Fender Classic Player Jazzmaster Special Guitar

The Fender Jazzmaster was originally intended to be one of their better selling lines of guitars. Unfortunately, it didn't sell as well as the already established Stratocaster and Telecaster, and with the exception of some notable musicians and collectors faded into a memory for most guitarists. Today, the original Jazzmasters are a highly sought after vintage item. In an effort to restore the Jazzmaster to prominence today, Fender offers the Classic Player Jazzmaster Special. Let's take a closer look to see if it will make a strong comeback today.

Features: The body of the Classic Player Jazzmaster is, like most other Fender guitars, made of alder wood. There are two polyester style finishes available, including black and sunburst. Both really capture the look of the original line of Jazzmasters nicely. The neck is bolted on to the body, and is made of maple. The fretboard, in contrast, is made of rosewood on both finishes, and has twenty one medium jumbo frets with pearloid dot inlays as position markers. The hardware on the Jazzmaster, especially the bridge, has been upgraded significantly to fix former problems with the original Jazzmaster. The Adjusto-Matic bridge has a floating tremolo tailpiece that is redesigned to keep the strings in tune. Also, there is a screw in whammy bar that increases control and stability when using the tremolo system. Electronically, the Classic Player Jazzmaster has a single coil Fender brand pickup in both the bridge and neck positions. They are advertised as "hotter" than the pickups on old lines of the Jazzmaster.

Playability: Out of the factory, the setup of the new Jazzmaster is nice. Its intonation and action are both set up pretty perfectly. The strings are nice and loose to allow for bending, which is more or less a necessity for most Fender owners. The neck is finished carefully and thin, which equates to easy movement up and down.

Sound: The new "hotter" pickups are, according to Fender, specially designed for the new Jazzmaster line. This is no surprise, because they have a very distinct tone. It's nice and crisp, which is a nice feature for those looking to play jazz and blues.

Overall: If you're a jazz or blues musician looking for a good quality and unique looking instrument to complete your arsenal, be sure to take a gander at the Classic Player Jazzmaster. Its vintage construction with modern hardwar and electronics combine to make for a very nice guitar. You can find the Classic Player Jazzmaster in music stores for around $800.