Members Woody_in_MN Posted July 25, 2011 Members Share Posted July 25, 2011 So I'm considering both these guitars. Probably can not justify both. Opinions? Go Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members D-log Posted July 25, 2011 Members Share Posted July 25, 2011 I've only played the Blacktop jazzmaster, and I think it's fairly good. My biggest problem is the bridge humbucker, which is way too muddy. Aside form that, the neck is nice and fast, good amount of sustain from the body and its not too heavy. If you plan on replacing the bridge pickup, I say go for it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Woody_in_MN Posted July 25, 2011 Author Members Share Posted July 25, 2011 Thanks D-Log The HB sounds good on YouTubes I've seen - but then again it is not live. What did you think of the trem on the Blacktop? Some people don't like the trem hardware. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members D-log Posted July 25, 2011 Members Share Posted July 25, 2011 I'm not the best expert on jazzmaster trems, but it seemed pretty solid. The tuners were regular fender issue, so you might wanna upgrade if you plan on using the tremolo a lot. As long as you not dive-bombing it, it should be fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Doctor Morbius Posted July 25, 2011 Members Share Posted July 25, 2011 I haven't played either one, but I'd bet good money that neither one sounds much like a Jazzmaster. Get the one that suits you best. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Noise... Posted July 25, 2011 Members Share Posted July 25, 2011 I'd say the Blacktop. I've played both - and both are good. The Blacktop, however, is better. It's a bit nicer quality, the neck is nicer, and you get the trem, which is a big deal. As for Doctor Morbius' suggestion, I disagree entirely. Both actually have solid Jazzmaster sounds - even the Blacktop with it's humbucker. The Squier is tighter sounding than a normal Jazzmaster, due to the lack of trem. The Blacktop sounds just like a Jazzmaster on the neck pickup, and the middle position as well. The bridge still has some Jazzmaster jangle to it, but with the compressed sound of a humbucker. Neither is going to replace an AVRI, but even a CIJ Jazzy can't do that. The humbucker in the BT is a bit generic. It has some muddiness, but overall it's decent. I haven't changed the one in my BT, and I don't really plan on it any time soon. If you essentially just want a cheap, traditional Jazzmaster, get the Blacktop and head over to Offset Guitars. There's a guy who does the routing to fit a normal Jazzy pickup in the bridge, install a rhythm circuit, and fit AVRI pick guards for pretty cheap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Woody_in_MN Posted July 25, 2011 Author Members Share Posted July 25, 2011 Thanks for the ideas guys. I'mmagonna call my local GC - see if they have both in stock. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members kayd_mon Posted July 25, 2011 Members Share Posted July 25, 2011 The Blacktop Jazzmaster sounds better to me. The humbucker isn't too bad, but it makes it so you could easily put a bridge humbucker in a Jazzmaster, which is a very cool feature to me. I love Jazzmasters, and I may get the Blacktop one just for that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Woody_in_MN Posted July 25, 2011 Author Members Share Posted July 25, 2011 Just thinking some more about this. The obvious thing to me is that the Squier has no trem. I would think on a guitar like this - even if it is not a true vintage, I'd want a trem. Plus the HB in the bridge is a plus. I guess I'm leaning more toward the Blackto right now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members kayd_mon Posted July 25, 2011 Members Share Posted July 25, 2011 Just thinking some more about this. The obvious thing to me is that the Squier has no trem. I would think on a guitar like this - even if it is not a true vintage, I'd want a trem. Plus the HB in the bridge is a plus. I guess I'm leaning more toward the Blackto right now. The bridge does make a difference in considering the models. The Squier does sound pretty good, although I hate to be superficial and say that I don't like the color combos of the Squier. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members richey888 Posted July 25, 2011 Members Share Posted July 25, 2011 I'm going to play devil's advocate here. I have played both and had my choice and ended up with the Squier. I don't care that it doesn't have the trad trem, the bridge has mass to it and ultimately what sold me was the neck. I'm a freak for the glossy, tinted maple necks. The fretwork was outstanding on the Squier right out of the box. I ought to know because I uncrated it myself at the store. The blacktop strings kept popping out of the bridge. I've read that JM's should have heavier string for just this reason, but they ship the Blacktop with 009's. The Squier rings like a bell, the Blacktop did not. The Duncan-designed pickups surprised me too, chimey and articulate. That said, I did play a friend's Classic Player, but it had been set up with 011's and it was sweet, he changed the pickups to Antiquities. The Vintage Modified is just that, a new take on a old style, but I like it. The 2 Blacktops I played had shoddy fretwork (and I like a lot of MIM Fender stuff don't get me wrong, own and have owned plenty), and the middle position was lacking with the humbucker IMO. Just play one iof each before you buy and get what you like..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Woody_in_MN Posted July 25, 2011 Author Members Share Posted July 25, 2011 I'm going to play devil's advocate here. I have played both and had my choice and ended up with the Squier. I don't care that it doesn't have the trad trem, the bridge has mass to it and ultimately what sold me was the neck. I'm a freak for the glossy, tinted maple necks. The fretwork was outstanding on the Squier right out of the box. I ought to know because I uncrated it myself at the store. The blacktop strings kept popping out of the bridge. I've read that JM's should have heavier string for just this reason, but they ship the Blacktop with 009's. The Squier rings like a bell, the Blacktop did not. The Duncan-designed pickups surprised me too, chimey and articulate. That said, I did play a friend's Classic Player, but it had been set up with 011's and it was sweet, he changed the pickups to Antiquities. The Vintage Modified is just that, a new take on a old style, but I like it. The 2 Blacktops I played had shoddy fretwork (and I like a lot of MIM Fender stuff don't get me wrong, own and have owned plenty), and the middle position was lacking with the humbucker IMO. Just play one iof each before you buy and get what you like..... Yeh - that is usually the advice I hand out - play before you buy. No doubt there are reviewers that are gaga for the Squier. The reviews I have seen on the Blacktop has been more mixed. The Squier does not have the HB, but the P90's seem to have a hot thick tone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members honeyiscool Posted July 25, 2011 Members Share Posted July 25, 2011 Used CP might run you about the same as a new Blacktop and is more preferable. Anyway, call me a purist but a true Jazzmaster shouldn't ring like a bell, that's a Strat term. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Woody_in_MN Posted July 27, 2011 Author Members Share Posted July 27, 2011 Just an update... I finally got over to GC to play a Fender Blacktop Jazzmaster. Quick impressions: At first I was not wow'ed by it, but once I got it in tune, and dialed the amp in right, I see some possibilities. I played it first thru a Fender Twin Reverb (I don't know what people see in that amp) - then a Marshall Class 5 (much better). The build qulaity was - meh - OK. I'm just used to over the top quality now as the imports have gotten so good. The PUP's were decent. Nice to have the HB in the bridge. The trem kind of got in my way a bit - but seemed to work OK. All said and done - I thought it had possibilities, but I definately want to play the Squier Jazzmaster now. I'll probably be able to do that this weekend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members IBDBB Posted July 27, 2011 Members Share Posted July 27, 2011 i've had both, and kept the Squier.I don't mind not having a trem, I was more after dual jazzmaster pickups.I took out the concentric pots in the Squier and rewired with just some 250k's and a push pull on the tone for series/out of phase quack.The humbucker just didn't give a jazzmaster vibe in the blacktop. Both good guitars, I got a good deal on both (20% off on both), but ended upreturning the blacktop. The top on the blacktop was also very poorly matched, like i've never even had an SX that was this badly matched.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Woody_in_MN Posted July 27, 2011 Author Members Share Posted July 27, 2011 IBD - If I got a blacktop it would be the black one. Reallly I think I would appreciate the hb more than having the trem. But the trem seemed to work fine once I got used to it. Maybe my expectations on build quality were too high. Build was not bad - but it just did not wow me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Woody_in_MN Posted July 30, 2011 Author Members Share Posted July 30, 2011 Update: I went down to another GC today and played a Squier Vintage Modified Jazzmaster back to back with a Fender Blacktop Jazzmaster. I liked the Squier better. I thought in general it had better build quality, and I LOVED, LOVED, LOVED the P90's on the Squier. Good for Jazz, and Vintage, and (surpriingly) High Gain as well. Plus I liked the separate tone/volume controls. I ordered the butterscotch. They only had the Vintage burst in stock - which was actually a really nice Tobacco burst. Anyway, I'll see the Butterscotch on in couple days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members IBDBB Posted July 30, 2011 Members Share Posted July 30, 2011 Update: I went down to another GC today and played a Squier Vintage Modified Jazzmaster back to back with a Fender Blacktop Jazzmaster. I liked the Squier better. I thought in general it had better build quality, and I LOVED, LOVED, LOVED the P90's on the Squier. Good for Jazz, and Vintage, and (surpriingly) High Gain as well. Plus I liked the separate tone/volume controls. I ordered the butterscotch. They only had the Vintage burst in stoc - which was actually a really nice Tobacco burst. Anyway, I'll see the Butterscotch on in couple days. It'll look kinda like this I took out the concentric pots, and just have a master volume and master tone, I put a push/pull on the tone to get series/out of phase tones and I love it even more now. ' alt='>'> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members WarmMachineHead Posted July 30, 2011 Members Share Posted July 30, 2011 Those aren't p90's. Just regular 'ol duncan designed jazzmaster pickups. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Woody_in_MN Posted July 30, 2011 Author Members Share Posted July 30, 2011 IBD - It is kind of a trans finish right? Can you see some of the wood grain? Machinehead - Interesting? So the PUP's are not P90's? How do they differ? They sound great though. When I stopped by GC today, I played the Squier first. Gut level it appealed to me more. But I wanted to make sure, so I played them both side by side. There are kind of sharp edges on the bridge of the Squier that would bite my hand on occaision - but the PUP' and the build quality, especially the neck won me over. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members IBDBB Posted July 31, 2011 Members Share Posted July 31, 2011 IBD - It is kind of a trans finish right? Can you see some of the wood grain?Machinehead - Interesting? So the PUP's are not P90's? How do they differ? They sound great though.When I stopped by GC today, I played the Squier first. Gut level it appealed to me more. But I wanted to make sure, so I played them both side by side. There are kind of sharp edges on the bridge of the Squier that would bite my hand on occaision - but the PUP' and the build quality, especially the neck won me over. I can't really see any wood grain on mine. I have seen others that seem more trans, but mine is more solid. I hate mismatched bodies, so i'm glad I didn't get a trans that was poorly matched, which was a big reason for returning the blacktop jazzmaster i had. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members richey888 Posted July 31, 2011 Members Share Posted July 31, 2011 The neck and pickups ultimately sold me on my Squier. Glad you got to A/B them. Congrats on your impending NGD! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Fusion1 Posted July 31, 2011 Members Share Posted July 31, 2011 Ok the one thing that would kill off any idea of me owning that Squier is that bridge they used. If it is a hardtail why does it look like it is sort oif raised and not flat screwed down to the body and the triangular wings look hideous and goofy. Had they made the bridge like a regular Fender hardtail bridge I'd consider it, but that bridge on the Squier screams, "save me!!!!!' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Woody_in_MN Posted July 31, 2011 Author Members Share Posted July 31, 2011 Like I said the one downside is the bridge. Not taht it does work - it does. But it has some sharp edges on it, which bit the edge of my playing hand a few times. But the pluses over-weighed. I might put a trem in down the road. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members IBDBB Posted July 31, 2011 Members Share Posted July 31, 2011 it has holes already that just need to be enlarged a bit for a tuneomatic.Eventually on mine, i'm going to put a roller tuneomatic and a bigsby. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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