60th Anniversary Classic sent back

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Cooperman
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60th Anniversary Classic sent back

Post by Cooperman » Wed Jul 18, 2018 10:52 am

After wanting a Jazzmaster for most of my adult life, at 63, I just pulled the trigger on a MIM 60th Anniversary Classic Jazzmaster in Black. I picked it up at Guitar Center 4 days ago. When I opened the case, I got weak in the knees. Drop dead beautiful. Fit and finish was flawless, the frets were a bit rough, but acceptable. Love the 9.5" radius fretboard, love the tall frets, love the chunky but not too chunky neck. I even loved the sound of the AV 65 pickups. Also, it is a good piece of alder that vibrates in a very pleasing way. HOWEVER, it had a major grounding problem. An intolerable hum that did not relent no matter the position of the pickup selector switch, no matter how I oriented the guitar. It only relented when I grabbed hold of the strings or tremolo bar. When I touched any metal part, there was an audible POP. Also, the volume roller wheel on the rhythm channel was grinding against the pickguard.

I took it back to Guitar Center today and the tech was very helpful. He made it sound like it could be a simple fix OR it would be like chasing ghosts getting the guitar properly grounded. I, therefore, decide to have them order another one. Same guitar, same color. I am very hopeful when my new guitar arrives it will be a sublime example and the guitar I just returned was an aberration. I've read so many good reviews of MIM Fenders. My question is, how did this guitar get through quality control. Some dude proudly signed off on this guitar before it left the factory ! Is this par for the course for MIM guitars ? I hope my new one will be rock solid. I friggin' loved it and discovered that I am a Jazzmaster kind of guy.

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optofonik
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Re: 60th Anniversary Classic sent back

Post by optofonik » Wed Jul 18, 2018 11:04 am

Good on you!

I've got an MIM FSR Strat that I paid considerably less for than your JM and the QC was spot on when I picked it up so your guitar does sound like an anomaly. The replacement will probably be fine but don't be discouraged if it's not, just exchange it for another. You don't sound like the kind of person to settle so keep at it if you have to till till you find one that Fender got right.

I love my sunburst VM Jazzmaster (which was also properly QCed - no huntng for "a good one"), especially after putting in "Fender Pure Vintage" pups.

I recently wrote about not accepting the whole "You're lucky, you got a good one" mentality regarding budget guitars; the idea that people should expect defects and accept them as a matter of course. Not. Especially "not" when it comes to a $1000+ product. Frankly, I don't think "rough frets" are acceptable either. Every new guitar needs a setup but dressing and leveling frets shouldn't have to be part of that. I don't even think fret sprout should have to be dealt with either; new guitars, warehoused or in a showroom should be kept at an appropriate temp and humidity level.

A few years ago I returned a rather expensive (for me) bass guitar because it had clearly been stored inappropriately; the neck was sprouting frets like a dadgum bean field.

Oh, and good on the tech as well for being straight up with you.

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DavidG
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Re: 60th Anniversary Classic sent back

Post by DavidG » Wed Jul 18, 2018 12:34 pm

You certainly shouldn't accept anything less than spot-on just because it's MIM. I have a recent baja tele and classic player strat, both pretty flawless and easily up there with more expensive guitars I own. These Jazzmasters are a level above my tele and strat in the MIM range, I'm sure you'll get one that's perfect.

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Re: 60th Anniversary Classic sent back

Post by timtam » Wed Jul 18, 2018 8:08 pm

Cooperman wrote:
Wed Jul 18, 2018 10:52 am
...
HOWEVER, it had a major grounding problem. An intolerable hum that did not relent no matter the position of the pickup selector switch, no matter how I oriented the guitar. It only relented when I grabbed hold of the strings or tremolo bar. When I touched any metal part, there was an audible POP.
Some of what you report is actually consistent with a correctly grounded guitar. By touching grounded metal you are grounding yourself and thus reducing the noisy 'human antenna' effect. If the noise did not reduce that would usually be a sign that the metalwork was not grounded.

Was the noise the same in the store as at home ?
"I just knew I wanted to make a sound that was the complete opposite of a Les Paul, and that’s pretty much a Jaguar." Rowland S. Howard.

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Re: 60th Anniversary Classic sent back

Post by sirspens » Wed Jul 18, 2018 9:01 pm

timtam wrote:
Wed Jul 18, 2018 8:08 pm
Cooperman wrote:
Wed Jul 18, 2018 10:52 am
...
HOWEVER, it had a major grounding problem. An intolerable hum that did not relent no matter the position of the pickup selector switch, no matter how I oriented the guitar. It only relented when I grabbed hold of the strings or tremolo bar. When I touched any metal part, there was an audible POP.
Some of what you report is actually consistent with a correctly grounded guitar. By touching grounded metal you are grounding yourself and thus reducing the noisy 'human antenna' effect. If the noise did not reduce that would usually be a sign that the metalwork was not grounded.

Was the noise the same in the store as at home ?
The pop sounds very suspicious, though.

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Cooperman
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Re: 60th Anniversary Classic sent back

Post by Cooperman » Thu Jul 19, 2018 2:54 am

timtam wrote:
Wed Jul 18, 2018 8:08 pm
Cooperman wrote:
Wed Jul 18, 2018 10:52 am
...
HOWEVER, it had a major grounding problem. An intolerable hum that did not relent no matter the position of the pickup selector switch, no matter how I oriented the guitar. It only relented when I grabbed hold of the strings or tremolo bar. When I touched any metal part, there was an audible POP.
Some of what you report is actually consistent with a correctly grounded guitar. By touching grounded metal you are grounding yourself and thus reducing the noisy 'human antenna' effect. If the noise did not reduce that would usually be a sign that the metalwork was not grounded.

Was the noise the same in the store as at home ?
Perhaps I misidentified the problem as a "grounding" issue, but there was definitely an issue that yielded the guitar unplayable for me. When I took it to the store, they plugged it in and the noise/hum was in your face prominent. The tech and store manager unplugged in in less than 30 seconds, looked at each other and declared the guitar a lemon with issues. My other two guitars ( a Ric 330 and Epi Casino ) are both single coil and dead quiet by comparison. I'm not a huge guitar center fan but these guys were actually very helpful.

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Re: 60th Anniversary Classic sent back

Post by Marc » Thu Jul 19, 2018 3:25 am

Cooperman wrote:
Thu Jul 19, 2018 2:54 am
timtam wrote:
Wed Jul 18, 2018 8:08 pm
Cooperman wrote:
Wed Jul 18, 2018 10:52 am
...
HOWEVER, it had a major grounding problem. An intolerable hum that did not relent no matter the position of the pickup selector switch, no matter how I oriented the guitar. It only relented when I grabbed hold of the strings or tremolo bar. When I touched any metal part, there was an audible POP.
Some of what you report is actually consistent with a correctly grounded guitar. By touching grounded metal you are grounding yourself and thus reducing the noisy 'human antenna' effect. If the noise did not reduce that would usually be a sign that the metalwork was not grounded.

Was the noise the same in the store as at home ?
Perhaps I misidentified the problem as a "grounding" issue, but there was definitely an issue that yielded the guitar unplayable for me. When I took it to the store, they plugged it in and the noise/hum was in your face prominent. The tech and store manager unplugged in in less than 30 seconds, looked at each other and declared the guitar a lemon with issues. My other two guitars ( a Ric 330 and Epi Casino ) are both single coil and dead quiet by comparison. I'm not a huge guitar center fan but these guys were actually very helpful.
Congrats on the guitar - the black one is very cool with matching headstock. Sorry you have had problems and good call getting it sent back. It's tempting to sometimes just get your local guy to fix it and do a full setup at the same time and forget about it. I admit to having done that myself. Thing is - if we don't send guitars back with quality issues Fender won't know.

Good luck with the replacement - hope it's nice and resonant too.

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Re: 60th Anniversary Classic sent back

Post by Larsongs » Thu Jul 19, 2018 5:40 am

Good luck with the new one.

At winter NAMM every Fender Telecaster I played, regardless of price, had rough Fret edges. Easy enough to resolve but you shouldn't have to.

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Re: 60th Anniversary Classic sent back

Post by Cooperman » Sat Jul 21, 2018 10:47 am

I thought I would update my Jazzmaster purchase experience. I picked up my second Jazzmaster from GC yesterday. The first thing I did at the store was plug it in the see if it had the same over the top noise/grounding issue. I gave a huge sigh of relief when it was virtually noise free. Also, the fretboard had a much darker shade of Pau Ferro than the previous one, which appeared washed out by comparison. When I got home and had a chance to spend some serious time with it, I noticed the pickups were much more dynamic and harmonically richer and more complex. It sounds AMAZING. I'll be the first to tell you it is a mystery to me how this could be the case. The pickups are AV'65 's ( although the product info says they are "classic 60's Jazzmaster pickups, two different people at Fender confirmed to me they are AV'65's ). I noticed the setup was better with lower action, so maybe the strings being just a tad closer to the magnets makes a difference. Perhaps this is a better chunk of wood. I really don't know or really care, what's important is that this damn thing sounds GREAT. So, my story ends well. I found a keeper and I am in love with my first Jazzmaster. I have a Staytrem bridge on the way and I hope to pass this jewel, along with the rest of my guitars, on to my daughter when my number is called in the, hopefully, very distant future !

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Re: 60th Anniversary Classic sent back

Post by gringopig » Sat Jul 21, 2018 1:11 pm

Let's have some piccies! Always good to end on a happy note with pictures...

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Re: 60th Anniversary Classic sent back

Post by sirspens » Sat Jul 21, 2018 3:20 pm

Nice. I am so tempted to get one of these. But (a) I have enough Jazzmasters and (b) WHICH COLOR DO YOU GET?

Life is rough, sometimes.

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Cooperman
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Re: 60th Anniversary Classic sent back

Post by Cooperman » Sat Jul 21, 2018 4:37 pm

sirspens wrote:
Sat Jul 21, 2018 3:20 pm
Nice. I am so tempted to get one of these. But (a) I have enough Jazzmasters and (b) WHICH COLOR DO YOU GET?

Life is rough, sometimes.
Black, it stunningly beautiful. It was b/w the black and the antique white, it came down to a coin flip. As soon as I opened the case, I knew I had the right one for me. I can not take my eyes, or hands, off of it !

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Re: 60th Anniversary Classic sent back

Post by DiAmoroso » Sat Jul 21, 2018 7:24 pm

Congrats, pics needed!
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Marc
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Re: 60th Anniversary Classic sent back

Post by Marc » Sun Jul 22, 2018 2:56 pm

Glad it's all sorted and yes the black one looks fantastic and it's great they got some all gold decals made up for it.

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Re: 60th Anniversary Classic sent back

Post by the_devils_tool » Sat Jul 28, 2018 3:18 pm

I'm dying for the 60th Anniversary in blonde. It's on "my list" now.
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