Be Excellent To Each Other

Any of you guys into shoegazy type music will probably appreciate Fenders classic Jazzmaster instrument.

I just so happen to have one for sale (obo a mate) Its a mid 90s (can find out exact year if needs be) and is Made in Japan, well regarded as the best fender guitars of the era.

He is looking for a modest £300 obo (over £250 I think though as a guide)

Its 3 color sunburst, with white plastic ware and silver metal parts.
Pretty unusual as they typically come with red scratch plate on the sunburst models

No hardcase.
Not sure if it has the tremolo arm.

any interest, music fans before it heads to EBay?

EDIT - im pretty sure its a 1996,

£20. He pays postage.

That's a lovely instrument, but not my style, sorry.

Where is it in the UK? I have serious interest.

Manchester area.

Where abouts would it need to get to?

If you wanted a case for it, one could be procured for shipping purposes at cost price perhaps?


Let me know before it goes on the bay, man.

Ideally, Telford. Or Birmingham. Not bothered about the case. I'd need to see some more photographs of it first though, and if you could find out the year and tremolo, please.

will post up some more pics now - should see below
he does have the trem within his house, its just whether he has found it.
any push fit fender one will work however, but I know the Jazzmaster ones were a tad longer.

pics up, thats all I have

i will try and get in contact tonight with regards year and tremolo

his GF lives in Litchfield - thats about as close as he could meet without going out his way I would presume. any good?

Erm. Lichfield would be ideal actually

After prodding at the price for this, I would potentially pay £260 right now, if he is interested.

On the assumption that is in playing condition and not a copy. And er, ideally I'd rather pay him when I pick it up

it may benefit from a tweak with regards setting up to your preference, especially if you want to change the string gauge.
(im sure as a guitarist you know what i mean, at worst its £20 at a nice guitar tech,and what I prefer to do)

It is a genuine Fender, everything works, its all original (no mods, no rewiring of the tone circuits). Add reverb, delay and chorus and you are straight into Robin Guthrie land. And a lovely place it is! Could do with a string change no doubt as he doesnt change them very often and he hasnt actually used the guitar in anger for a while, preferring a strat.

ill give him a quick call and let him know the score.

CUS - he DOES have the tremolo. he isnt 100% sure on the year, but I beleive its 1995 or 1996. Fender switched production to USA sometime around then if I recall, and Squier released a made in japan JAGMASTER with 2 humbuckers, strat tremolo and with jazzmaster body in 1996.


So, he is in Litchfield tommorow night til friday night. He is happy to meet up and would take £260 c.o.d.

Okay... I'll have to try and organise a lift over to Lichfield, so it's my guess that Friday night is more likely.

edit: Fucknuts. Er. I don't suppose by any slim chance he would take Paypal? I'd happily pay a bit more so he isn't hit by any charges. Reason: need a new PIN number for the card to my savings account, and can't transfer from there without Paypal.

Aargh. It's the middle of the month!

Thanks for the info also, Mr. Sensor, I appreciate it, and it's all very useful to me. Sounds good so far, cool beans about the tremolo.

Im not sure if he has a Paypal account, but I do.
or bank transfer
Me and the seller are long-time buddies and bandmates (some 13+ years)

I will endeavour to enquire what time he is leaving Litchfield on friday.

Ahh...wait... sorry, no, I don't think I'm interested. That's not a "Made In Japan" Jazzmaster, I've just noticed.

Thanks, anyway though.

um..ok. nevermind.

just so you know, its a cool guitar and there aint nowt wrong with it apart from a few minor dinks.

I'm sure there's not - it's just, that's a Crafted In Japan model, not a Made In Japan model. Which I've read before (and just now in Wikipedia, surprisingly usefully) is inferior, and not a 'true' Jazzmaster. And if I'm gonna be paying that much money, well. I'm sure someone else would find it lavverly though, but I'm after a specific instrument

ive read what the Wiki says, pretty much BS from my point of view, and I have no vested interested in the sale other than helping a mate out. I dont care if he sells it or not.

The pickups are not stratocaster pickups, thats a definite as I saw them when he switched the scratchplate over.

heres a guide I found, as I am aware that there are different "made" and "crafted" labels.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If your interest in Fender Japan guitars has led you to ask that question... hopefully this guide will help.

And it's just a matter of time till you have your answer.

The bottom line is: MADE in Japan = older... CRAFTED in Japan = newer. It's that simple. I'll explain with a short bit of history. Please: Do your own research (readily available on the web), to verify:

Without bogging you down in every tiny detail...

Fender began making guitars in Japan in 1982. At that time, ALL Fenders were marked *MADE* In Japan (with a few unmarked exceptions, which I may post another guide detailing). Up till 1997, that's the way ALL Fenders manufactured in Japan were marked: MADE In Japan.

At some point a decision was made by Fender, for whatever their reason(s), to change this to CRAFTED In Japan. And, in 1997 Fender began using the Crafted In Japan marking. During that year - it is my understanding - guitars were marked both "Made" and "Crafted" In Japan. In 1998 and since, all Fenders manufactured in Japan have been marked "Crafted" In Japan.

So, it's just a matter of time. No magical formula to decipher or understand. No secrets to remember.

A quick visit to fender.com - and a tiny bit of curiosity - will verify. Go there and work your way to the Japan Serial Numbers page. You'll notice the first batch of numbers are "Made" In Japan numbers, while the second batch (at the bottom of the page) are "Crafted" In Japan numbers. Take a good look at *the dating*... you'll see for yourself:

Made In Japan = older... Crafted In Japan = newer

It's just a matter of time. It's that simple.

oh well...

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... 0252971747

but i dare say anyone interested would be warned off by CUS naysaying

I know a forum full of people who live in Preston who like these sorts of things. That's near Manchester, therefore they might'n't want to buy it if you post on it. Go here: http://www.prestone.co.uk, and whack it in the "for sale" section.

didnt really understand this part of your post:they might'n't want to buy it if you post on it

but i will post it up there anyways.

Sorry, no naysaying was intended LaceSensor. I was interested, but I'm personally after a specific instrument. I'm not saying it's not worth getting - I'm still tempted, and if I were richer than maybe I would.

Its cool, like i say no vested interest in the sale -well partial lie, the proceeds are going towards a better amp, which I would like him to buy for the bands live sounds sake, but no real rush.

If you want my honest opinion, the Japanese fenders are great guitars - but regardless of the model all exported ones could do with better pickups. If you get a not-for-export fender, you may as well have bought a usa custom shop, they are amazing, and often have USA made pickups on them.

with regards to jazzmasters and this one in particular im no expert, but I know £260 is a pinch for a Japanese Fender, and unless you are doing some pretty high class recording you wouldnt know the difference sound wise to any of your favourite shoegaze or otherwise jazzmaster brandishing acts.

I cant say for sure whether than MIJ / CIJ is just semantic or there is more to it, but for arguments sake the pickups on this particualr one are great. No feedback, no microphonics and a cool jazzy sound all of their own which is unique through any multitude of fuzzy effects.

someone will get a good buy on a classic reissue, I hope

no hard feelings whatsoever, internet friend

I'm quite interested in this, but it'd have to be at the end of the month. So, if it's still about by then, I might be your man. Like we argued about before, I have a US Strat, but I've always wanted a Jazzmaster of some form and this could make a decent second guitar.

I'd also like to stick up for the Jap Fenders of this era. A friend of mine has a '96 Jap Strat and it's fantastic. In fact, there are a few people in major bands who use Jap Fender reissues because they like them so much. Albert Hammond Jr. uses a Jap Strat. They're nothing like the Mexican made geetars, that's fo' sho'.

jonarob, it's on eBay RIGHT NOW. The link should be... somewhere.

sold sorry

got £270 for it

Glad you sold it Despite you blatantly trying to rip me off with your shameful lies about it being MIJ or CIJ. Like a thief. A thief on the internet, stealing from me.

Well if you beleive wikipedia I was ripping you off, depite the pictures somewhat clearly showing the heel of the neck and the CIJ logo.

If you were to beleive me, and that is, that its a top guitar, with proper jazzmaster parts sound and amazing japanese build quality (better than the £1200 american reissues, and thats a professional opinion as well as mine, I had a Guitar Magazine issue with them in) you could have had it for a tenner less, tommorow night!

so NER NER NER NER derp derp de derp

BUT I DON'T WANT A PISSING CIJ GUITAR I WANT A PISSING MIJ GUITAR* AND THAT'S NOT A MIJ GUITAR IT'S A CIJ GUITAR



We need at least twice as many dimlies.

* Or, preferably, an original.

I'm so unbelievably furious now I can't sleep.

You are only hurting yourself

If you want a Jazzmaster, save up for a genuine vintage one, otherwise take a stab at a beautiful reissue I could almost guarantee for any application you would undertake with it,it would perform admirably.

Im just teasing you now.

I've always wanted an original Jagua, in that lovely aqua-blue colour.

So what is it about the Jazzmaster that makes it so special and good for Shoegazers?

nothing, its just that it was adopted by a lot of these types of bands.

has a distinct sound though, I spose thats part of its appeal.

Aye, I think it's more of a style thing really. A lot of people like the look and the shape, myself included.

The original was designed for jazz players, but they rejected it somewhat as it had a tendency to create feedback. Feedback which was ignored by some, embraced by others. Plus, it's got an extra-long tremolo arm, which led to My Bloody Valentine inventing the 'glide guitar' technique. This basicallt involves taping your tremolo so it's just about making a 'connection', barely held on by the tape. Then you can play with it quite easily whilst you play - it's more comfortable to hold than most tremolos are to hold whilst playing.

However. THe MIJ/CIJ guitars were all made in 1993 at the earliest. All the records I know and love that involved heavy use of the Jazzmaster, were made before 1993! So that's why I don't bloody want one Although, supposedly the MIJ guitars do at least have a similar sound, whereas SUPPOSEDLY the CIJ guitars' have a different feedback sound. Which obviously mean that my nostalgic sentimentality wouldn't work there.

Jazzmaster

Takes a lot of skill, that.

Jizzmaster

Jizzmasterbater.

Twang your g-string you Japanese jazzmaster.

hahaaha jazzmeister