Monday, March 24, 2014

Fender: Modern Player Jazzmaster HH (review)

We're still in Chinese territory. No territorial trespassing though, just craftsmanship appraisal. This time it's Fender's Modern Player Jazzmaster HH. Once again, to re-affirm the Modern Player philosophy; everything traditional with a dash of eccentricity. So you see a Jazzmaster here with details you won't normally see in one; humbuckers, absence of slider control for the lead circuit, tune-o-matic type bridge & maple fretboard.

If you are accustomed to the Strat or Tele, the Jaguar & Jazzmaster are definitely extensive in body measurements; it's not that handle-friendly. Adding considerable weight to that, the Jazzmaster here is quite a beast. Ditto the neck profile- despite the familiar C curvature, it's a meaty version. It is no wonder then the Mustang, Musicamaster & Bronco were produced back then to offer a more manageable handling. In this aspect, this MP Jazzmaster is keeping with traditions in terms of outline & mass.

Moving on to the differences, the MP Jazzmaster sports a mahogany body, a pair of humbuckers & maple fretboard (rosewood version available). The slider switch controlling the lead tones were also not included at the factory. Without plugging in, we are already dealing with specs contrary to the traditional Jazzmaster. A quick strum revealed some warm midrange, typical of a mahogany response. No pronounced brightness coming from this one.

We need to at least hear a P-90 type guitar in action to know where the Jazzmaster stands in terms of tone. The original Jazzmaster pickup is a single coil affair but these are humbuckers so let's not get too carried away with the tonal departure. There isn't any fat single coil tone to be heard here, the stark truth- the MP Jazzmaster is another humbucking guitar out there. Zooming into the pickups, they are pleasant in clean mode with no accentuated frequencies, rather flat-sounding if I may add. In drive mode, we know they are neither too high output nor vintage sounding. 

So what do we have here? A Jazzmaster? Not really, it doesn't sound like one despite looking like one. What makes a Jazzmaster a Jazzmaster? Essentially, it should be a chemistry of the looks & the tone. We have the Jazzmaster looks here despite some feature differences but the Jazzmaster tone is absent. Some of us would be happy campers knowing that one of Fender's overlooked player is finally offered with humbuckers because we just can't stand that single coil hum. Well, that could be a purchase consideration.

Because I'm the type who discriminates workmanship as it adds to cost, I'm rather unhappy with the test model as it features stained frets. Stain here isn't merely chemical pigmentation but (light) rust. Also, the 3-way toggle is a little dodgy; the bridge pickup failed to connect at times. That's rather worrying. Please take some time to ask yourselves why you'd want to buy this guitar. The Jazzmaster in its traditional incarnation, is a special guitar, tone-wise especially. This Modern Player Jazzmaster has the looks but not the tone, not even close.

Rating: 70%

Fender: Moder Player Jazzmaster HH
Availbility: Swee Lee Co.
Price: $700

12 comments:

Jebong said...

On that aspect the squire j mascis jazzmaster is more of a jazzmaster than this and at a cheaper price.

subversion.sg said...

All jazzmasters are jazzmasters, we just have to accept the deviation. otherwise, move on & go with other guitars :-)

Muddy Garges said...

On one point I totally agree with our reviewer: tone-wise this guitar is not a Jazzmaster at all. Nevertheless, it's still nice to find certain fender-y appointments, such as maple fretboard and that peculiar tremolo, on a sonically gibsonesque guitar. Not for the purist, that's for sure.

mrnoble said...

For me the humbucking sound is between Fender Jaguar Classic Player HH and Squier Jagmaster. Not too muddy or trebly, just nice.

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Unknown said...

Ok. Well nice creative article.

Who doesn't like the way a Jazzmaster looks? That classic wide single coil with all those switches which effect who knows what.

Today I sat down with three JM's at my yee ol' music shoppe, including the modern player hh. The other two were the squire Jay Mascis and the classic player mim.

To assert my subjective preference, the classic player stood out to me. Initially I was doubtful of its seemly cartoon appearance sans classic JM single coils.

Ok yeah sure, it lacks the classic shrill flat tone our reviewer called 'bright' that we all love but it's called the modern player for a reason. I think it's more than appropriate that Fender offers an HH in the offset range. It's about preference. Just because it's sporting Humbuckers doesn't make it any less of a Jazzmaster.

In addition, the beefy neck on this model would keep the oversize finger from cramping up on the fretboard.

Not to mention, holy hell, did you forget about the amazing-never goes out of tune- JM trem system? Never seen a Jazzmaster without one of those.

subversion.sg said...

I currently own this guitar. I'm not missing the traditional JM tone so to speak because it wasn't meant to be present here. Loving the overall heavier take in terms of weight (much heavier in this case compared to a Japanese JM) giving the humbuckers a deserving manifestation. A welcomed variation.

Alittletoomuchkenny_ said...

I have one and honestly it’s my favorite guitar out of all the guitars I’ve owned. I’ve been playing for a long time and can honestly say I don’t know technical crap about a guitar.I would never try to fix one on my own, beyond that ground wire on the input thingy. But I love to play and it gives me everything I need. I bought it used and spent 75 cents to get it to back to it’s original shape. I love the natural finish on the neck and the tremolo arm is all big and right there and awesome, which I imagine is like the original. It’s great for the average player not a critic I guess lol ,but if you know how to play you gonna make that bad boy sound how you want/sound good .

Alittletoomuchkenny_ said...

Also yea it’s heavy and I like that about it
Feels solid af

subversion.sg said...

I'm just glad I bought it despite its Chinese origin & all. A well-made instrument is a well-made instrument, regardless of where it's from. 👌🏽