Fender Standard HSS Stratocaster Electric Guitar

August 9, 2007 by Jo Minor · Leave a Comment 


The Fender Stratocaster is mentioned again and again when you are discussing favorite electric guitars with people. While few people deny that the Strat body shape is about the most comfortable thing going, or that Fender guitars are well made, there is one complaint that is often leveled against the Strat. That complaint is that the three pickups are all single coil pickups. A lot of people desire the flexibility a humbucker would give them.

Single coil pickups give a guitar a good, bright tone. Unfortunately, they also produce a little bit of a static hum because they pick up stray frequencies. A humbucker pickup consists of two coils that are wound opposite of each other. This construction helps to cancel out the stray frequency, and thus the hum is no longer an issue. Hence, these double coil pickups are called “humbuckers.” (They buck the hum.)

Humbucking pickups also produce a darker, warmer tone than the bright, jangly single coil sound. Because of this warmer tone, most rock artists, and many guitarists from other styles of music, prefer humbucking pickups over single coil. Country artists often prefer the regular Stratocaster style guitars with only single coil pickups.

To meet the need of other musicians, however, Fender also makes Stratocasters that have a humbucking pickup at the neck along with the single coil pickups in the middle and bridge positions. These guitars are designated as HSS Stratocasters, with the HSS standing for “humbucker, single-coil, single-coil.” More commonly, these humbucker-equipped Strats are called “fat Strats.” That is because of the “fat” tone available when the humbucker is in use.

Fender makes several series of Stratocaster, such as the American Series, the American Deluxe, and the Highway One varieties. The Standard Series of Fender guitars are the ones that are made in Fender’s Mexican factory instead of in America. These “MIM” (”made in Mexico”) guitars retail for a lot lower prices than the guitars that are made in America. Even so, they retain much of the quality of the higher priced versions. The Fender Standard HSS Stratocaster electric guitar carries a retail price tag of only $571.41-$621.41, which is a far cry from the four digit prices of the American guitars.

Like their more expensive Strat cousins, the Fender Standard HSS Stratocasters come in a wide choice of colors, and you can choose between rosewood and maple for the fingerboard material. Colors available for the body of the guitar include black, Electron Blue, Arctic White, Midnight Wine, Chrome Red, and Brown Sunburst (which is the finish that commands the higher price.)

The Fender Standard HSS Stratocaster electric guitar is a chance to own the most popular guitar style in the world at a reasonable price with a prestigious name on the headstock and a humbucker to boot. What more could you want?

Advantages: Of course, one of the first advantages to any of the Stratocaster family is that it is a downright comfortable guitar to play. The carved, contoured body fits up against you instead of digging into your ribs like some other styles. It is well balanced and you can play it seated, unlike some of the V-shaped guitars or those with heavy necks. And there is the reasonable price on this Mexican made guitar.

But probably the top advantage to playing a fat strat as opposed to other models of guitar out there is the incredible amount of versatility. The humbucker pickup adds a lot of options to the tones you can produce from your guitar, and you are not limited to brighter, jangly single-coil sounds.

All in all, the Fender Standard HSS Stratocaster appears to be a reliable, well made electric guitar for all your needs, whether you are playing gigs or just relaxing at home.

Disadvantages: The tremolo on the Fender Standard HSS Stratocaster electric guitar is pretty bad about throwing the whole guitar out of tune if you use it very much. This is really the case with most tremolos, however. Another complaint that has been made against this guitar is that the neck pickup does not have much volume. Some players don’t like the tone on some of the settings.

Specs:

  • Alder body in contoured design with two deep cutaways
  • Maple “C” shaped neck
  • Choice of rosewood or maple for fingerboard
  • 21 medium jumbo frets
  • 25.5 inch scale length
  • 1 11/16 inches wide at the nut
  • Chrome hardware
  • Vintage synchronized tremolo with whammy bar
  • Thicker bridge block that provides increased sustain and a more stable point of contact with the strings
  • Humbucking pickup in the bridge position
  • Two single-coil pickups in the middle and neck positions
  • 5-position pickup selector switch
  • One master volume control knob
  • Two tone control knobs
  • Comes with a Fender gig bag

Check out this blog for Strat Collectors.

While researching Stratocasters, I ran across this interview with guitarist Theresa Anderson.  Let’s hear it for the guitar girls!

More Info / Buy Online: Fender Standard HSS Stratocaster

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Fender American Stratocaster Electric Guitar

August 9, 2007 by Jo Minor · Leave a Comment 

There is a whole family of Fender Stratocaster’s on the market these days, from inexpensive Squiers to Custom Shop Strats that cost many thousands of dollars. It seems however, that one of the most loved and prestigious of all of them, indeed of all electric guitars, is the Fender American Stratocaster. It is not exactly cheap, retailing for $1,356.99 - $1,406.99, depending on the finish, with sunburst pattern finishes being higher priced.

The Fender American Stratocaster differs from the Standard Strat in that the Standard is made in Mexico. These are sometimes called MIM (which stands for “Made in Mexico”) Stratocasters. The American Stratocaster electric guitar is made in America, so it commands a higher price. It is available in black, 3-tone sunburst, Olympic white, Candy Cola, Butterscotch blond, Charcoal Frost metallic, and Shoreline Gold colors. In each of the colors, you have a choice between rosewood or maple for the fingerboard.

Many of the greatest of all electric guitar players down through the years have favored Fender Stratocasters over other brands of guitars. The story of the Strat is an interesting one. Fender released the Telecaster electric guitar in 1951 and many people liked its simple styling. Still, others complained that it felt like a slab of wood on your lap and that it dug into their ribs.

Fender went to work designing and came up with the Stratocaster. The name comes from two rather modernistic (in the 50’s) words. One was the Stratosphere - that part of the sky where planes fly and clouds float around. The other is broadcaster, which refers to the guitars suitability to being used broadcast on radio, television, and where ever. So the implication is something that is as modern as an airplane and deserves to being broadcast over the whole earth.

The Fender American Stratocaster has some great new upgrades. For one thing, it is routed so that you can install humbucker pickups at the neck and bridge in the future if you desire. It has a new neck shape that helps you play faster. The three very good pickups give you all sorts of variety. For instance, the neck pickup is great for playing blues. The bridge pickup, on the other hand, is perfect for a country sound.

Advantages: The American Stratocaster is one of the most comfortable guitars you can play, and it is very well made. This is a professional level instrument and will do you proud when you gig with it. The action is fast and good, and the strings have a light feel to them. The playability and the sound are excellent. It has a more curved fretboard than many other rock-oriented electric guitars, and that curved feel makes the guitar really good for playing rhythm.

As stated earlier, the American Strat is very versatile. You’ll find yourself playing jazzy sounds, blues, classic rock, country, you name it.

Disadvantages: The Fender American Stratocaster electric guitar is not really a metal guitar. You really need humbuckers if you are going to sound good playing heavy metal and similar styles of music. Still the Strat is very versatile. The tremolo is a good one, but all trems cause guitars to go out of tune. It has been suggested that the tremolo on the American Strat needs a few more springs.

Specs:

  • Carved, contoured alder body
  • Maple neck in modern “C” shape
  • Choice of rosewood or maple fingerboard
  • Rolled fingerboard edges
  • 9.5 inch (241 mm) fingerboard radius
  • 22 medium jumbo frets
  • 25.5 inch (648 mm.) scale length
  • 1.6875 inch (43 mm.) wide at the nut
  • Chrome hardware
  • 3 American Strat Single coil pickups
  • Master volume control knob
  • One tone control knob for the neck pickup
  • One tone control knob called “Delta Tone”
  • (“Delta Tone” system includes high output bridge pickup and special No-Load tone control for Middle and Bridge Pickups)
  • 5-Position Blade pickup selector switch
  • Position 1: Bridge pickup
  • Position 2: Bridge and middle Pickup
  • Position 3: Middle Pickup
  • Position 4: Middle and neck pickup
  • Position 5: Neck Pickup
  • American 2-point synchronized tremolo with stainless steel saddles
  • Fender-Schaller Deluxe Staggered Cast-Sealed tuning machines
  • “Parchment” colored knobs and pickup covers
  • Original headstock shape
  • Original body shape with “Original Contour Body” decal on headstock
  • H/S/H Pickup routing
  • Nickel plated steel strings in .009 to .042 gauges
  • Includes a standard molded case

More Info / Buy Online: Fender American Stratocaster

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Digital Wonder: the Fender VG Stratocaster Electric Guitar

August 8, 2007 by Jo Minor · 2 Comments 

Digital technology is here to stay, and guitars are feeling the change. The Fender VG Stratocaster electric guitar is one such innovative axe. Technology does not come cheap in this instance, with the VG strat carrying a list price tag of $2,428.56 - $2,478.56, depending on finish. It is available in black or vintage sunburst, with your choice of a rosewood or maple fingerboard.

The story of the Fender Stratocaster has been told and retold. In the early 1950’s, Fender and Gibson, and to a lesser degree, Rickenbacker, were competing to create the most popular solid body electric guitar design. Fender released the Telecaster, which was followed by Gibson’s Les Paul. One complaint waged against both of these guitars is that they were uncomfortable to play, feeling like a slab of wood pressed into your ribs.

Fender got to designing, and came up with the contoured, carved body style they called the Stratocaster. At the time, the name had a futuristic sound, but now that the future is here, the term strat doesn’t mean anything but a guitar. Anyway, the Stratocaster was an instant hit that has been often copied down through the years, and almost every guitar manufacturer has its own twist on the Strat body style.

To develop the Fender VG (”virtual guitar”) Stratocaster, Fender technicians and designers collaborated with the techs and designers from the music tech company, Roland Corporation. The motto for the research, which took 10 years, was “the complex art of keeping it simple.”

Advantages: A major advantage of the Fender VG Stratocaster over other digital modeling guitar gear is that you do not have to be some sort of a tech whiz to figure out how to use it. You merely plug it into an amp with a regular cord. Then you set your control knobs on the kind of sound you want. The digital part of this guitar works on 4 AA batteries. When the batteries are weak or dead, you can set the mode control knob to “normal” and totally bypass the digital circuit. When the digital circuit is in use, it is indicated by a blue light on the front of the guitar.

Another really neat thing is that you can change the tuning of this guitar with just a turn of a knob. You can go to drop D, or even DADGAD tuning, without messing with the tuners at all! That is pretty amazing. The acoustic and 12-string acoustic modes are very authentic, too. The nice thing about not having to change the tuners to change the tuning is that your string tension always feels the same, so you play better.

Also, if you are short of space, but love all things Fender, you will appreciate having a Strat, a Tele, and a fat Strat all rolled into one guitar. One terrifically comfy guitar, I might add. And if you are short of time, too, you can figure it all out in about five minutes. (No having to wade through a two inch thick tech manual to figure out how to use it.)

Disadvantages: The price seems to be a bit too high considering the limitations of this instrument. If you really want to get a lot of variation in sounds, look at the equipment available from Line 6. Their Variax guitars and PODs yield many more options for a lot less money, although they might take some time to get used to. There are other virtual options, too, on the market these days. The Fender VG is a nice guitar, but just seems a little overpriced.

At that price, you should at least be able to get it in a groovy color or something, too, instead of just sunburst or black. (And if you ask me, that blue light is dorky looking. If you want a vintage look or sound, both of which this guitar has, that blue light is going to ruin it. Sorry, but that is my opinion.)

Fender VG Stratocaster Specs:

  • Made in America
  • Ash body
  • Maple neck
  • Choice of maple or rosewood fingerboard
  • 3 single coil pickups
  • 3-ply parchment colored pickguard
  • Chrome hardware
  • Master volume control knob
  • Master tone control knob
  • Mode function 5-way rotary selector:
  • Choose N for normal and bypass the digital electronics
  • Choose S for regular ash bodied Strat
  • Choose T for Telecaster sound
  • Choose H for dual Humbucker strat
  • Choose A for Acoustic sounds.
  • Tuning function 6 way rotary selector
  • Choose from normal tuning, drop D, baritone,open G chord for slide, 12 string, two others

Review / Buy Online: Fender VG Stratocaster

Other resources:

  • Here is a review of the Fender VG Stratocaster electric guitar.
  • Check out the Fender VG Strat webpage. If you click on “Media” and have a pretty fast internet connection, you can watch the clever little advertising video that explains the project. You can see it at a music store that deals in Fender guitars, too.

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Fender ‘65 Mustang Reissue Electric Guitar

July 29, 2007 by Jo Minor · Leave a Comment 

Surf’s up! For right at $1000, retail, you can relive the mid sixties beach scene with a Fender ‘65 Mustang Reissue electric guitar. Available in Daphne Blue or Dakota Red with a white pearl pickguard, or in Olympic white with a brown shell pickguard, this is one groovy guitar. The Mustang was originally designed as a student model, and it is not really suitable for metal. But if you are into lighter sounds, this makes a nice addition to your arsenal.

Fender electric guitars have been on the market since they released the popular Telecaster in 1951. The first Mustang came out in August of 1964, and had a new type of tremolo arm designed by Leo Fender. There are not very many of the very first ones around now, and collectors will pay thousands of dollars for them.

The first student models Fender released were called the Musicmaster and the Duo-Sonic. The Duo-Sonic differed from the Musicmaster in that it had two pickups while the Musicmaster only had one. These both came out in the fifties.

The Mustang had a slightly offset waist, much like the Jaguar and Jazzmaster that were released about that time. You could order any of these with a shorter, 22.5 inch neck with 21 frets. This is also called a 3/4 scale neck. The larger size was much more popular, and there are not many examples of the shorter scale guitars around now.

Fender also issued a bass guitar in 1964 that they called the Mustang bass, which had some of the same features, like the short scale. Various changes were made from year to year, with similar guitars being called names like the Bronco and the Bullet.

The Fender Mustang was one of the neglected, offset-waist Fender models that made a comeback during the nineties, with almost a cult following among alternative rockers. Kurt Cobain of the band, Nirvana, is a well-known fan of the Fender Mustang.

Advantages: The 24 inch neck makes the Fender ‘65 Mustang Reissue electric guitar a good one for people with smaller hands. It also makes the tremolo arm work better for upbends. The tone knob works really well and is very effective. The on/off switches are a handy feature, too. It has great sustain and decent pickups, but you might want to upgrade them.

This is a beauty of a guitar, too, with its vintage styling and cool color combinations. The neck is fast and smooth.

Disadvantages: Like some of the other Fender models that are modeled after the vintage originals, there are switches above the strings. You may find yourself bumping them when strumming enthusiastically. Also, some have had problems with the set up in order to reduce fret buzz and lower the action. It is small and light weight and might not sit well in a guitar stand if you are switching guitars around in that important gig.  The tremolo is the floating type, and it does go out of tune fairly easily if you use the whammy bar very much.

It can be hard to find a good sounding distortion setting on the Fender ‘65 Mustang, but if you fiddle with your knobs you should be able to find something. It is not for playing heavy metal, so if that is your style, you probably need something else. This one is good for surf music, though (of course!) And you can make some good alternative rock noise with it.

Fender ‘65 Mustang Reissue Specs:

  • Poplar body in vintage correct styling
  • “C” shaped maple neck with gloss polyurethane finish
  • ‘65 Mustang headstock and bridge plate logos
  • “F” neck plate
  • Fender/Gotoh vintage style tuning machines with white buttons
  • 3-Ply white pearloid pickguard on Daphne Blue and Dakota Red models
  • 4-ply tortoise shell pickguard on Olympic white model.
  • Rosewood fingerboard
  • Fingerboard radius, 7.25 inches (184 mm.)
  • 22 vintage style frets
  • 24 inch (610 mm. scale length
  • 1.625 inches (41 mm.) wide at the nut
  • Mustang single-coil pickup at the neck
  • Mustang single-coil pickup at the bridge
  • Chrome hardware
  • One master volume control
  • One master tone control
  • On-Off slider switch for each pickup
  • In-Out Phase switch for each pickup
  • Floating bridge with “Dynamic” vibrato tailpiece
  • Vintage appropriate gap between the control plate and the pickguard
  • Super 250R, NPS strings in .010 to .046)
  • No case included

Get Info / Buy Online: Fender ‘65 Mustang Reissue

Other resources:

  • For collectors of vintage guitars, this page tells all about the Fender Musicmaster and Duo-Sonic student model guitars and shows some pictures.
  • To exploit the cult following enjoyed by the vintage Mustangs, Jaguars, and Jazzmasters during the nineties, Fender released a guitar that was a mix between a Mustang and a Jaguar. It was available between 1994 to 2005 and was called a “Jag-Stang.” Click here for more info about this guitar.

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Fender Jaguar HH Electric Guitar

July 26, 2007 by Jo Minor · Leave a Comment 

The black and chrome Fender Jaguar HH electric guitar is one groovy looking and sounding piece of rock machinery. With all the surfing style it had back in 1969, this new reissue guitar has some updated features, like dual Dragster humbucking pickups and an Adjusto-matic bridge with anchored tailpiece. Own this functional new (limited edition) piece of memorabilia for only $899.99 retail.

The predecessor of the Fender Jaguar first came on the scene in the late 1950s. It was advertised as “one of the finest solid body electric guitars that had ever been offered to the public.” The funny thing was, it did not catch on with the public at all when it was first issued. The Jaguar came about after the introduction of a similar model of Fender electric guitar called the Jazzmaster. One of the Fender designers was working on double circuit guitars, where you could change the tone with just the flip of a switch.

The idea was not received well by Leo Fender himself, but that changed when a musician named Alvino Rey talked to Fender. Rey loved the idea and talked Fender into manufacturing such a guitar. The first double circuit guitar, the Jazzmaster,” had lots of controls, with two rollers on the upper wing for the Rhythm circuit and tone and volume switches along with a toggle on the lower wing for controlling the Lead circuit.

The guitar did not catch on, however, largely because of the hum of the single coil pickups. The offset waist design may have been a little ahead of its time, too. Anyway, by 1962, Fender had redesigned the guitar with chrome plates, a shorter neck, slider switches instead of the toggle, and less noisy, smaller single coil pickups. Unfortunately, it failed to become popular, just like the earlier Jazzmaster. It was discontinued in 1975.

The next part of the Fender Jaguar story is interesting. The neglected Jags were sitting around in pawn shops by the late 80’s and early 90’s. They were still well-built real Fender electric guitars, however, and they still had a great sound. Since they could be picked up for a song during this time, they became popular with underground alternative rock musicians. One of the first successful bands to use them was the band Nirvana, with the guitarist Kurt Cobain.

One classic problem people found when playing the old Jaguars was that the bridge used on them was prone to all sorts of problems. Many people who play these older guitars change out the floating tremolo mechanism for a Fender Mustang style bridge or a Buzz Stop.

Since the late 90’s, Fender has reissued the Jaguar, the Mustang, and the Jazzmaster in various forms, including several Jaguar with humbucker models. The currently available Fender Jaguar HH fixes the problem of the bridge by using an “Adjusto-matic” bridge with anchored tailpiece, which is similar to the Gibson style Tune-o-matic bridge with stopbar tailpiece.

Advantages: The Fender Jaguar HH electric guitar has an abundance of switches like the original. Once you figure them out, which may take a few minutes, you will have a wide variety of sound options at your fingertips. Thus, the Jag is a very versatile guitar that can deliver regardless of the style of music you like to play. The lead circuit has a bright sound even though it is equipped with humbuckers. The neck is thin and easy to get around on.

Disadvantages: It is low on harmonics and sustain. If you are looking for the vintage Jaguar sound, you won’t get it with this guitar because of the humbuckers. Some musicians find the the short scale, small, narrow neck uncomfortable. The Fender Jaguar HH may not be the most well made of the Fenders, or maybe there is an occasional lemon, but some have found the switches to break easily, the controls not to affect the sound, and other technical problems.

Fender Jaguar HH Specs:

  • Offset waist style alder body
  • Black with chrome color scheme
  • Maple neck
  • Rosewood fretboard
  • 7.25 inch (184 mm.) fingerboard radius
  • 22 frets
  • 24 inch (610 mm.) scale length
  • 1.650 inches (41 mm.) wide at the nut
  • 2 special-design MIJ Dragster humbucking pickups (at neck and bridge)
  • Chrome pickup covers
  • Lead Circuit controls: 2-position tone switch, volume control and tone control
  • Rhythm circuit controls: Volume and tone control knobs
  • Circuit selector switch
  • On/off slide switches for each pickup
  • Vintage style Adjusto-Matic Bridge with anchored tailpiece
  • Fender Gotoh vintage style tuning machines
  • Chrome hardware
  • Fender Super 250R, nickel plated steel strings in gauges .010 to .046
  • Comes with a gig bag

Buy Cheap Online Under $630: Fender Jaguar HH

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Fender 62 Jaguar Electric Guitar

July 19, 2007 by Jo Minor · Leave a Comment 

Here’s a pretty baby that brings back the sixties! The Fender 62 Jaguar is an authentic reissue of the original. Fender introduced the Jazzmaster in 1958, and the Jaguar came out in 62 as an updated younger sister. These two models are sometimes called “offset waist” guitars because of their uneven “waistline.” The Jaguar was smarter and faster than her older sister, because it has a shorter, 24 inch scale.

The Fender 62 Jaguar features three selector switches for the single-coil pickups, but also adds a “keeper” to reduce hum and increase the kick in the midrange.

In addition to a separate on/off control for each of the pickups, the Jag also has a high-pass filter switch to give you even more versatility in tone. The result is a vintage look with lots of cool looking switches and knobs, as were popular in previous generations.

After all, the more buttons and pickups you had, the better, right? Add a funky string dampener and an original style floating tremolo and you have it made in the shade, man.

Fender electric guitars are legendary for quality and sound. As such, they command a pretty penny, with the American made versions the highest. The 62 Jag has a list price of right at $2000. It comes in colors like Olympic white, Black, Ocean Turquoise, Ice Blue Metallic, Mint green, Fiesta Red or the darker Dakota red. You can also choose three-tone Sunburst, and you have a choice of white or tortoise shell brown on the pickguard, so the options in look are tremendous.

Advantages: The Fender 62 Jaguar is well balanced and sturdy, and you can play it hard without feeling like it can’t take it. You can take off the string mute gizmo if you want - and you probably will want to take it off. The sound is of course the most important part, and it is “amazing” according to some, good whether clean or distorted. You will get that vintage Fender twang. If you want meaty licks, you will have to choose a guitar with humbuckers instead of this one.

Of course, the looks of this guitar are one of its top selling points, because it has that nostalgic sixties surfer feel and appearance. The color combinations are fantastic, with a variety of choices of body color with pickguard material. For instance, you can choose metallic ice blue with brown shell pickguard, or Fiesta red with an aged white pickguard, or your classic three-tone Sunburst wood tone with a brown shell pickguard (plan an extra $50 for this option).

Disadvantages: The Fender 62 Jaguar has a high price and will probably need setup out of the box. It is a fairly heavy guitar. It is designed with a bright, heavy, jangly tone, and that might limit some of the styles of music it is suited to, but many buyers find it is versatile enough to play anything.

It is a reproduction, and as such, it retains the design flaws of the original. The bridge on the Jaguar has the dubious distinction of being called the “worst guitar design item ever.” The strings just always rattle. You will want to add a Buzz Stop or a Mustang bridge to improve the buzz inherent in the design of the Jaguar. The strings fall out of alignment amazingly fast with the Jag bridge. You have to have an allen wrench handy to fix the bridge when it does mess up on you.

Specs:

  • Alder offset waist body in a rainbow of colors
  • Maple “C” shaped neck
  • Nitrocellulose lacquer finish
  • Rosewood fretboard
  • 22 vintage styled frets
  • 24 inch scale length
  • 1.650 inch (41 mm.) width at the nut
  • 2 Special Design American Vintage Jaguar single coil pickups
  • Pickups at neck and bridge
  • Two individual on/off slide switches, one for each pickup
  • Rotary volume wheels
  • Lead and rhythm circuits
  • Lead circuit has a two position tone switch, volume control, and tone switch
  • Rhythm circuit has Volume, tone, and circuit selector switches
  • Fender/Gotoh vintage-style tuning machines
  • Vintage-style floating tremolo with tremolo lock button
  • Removable Fender Mute built-in string dampening device
  • Chrome hardware
  • Fender Super 250 R nickel plated steel strings in .010 to .046
  • Fender deluxe brown hardshell case
  • Comes with strap, cable, and Meguiar’s Mist and Wipe Kit

Price Info / Buy Online: Fender 62 Jaguar

Related sites:

  • Check out this unique site dedicated to the history and preservation of the vintage “offset waisted” Fender guitars, the Jaguar and the Jazzmaster.
  • Kurt Cobain is famous for using a Fender Jaguar. Check out the information about his guitars here.
  • If you happen to be fixing up an original Jaguar and need parts, here’s a page that is just full of all sorts of Fender odds and ends. Be sure to scroll all the way down to see a neat pic of the Three Stooges.

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Fender 62 Jazzmaster Electric Guitar

July 16, 2007 by Jo Minor · 1 Comment 

Surf’s up! Who wants to bring back the groovin’ sounds and cool guitars of the 60’s? We do! At a penny under $2000 list price (a little more for sunburst), you can have a Fender 62 Jazzmaster electric guitar, with vintage looks and sound that will (rock -n-) roll back that ole’ calendar. It has that same contoured alder body, offset waist, and cool color combinations.

Fender products are familiar standby’s in the world of electric musical instruments and amplifiers. Debuting in 1951 under another name, Fender’s first solid body electric guitar, the Telecaster, was little more than a guitar shaped slab of wood with electronics and strings, but it became one of the most enduring designs. The Tele, as it’s affectionately called, is still in production, and still has a wide following among guitar players. The more sculpted Stratocaster soon followed, and became possibly the most popular electric guitar style in the world.

By 1958, though, Fender was looking for a new modernistic design to replace the Strat, and came up with the Jazzmaster. With its offset waist design, it was advertised to be more well balanced and comfortable to play. The Jazzmaster, with its more mellow sounding pickups, appeared to be just the ticket for jazz musicians. Instead, an early version of rock-n-roll musicians, the surfer dudes, saw in it a perfect blend of style, sound, and features, and snatched it up. One notable feature was the rosewood fretboard - the first of its kind offered by Fender.

The guitar gained a bit of popularity for a while throughout the sixties, but began to fall out of favor. As a result, the Fender Jazzmaster electric guitar was discontinued in 1982. A Japanese made reissue was tried in 1986, and again in 1994. Finally, in 2000, the time had come for the Jazzmaster to be loved for itself again.

One thing that contributed to the renewed interest in the Fender Jazzmaster is that the older ones were often found collecting dust in pawn shops during the eighties and nineties. This made them attractive to young musicians who couldn’t afford a new electric guitar set up. The unpopular Jazzmasters could be had inexpensively, but still had that legendary Fender quality and sound. This new wave of young rockers bought the old Jazzmasters, along with their offset waisted cousins, the Fender Jaguars.

Also, as the baby boomers reach retirement years, and are possibly the last generation who will have plenty of financial clout in their retirement years, there has been a renewed interest in anything “vintage.” If it makes a 50-something-year-old remember their high school years, it’s likely to show up as a reproduction in a shop somewhere, whether it’s an electric guitar or a pet rock!

Of course, this is a good thing, because its made the new Fender 62 Jazzmaster electric guitar an option for a new generation of giggers!

Advantages: The Fender 62 Jazzmaster is a lot more versatile than you might first think. It’s a natural for jazz and surf music, of course, but is great for country, and even does a good job with metal and thrash, when used distorted. It has a really wide range of tone options. Even if you use the trem a lot, it stays in tune.

And could there be a better looking guitar? Well, that’s a matter of opinion, but this sweet little guitar comes in some nice color options for the ladies (who are bound to think it’s just plain cute!) The multiplicity of control knobs makes it look neat, too, and they are located in such a way as to be accessible and not hard to figure out.

Disadvantages: A lot of players add a “Buzz Stop” roller to the floating bridge. This is a bar that attaches above the trem system to increase the string angle. This is designed to decrease string buzz (a Jazzmaster weakness) while increasing the sustain. It costs about $45. You can get one from a company that sells parts for Fender guitars.

The Fender 62 Jazzmaster electric guitar is a little bit pricey. The quality is great, but you always wonder if part of the price is for the Fender name.

Specs:

  • Alder body in vintage off-set waist, contoured shape
  • Available in at least five vintage color combinations: Ocean Turquoise with Mint Green pickguard, Surf Green with Mint Green Pickguard, Black with Brown Shell pickguard, Olympic White with Brown Shell pickguard, and 3-tone Sunburst with Brown Shell pickguard ($50 more)
  • Maple neck
  • Fender/Gotoh vintage style tuning machines
  • Rosewood fingerboard
  • 21 vintage-style frets
  • 2 special design vintage Jazzmaster single coil pickups
  • Lead circuit volume and tone controls
  • Rhythm circuit volume and tone controls
  • 3-position toggle pickup selector switch
  • Chrome hardware
  • Vintage style floating tremolo with lock button
  • Fender hardshell case included

Pricing / Buy Online: Fender 62 Jazzmaster

Related sites:

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Fender Standard Telecaster Electric Guitar

July 12, 2007 by Jo Minor · Leave a Comment 

The original Fender Telecaster sparked a revolution in music, and with the Standard, you can get that same quality at a bargain price. Fender has issued their vintage models in a lower priced line made in their Mexican factory. At a list price of $571.41, you can rock right along with those 50’s and 60’s sounds or take this to the latest level of punk and metal.

For a guitar with a colorful historical legacy, you can’t beat the Telecaster. Originally called the “Fender Broadcaster,” it was introduced to the public in 1951. Before that time, there were a number of electric hollow body guitars, and other designers had played around with solid body guitars. The main purpose for electrifying their sound was to increase volume, not for a certain tone. Leo Fender and Doc Kauffman, however, created a solid body guitar to test pickups, and the country music players in the area liked the shiny twang it made.

Another innovation that came along with the Telecaster, was that of factory production. Before the Fender Telecaster, guitars were all hand made and glued together. Fender figured out a way to make a good bolt-on neck and to band saw the bodies from slabs of wood for quick mass production. To further cut down on cost and complexity, the Telecaster did not have a separate fretboard of rosewood or ebony, but simply featured the frets pressed right into the maple surface of the neck.

The bodies of the original Telecasters were made of alder or ash, and were flat on front and back. This quality has caused some guitarists to complain that it cut into their ribs. The Telecaster had two single coil pickups, a three way pickup selector switch, a volume knob, and a tone knob. While it was not technically the first solid body guitar on the market, it was the first truly popular one, with the Gibson Les Paul coming out the next year.

The Telecaster was also Fender’s first real success. Over the years, a few changes have been made. A rosewood fingerboard was added in 1959, and the pick guard was changed. There was a “Custom” model throughout the sixties which had binding and a sunburst finish. Humbucker pickups were used some in 1972, since they produce a “thicker” sound that works better with rock music, which was then coming into popularity.

The Fender Telecaster has been favored by professional musicians of all genres for many years. Now, with the Fender factory in Ensenada, Mexico, producing guitars, the tradition can be obtained for less money. The Standard series includes the various Fender electric guitar models as manufactured by the Mexican plant.

Advantages: Some people just love the simplicity of the Fender Standard Telecaster. Even though it is made in Mexico, it is still a real Fender and has that unique Telecaster sound. Now, if it matters for you that you have something that’s American made, go the extra cost and buy American. Don’t do it for the quality, though, because the Standard line of Fender guitars is just as well made. The Telecaster is good for a lot of different styles of music, from country and classic rock to hard rock. Some people like their Standard Telecaster better than expensive LPs. Try one out and see what you think!

Disadvantages: You might like a slicker neck than the satin finish on the Fender Standard Telecaster neck. It might not be that great of a guitar for metal. Some people don’t like the pickups as well as the humbuckers you can get on other guitars. You’ll probably want to get the setup done by a pro, since the out of box setup is not that good on some of them.

Specs:

  • Traditionally shaped Telecaster alder body
  • Vintage styling
  • Polyester finish
  • Maple satin-finished 1-piece, modern C-shaped neck
  • Maple fretboard
  • 9.5 inch radius
  • 21 medium jumbo frets
  • 25.5 inch scale
  • 1.650 inches wide at the nut
  • Fender Ping Standard Cast/Sealed Tuning Machines
  • Chrome hardware
  • New, re-voiced, hot standard Tele pickups at the neck and bridge
  • 3-way blade pickup selector control
  • Master volume control knob
  • Master tone control knob
  • 3-ply white pickguard in the traditional Telecaster style
  • String-through-body, 6-saddle bridge
  • Available in a left-handed version
  • Colors available include Black, Chrome Red, Brown Sunburst, Midnight Wine, Arctic White, and Electron Blue
  • Fender Super 250L nickel plated steel strings in .009 to .042

Pricing / Buy cheap online: Fender Standard Telecaster Guitar

Related sites:

  • For an impressive list of Telecaster players down through the years, check this page out. A lot of them are country performers, but there are some rockers - like Bruce Springsteen - as well as some funk players.
  • Here’s some history and photographs of some of the various models of the Fender Telecaster as it has appeared down through the decades.

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Fender American Deluxe Stratocaster

July 11, 2007 by Jo Minor · Leave a Comment 

The Fender American Deluxe Stratocaster is the highest quality factory made Strat you can get. Made in Corona, CA, you can rest in piece with the knowledge that it is made in America. It retails for around $1700, and is designed to perform just like you want it to. It has a hand rolled maple neck that is smooth and playable. The single coil pickups on the American Deluxe Strat are designed to give you that vintage sound without the hum. Called Samarium Cobalt Noiseless pickups, these pickups are considered a revolutionary improvement over the older designs.

The Fender Stratocaster is one of the most enduring and popular styles of electric guitar in the world. Fender Musical Instruments Corporation, located in Scottsdale, Arizona, was founded by and named for Clarence Leonidas (Leo) Fender, a designer of electric guitars and basses, in the year 1946. One of Fender’s most notable contributions to the music world was a solid body electric guitar that was bolted together to make manufacturing easier and less expensive.

The first design was called the Telecaster, and it is still in use today. One thing it lacked, however, was a tremolo arm. It was also made in the shape of a slab, so it wasn’t very comfortable to the guitarist playing it. To remedy these problems, Fender designed the then futuristic model he called the Stratocaster. It was, and still is, made with a carved, beveled back that fits comfortably against the player. It also had Fender’s own design of a tremolo mechanism.

The pickups used on the original Stratocasters were also innovative. They were more compact than the three single coil pickups used in the Gibson ES-5, which was already on the market. The first factory made Strats were on the market in 1954, at the then exorbitant price of $249.50. The finish was nitrocellulose, and a sunburst pattern was used. It had an ash body and maple neck. Buddy Holly was one of the first to use the Strat in early rock and roll.

Advantages: The Fender American Deluxe Stratocaster is a very nice guitar loaded with features, but one of the most unique and useful is the S-1 switching and 5-way pickup selector switch. With the S-1, you double your options. When the S-1 push/pull switch is in the up position, you can choose between five pickup selections. Then you get five more choices with the S-1 in the down position. (These choices are listed below in the specs.) The SCN pickups give you the Strat sound without the hum, and the pickup at the neck is hot for extra sustain.

The neck is slick and fast. The guitar delivers the heavy sound without the heavy uncomfortable body of some other electric guitars. The locking tuners save a lot of string changing time. The controls are handy but not in your way.

Disadvantages: While the American Deluxe Stratocaster is good for blues, vintage rock, country and jazz, it isn’t really designed for metal music. The SCN pickups just do not give the same sound as humbuckers. Also, it’s remotely possible (but not likely!) that you’d get the occasional factory lemon, but the Fender customer service people are real helpful.

Specs:

  • Premium contoured alder body
  • Modern C shaped maple neck with slick satin polyurethane finish and hand-rolled edges
  • Choice of rosewood or maple fretboard
  • Abalone Dot Position Inlays
  • Highly detailed fret and nut work
  • 9.5 inch neck radius
  • 22 medium jumbo frets
  • 25.5 inch scale
  • 1.6875 inches wide at the nut
  • 3 Fender Samarium Cobalt Noiseless (SCN) pickups
  • 5-way blade pickup selector switch
  • S-1 switching system (push/pull style)

S-1 Switch Up:
Position 1. Bridge Pickup
Position 2. Bridge and Middle Pickup in Parallel
Position 3. Middle Pickup
Position 4. Middle and Neck Pickup in Parallel
Position 5. Neck Pickup

S-1 Switch Down:
Position 1. Bridge Pickup in Series with Middle Pickup
Position 2. Bridge Pickup in Parallel with Special Capacitor
and in Series with Middle Pickup
Position 3. Middle Pickup in Series with Special Capacitor (No Tone Control)
Position 4. Neck Pickup in Parallel with Special Capacitor
and in Series with Middle Pickup
Position 5. Neck Pickup in Series with Middle Pickup

  • Polished chrome hardware
  • String-thru-body bridge with polished stainless steel saddles
  • Fender/Schaller Deluxe Staggered Cast/Sealed Locking Tuning Machines
  • Fender Deluxe 2-point Synchronized Tremolo with Pop in Arm
  • Schaller strap lock ready
  • Fender Super Bullet 3250L nickel plated steel strings in .009 to .042
  • Comes with Fender hardshell case, cable, strap, polishing cloth, straplocks, and Meguiar’s care kit

Buy cheap online: Fender American Deluxe Stratocaster

Related sites:

  • Since you’re reading “The Music Gig,” and you’re reading about a really great professional quality electric guitar, thought you might be interested in this article about how to handle those nerves when you have gigs. I like the author’s final conclusion - to focus not on impressing your audience, but on giving to them. Nice!
  • Here’s a link to Haywire Custom Guitars. They take new Fenders and put them through an 8 point process to get them gig-ready. Scroll down a bit and you can read what the 8 steps are.

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Fender Standard Stratocaster

July 10, 2007 by Jo Minor · 1 Comment 

Electric guitar players seem to divide into two broad camps - the fans of the Gibsons and the fans of the Fenders. The Fender players, more often than not, flock to the Stratocaster in it’s many incarnations. The new Fender Standard Stratocaster is a version of the familiar guitar which is hand made in Mexico and retails for only $571.41. It’s available in a bunch of colors, and your choice of a rosewood or maple fretboard.

Colors include the popular brown sunburst (which costs $50 more than the other colors), along with Black, Electron Blue, Arctic White, Midnight Wine, and bright Chrome Red, all with the familiar large white pickguard.

The history of the Fender Stratocaster goes back to the early 50’s. The solid body electric guitar was becoming popular with jazz musicians, and the new phenomenon known as rock and roll was budding. Fender and Gibson were the two leading guitar manufacturers, and both had come out with a solid body electric. Gibson had the Les Paul and Fender had the Telecaster.

In that musical climate, Leo Fender began to experiment with the shape of the Telecaster to create a truly cutting edge design. A couple of complaints had been made against the currently available electric guitars. One was that they cut into the ribs. Another was the weight. Fender’s new design had a body with deep cutaways which provided lighter weight. It also had a carved body that would fit more comfortably against the player’s body than previous designs had.

This new design had something else, too. It had a modernistic, good-looking flair that eventually led to it becoming about the most popular electric guitar ever. It was named the “Stratocaster” because a number of modern inventions (at the time) were “Strato-” somethings. The term evoked images of air travel and the technological miracles of the future.

The timing for this new guitar design couldn’t have been better. The youth of the hour were exploring new rebellious sounds in music, and the Strat was expressive and loud. The guitar was adopted by the young fellows known as the Beatles in the early 60’s, and the rest is history.

The Strat has been through some variations in features, but the basic body design has remained a beloved constant. When the Fender company opened its factory in Mexico, a new, less costly version of the familiar solid body electric guitar became available. Now guitarists can have the Strat sound and quality at a lower price.

Advantages: The price is an obvious magnet to buying this guitar, considering that it is a real Fender Strat but costs much less than most of them. The Fender Standard Stratocaster is not heavy and is carved to conform to the body nicely. It stays in tune nicely, and even has pretty good stock strings. The three pickups give you a lot of options in style and sound.

Reviewer after reviewer say that this Mexican made Strat is as good or better than the Strats that cost twice as much. It is “very giggable.” Especially if you only need the Strat sound for some of your songs, it doesn’t make sense to buy a guitar with a much higher price when this one will do everything the expensive ones do.

Disadvantages: It is always best if you can try out the electric guitar you are interested in before you buy it. Guitar players seem to fall into two major groups - those who like the Fender Strat with its single coil pickups, and those who like the Gibson designs, like the Les Paul, with its humbucking pickups. The single coil pickups of the Strat tend to pick up stray frequencies, creating a hum. At the same time, these pickups produce a great tone for certain styles of music. Those who dabble in country rock often prefer the more twangy tone of a Fender Strat over the lowered hum of the humbuckers.

A specific complaint that has been made against the Fender Standard Stratocaster is that the tremelo springs might need to be replaced or upgraded before anything else wears out.

Specs:

  • Select alder body
  • Polyester finish
  • 3-ply white pickguard
  • Bolt on maple neck
  • Modern C shaped neck with satin polyurethane finish
  • Choice of rosewood or maple for the fretboard
  • 9.5 inch radius
  • 21 medium jumbo frets
  • 25.5 inch scale
  • 1.650 inches (42 mm.) nut width
  • Chrome hardware
  • 3 Standard single coil Strat pickups with ceramic magnets
  • 1 Master volume control
  • 2 Tone controls
  • 5-position blade switch for choosing pickups
  • Fender Ping Standard Cast/Sealed tuning machines
  • Thick bridge block
  • Vintage-style synchronized tremolo whammy bar
  • Fender Super Bullets nickel plated steel strings in .009 to .042)
  • Comes with a Fender gig bag

Related sites:

Buy Cheap Online: Fender Standard Stratocaster

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