Opinions on Classic Player Jazzmaster Special

[PorkChop]

I was a Gibson guy for 25 years and kept shuffling through different models to find the right one. Then decided to just find any guitar that felt right ergonomically and adjust the rest of my setup to get the sounds I want out of it. The jaguar is super comfortable to me. But it seems to be more divisive than other guitars. The attack and decay are unique and it is a bright guitar. And the 24” scale either works for you or it doesn’t. The JM has a more normal attack and decay. I assume it’s more versatile. I haven’t spent that much time with the Squire. It’s not shielded well and is very noisy. I’m sort of in my own limbo about which JM to pick. My jag has a 9.5 radius. Wonder if I would like the 7.25. I’m leaning more towards getting an AO or the ‘59 thin skin that’s coming soon. Then I’ll just be done with it.

[Larsongs]

Full disclosure: it was a gift. With setup, bridge, and pickups, I’ve got $300 in it. If you get one used, there are serious bargains to be had. I’d say the more apt comparison is between the CP and the 60s Classic Lacquer. I hear good things about them but they didn’t yet exist when I got my CP (it’s a 2009 model).

Cool cool.

I did like the 60s Classic Lacquer that I played at the store about a week ago. Too bad I already have a green guitar!

Next to an AV65 that's the best of the Fender & Squier line... USA AV65 Pickups, higher quality everything & Hard Case... Best Value too.. And will retain higher Resale because of how it's equipped... Don't discount it because of color...

I have both a AV65 Jag & an AV65 JM.... I dig them both but the JM seems to be more versatile of the 2.

L

[Telemnemonics]

If you look for used you'll find that a lot of CPJMs have already had the P-90 style pickups swapped out for more correct JM pups.

Cool, thanks for the tip. Do you have an idea for what pickup names/models I’d be looking for as having been swapped in? Not expecting an exhaustive list but anything helps...thanks!

Oh boy there's a lot even just from Fender!
I have a stock MIJ which is low output like originals, but players pan them because few want JM pickups that are as low output as originals.
Maybe because in 1960, amps had less treble, where area rock demanded more and more treble so amp builders complied.
I have some nice sounding US '60 something reissues, some of the latest V mod that are a taller narrower coil so sound more stratty, and some oddball aftermarket varieties.
The Duncan Antiquities are a pop drop in too, then there are the expensive Novak and other boutique offerings like Fralins many options.
Really yhe reasonably priced Fender RI JMs sound great.
It's a hard pickup to screw up!
Cept for the P-90 types if you don't want that, or the Strat types if you don't want that either.

The V mods are in the Am Pro, if you prefer a more correct JM sound you might not like those.

[Jestapali]

The CP Jazzmaster is a bargain of a guitar. I think that Fender Mexico totally upped its game with he quality of these instruments. The truth is that nothing needs change per se, I ended up with pure 65 pickups because I wanted more clarity and the Hot pickups (p90's really) were not doing it for me. It Staytrem made again the CP style bridge, I'd probably get one ( John himself told me back in November that he will be making more of the AOM bridges) , but just because I really like Staytrem, not because the Adjustomatic has been a bad bridge.
FWIW, my CP is lighter than my AV65, and it sounds different, in a good way (more lower end)

[Ceylon]

If you're all right with the different bridge situation going on with the CP it's an excellent guitar, build quality, finish and all. The pickups are a bit more in the P90-corner of big single coil-territory, and especially with the Tune-o-Matic and steeper bridge-string angle that edges the sound a bit more towards rock/Gibson than surf/Fender, but at the end of the day it does still sound like a Jazzmaster.

If you do however want to replace the pickups that can be done pretty cheap. Rose Pickups build Jazzmaster pickups that I think you can still get for about 100$ for a pair. You can get some low-wound ones with, say, AlNiCo 5 magnets in the bridge pickup (bright, trebley, twangy) and AlNiCo 2 in the neck (dark, warm, woody) and still save money compared to buying like a Classic 60's or something. I have one of their A2s in the neck of my own Jazzmaster and I really like it. I'm sure there's a bunch of other builders out there who offer similar solutions that aren't too pricey, it doesn't have to be Rose, I'm just saying if you like the CP otherwise don't let the stock pickups stop you.

[Larsongs]

Full disclosure: it was a gift. With setup, bridge, and pickups, I’ve got $300 in it. If you get one used, there are serious bargains to be had. I’d say the more apt comparison is between the CP and the 60s Classic Lacquer. I hear good things about them but they didn’t yet exist when I got my CP (it’s a 2009 model).

Cool cool.

I did like the 60s Classic Lacquer that I played at the store about a week ago. Too bad I already have a green guitar!

Next to an AV65 that's the best of the Fender & Squier line... USA AV65 Pickups, higher quality everything & Hard Case... Best Value too.. And will retain higher Resale because of how it's equipped... Don't discount it because of color...

I have both a AV65 Jag & an AV65 JM.... I dig them both but the JM seems to be more versatile of the 2.

L

I spent 2 years looking at JM's before finally pulling the trigger. I wanted Vintage Spec. I bought 3 of the lesser Models & all of them went back.. I finally settled on the AV65 JM which is very very close to my friends real Vintage '65 Jazzmaster. My second choice would have been the Lacquer 60's JM. It's as close as you can get to the AV65 JM for almost 1/3 the cost.... IMO it's a no brainer...

You can buy a CP JM or any of the other lesser JM's but by the time you do all the Mods (not counting buying a Hard Case) you'll be in it more than the cost of a Lacquer 60's JM which is vintage Spec, comes with the AV65 Pickups & other Upgrades due to it being a USA built Fender & you get the Hard Case...

L

[JagWire]

I owned a CP Jazzmaster and I loved it. The stock pickups sounded great and I was able to get a nice surf tone in the middle position. I did eventually upgrade the pickups to antiquity II's which gave it a really great vintage tone that was all around better for surf.

I will say this; I was at the local guitar store today and picked up a CP Jazzy - the setup was HORRENDOUS from the factory. I did not have this issue with the one I ordered new when they first launched, just something to bear in mind if you try one out in the store. I went through just about every Fender in the store and I have to say the overall play-ability for the Mexican line out of the box was pathetic. The best playing guitar on the wall (less the American vintage series) was the Squier J Mascis signature, this guitar might be the deal going from Fender right now. I own a 62 AVRI Jag and the J Mascis holds its own against it. I have not played the Squier vintage modified line of Jazzmasters, but if they are the same level of quality as the Mascis that might be something to consider if you're not trying to break the bank. You could upgrade the pickups and still get away with paying less than you would for a brand new CP.

[NewKId]

My new CPJM in black arrived on Friday and I've been playing it for hours the last couple of days. What a great guitar. I was all juiced up to mod the bridge but the Adjusto-Matic works great and I like how it looks. Action at the 17th fret was 4/64ths out of the box from Sweetwater. This guitar was ready to play.

I was able to select the darkest Pau Ferro board from Sweetwater's guitar gallery and I think this guitar is beautiful all around. The tort guard on my CPJM is beautiful and the overall build and finish is flawless. Great value from Fender Mexico and Sweetwater's thorough inspection is a welcome QC check. This was my first time ordering from Sweetwater and I feel like they saved me $90 on a setup.

Of course, these are first impressions so I'll have to see how the bridge holds up over time. However, I'm a light-touch player, mostly fingerstyle jazz so I won't be aggressively strumming this guitar. It's quite a nice and comfortable change from my Teles. Plus I love the sound from this guitar.

Eventually, I'll put Thomastik Flatwound 12s on and perhaps lower the action slightly. But it's setup out of the box works beautifully right now so I'm not going to mess with a good thing. Many of the reviews here were very helpful in my decision to purchase this CPJM. Thanks to all.