Re: jazzmaster basics

markEp · Post by **markEp** » Tue May 29, 2007 9:31 am

Hello folks, forgive me for being dumb but I know nothing about Jazzmasters and I may be about to buy my first one. I have got my eye on a 66 re issue that the seller reckons cost him £620. I know strats are made in the USA, Japan and Mexico and there is some considerable difference. Is this the same for Jazzmasters. I have read on here about the differences but can anyone tell me what AVRI and CIJ stand for. Are all re issues made in Japan now? Many thanks, Mark.

fenderjapan · Post by **fenderjapan** » Tue May 29, 2007 9:46 am

Welcome
Well CIJ stand for Crafted In Japan and AVRI for American Vintage Reissue.
cij = japan
avri= usa

fourmations · Post by **fourmations** » Tue May 29, 2007 2:43 pm

hi

as far as i know there is no american 66 RI
so it most likey a CIJ,

the cij can be had on thomann for 425 sterling
so thats way cheaper than your mate claims !!
if it is avri they are 1127 sterling

check the back of the neck down wher it joins the body
it will say "crafted in japan" if it is a japanese one

i bought a cij jazz and its really good,
general opinion is that the elctronics and pickups are inferior
and that the main difference between them,
but thats a huely debated subject that you will find by searching
"cij vs. avri", or similar

rgds

4

http://www.thomann.de/gb/search_dir.htm ... jazzmaster

GTO · Post by **GTO** » Wed May 30, 2007 7:04 am

The CIJ '66 is much rarer in the UK than the standard CIJ style Jazzmaster, if it is the one with the blocks and binding, so I wouldn't be surprised if it wasn't more expensive.

So it depends on what your seller wants sell it for. On average CIJs seem to go for around £350-£400 second hand, and up to £500 new, on Ebay and online. Quality wise I would echo what fourmations says, the CIJs are very good, but may be let down by the electrics and pups. The AV series on the other hand are £1100 new, and you can buy a lot of pups and pots for the difference. The only downside is that some of the parts are not interchangeable between CIJ and AV. I have a CIJ that was £375 'new' (slight blem), and with some SD Antiquity II pups and new pots I am very happy with it. It plays easily as well as my CS Strats.

Post by **Orang Goreng** » Wed May 30, 2007 7:26 am

GTO wrote: The CIJ '66 is much rarer in the UK than the standard CIJ style Jazzmaster, if it is the one with the blocks and binding, so I wouldn't be surprised if it wasn't more expensive.

It's a bit tricky to use these '62/'66 terms though. They may be called that by us, but it's by no means their official designation. Even the "normal" CIJs/MIJs (i.e., the ones with dots) have "66" in their model code. The Japanese jags, for instance, have model names in the format "JG-66-XX" (where XX is another number that appears to correspond to the MSRP in yen). It has always been very common for Japanese jags and JMs to be called "66 reissues", because of that 66 in the model code.

spacecadet · Post by **spacecadet** » Wed May 30, 2007 7:46 am

Orang Goreng wrote: It's a bit tricky to use these '62/'66 terms though. They may be called that by us, but it's by no means their official designation. Even the "normal" CIJs/MIJs (i.e., the ones with dots) have "66" in their model code.

Yeah, I actually was about to respond thinking GTO was referencing the dots model selling for £500, because most people call them "'66 reissues" just as they do the b&b model. (I think both styles were also sold in 1966 - I don't think it was ever only one or the other.)

£500 wouldn't be outrageous for a new JM66B-106 (b&b), though maybe a slight bit on the high side. A new JM66-88 (the dots model) really shouldn't sell for more than £350 or so. Used, well you'd knock off whatever amount you'd feel comfortable depreciating from either of those prices.

£620... I have no idea how someone could pay that for any CIJ when you can just mail order one directly from Japan for a lot less. Unless it was heavily modified.

Post by **zhivago** » Wed May 30, 2007 7:55 am

just to clarify,

depending on which part of 1966, the guitars early in the year had binding and pearl dots....later that year they switched to binding and pearl blocks.

at that point (1966), Jazzmasters with plain necks and clay dots were not produced.

Post by **i love sharin foo** » Wed May 30, 2007 8:08 am

zhivago wrote: at that point (1966), Jazzmasters with plain necks and clay dots were not produced.

Nor were there unbound necks with pearl dots on Jazzmasrers or Jaguars that year

Justin

Post by **zhivago** » Wed May 30, 2007 8:21 am

indeed

spacecadet · Post by **spacecadet** » Wed May 30, 2007 9:41 am

zhivago wrote: just to clarify,

depending on which part of 1966, the guitars early in the year had binding and pearl dots....later that year they switched to binding and pearl blocks.

at that point (1966), Jazzmasters with plain necks and clay dots were not produced.

I stand corrected on that. Now I can understand how someone could refer to a b&b model as a "'66" and the plain neck model as "standard", although this is honestly the first time I've seen them referred to that way. And they do both have "66" in the model number (and the plain neck version came first).

Not that it's really relevant to the original question anyway...

markEp · Post by **markEp** » Wed May 30, 2007 12:58 pm

You cant beat a bit of good feedback guys.

Thank you all kindly. The seller has offered it to me for £350 so Im hopefully going to have a look at it over the weekend but I would hope to get it for more like £300 if I think its worth it. I am looking at some others now too though. I really fancy one with block inlays and matching headstock after seeing one for £649 on eBay.

GTO · Post by **GTO** » Wed May 30, 2007 1:23 pm

A new JM66-88 (the dots model) really shouldn't sell for more than £350 or so.

I agree they 'should' sell for £350, but not in the UK they don't. £350 online or in a shop would be a steal. Most big shops sell at £499, online shops a bit lower for a new guitar. A regular local high street shop would have them at £550. Getting one from Ishibashi can seem like a bright idea, but as soon as the tax and postage is paid it gets very, very close to the lowest online prices. I mean, we pay £3.50 for a large Big Mac meal with Diet Coke......................................!