It's a good guitar, but not quite what I was expecting tone-wise after those Pure Vintage 65 Jazzmaster pickups. The sounds are completely different... but I think that is what Fender was going for! reverb.com/item/31057356-video-2019-fender-american-ultra-jazzmaster-mocha-burst?_aid=growsumo&gs_partner=Trogly 0:15 - American Ultra Series 1:37 - Finishes + Price 2:19 - Special Features 4:02 - First Impressions 5:57 - Inside Look / Specs 13:22 - Tone Talk 17:27 - Tone Demo 18:49 - Pure Vintage 65 VS Noiseless 20:22 - Final Thoughts 22:51 - Condition 24:33 - Case / Candy
A lot of people change the pots in these from 1M to 500K or 250K. The lead circuit tends to use 1M pots which is nuts for single coils, especially the short and wide designs like these.
That mocha burst is about the best finish I've ever seen. Finally something that competes with the classic honey burst, and not just another sunburst finish.
If you're looking for a cheaper option you can just mod a Squier J Mascis Jazzmaster with '65 style jazzmaster pickups and locking tuners. In total it cost me about $650 and it sounds and plays amazing.
The J Mascis Squire is a great guitar. It actually has good sounding pickups but they are closer to P90s than traditional Jazzmaster pickups. I replaced mine. I love the tune-o-matic style bridge that comes stock on it, the neck feels excellent, and I think it's one of the coolest looking guitars in the Fender or Squire line. For cheap Jazzmaster thrills it's hard to beat.
"the jazzmaster body shape is actually brand new to the high-end lineup of Fender" I mean, yeah, nowadays, but it has always been known in its original line of production as the more expensive higher end alternative to the Strat or Tele
I love mine. I traded my more expensive Gibson Les Paul for it, making it the third Jazzmaster I own. This is the most comfortable guitar I've ever had in 25 years of playing. Personally the noiseless pickups were a big plus for me as a studio musician...I don't have to spend extra time editing out the noise typical Jazzmaster pickups make. I wasn't that impressed with the vintage 65 pickups. I prefer the noiseless or the V-mods. The finish is stunning and I love the binding and the way the neck feels flawlessly comfortable. It's an extremely versatile guitar, too. I'll admit I was sceptical about the whole Ultra Series, but after playing this is a shop, I was hooked. I could do without the extra switches and I'd prefer the input jack to be in the usual spot, but other than that I'll never part with this guitar.
This is a great review- like all your reviews, I really enjoy. Very helpful- I bought a 63 JM in 1989- and it was my go to for a long time- always wanted to ad a second but this sounds very different than what I'm looking for. Love your shows.
Following up- Fender has never really followed up with a nice run of American Standard JM- they've done reissues and players (mexican) but I'm still waiting for an updated production JM. I'm not a fan of the elite series in general- the noiseless pickups are just lacking.
Laughing all the way to the bank. I'm no financial genius, but Fender has got their marketing absolutely SPOT ON. So, congrats to them for that. Clearly Yale educations work.
Just noticed this lol. I like to play with a wireless input. ESPECIALLY on guitars that have a input on the face of the body. This way I don't have to worry about snagging a cord and smacking into shit. Strats, jags, sgs, jazz masters, and a few other guitars make this not a issue. So lame that this version of the jazz master isn't done this way : (
I'm not really sure who these guitars are for. I imagine that the vast majority of folks that are going to drop major money for a Jazzmaster want a vintage spec.
@@lueysixty-six7300 I think that's more true for those buying the mid-level ones like the Mexican or the Specials or something, which is why those ones often have humbuckers and other non-standard stuff. But the fact that no one liked them back in the day made them more scarce. People were modifying or selling them to pawn shops for next to nothing. The people paying $2k for them these days are doing so to get the vintage specs.
I think people who have the money, want something different, flashy and whacky. The finish and the many tonal options are really for them I think. And collectors. This really is something different.
Agreed. It's like they're trying to appeal to the modern crowd, but I would look for Jim Roots Jazzmaster and it's 500 bucks cheaper, and like others mentioned the vintage crowd will go for, well vintage.
@@lueysixty-six7300 yeah, I've never seen them as anything but 'pawn shop' guitars, like they were back then. People bought them because they were so cheap & they couldn't afford anything else.
An outstanding axe. I love it. The redesigned bridge is excellent. The regular, S-1 and out of phase sounds are gorgeous. The routed out heel is spectacular for reaching the upper frets. Locking tuners are fine. It plays great. My tech was very impressed with the new bridge design.
It's new/old. It's more or less the old Mustang bridge. The OG bridge gets a lot of complaints for not keeping the strings in line and being uncomfortable to have your palm on. I used to have a Mustang, looks the same.
I just recently started watching your channel and I really appreciate how much I learn every time I watch and how honest you are. You kinda trashed this guitar, but kinda didn’t and then you offer it for sale. I’d buy from you in a heartbeat.
I gotta say I liked the new pickups because they sounded so modern, to me it felt like they weren't trying to get the vintage tone and the modern tone just sounds good. Especially with some extra gain on it, it really crunches just right! It sounds good, it's just a more modern sound than I think most people are looking for in a jazzmaster.
Trogly, I love your reviews! All That eye candy!! Yours is the most viewed channel by me Keep up the great work!! . Dear Fender, 2000$ and no roller string tee? Also, a cap on each tone pot? That means when both pups are on you get double the amount of rolloff. Not a problem when only one pot is on ten, with the no-load pot. But if you like your tones on each pup preset to your desired setting, then switch to both pups on..........mud city....rofl
Loved it, sounds great. Love all the sparkles, great neck action. Tone controls are awesome and easy to understand. The pick-ups sounded fantastic. For an inexpensive electric guitar, this is a winner.
@14:42 you misspoke and said that the switch puts the pickups in parallel, but in reality that switch puts the pickup in series mode. Parallel is how almost all fender guitars are wired by default. Humbuckers are essentially two pickups wired in series. And that series option is most useful in a higher gain situation, it's sort of unfair to judge it's clean tone next to how perfect the parallel configuration sounds. Also, I wonder if you can get series and out of phase with that guitar, that would be a cool sound, similar to Brian May. I have a Jaguar that is wired to have the series option and it sounds superb with the strangle switch engaged, both clean and in a high gain context. I can tell you're not used to playing Fender guitars by how you review them, but that's okay, you're honesty and simplicity is nice.
I've played one of those myself, along with the Ultra Telecaster, mostly like them both very much, but the noiseless pickups do sound dull. Don't have any issues with the layout personally, its just the pickups just lack that chime, that definitive Fender earworming chime.
It's the dullness of the pickups that rules it out for me. I have Lollars in my (Japanese) Jazzmaster and it's my go to guitar for surf/jangle type sounds. Love it to bits.
Thanks, Austin, for another great vid! I know they are time consuming to make! Never been a Jassmaster fan, though 1 or 2 have worked for what I wanted out of them. That one definitely would cause me to change much of the electronics which I guess would be $300-$400 with me doing the work. It seems Fender failed on that one...
It sounds great. I have the J Mascis Squire Jazzmaster. After i set it up it plays and sounds awesome especially for thee price but would prefer noiseless pickups. Great demo. Thanks.
I expect those pickups and the serial switch option to be much more fitting for downtunings in an modern highgain setting, where you need the recognizable mid focus, than in the classic vintage tone environment. That is also what Fender promote it for in their video ad about the American Ultra series. Would have been nice to hear it also with such a high gain sound.
S1 puts both pickups in series,not parallel,which is what you say later in the video...?..also I don't think you can have treble bleeds on tone controls,only on volume pots ..are you sure you don't mean capacitors on the tone pots ?
Man I've been loving your videos, would you ever consider making a video on one of the Fender Cyclones or even the Cyclone II models? I've been kind of obsessing over them lately but don't really have the money to buy one. I'd love to see a video getting into them.
Glad I'm not the only one that felt this way. I drove down to my local guitar store that had one to try it out, eager to fall in love with it. Was pretty underwhelmed. Not a bad guitar at all, but certainly not worth the price or the hype from every GC employee that saw me playing it. And yes, it's DEFINITELY a lot more sparkly in person, really bummed me out.
I still say it's a crime that Fender keeps putting out this guitar without changing the bridge... without a Mastery, this guitar is half of what it should be... just my opinion, but come on Fender, enough is enough
The Classic Player Jazzmaster has a Tune-o-matic type bridge. I got one when they came out in 2008, it's one of my main guitars now. I assume they still make them.
due to the physics of that guitar that bridge has caused string buzz, and most of the jazz master guys I know have swapped out for another bridge... i just think Fender could do with a little upgrade of their own...
Easy fix. Place a small double strip of felt under the strings, just touching up to the back of the bridge. No more buzz, and I play with 9 to 42 sets. Of course some players will still pop strings out of the grooves(not ever been a problem for me) but that an easy fix too. You just file the grooves deeper, or you can use a Mustang bridge which my brother has on his 1985 Jazzmaster MIJ. We both play lead or rhythm on these guitars. My favorites are the '65 Vintage Reissues, The 60th Anniversary 1958 Reissue, and the Blonde 1959 Thinskin Reissue I acquired from Dave's Guitars.
@@fuzzface8252 Considering the number of people who complain about them, Fender would be smart to outright ditch the traditional JM bridge. Piece of garbage, really.
I love the color! I do agree with you about the complicated electricals. Lots of un needed options for me anyway. I'd like to see the Texas tea color...
The neck on that thing is absolutely beautiful. That's about it though. If it had the pv 65's in it, I bet it would be worth playing around with all those neat controls.
That's a particular beautiful instrument. Particular. The JM shape is ultimate. I recently bo't a new SQUIER J Mascis jazzmaster. The ONLY guitar I've ever unboxed to find that I didn't have to do ANYTHING to it to make in run good. Oy oy I love it. And I love the one you've reviewed here. Even if it is a Fender but I wouldn't buy it because it's not Squier or some other cheaper origin. Thank you for your forensic reviews of guitars! You give them every opportunity to strut their stuff!
Great review! I was tempted to buy one of these and I'm glad you did the comparison to the other pick-ups because there's nothing worse than flat sounding pick-ups. (I thought it sounded good in the review though - lots of dirty raspy acoustic-ish tone) I have to disagree about the finish though, and I've seen it in person: I would characterize it as a standard Fender sparkle. Perhaps the gold color draws it out more, but the flake in the finish is the standard Fender tiny flake. Personally, I'm not a fan of the color scheme - it's like a sepia version of the Gibson Silver Burst which I also dislike. I bought the Texas Tea Strat which has a very subdued sparkle, and I wished it was more visible like this one. I really wish the Ultra models would lose the pick guard. Fender doesn't offer enough guitars with a wood top - all that plastic at that price point gets a little hard to stomach creeping into Gibosn prices. And if they were really going after Gibson market share - they would make them set net as well.
That guitar is so pretty i wouldnt know whether to play it or hang it up on a wall like fine art .giutars are becoming more of an art than just intruments.cant get enough of your channel .
That's not what it does. All it does is set it so that the trem cannot float, as in it can only go downwards. It was supposed to be so that if you broke a string you wouldn't go out of tune.
@@caiusmadison2996 Nope. The reissue American vibratos with the lock are the exact same design as vintage. You are just not remembering correctly or you had shit set up weird. What Reginald said is correct.
Reginald is right, that button never had a "locking" function for the trem. All it did was set the plate underneath to a tighter position for more stability on string breaks but the trem still functioned. In true offset fashion even this needed to be set up properly to be useable.
I love my Ultra Jazzmaster. Some are not loving the sound compared to a real vintage or vintage RI. It depends on the situation I already have a 1959 RI FSR Jazzmaster. Thin skin with the gold anodized guard. The one guitar I'll never part with. That one has the real Jazzmaster sound. I love Jazzmasters but I had no use for another one that sounded exactly the same and that's why I sprung for this one. Plus It has bell & whistles. One other thing, this is the best review I've seen on this guitar. It even helped me to fix a slight glitch with my Ultra Jazz, Thanks for your effort.
It is weird that they keep doing that, there's been a steady flow of bizarre "improvements" from both Fender and Gibson since the 70s. A cynical person might even consider the Jazzmaster itself one of the first mis-steps, lol!
@@davetbassbos The jazzmaster is very good at a few things and that's it. The original vintage ones and other made like them do this sound to a T. But hell, were totally ignoring marketing...
the 80s and early 90s were the years for guitar innovation and its been smaller/mid-sized builders carrying that torch... the big 2 slow everything down so they can make more money later on calling the simplest things an "innovation"
heftosprod what on earth are you talking about? Lol, just look around man. This is the golden age of gear, guitars are more innovative than they’ve ever been
@@tylerl8934 smaller builders yes, but the big 2 have been stagnant for many years now. i would like evidence of some way either brand has been truly innovative in a way that other smaller companies haven't already implemented specific innovations, or used superior techniques than what the big 2 are doing now. compound, series/phase switching, sculpted joints, ergonomics, automatic tuning, integrated effects, etc. have either been superceded or improved on by builders such as ibanez, g&l, manson, etc. and many smaller brands. fender only very recently allowed tone knobs to work on strat bridge pups.
The pickups catch my eye for sure!! Literally a double bobbin. I've been crazy about the Jazzmaster pickups because they sound great and are easy to reverse wire and get humbucker with any other coil.. Like a P90 dogear on a Junior.. And you wouldn't have to route deep into the tenon area.. Well these are deeper than normal. Yeah I want a JM P90 MM SGJR Oh American Performer is the nice Jazzmaster model. But the lead circuit is essential... It's series you said parallel.
Just throwing my two cents in here. I have one of these but in the Cobra Blue and I have noticed one thing with Fenders newer lines of guitars. There always seems to be one kind(Color, Model...etc) that stands out from the rest. I have no idea why this is(Lower production run? Later models?)but these usually stand out from the bunch. Like you, I tried the Mocha Burst and found it lackluster in every sense of the word. I could not wait to put it back on the rack. This worried me because I had ordered the Cobra based on one I got to play at a Fender event. It sounded AMAZING and was a dream to play. It wound up being owned by one of the Fender employees so I could not buy it and I was worried his was some kind of one off custom build and the one I ordered would be more like the Mocha. Nope. The Cobra Blue with the maple fretboard is a whole different animal. Brighter sounding pickups and a much nicer feel overall. The Noiseless pickups may still not chime as much as that Jazz/Tele, but they sounded WAY better than the ones in the Mocha. This has happened to me with the American Originals also. Went to buy a Olympic White Strat and wound up having to chose between it and a Candy Apple Red one...because they both sounded SO different.
That finish is amazing! Wat beyond my price point but the jazzmaster is a beautiful guitar. I have the Squier jazzmaster mod 60s and jaguar mod 70s and for the price, cannot be beaten.
I once had a Jazzmaster and liked it though not a fan of the excessive controls. Nice sound and very comfortable to play while seated. I like the gold on this one but I don't like the addition of the brown sunburst at all.
My experience is that the output readings on noisless single coils are always really high, even though the pickups are not really hot. I actually have a noisless p90 pickup where you can tap the part which is supposed to make it noisless out and when you do so the reading is only about 50 % of what it was befor, even though it doesn't lose much output.
Never heard that. Have an AmDeluxe Strat bought new in 2011, no problems at all w the S-1. Great, great set up especially with a humbucker in the bridge.
I’m with ya on this thing sounding lifeless with a clean signal. But even though I don’t wanna like Jazzmasters, on the dirt channel it sound pretty damn good. Thanks for reviewing the guitar.
The sort of instrument that gives a ton of choices but still just has one best tone...you may never find or do but never find it again...Like the Rascal bass but not as many bad choices...
From Leo: As a long term Jazzmaster owner, I like the new color. The Jazzmaster body is really comfortable to play. The neck joint improvement looks good. I welcome the hum free pickups, but I would have to hear it in person. I am glad they finally got the output jack off the pick guard. Even though I always use a cord with a 90 degree end, it just should not be there. (maybe someone could talk to gibson on the SG & 335) The cheesy chinese universal fit jack mounting plate is unforgivable on a $2000 guitar. A barrel jack would have been perfect. The separate tone controls are nice. I disagree with the upper control rework, the original configuration was great for years. Thanks for your work. The Jazz Master has always been a niche guitar, you did a pretty good job on the review
It sounded alright in its own way when you weren't beating on it. It reminds me of gibson p100 pickups. I wonder if you've done a review on something fitted with p100s (like an LP special/JR from the 90s). People hated the p100 because it didn't sound like the p90 it replaced, but it was alright in its own way. I used them for over 10 years, but p90s won out in that guitar in the end. Coincidentally, I just received a fender n4 noiseless pickup set to try on my strat and the neck PU doesn't work. I cry every time. I'll see how the bridge and middle sound tomorrow.
What is Fender's thing with individual tone controls and a single volume? This is one of few points were i actually PREFER Gibson over Fender, since they almost always have individual volumes
Sounds like they overwound those pickups to sound darker. I ordered some stock noiseless. I can analyze the pickup frequency response and compare to single coils. Gonna try to recreate these but keep the same frequency response of the single coils
seperate to my main comment ... i offer this ... this giutar sounds ok but it really doesnt make it as jazzmaster... also my spellcheck hates me and im leaving it in to embarrass it ... i actually spelled all the words corrctly lol ... including that laser one i cant find that word anywhere ... auto off... i typed correctly ... it auto corrected to what you see ... where did it get this word ?
+1 on the jack placement. Love sparkle finishes but they seem to be saturating the market. I may have missed it, but are the pots 1meg? Replacing them with 250K or possibly even 500K does wonders. 1 megs in guitars is just too piercing.
It's a good guitar, but not quite what I was expecting tone-wise after those Pure Vintage 65 Jazzmaster pickups. The sounds are completely different... but I think that is what Fender was going for!
reverb.com/item/31057356-video-2019-fender-american-ultra-jazzmaster-mocha-burst?_aid=growsumo&gs_partner=Trogly
0:15 - American Ultra Series
1:37 - Finishes + Price
2:19 - Special Features
4:02 - First Impressions
5:57 - Inside Look / Specs
13:22 - Tone Talk
17:27 - Tone Demo
18:49 - Pure Vintage 65 VS Noiseless
20:22 - Final Thoughts
22:51 - Condition
24:33 - Case / Candy
A lot of people change the pots in these from 1M to 500K or 250K. The lead circuit tends to use 1M pots which is nuts for single coils, especially the short and wide designs like these.
Do all these Fender vids mean Trogly is gonna jump from the sinking goodship Gibson? Lol. ;). Cheers man.
You should check out the Jim Root sig jazzmasters. Alot less confusing setup and is a classy guitar for metal, he has good taste
you should look into the Thurston Moore and Lee Ranaldo signature guitars by fender
Or check out the troy van leeuwen double neck jazzmaster
Red finish- ‘Looks pretty cool!’
‘This finish looks terrible’
‘Oh’
Same here XD I liked the Red something Burst (don't know the name) the most
@@nobuna2114 yep...id have the red one
Literally me bro 😂😂
Yeah, don't know why he didn't like the red sparkle. I thought it looked pretty cool. To each his own I guess.
I think the grain is just bad
"the neck has a really jazzy tone" *plays funk*
Absolute chad
That mocha burst is about the best finish I've ever seen. Finally something that competes with the classic honey burst, and not just another sunburst finish.
If you're looking for a cheaper option you can just mod a Squier J Mascis Jazzmaster with '65 style jazzmaster pickups and locking tuners. In total it cost me about $650 and it sounds and plays amazing.
The J Mascis Squire is a great guitar. It actually has good sounding pickups but they are closer to P90s than traditional Jazzmaster pickups. I replaced mine. I love the tune-o-matic style bridge that comes stock on it, the neck feels excellent, and I think it's one of the coolest looking guitars in the Fender or Squire line. For cheap Jazzmaster thrills it's hard to beat.
Ya I’ve played one before j mascis is great and it’s the best squire you can prob get
Jay Nixon are there drop in replacements with the locking tuners
Baby Yoda What’s a better deal? A cheap Jazzmaster or a G&L Doheny?
@@babyyoda3467 If you want P90's buy an Epiphone. Jazzmasters have Jazzmaster pickups for a reason.
"the jazzmaster body shape is actually brand new to the high-end lineup of Fender" I mean, yeah, nowadays, but it has always been known in its original line of production as the more expensive higher end alternative to the Strat or Tele
I love mine. I traded my more expensive Gibson Les Paul for it, making it the third Jazzmaster I own. This is the most comfortable guitar I've ever had in 25 years of playing. Personally the noiseless pickups were a big plus for me as a studio musician...I don't have to spend extra time editing out the noise typical Jazzmaster pickups make. I wasn't that impressed with the vintage 65 pickups. I prefer the noiseless or the V-mods. The finish is stunning and I love the binding and the way the neck feels flawlessly comfortable. It's an extremely versatile guitar, too. I'll admit I was sceptical about the whole Ultra Series, but after playing this is a shop, I was hooked. I could do without the extra switches and I'd prefer the input jack to be in the usual spot, but other than that I'll never part with this guitar.
This is a great review- like all your reviews, I really enjoy. Very helpful- I bought a 63 JM in 1989- and it was my go to for a long time- always wanted to ad a second but this sounds very different than what I'm looking for. Love your shows.
Following up- Fender has never really followed up with a nice run of American Standard JM- they've done reissues and players (mexican) but I'm still waiting for an updated production JM. I'm not a fan of the elite series in general- the noiseless pickups are just lacking.
Your reviews are so awesome!! You give us ins and outs of the whole guitar. GOOD JOB SIR🙌🏽
the input jack plate isn't even contoured ?? what? what is wrong with fender ?
Especially on a $2k guitar.
Output😊
Laughing all the way to the bank.
I'm no financial genius, but Fender has got their marketing absolutely SPOT ON.
So, congrats to them for that. Clearly Yale educations work.
Just noticed this lol. I like to play with a wireless input. ESPECIALLY on guitars that have a input on the face of the body. This way I don't have to worry about snagging a cord and smacking into shit. Strats, jags, sgs, jazz masters, and a few other guitars make this not a issue. So lame that this version of the jazz master isn't done this way : (
@@moosey62 Precisely. The question should be "what's wrong with the people who buy this thing?!" Jazzmaster Ultra is a waste of money.
Another thorough review. Great stuff.
I'm not really sure who these guitars are for. I imagine that the vast majority of folks that are going to drop major money for a Jazzmaster want a vintage spec.
My thoughts exactly .
@@lueysixty-six7300 I think that's more true for those buying the mid-level ones like the Mexican or the Specials or something, which is why those ones often have humbuckers and other non-standard stuff.
But the fact that no one liked them back in the day made them more scarce. People were modifying or selling them to pawn shops for next to nothing. The people paying $2k for them these days are doing so to get the vintage specs.
I think people who have the money, want something different, flashy and whacky. The finish and the many tonal options are really for them I think. And collectors. This really is something different.
Agreed. It's like they're trying to appeal to the modern crowd, but I would look for Jim Roots Jazzmaster and it's 500 bucks cheaper, and like others mentioned the vintage crowd will go for, well vintage.
@@lueysixty-six7300 yeah, I've never seen them as anything but 'pawn shop' guitars, like they were back then. People bought them because they were so cheap & they couldn't afford anything else.
An outstanding axe. I love it. The redesigned bridge is excellent. The regular, S-1 and out of phase sounds are gorgeous. The routed out heel is spectacular for reaching the upper frets. Locking tuners are fine. It plays great. My tech was very impressed with the new bridge design.
It's new/old. It's more or less the old Mustang bridge. The OG bridge gets a lot of complaints for not keeping the strings in line and being uncomfortable to have your palm on. I used to have a Mustang, looks the same.
Nice review, going through different pickup settings.
Your playing is super improving every moment. Plus, the Jazzmaster sounds great.
I just recently started watching your channel and I really appreciate how much I learn every time I watch and how honest you are. You kinda trashed this guitar, but kinda didn’t and then you offer it for sale. I’d buy from you in a heartbeat.
I gotta say I liked the new pickups because they sounded so modern, to me it felt like they weren't trying to get the vintage tone and the modern tone just sounds good. Especially with some extra gain on it, it really crunches just right! It sounds good, it's just a more modern sound than I think most people are looking for in a jazzmaster.
This
@@bipbipletucha Yeah they are essentially humbuckers. Cater more towards high gain.
I checked one out last week and it played and sounded amazing, definitely considering one
I have a question, what do u think of the Epiphone black back.....it's a solid mahogany body,.I'm looking for that 70s tone and feel
Never clicked so fast.
Sounds great!!
Trogly, I love your reviews! All That eye candy!!
Yours is the most viewed channel by me
Keep up the great work!!
.
Dear Fender,
2000$ and no roller string tee?
Also, a cap on each tone pot? That means when both pups are on you get double the amount of rolloff. Not a problem when only one pot is on ten, with the no-load pot. But if you like your tones on each pup preset to your desired setting, then switch to both pups on..........mud city....rofl
Loved it, sounds great. Love all the sparkles, great neck action. Tone controls are awesome and easy to understand. The pick-ups sounded fantastic. For an inexpensive electric guitar, this is a winner.
Inexpensive?
@14:42 you misspoke and said that the switch puts the pickups in parallel, but in reality that switch puts the pickup in series mode. Parallel is how almost all fender guitars are wired by default. Humbuckers are essentially two pickups wired in series. And that series option is most useful in a higher gain situation, it's sort of unfair to judge it's clean tone next to how perfect the parallel configuration sounds. Also, I wonder if you can get series and out of phase with that guitar, that would be a cool sound, similar to Brian May. I have a Jaguar that is wired to have the series option and it sounds superb with the strangle switch engaged, both clean and in a high gain context. I can tell you're not used to playing Fender guitars by how you review them, but that's okay, you're honesty and simplicity is nice.
The volume and tone knobs are awesome
Do they sell these necks separately? and if so, are they compatible with the Fender American Professional Jazzmaster?
Great video! Thank you.
I found the sparkly aspect of the mochaburst on my ultra stray surprisingly prominent as well, but i was pleasantly surprised and loved it!.
I've played one of those myself, along with the Ultra Telecaster, mostly like them both very much, but the noiseless pickups do sound dull. Don't have any issues with the layout personally, its just the pickups just lack that chime, that definitive Fender earworming chime.
Exactly. They just dont sound like real single coils. Just use a noise gate people.
It's the dullness of the pickups that rules it out for me. I have Lollars in my (Japanese) Jazzmaster and it's my go to guitar for surf/jangle type sounds. Love it to bits.
Thanks, Austin, for another great vid! I know they are time consuming to make!
Never been a Jassmaster fan, though 1 or 2 have worked for what I wanted out of them. That one definitely would cause me to change much of the electronics which I guess would be $300-$400 with me doing the work. It seems Fender failed on that one...
It sounds great. I have the J Mascis Squire Jazzmaster. After i set it up it plays and sounds awesome especially for thee price but would prefer noiseless pickups. Great demo. Thanks.
why does an american ultra series guitar have a china export (CE) sticker on the neck joint heel plate?
Sounds like 12 totally different guitars. I wasn't expecting much, but I really like it.
I love the finish it looks awesome
Got me a Will Ray hellecasters Jazzacaster with a B bender and love it
I love it, I think it's beautiful
I do love that finish.
I expect those pickups and the serial switch option to be much more fitting for downtunings in an modern highgain setting, where you need the recognizable mid focus, than in the classic vintage tone environment. That is also what Fender promote it for in their video ad about the American Ultra series. Would have been nice to hear it also with such a high gain sound.
After the ultra came out I hesitated, as i’d been saving for an Original. Bought the AO Jazzmaster and have no regrets.
I have a sunburst ultra and it's my favorite guitar. I obviously don't agree with this assessment but "to each his own" as they say.
Awesome
S1 puts both pickups in series,not parallel,which is what you say later in the video...?..also I don't think you can have treble bleeds on tone controls,only on volume pots ..are you sure you don't mean capacitors on the tone pots ?
Man I've been loving your videos, would you ever consider making a video on one of the Fender Cyclones or even the Cyclone II models? I've been kind of obsessing over them lately but don't really have the money to buy one. I'd love to see a video getting into them.
Tone is subjective, I like the sound of it a lot
Same here. Not traditional Jazzmaster for sure, but like Trogly said something new
I'm sure your bank manager will be as subjective.
Banks need customers with too much money.
Glad I'm not the only one that felt this way. I drove down to my local guitar store that had one to try it out, eager to fall in love with it. Was pretty underwhelmed. Not a bad guitar at all, but certainly not worth the price or the hype from every GC employee that saw me playing it. And yes, it's DEFINITELY a lot more sparkly in person, really bummed me out.
Wow, they really messed with the controls! I really enjoy the darker tones of the rhythm circuit on a regular Jazzmaster.
I still say it's a crime that Fender keeps putting out this guitar without changing the bridge... without a Mastery, this guitar is half of what it should be... just my opinion, but come on Fender, enough is enough
The Classic Player Jazzmaster has a Tune-o-matic type bridge. I got one when they came out in 2008, it's one of my main guitars now. I assume they still make them.
Fender isn't going to put an aftermarket bridge that isn't necessary at all on one of their guitars.
due to the physics of that guitar that bridge has caused string buzz, and most of the jazz master guys I know have swapped out for another bridge... i just think Fender could do with a little upgrade of their own...
Easy fix. Place a small double strip of felt under the strings, just touching up to the back of the bridge. No more buzz, and I play with 9 to 42 sets. Of course some players will still pop strings out of the grooves(not ever been a problem for me) but that an easy fix too. You just file the grooves deeper, or you can use a Mustang bridge which my brother has on his 1985 Jazzmaster MIJ. We both play lead or rhythm on these guitars. My favorites are the '65 Vintage Reissues, The 60th Anniversary 1958 Reissue, and the Blonde 1959 Thinskin Reissue I acquired from Dave's Guitars.
@@fuzzface8252 Considering the number of people who complain about them, Fender would be smart to outright ditch the traditional JM bridge. Piece of garbage, really.
What are the difference pickups for the Jazzmaster in his history I have J mascis signed guitar in gold colour
I love the color! I do agree with you about the complicated electricals. Lots of un needed options for me anyway. I'd like to see the Texas tea color...
The neck on that thing is absolutely beautiful. That's about it though. If it had the pv 65's in it, I bet it would be worth playing around with all those neat controls.
So....does it have a sparkley finish?
That's a particular beautiful instrument. Particular. The JM shape is ultimate. I recently bo't a new SQUIER J Mascis jazzmaster. The ONLY guitar I've ever unboxed to find that I didn't have to do ANYTHING to it to make in run good. Oy oy I love it. And I love the one you've reviewed here. Even if it is a Fender but I wouldn't buy it because it's not Squier or some other cheaper origin. Thank you for your forensic reviews of guitars! You give them every opportunity to strut their stuff!
Great review! I was tempted to buy one of these and I'm glad you did the comparison to the other pick-ups because there's nothing worse than flat sounding pick-ups. (I thought it sounded good in the review though - lots of dirty raspy acoustic-ish tone)
I have to disagree about the finish though, and I've seen it in person: I would characterize it as a standard Fender sparkle. Perhaps the gold color draws it out more, but the flake in the finish is the standard Fender tiny flake. Personally, I'm not a fan of the color scheme - it's like a sepia version of the Gibson Silver Burst which I also dislike. I bought the Texas Tea Strat which has a very subdued sparkle, and I wished it was more visible like this one.
I really wish the Ultra models would lose the pick guard. Fender doesn't offer enough guitars with a wood top - all that plastic at that price point gets a little hard to stomach creeping into Gibosn prices. And if they were really going after Gibson market share - they would make them set net as well.
Since this is a "modern" version, why no Micro-Tilt neck at this price?
That guitar is so pretty i wouldnt know whether to play it or hang it up on a wall like fine art .giutars are becoming more of an art than just intruments.cant get enough of your channel .
Very pretty!
Full of tones but not necessarily ones I like. Great review.
Great soundin guitar.
I have become a huge Jazzmaster fan. They are very ergonomic with the offset body and 25.5" length.
Trogly, I think you should do like a super strat sunday or something. I would love to see you reviewing some ibanezes or schecters!
That is the patent pending "Wading Pool Rout".
i'd still like to try it
The tremolo has a lock on it so it can be locked in a non-moving way.
That's not what it does. All it does is set it so that the trem cannot float, as in it can only go downwards. It was supposed to be so that if you broke a string you wouldn't go out of tune.
Reginald Höfnerspoon
You lock it by engaging the lock tab and then just tightening the screw to make it nice and tight against the lock.
@@caiusmadison2996 Nope. The reissue American vibratos with the lock are the exact same design as vintage. You are just not remembering correctly or you had shit set up weird. What Reginald said is correct.
Reginald is right, that button never had a "locking" function for the trem. All it did was set the plate underneath to a tighter position for more stability on string breaks but the trem still functioned. In true offset fashion even this needed to be set up properly to be useable.
I love my Ultra Jazzmaster. Some are not loving the sound compared to a real vintage or vintage RI. It depends on the situation I already have a 1959 RI FSR Jazzmaster. Thin skin with the gold anodized guard. The one guitar I'll never part with. That one has the real Jazzmaster sound. I love Jazzmasters but I had no use for another one that sounded exactly the same and that's why I sprung for this one. Plus It has bell & whistles. One other thing, this is the best review I've seen on this guitar. It even helped me to fix a slight glitch with my Ultra Jazz, Thanks for your effort.
Nobody reinvents the wheel quite like the two big American Guitar comanies.
It is weird that they keep doing that, there's been a steady flow of bizarre "improvements" from both Fender and Gibson since the 70s. A cynical person might even consider the Jazzmaster itself one of the first mis-steps, lol!
@@davetbassbos The jazzmaster is very good at a few things and that's it. The original vintage ones and other made like them do this sound to a T. But hell, were totally ignoring marketing...
the 80s and early 90s were the years for guitar innovation and its been smaller/mid-sized builders carrying that torch... the big 2 slow everything down so they can make more money later on calling the simplest things an "innovation"
heftosprod what on earth are you talking about? Lol, just look around man. This is the golden age of gear, guitars are more innovative than they’ve ever been
@@tylerl8934 smaller builders yes, but the big 2 have been stagnant for many years now. i would like evidence of some way either brand has been truly innovative in a way that other smaller companies haven't already implemented specific innovations, or used superior techniques than what the big 2 are doing now. compound, series/phase switching, sculpted joints, ergonomics, automatic tuning, integrated effects, etc. have either been superceded or improved on by builders such as ibanez, g&l, manson, etc. and many smaller brands. fender only very recently allowed tone knobs to work on strat bridge pups.
I played one of these at a shop about a year ago now and it was an absolute dog. I now have a Squier J Mascis Jazzmaster and couldn’t be happier.
The pickups catch my eye for sure!! Literally a double bobbin. I've been crazy about the Jazzmaster pickups because they sound great and are easy to reverse wire and get humbucker with any other coil.. Like a P90 dogear on a Junior.. And you wouldn't have to route deep into the tenon area.. Well these are deeper than normal. Yeah I want a JM P90 MM SGJR
Oh American Performer is the nice Jazzmaster model. But the lead circuit is essential... It's series you said parallel.
I actually like the sounds that you achieved,but it does seem over complicated. Man your playing is definitely improving in leaps and bounds!!!
Just throwing my two cents in here. I have one of these but in the Cobra Blue and I have noticed one thing with Fenders newer lines of guitars. There always seems to be one kind(Color, Model...etc) that stands out from the rest. I have no idea why this is(Lower production run? Later models?)but these usually stand out from the bunch.
Like you, I tried the Mocha Burst and found it lackluster in every sense of the word. I could not wait to put it back on the rack. This worried me because I had ordered the Cobra based on one I got to play at a Fender event. It sounded AMAZING and was a dream to play.
It wound up being owned by one of the Fender employees so I could not buy it and I was worried his was some kind of one off custom build and the one I ordered would be more like the Mocha.
Nope. The Cobra Blue with the maple fretboard is a whole different animal. Brighter sounding pickups and a much nicer feel overall. The Noiseless pickups may still not chime as much as that Jazz/Tele, but they sounded WAY better than the ones in the Mocha. This has happened to me with the American Originals also. Went to buy a Olympic White Strat and wound up having to chose between it and a Candy Apple Red one...because they both sounded SO different.
Digging this one, a definite rock it! The finish isn't too much for me as well.
That thing would be amazing with a pair of Lindy Fralins or Lollars!
I have the Mocha Burst ultra Strat, great guitar, I messaged you about the EDS1275 100th anniversary on FB😊
In series plus out of phase equals Brian May tones.
A jazzmaster tremolo too!
This is a Queen Machine!
Yeah!! Finnally some tone control tested.
✌
That finish is amazing! Wat beyond my price point but the jazzmaster is a beautiful guitar. I have the Squier jazzmaster mod 60s and jaguar mod 70s and for the price, cannot be beaten.
I once had a Jazzmaster and liked it though not a fan of the excessive controls. Nice sound and very comfortable to play while seated. I like the gold on this one but I don't like the addition of the brown sunburst at all.
I like the sparkles!
My experience is that the output readings on noisless single coils are always really high, even though the pickups are not really hot. I actually have a noisless p90 pickup where you can tap the part which is supposed to make it noisless out and when you do so the reading is only about 50 % of what it was befor, even though it doesn't lose much output.
He probably had the series switch on when testing the pickup resistance?
I know that a lot of earlier s-1 were kinda crap and would get stuck in the down position. Can anyone attest to them improving that product?
Never heard that. Have an AmDeluxe Strat bought new in 2011, no problems at all w the S-1. Great, great set up especially with a humbucker in the bridge.
@@JeffreyTheTaylor the one's I noticed it on were back in the first and second year when that was a offered. 2005 maybe?
wow this is beautiful
That is a truly striking guitar though. It would definitely catch my eye hanging on a store wall.
I’m with ya on this thing sounding lifeless with a clean signal. But even though I don’t wanna like Jazzmasters, on the dirt channel it sound pretty damn good. Thanks for reviewing the guitar.
Get some of the Sonic Youth Jazzmasters & do a review of those Austin man. They are some sweet guitars mate. Great finish on them too. Thanks lad.
This ^^
TRIPLESEVENSIX THIS
@@xiutxui1689 I almost read your name as Bill Cosby there & was just about to run away!! ;)
What do you guys think of Kurt Cobain's Jag, and Jim Roots Jazz?
Also the Troy van Leeuwen signature jazzmaster
The sort of instrument that gives a ton of choices but still just has one best tone...you may never find or do but never find it again...Like the Rascal bass but not as many bad choices...
Can you review a P100 equipped Gibson?
From Leo: As a long term Jazzmaster owner, I like the new color. The Jazzmaster body is really comfortable to play. The neck joint improvement looks good. I welcome the hum free pickups, but I would have to hear it in person.
I am glad they finally got the output jack off the pick guard. Even though I always use a cord with a 90 degree end, it just should not be there. (maybe someone could talk to gibson on the SG & 335) The cheesy chinese universal fit jack mounting plate is unforgivable on a $2000 guitar. A barrel jack would have been perfect. The separate tone controls are nice. I disagree with the upper control rework, the original configuration was great for years. Thanks for your work. The Jazz Master has always been a niche guitar, you did a pretty good job on the review
From Leo?
From Leo Fender?
It sounded alright in its own way when you weren't beating on it. It reminds me of gibson p100 pickups. I wonder if you've done a review on something fitted with p100s (like an LP special/JR from the 90s). People hated the p100 because it didn't sound like the p90 it replaced, but it was alright in its own way. I used them for over 10 years, but p90s won out in that guitar in the end.
Coincidentally, I just received a fender n4 noiseless pickup set to try on my strat and the neck PU doesn't work. I cry every time. I'll see how the bridge and middle sound tomorrow.
I love the plasma red burst finish
Would humbuckers go in easily?
What is Fender's thing with individual tone controls and a single volume? This is one of few points were i actually PREFER Gibson over Fender, since they almost always have individual volumes
Sounds like they overwound those pickups to sound darker. I ordered some stock noiseless. I can analyze the pickup frequency response and compare to single coils. Gonna try to recreate these but keep the same frequency response of the single coils
This one’s tight!
That neck is the sweetest thing. Kinda dig it a lot.
seperate to my main comment ... i offer this ... this giutar sounds ok but it really doesnt make it as jazzmaster... also my spellcheck hates me and im leaving it in to embarrass it ... i actually spelled all the words corrctly lol ... including that laser one i cant find that word anywhere ... auto off... i typed correctly ... it auto corrected to what you see ... where did it get this word ?
+1 on the jack placement.
Love sparkle finishes but they seem to be saturating the market.
I may have missed it, but are the pots 1meg? Replacing them with 250K or possibly even 500K does wonders.
1 megs in guitars is just too piercing.
Weird...your "I didn't like it" review convinced me to search for other reviews and to, most likely, still buy one. :-)
Sure someone else has already said it, but when you engage the s1 switch it's both pickups in series not parallel.
Trogly, please check out a Whiteguard Strat. I got one and so far I really like it. I'd like to know what you think.
Thanks for this video. You’re right. The pickups are dull when played clean.
b.s. go watch sean halley demo this guitar.