| My latest gear obsession is the Fender Jazzmaster/Jaguar. I've thought they were cool for years, but I guess lately I've been giving them some serious consideration. They are somewhat different from eachother, but similar compared to the other Fender classics. It seems that no one is happy with the bridges that they come with-everyone replaces them with aftermarket Mustang bridges (better saddles). I just read last night that the Japanese reissue jazzmasters have a pickup more like a strat hiding under the cover, rather than a wide, very flat pickup like a real Jazzmaster. Seymour Duncan makes several flavors of authentic replacements though. We'll have to see how Christmas goes.
Jazzmasters and Jaguars have a sound that is unique-Jazzmasters sounding closer to P-90/Humbucking sound, but glassy, and Jaguars sound Fendery, but different, with more mids and a similar glassy sheen. Dinosaur Jr. put the Jazzmaster back on the map in the "modern rock" era. Swervedriver and My Bloody Valentine have a lot of Jazzmaster going on as well. The Flaming Lips and Red Hot Chili Peppers use a good deal of Jaguar sounds.
I also saw online the latest installment in the Matamp/Orange saga. It seems things just get cooler, and cooler. The Matamp USA distribution group is going it alone and has started Electric Amps. They are big, heavy loud amps in the same tradition, with the same look, but now you can get a purple one(!) in addition to red, orange, blue, green, black, red, and white. Ahh...someday.
I should probably start by working on maintaining the gear I already own. Blah. |
