Squier J Mascis Jazzmaster resuming production

[andyman]

Covid really messed everything up. I don't think these inflated prices are coming back down either...

[Mr. Shankly]

I just don't understand why anyone would buy a Jazzmaster that:
1) is made in China
2) everyone and their brother has
3) does not have Jazzmaster pickups
4) has a tune-o-matic bridge
5) is an $800 Squier
6) has a dry-ass junk wood fretboard (applies to both laurel and pau ferro)

All of those things are severe negatives that outweigh any positives, to me. For $800 you could buy an import from one of the Japanese big box stores.

[marginwalker]

I just don't understand why anyone would buy a Jazzmaster that:
1) is made in China
2) everyone and their brother has
3) does not have Jazzmaster pickups
4) has a tune-o-matic bridge
5) is an $800 Squier
6) has a dry-ass junk wood fretboard (applies to both laurel and pau ferro)

All of those things are severe negatives that outweigh any positives, to me. For $800 you could buy an import from one of the Japanese big box stores.

It’s in Australian dollars so more like $599 US price which I think was what they were going for right before they got discontinued

[Mr. Shankly]

I just don't understand why anyone would buy a Jazzmaster that:
1) is made in China
2) everyone and their brother has
3) does not have Jazzmaster pickups
4) has a tune-o-matic bridge
5) is an $800 Squier
6) has a dry-ass junk wood fretboard (applies to both laurel and pau ferro)

All of those things are severe negatives that outweigh any positives, to me. For $800 you could buy an import from one of the Japanese big box stores.

It’s in Australian dollars so more like $599 US price which I think was what they were going for right before they got discontinued

Well on American Reverb, they're selling for anywhere from $6-700

[MKR]

I think the mascis JM is a pretty great guitar, i had one 5-6 years ago and it was a fine instrument.

However, i just don't understand what direction Squier are trying to take. Their guitars are becoming rather expensive and at the same time the quality is taking a bit of a dive. In canada these "high end" squiers like the fancy jazzmasters, strats and teles run for $800 which is pretty crazy. I mean there's nothing really high end about them IMO. New guitar prices in general are pretty nuts. What used to be $500-600 4 years ago or so is now minimum $1000.

I guess the only positive i can see is that people used to buy cheap guitars years ago like they were buying cloths or shoes. you could justify the purchase because it was a relatively low cost for what you were getting. However a lot of people myself included probably thought of these purchases as disposable and trivial. Like oh well i can sell it or trade it if i don't like it down the line. That just doesn't seem practical now.
Frivolous spending is not a good thing.

[echoplex]

I saw them being offered on Reverb for $1000
...MINDLESS!

[Larsongs]

Everything has doubled, or more, in the past few years except wages.. Why not Guitars? I just Gassed up my Truck, 2/7/23.. Palm Springs, Ca. it’s $6.97 gallon!

As far as Squire’s go….. I think Fender realized sometime ago there is a market for “Platform Guitars”… So QC & content wasn’t that important since everybody’s going to take them apart & rebuild them anyway… Just have a decent Neck & Body.. Maybe some ok Pickups.. The buyers will replace everything else to taste..

Seems to work for Fender..

[Boyan1984]

If that's true, then why is there no info on the Fender site or other big stores like Thomann taking pre orders?
I'm really buzzed if I should wait or just buy a 40th anniversary as they are 350 eur at Thomann right now.

[mcbrandt]

Guitar Center had them available a day or so ago. Today I see they say sold out

Guitar Center

[Embenny]

I think the mascis JM is a pretty great guitar, i had one 5-6 years ago and it was a fine instrument.

However, i just don't understand what direction Squier are trying to take. Their guitars are becoming rather expensive and at the same time the quality is taking a bit of a dive. In canada these "high end" squiers like the fancy jazzmasters, strats and teles run for $800 which is pretty crazy. I mean there's nothing really high end about them IMO. New guitar prices in general are pretty nuts. What used to be $500-600 4 years ago or so is now minimum $1000.

I guess the only positive i can see is that people used to buy cheap guitars years ago like they were buying cloths or shoes. you could justify the purchase because it was a relatively low cost for what you were getting. However a lot of people myself included probably thought of these purchases as disposable and trivial. Like oh well i can sell it or trade it if i don't like it down the line. That just doesn't seem practical now.
Frivolous spending is not a good thing.

Yeah, from what I've gathered, the price inflation of Squiers and Fenders has been particularly brutal here in Canada, a bit more so than many other countries. The idea of walking out of a store having paid $1k for a Squier (after tax, gig bag, etc) is insane.

But part of that has been that, over the course of a decade or so, Fender has made a very deliberate move to position Squiers in the market that used to be served by MIM guitars, and MIMs to a position that used to be served by the entry to mid-level American stuff.

I agree that people don't seem to treat Squiers like a baseball card collection anymore, always trying to complete the set. That type of attitude was fairly common online 10 years ago, you'd encounter people who bought every colour of a Squier model they liked just because they could, or bought every new model of theirs that came out "just to try it." Don't see much of that anymore! I mean, I remember buying Squier CV models (which were legitimately much better guitars back in the original run) for $200-$250 CAD used. That's about $250-$315 CAD adjusted for inflation, but now they're all $450-$600 on Kijiji, so even if someone's pay rose 25% along with inflation, they'd still have nearly half the purchase power. Someone who would have been shopping mid-range MIMs ten years ago is shopping Squiers today.

I feel like 2005-2015 was the golden era for Fenders, quality was at an all-time high and prices were low. We can't live in the past, though, so all you can do is cross-shop the available options, and the JMJM still hits a sweet spot for a lot of players. I totally get it. Lots of people don't actually use the JM vibrato, so the TOM isn't a big deal (and is more familiar to most non-OSG types). Lots more people know and like P90s compared to JM pickups, so bright P90s work great for them. The necks have always been very good. That all adds up to an appealing package for many.

[Boyan1984]

Guitar Center had them available a day or so ago. Today I see they say sold out

Guitar Center

Yeah, strange....

[sal paradise]

I’ve got one I’ll let go for $750.

[Ceylon]

Much rarer than a JMJM, but still...

VM Baritone JM

This is one of the stupidest increases. These were a few hundred! That colour is ugly!!

If you think about it, their rise to desirability is sort of a microcosm version of what happened to the offsets in general.

Gets released, has some hype, not much though, gets discontinued and then one or a few influential bands pick them up, finds a specific use for them which sends desirability through the roof again.

Not a 1:1 match but still

[Boyan1984]

Here's what a Guitar center rep just said: fender discontinued it because there wasnt enough demand for it
But I think he either doesn't really know or...it's true....wtf?

[Boyan1984]

I’ve got one I’ll let go for $750.

Haha, no thank you I'm in Europe anyway