it kind of goes with the guitar. It looks way better in person than in the pics.

 

Now, I expected to need to change pickups, and potentially the pots/cap/etc. I expected wrong. The humbucker sounds great - far better than I expected. It's clear, responsive, and thick, and it keeps the chimey overtones that the Jazzmaster puts out.

The neck JM pup is very nice sounding as well, and compliments the HB perfectly. It gets the warm, thick Jazzmaster sound with ease.

The middle position is just...amazing. It's something you have to hear - especially with fuzz or some gritty dirt.

 

The hardware is all very solid. The trem is super smooth, and responsive, the switch and jack are both good quality, and the pots are full sized with solid shafts, which is nice to see. The bridge is awesome. It's like a JM/mustang bridge hybrid, and works very well. It was a tad buzzy with the stock strings on it, but with a set of 11's on it now it's nice and quiet, and extremely solid. I've played it hard all afternoon, and haven't had a string pop out yet - even with the 9's.

 

Overall, these are a ridiculous steal at $450. While I love my Jaguar, something tells me this Jazzmaster will be getting a played a lot more.

 

Here are a couple quick pics I took yesterday. The lighting was bad, so they came out a bit grainy. The videos show it better anyway.

 

IMG_0172.jpg

IMG_0169.jpg

 

VIDEOS!

 

EDIT: Better videos coming later. :wave:

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i'm still not convinced.. especially on the non-matching pickups. (i have 'issues', obviously), but HNGD!

 

what's the deal with the neck pickup? is it a strat pickup like the CIJ's, or more like the MIM or reissue USA's? it sounds strat-ish from here.. :idk:

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i'm still not convinced.. especially on the non-matching pickups. (i have 'issues', obviously), but HNGD!


what's the deal with the neck pickup? is it a strat pickup like the CIJ's, or more like the MIM or reissue USA's? it sounds strat-ish from here..
:idk:



It actually reminds of an AVRI Jazzmaster pickup. :idk:

I haven't bothered pulling off the cover yet, and likely won't any time soon, but it sounds good - and in person nothing like a Strat.

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i'm still not convinced.. especially on the non-matching pickups. (i have 'issues', obviously), but HNGD!

 

 

This...the non-matching pickups kill it for me. If they were matching, I'd buy it in a heartbeat (c'mon Fender :poke:)

 

Edit:Not that the guitar doesn't sound good with that setup, but it doesn't really seem like a "real" (whatever that means) Jazzmaster with a humbucker in the bridge

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This...the non-matching pickups kill it for me. If they were matching, I'd buy it in a heartbeat (c'mon Fender :poke:)


Edit:Not that the guitar doesn't sound good with that setup, but it doesn't really seem like a "real" (whatever that means) Jazzmaster with a humbucker in the bridge

 

 

I've heard so many people say that about these. And I've been saying the same thing to all of them. You need to sit down and play one. It feels like a Jazzmaster, it plays like a Jazzmaster, and it sounds like a Jazzmaster - even with the HB in the bridge.

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Thanks for the early review, those look great.

I've heard so many people say that about these. And I've been saying the same thing to all of them. You need to sit down and play one. It feels like a Jazzmaster, it plays like a Jazzmaster, and it sounds like a Jazzmaster - even with the HB in the bridge.



I think the humbucker in the bridge is a great idea.
One of my main guitars is a jazzmaster (that's me in the avatar), and I mostly use it in the neck/middle position. I'd love having a humbucker in the bridge :idk:

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i'm still not convinced.. especially on the non-matching pickups. (i have 'issues', obviously), but HNGD!


what's the deal with the neck pickup? is it a strat pickup like the CIJ's, or more like the MIM or reissue USA's? it sounds strat-ish from here..
:idk:



Between the pickups and break angle of the strings it won't sound like a traditional Jazzmaster but seems cool none the less.

Noise, what other offsets have you played to compare it too? Thanks for the review, my friend has been thinking of picking one up, so I'll direct him to this.

:wave:

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What was the guitar/pedal plugged into? Or was it direct in? Frankly, the pickups in that video sounded kind of dull/boomy, but it also sounded like maybe you were plugged direct into a computer or something.



Direct in.

It sounded great when I uploaded the vids, but Youtube seems to have had its way with it. I just had a listen to them side by side, and it's ridiculous. The character is gone from the clean sound, the harmonics are gone from the fuzz sound, and the overall clarity is muddied up.

To be honest, I'm really getting fed up with their crap lately. If it's not having to re-upload a video 10 times to get the audio and video matched correctly, it's terrible compression. :cry:

I'd switch to another video host, but damn. Youtube just works with everything. :(

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Between the pickups and break angle of the strings it won't sound like a traditional Jazzmaster but seems cool none the less.


Noise, what other offsets have you played to compare it too? Thanks for the review, my friend has been thinking of picking one up, so I'll direct him to this.


:wave:



I have a CIJ Jag, had a Jagmaster, and I've played tons of offsets.

The break angle is a non issue. We're talking about a really slight change - just a few degrees. Side by side, with the same pickups and string gauge, I highly doubt anyone could tell the difference between one trem distance or the other.

Overall, I'd say it's still very much a Jazzmaster - despite what the purists will say. :thu:

As far as comparisons go, I'd say that it's at the CIJ level of quality, but with better electronics and finish. VERY nice.

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I have a CIJ Jag, had a Jagmaster, and I've played tons of offsets.


The break angle is a non issue. We're talking about a really slight change - just a few degrees. Side by side, with the same pickups and string gauge, I highly doubt anyone could tell the difference between one trem distance or the other.


Overall, I'd say it's still very much a Jazzmaster - despite what the purists will say.
:thu:

As far as comparisons go, I'd say that it's at the CIJ level of quality, but with better electronics and finish. VERY nice.



Thanks, again like I said my friend will appreciate it! How many traditional style Jazzmasters have you played? I'm just wondering how the neck pu sounds in person (compared to a regular Jm), I know the bridge will be a lot different obviously but to some it will be an improvement. :thu:

Not trying to argue but the break angle even if it's just a few degrees does change the tone. Part of the JM sound is the way the notes bloom and altering the break angle does make a difference (at least in my experience). Another friend had a buzzstop on his and it sounded much more... authentic? without it.

:wave:

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I've heard so many people say that about these. And I've been saying the same thing to all of them. You need to sit down and play one. It feels like a Jazzmaster, it plays like a Jazzmaster, and it sounds like a Jazzmaster - even with the HB in the bridge.

 

Fair enough, I'd definitely have to get my hands on one before making a final decision. The humbucker doesn't change the sound too drastically then? I'll have to try one soon if that's the case

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Fair enough, I'd definitely have to get my hands on one before making a final decision. The humbucker doesn't change the sound too drastically then? I'll have to try one soon if that's the case



Obviously it won't sound like a normal JM bridge pickup, but the overall sound is still very Jazzmaster. :thu:

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