2023 Fender Japan FSR Heritage Jazzmaster (BLACK)

[sunburster]

I picked this up recently, and thought I'd do a write up about it since I can't seem to find any info about it here or elsewhere, outside of the official page for the guitar on Fender Japan's website where it is listed as a "limited edition":

https://www.fender.com/ja-JP/electric-g ... 00306.html

According to Miki Gakki, this was an FSR for 2023 only sold at the Fender Tokyo Flagship store, with some guitars also sold through Miki Gakki's Americamura store. I can see just one sold through their site:

https://www.mikigakki.com/ec/pro/disp/C ... 944?sFlg=2

Here are the specs:



The Mid-60s C-shape neck is the best I've ever played on a JM - it's a medium C, not too thin or chunky. Close to the AVRI62 profile, but feels a bit nicer IMO. All the other specs are just what I was looking for (alder body, 7.25" radius, vintage frets, bone nut, lacquer finish, angled neck pocket, etc.). They say the nut width should be 41mm, but mine measures out at exactly 42mm, which is my favorite. Tuners are Fender single-line deluxe, same as on the AV65 guitars.



What attracted me to this model is it is basically a reissue of a Late '64/early '65 JM. A very cool "transition" period that Fender USA has never made outside of the custom shop. The pearloid dot inlays with clay side dots on this guitar is a combination only found on vintage JMs from late 1964 to Spring 1965. No other Heritage JM has this feature (the Sonic Blue FSR from 2023 just has white dot inlays):




Another feature I really liked was the matching headstock with the proper "Fender" gold logo (attached over the lacquer), just as we would see on a factory-black JM in Late '64:



It has CTS pots and a Switchcraft switch, along with black bobbin pickups wound with Formvar wire and cloth leads. The pickups are proper JM flat and wide (from what I could see, lightly potted in wax), and sound really nice. Not as full and "gritty"-sounding as the AVRI62 I sold a few months ago, but I like the middle and bridge positions better on this guitar (the neck pup on the AVRI62 was amazing though, and IMO superior to this one's). Fender says the pickups are scatter wound. Some have said the Heritage JMs have USA-made pickups, but that's not true: they are made and wound in Japan, but under the supervision/guidance of a Fender USA Masterbuilder.

Anyway, this is a really great JM, and far superior to the previous Japanese JMs I've owned (a 1993 and a 2015). It's light (3.41kg), the neck is amazing (fretwork is perfect), I love the look of it, and it sounds really great. I like it better than the AVRI62 I recently sold.

[sunburster]

I also love that the neck is not tinted at all, just like my AV65 Jag. I'm not a fan of the fake-tan on modern reissues.

One more thing: the neck has a round laminated rosewood fingerboard (accurate for a late '64), not a slab board.

[Gav Haus]

Love that, congrats. These heritage JMs really do look great and I was tempted by the sonic blue one myself. I’d love a black JM with a white guard - very Thom Yorke. If I were nitpicking I’d personally prefer an unpainted headstock but that’s just me, and down the line I’d maybe look for a slightly less OHMYGODIMREALLYREALLYWHITE guard (probably when I was sorting the shielding) but in general the specs are a long list of big ticks for me.

[OffYourFace]

OMG I want one

[BoringPostcards]

Dead sexy!

[sunburster]

down the line I’d maybe look for a slightly less OHMYGODIMREALLYREALLYWHITE guard (probably when I was sorting the shielding)

I do like the eggshell guard that comes stock, but I've been thinking of trying out a mint guard. Hmm...

Some more comments on the sound of the pickups: I can play with the tone on 10, which I couldn't do with the AVRI62 pickups, so they are not really harsh in the treble. They aren't too bassy either. I guess they sound closest to the AV65/66 pickups, but a bit smoother.

[Gav Haus]

Don’t get me wrong, it still looks great; I much prefer a white guard on black to a tort guard. It’s just very white in those pics, that’s all. Only a minor thing in reality - it’d probably take me ages to get round to doing anything about it.

[sunburster]

Yeah, I'll keep the white pickguard for now. I just need to add some witch hat knobs and it will look just like this vintage early '65 JM.

[andy_tchp]

This is stunning.

And yep, the white guard is more vintage accurate than the garbage green 'mint' shit I've seen from Fender USA IMO.

[sugarandopium]

Holy fuck how did I miss this release!!!!!!

I need to get one of these

[Gav Haus]

Holy fuck how did I miss this release!!!!!!

I need to get one of these

I’m leaning the same way

[BoringPostcards]

Yeah, I'll keep the white pickguard for now. I just need to add some witch hat knobs and it will look just like this vintage early '65 JM.

Thom Yorke has one just like that, which he used a lot during the OK Computer era.

[sunburster]

Holy fuck how did I miss this release!!!!!!

I need to get one of these

Unfortunately this was a very low-key release and it seems they did not make many. Hopefully more will pop up in the near future, at least on the used market.

The sonic blue heritage FSR last year was more widely distributed, as it wasn't limited to two stores. That one is also very cool, and is the same as this one except it doesn't have pearloid dot inlays. Those all seem to be sold out now too, though, so keep your eyes peeled on the used market.

[crazyzeke]

What I love about this is the stripped-down simplicity - fancy offsets are all well and good but this looks like a no-nonsense player's instrument, the classic "all the stuff you need, none of the stuff you don't" kind of deal. Vintage correct Fender neck radius is always a win

[sunburster]

Thom Yorke has one just like that, which he used a lot during the OK Computer era.

From what I could gather from a google search, his is a black '63 body paired with a '65 neck with dots & binding, without a matching headstock.