Buying First Jazzmaster (American Professional Series?)

[station_2_station]

Ah you sir are a god among men, thanks for breaking that down. I love the washy tones of The Cure/Smiths, but as you know my love for the Jazzmaster comes from 'heavier' stuff like Dinosaur Jr & Sonic Youth. Thank you a lot for the rundown ya know when I was trying the AmPro in the store, I kept getting those tones you described so I enjoyed it but was baffled I couldn't get those fuzzy tones out of it.

Wow so consensus says a lot of these bands were/are indeed using the guitars with the smaller 'vintage' radius, that would make a lot of sense from the times I've seen JM and Thurston do shows, but especially JM. I concur I may have to hold off and go for the Charcoal Metallic Frost or find a comparable model from those you listed. I am kicking myself so hard for turning down the purple J Mascis Fender Sig a few years ago, the seller wanted 800$ I didn't think it would hold its value like it has. Awesome looking guitar! Kind of a shame they didn't do the TVL in America and just bite the bullet, I'm not a fan of his particular band but its a nice guitar similar to the Purple J Mascis Jazzy.

Big help though thanks for pointing me in the right direction, unfortunately it looks like I'm going to have to find a legit seller on Reverb, or something from Wildwood, etc. I'm a fool for matching headstocks as well, so the Wildwood is tempting.. Just pricey for something I know I MUST replace the bridge on already, haha. Oh man. Good clearing up the 62-65's too. I have a penchant for bands like The Cure so I guess thats why the AmPro appealed so much to me, I just found it difficult to get that Sonic Youth tone from it, though that is highly subjective in and of itself.

What do you find yourself enjoying the most about the AmJMPro so far? The neck was very interesting among the other slight changes.

Wildwood guitars has some av65 thin skin models that have all the vintage specs but with a 9.5 radius. I know they are quite bit higher than your price range, but saw you were thinking about the 65 already.

I Agree! If I was in the market for a new guitar I'd get one of those Charcoal Metallic Frost AV65's at Wildwood...they are gorgeous!

Listen, I have an American Pro Jazzmaster and right now it is my favorite Jazzmaster to play...it unseated my perfect AVRI 62 that I haven't put down since 2005! But if you want a sound closer to Sonic Youth and J Mascis you gotta go with the Classic Jazzmaster Setup.


As far as my American Pro goes I have been able to get some gorgeous washy sounds like Cocteau Twins, the Cure and Slowdive. If you want to compare alternative/Indie band sounds I think it's better at achieving that. It plays ambient sounds real nice.

But if you want more grit you gotta go AVRI, AV65 or Vintage. Or get a J Mascis Signature....Not the Squier, hunt down one of those beautiful purple sparkle fenders he put out at one time!

[station_2_station]

Thanks for the link I will keep these guys in mind in the future, the guitars look incredible! Maybe not something I can afford now but definitley down the road, whoa those are fantastic looking.

Wildwood guitars has some av65 thin skin models that have all the vintage specs but with a 9.5 radius. I know they are quite bit higher than your price range, but saw you were thinking about the 65 already.

[daysleeperjeff]

What do you find yourself enjoying the most about the AmJMPro so far? The neck was very interesting among the other slight changes.

Good question! Yes, the neck is one of the best I've played. The satin feel is incredible and the tall frets feel so nice and just let those notes ring forever. I also love how it records in my studio. I get those huge lush sounds like Cocteau Twins and Slowdive, yet it keeps the chord definition even with tons of reverb and delay. It almost has this sweet harp-like tone to the strum.

The pickups are not the classic Jazzmaster sound. They aren't far off, but there is a difference, definitely some strat in them. Classic die hard Jazzmaster folks may have issues with that but I have an AVRI 62 so if I want the classic sound I'll switch to that, but I'll tell you, for my style of music (Shoegaze), this combination is definitely right for my sound!

The Tremolo is also incredible and very springy. The E's are a little close to the edge. I never have a problem slipping off, but if that bothers you it's an easy fix with a Staytrem bridge. I have them on all my other guitars but I actually love the stock bridge on the American Pro. No buzz and it seems to give pretty nice sustain to the sound.

I haven't played my AVRI since I bought this thing and every time I walk past it I just want to pick it up and play. I got the mystic seafoam color and it is one of the best looking guitars I've ever seen!

[station_2_station]

Hey thank you for your in depth reply, that really sets my mind at ease, yeah the Jaguar I have is "hot" enough, so the AM JM is just what I'm after. I was actually between adding a strat to my arsenal so this definitley is positive reassurance. Glad to hear it hits all the right spots, yeah the E didn't bother me too much upon the 2nd try. Now its just picking a damn color, haha. My local store has a few on tap as well the FSR Greyburst, its a little corny but I dig the Ebony fingerboard. I feel like I'll end up with white or grey in the end though. Damn now the greyburst is technically a happy medium between the two!!

Very good run down on the specs too, its good to hear from someone who has in depth experience with it. The model you have has a great finish as well, they all look solid this time around!

[station_2_station]

Thanks for the in-depth run down, much gratitude left a longer reply on the forum meant to quote ya, my bad its early over here.
Good to know its put the AVRI down for a bit as well, haha!! Mystic Seafoam looks great! Probably the most unique of the offerings in my opinion.
Thanks again!

What do you find yourself enjoying the most about the AmJMPro so far? The neck was very interesting among the other slight changes.

Good question! Yes, the neck is one of the best I've played. The satin feel is incredible and the tall frets feel so nice and just let those notes ring forever. I also love how it records in my studio. I get those huge lush sounds like Cocteau Twins and Slowdive, yet it keeps the chord definition even with tons of reverb and delay. It almost has this sweet harp-like tone to the strum.

The pickups are not the classic Jazzmaster sound. They aren't far off, but there is a difference, definitely some strat in them. Classic die hard Jazzmaster folks may have issues with that but I have an AVRI 62 so if I want the classic sound I'll switch to that, but I'll tell you, for my style of music (Shoegaze), this combination is definitely right for my sound!

The Tremolo is also incredible and very springy. The E's are a little close to the edge. I never have a problem slipping off, but if that bothers you it's an easy fix with a Staytrem bridge. I have them on all my other guitars but I actually love the stock bridge on the American Pro. No buzz and it seems to give pretty nice sustain to the sound.

I haven't played my AVRI since I bought this thing and every time I walk past it I just want to pick it up and play. I got the mystic seafoam color and it is one of the best looking guitars I've ever seen!

[station_2_station]

Oh you seem to cover it but how are the 'bends'? Obviously that low E isn't getting pitched down, but the tall-narrow.. definitley feel interesting, Ive tried them in spurts now for only about 30 mins at a time so I could only get so much done. How do you feel about it, having owned it for a bit now? (Bends wise, seems like they're branching out, but there are so many guitars being made these days)

What do you find yourself enjoying the most about the AmJMPro so far? The neck was very interesting among the other slight changes.

Good question! Yes, the neck is one of the best I've played. The satin feel is incredible and the tall frets feel so nice and just let those notes ring forever. I also love how it records in my studio. I get those huge lush sounds like Cocteau Twins and Slowdive, yet it keeps the chord definition even with tons of reverb and delay. It almost has this sweet harp-like tone to the strum.

The pickups are not the classic Jazzmaster sound. They aren't far off, but there is a difference, definitely some strat in them. Classic die hard Jazzmaster folks may have issues with that but I have an AVRI 62 so if I want the classic sound I'll switch to that, but I'll tell you, for my style of music (Shoegaze), this combination is definitely right for my sound!

The Tremolo is also incredible and very springy. The E's are a little close to the edge. I never have a problem slipping off, but if that bothers you it's an easy fix with a Staytrem bridge. I have them on all my other guitars but I actually love the stock bridge on the American Pro. No buzz and it seems to give pretty nice sustain to the sound.

I haven't played my AVRI since I bought this thing and every time I walk past it I just want to pick it up and play. I got the mystic seafoam color and it is one of the best looking guitars I've ever seen!

[Larry Mal]

I think it might be time to put the old canard that "you can't bend on a vintage radius Fender" to rest. I mean, like their music or what, but Jimi Hendrix, Dave Gilmour, Richie Blackmore, I could go on and on all managed to bend just fine on Fenders that had that arrangement.

You're gonna be just fine. Of course, if you are looking for a shred guitar, get a shred guitar. Kramer or Jackson. Charvel.

The vintage radius on Fenders- or, you know, the only radius they ever used when they dominated the guitar world and popular music- is just fine.

[Embenny]

I think it might be time to put the old canard that "you can't bend on a vintage radius Fender" to rest. I mean, like their music or what, but Jimi Hendrix, Dave Gilmour, Richie Blackmore, I could go on and on all managed to bend just fine on Fenders that had that arrangement.

You're gonna be just fine. Of course, if you are looking for a shred guitar, get a shred guitar. Kramer or Jackson. Charvel.

The vintage radius on Fenders- or, you know, the only radius they ever used when they dominated the guitar world and popular music- is just fine.

This. I have lots of 7.25" radius Fenders, both 24" and 25.5" scale, and bend just fine on them. I have also picked up plenty of 9.5" Fenders in stores that fretted out with bends - the difference is in the setup. A properly set-up guitar with properly leveled frets can bend just fine with any of the common radii.

[Larry Mal]

Right. If it's a Fender, I pretty much have all vintage necks, and they all bend just fine. I also set the action as low as I can get on all my guitars, and don't really notice that significant of a difference there between the flatter Gibson radius and Fender's. It seems sometimes like I can get about a quarter of a millimeter lower on average with Gibsons, then again, it's always on a guitar by guitar basis anyway. The state of the frets is really the deciding factor.

And I have read, over and over, how bending is an issue with Fender necks. I have no idea what people could want. I've taken my Jazzmaster and bent the strings so far that I run out of neck and finger strength before the note chokes out. I have always wanted to put up a video or something.

I mean, I can't speak to what other people's needs are, but fuck, I feel I can do anything a reasonable person would need to do as far as bending. And if your needs are much more extreme than what I can do, then you probably need more than 9.5" anyway, get a 16" neck for shredding or something if it's that big of an issue for you.

[Embenny]

And I have read, over and over, how bending is an issue with Fender necks. I have no idea what people could want. I've taken my Jazzmaster and bent the strings so far that I run out of neck and finger strength before the note chokes out. I have always wanted to put up a video or something.

I could make a video titled "Bending and sustaining a note on a Jaguar strung with 10's and a floating bridge" to get as many myths busted as I can at once. It gets tiresome fighting the good fight sometimes, but I just get so annoyed when people regurgitate internet lore about limitations that don't exist on a properly set-up offset.