New Fender Japan Traditional 60S Jazzmaster® HH LTD

[Jonesie]

Come on now, am I the only one around here that got one of these?

I will try to get a proper review for OSG, but in the meantime grab a sneak peek and clip on my IG:

https://www.instagram.com/p/CV64G5Lsuz ... =copy_link

That a lil' bit of "Aurora" in the demo?

[smalltownsongs]

That a lil' bit of "Aurora" in the demo?


Yup! Still working through it a bit.

[sunburster]

This looks amazing. How much would you pay for this if it were imported to the US?

EDIT: I looked into it and it’s out of budget or not justifiable for my situation, more than AV65’s and AVRI’s go for these days.

They were only sold through Fender Japan's online shop and Mikki Gakki. Both places are already sold out.

[smalltownsongs]

Hey all, sorry for the earlier tease, here's a quick rundown.

I'd grabbed this from Mikki Gakki, Americamura location. It was the only storefront to sell it. While I'd love to tell you how hard it was, truth is... I've had harder times buying off of Reverb. Super simple. I emailed them, they replied back with a purchase quote detailing out the associated costs including shipping to the US and then they provided a Paypal invoice. I paid, and it was on my doorstep about 6 days later.

First thing I noticed was that the case was.... almost awesome. Black, amp logo, black plush interior.. but it's a little cheap feeling. All wood, but just feels a bit thinner (yet somehow still heavy AF, got me). The "fur" on the accessory compartment wasn't tucked and stapled, just loose glued at the end. This appears by design, not by mishap. It still works a treat, and is leaps and bounds better than the thin wimpy gigbags that some have been shipped with as of late.

Fit and finish were excellent, it's truly brand new. I hadn't weighed it (d'oh!) but it's sub 9lb for sure.
9.5" radius is comfort for me, frets were all great, and came strung with D'addario 9's.
Electronics were all full-size (500k pots with a .022u cap), jack was Switchcraft, typical coax-style wiring practice that I've seen on other MIJ models through the years. Neat. Efficient. The pickguard is foil backed.
SPEAKING OF THE PICKGUARD.... it's a direct match (thimble-and-mounting) hole for hole of my AVRI guards. How nuts is that?
Stock bridge was wimpy and anemic. I'm not really a big proponent of the "vintage-style" bridge. Yes, I know that there are ways of making them better, but why bother when I know I prefer Staytrem/Mastery? Same with the vibrato, felt thin and when adjusted correctly there was little to no play in the bar. Again, I know my man Mike has a lot of great vids out there on keeping kosher with the OG styles but it's not really for me.
I shot the quick runthrough, and then went to making it a little more suited for me.
It's currently wearing a Mastery bridge and vibrato, DR Pure Nickel 10's, and some starcaster knobs. Debating on a new pickguard (black) cause while this tort isn't THAT bad, it's also not THAT good

OK, enough chatter from me. Here's some pics:

[adamrobertt]

Post a pic of the modded version!

[smalltownsongs]

Post a pic of the modded version!

We'll get there at the final, but here's where we are so far...

.. and yes I'm keeping that plastic on the pickups until I get a new guard and do the final setup

[manwithtitties]

are you going to change the pots to 1 meg?

[Jazzmackster]

Me likey! Me want!

[mcbrandt]

Why does the lack of the rhythm circuit in the pickguard look weird to me? I'm slowly coming to the realization that I'm more of a humbucker person than a single coil. I had some Novak JM-HC Stealth pups in for a year or so, but they bugged me with how touchy they were. You could tap anywhere on the guitar and they would pick it up, but I loved the lack of hum and the sound of them. I just put in some noiseless Brandonwounds, and while they are indeed noiseless and more jazzmastery from what I can tell, I realized I liked the sound of the Novaks more. I'll probably swap them back in when I'm less annoyed by the aspect of the task, or when I change strings in a few months (I run flats). That all said, even though I don't really use the rhythm circuit at all, I guess I still like the look of it being there.

[sciuri]

Someone buy this so I can stop thinking about it! It’s out of my range, and it sure makes the cost of WRHBs with JM covers easier to rationalize.

https://reverb.com/item/46761294-2021- ... ckers-case

[mekhem]

Ugh - M&M's Guitar Bar has some really nice stuff.... But they do place a "Premium" on their pricing.

[zenarcade]

Someone buy this so I can stop thinking about it! It’s out of my range, and it sure makes the cost of WRHBs with JM covers easier to rationalize.

https://reverb.com/item/46761294-2021- ... ckers-case

These guys are joking? Their prices get more and more absurd..

[smalltownsongs]

are you going to change the pots to 1 meg?

Sorry, missed this one.
At this point I don't really have any reason to. While I truly do prefer the 1meg with the Vintage WRHB, this is really sounding great to my ears and my overall tonal reach that I need. Does that mean I'll never try? Oh goodness no! I can never leave well enough alone! To that point:

v1 was stock
v2 was Mastery kit, DR Pure Nickel strings, Starcaster knobs, and knurled aluminum switch tip
v2.5 happens today with Staytrem and Greer Supermass neck plate.
v3 will be a bit yet...

I've had questions about that neck plate. More like comments I guess... and plenty of them through the last year that I've started using them.
Snake Oil they all say! Hooey! Why would you want that?
Well, I can't claim scientific sovereignty on it, but what I can tell you is the guitar simply sounds better acoustically to me. More acoustic volume, coupled with an evening out of string-to-string volume. Does that matter when it's all plugged in? Maybe? Maybe not? It brings a smile to my face when I'm playing not plugged in (which happens often), and that makes me smile when it's plugged in as well. All day long I think it is worth the $26.
Do all of my guitars get them? Oh no, not at all. I ain't got that kind of dough to dress 'em all up like that. But the special ones I have will usually get the neck plate. Again, nothing proven other than my own smile.

[Somnospeed]

I'm sure I'm about #451 in line, but.... If anyone knows ANYWHERE to pick one of these up, let me know!

[smalltownsongs]

v3 is the final update that will be noticeable in pics.



- New 3-ply black guard from WD (I sent a tracing in, and 3 weeks later it's here and great)
- Full black Mastery kit with UFO and Mastery string tree (not pictured, LOL)
- New set of Tenorio Artist Series Pure Nickel Super 10's

Tomorrow I'm going to drop it off for a full Plek and setup.
I've felt that the frets are nice, but could use an actual once-over more so than my micro-mesh polish job.
Local shop is a bit tied up with work, so I decided why not try the Plek shop about an hour away?
My only experience with Plek so far is my Novo and GD I love that guitar so let's see if some of that magic is in the fretwork via Plek.
Maybe? Maybe Not? Makes no difference, time to try it out.

Thanks to the folks that have reached out!
To the best of my knowledge there are still no stores stocking this one months later, and I've only seen one other in the US market.
I say build yer own! The pickups are available, and sound killer. Let your inspiration take you somewhere good.