Featured Gear

Sam Ash NYC Guitar Store

Fender has given their flagship guitars, the Stratocaster and Telecaster, an awful lot of love over the past few decades, and rightly so. Anniversary models, custom shop versions and yearly updates keep guitarists all over the globe longing for the latest and greatest versions. This month the spotlight falls on one of their other solid body models – yes, there are others – as the Jazzmaster turns 50. We remember the first time we ever played a Jazzmaster. It was definitely a Fender, but there was something a bit more upscale about it, sort of like the difference between a Chevy and a Cadillac. It didn’t quite “twang” like a Strat or a Tele but for those who were looking for something different, it sure fit the bill.

Originally designed for jazz players, it at first seemed like a big mistake until it was embraced by the surf bands of the sixties – most importantly by Don Wilson of The Ventures. When the surf crazed died down, so did interest in the Jazzmaster and Fender actually discontinued the model in 1980. That didn’t stop some prime movers of the punk/new wave scene, notably Tom Verlaine of Television and Elvis Costello, from making it their guitar of choice.

Fender reissued the Jazzmaster in 1986 and it has been gaining fans ever since. Lee Ranaldo (Sonic Youth), J Mascis (Dinosaur Jr), Kurt Cobain (Nirvana), Robert Smith (The Cure), Nels Cline (Wilco), Thom Yorke (Radiohead), Kevin Shields and Bilinda Butcher (My Bloody Valentine), Ira Kaplan (Yo La Tengo), Wayne Coyne and Steven Drozd (the Flaming Lips), Tim Gane (Stereolab), Aaron North (Nine Inch Nails) and Mike Einziger (Incubus) have all been seen playing Jazzmasters.  Both J Mascis and Elvis Costello have their own signature models.

We join with Fender in celebrating 50 years of this very cool guitar. Come on in and play one at any Sam Ash Music Store location and check out Fender’s Jazzmaster mini-site here. It has tons of info, some great photos and videos featuring Elvis Costello, Lee Ranaldo, J Mascis and Don Wilson.