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84-608: After introducing the Jazzmaster in 1958 and the Jaguar in 1962, Fender prototyped the Marauder between 1964 and 1965. The original Fender Marauder prototype was a Jaguar guitar with an "L" serial number plate built in 1963, and personally owned, modified and played by Quilla "Porky" Freeman . In the late 1970s, Freeman sold this guitar to dealer Norm Harris. Harris soon sold this example to guitarist/historian Robb Lawrence, who later documented

168-562: A 1964 "L" neck plate and was fitted with plastic button "F" Grover tuning machines, which were not used on the Marauders in the 1965 catalog, and was delivered in a brown Tolex case. All hidden 16 pole pickups were custom made for these Marauder Type I models. The present owner of this faded blue Marauder sample also has one spare pickup found on eBay. At least five more of the original Marauder Type I models are known to have been produced. Fender and Bob Perine showcased two of these first Marauders,

252-411: A 1966 model existing parallel to it (with block inlays and binding, but paired with a small pre-CBS headstock). The American Vintage Reissue Series version was introduced in 1999, also based on the 1962 model. In 2007 Fender released a 'thin skin' Jazzmaster reissue with thinner vintage nitrocellulose finish. The 1962 model was discontinued in favor of a 1965 model which was equipped with a bound neck and

336-534: A 9.5" fretboard radius and moving the tremolo plate around 1 cm forward towards the bridge. The tailpiece was moved forward not for cosmetic or functional reasons, but to reduce the manufacturing cost of the Jazzmaster and Jaguar guitars in the same factory. Because of the Jaguar's shorter neck length, the tailpiece is placed relatively further forward than the Jazzmaster's. To use the same jig, both guitars are made with

420-455: A Forest Green finish, a pair of Seymour Duncan Antiquity II Jazzmaster single-coil pickups and a Tune-o-matic bridge. In October 2011, Fender introduced the Squier J Mascis signature Jazzmaster with gold anodized aluminum pickguard, featuring several custom specifications from J Mascis including slightly warmer "P90" sounding pickups, fast satin finished neck, and nonfloating bridge. During

504-559: A Stratocaster-style hard-tail string-through-body bridge, locking tuners, compound radius ebony fretboard, contoured neck heel and a squarer body (instead of a traditional body contours). On April 21, 2020 Fender introduced the Jim Root Jazzmaster V4, featuring a bound ebony fretboard with white rectangular block markers, satin Polar White finish and a pair of EMG Jim Root signature Daemonum open-coil active humbuckers . During

588-502: A bar magnet at the base instead of the magnetized polepieces of the original pickups. September 2010 saw the introduction of the Mexican-made Black Top Jazzmaster HS. This guitar sports a Duncan Designed single-coil Jazzmaster neck pickup and a hot vintage alnico humbucking bridge pickup, with other distinctive touches including skirted black amp knobs, a Jazzmaster tremolo tailpiece (without locking button) and

672-576: A bound neck with larger, pearloid dot inlays, matching headstocks on custom colors, and a black G&G reproduction case with black tolex and a red plush interior. As with the AVRI models, Fender offers limited production Thin Skin 1965 Jazzmasters. The hardware and accessories remain the same as normal production models, though the finishes are, as with the original Thin Skins, available in additional colors. Also, as with

756-470: A faithful replication of Elvis Costello 's 1960s Jazzmaster used during his 1977 debut album, My Aim is True . This signature Jazzmaster guitar features a solid walnut-stain finished alder body and a modified tremolo bridge for Costello's trademark "spy movie" sound. In June 2009, Fender announced Lee Ranaldo and Thurston Moore signature Jazzmasters, in honour of the guitarists of Sonic Youth . These models were released on July 1, 2009. Both editions have

840-471: A feature that was a hallmark of the original Custom Color Jazzmasters in the 1960s. Originally, the model was offered in an array of Custom Colors, such as Candy Apple Red and Sherwood Green Metallic. However, by the end of the model's production run, Fender offered only three colors: Black, Olympic White, and Three-Color Sunburst. With the exception of the discontinuation of color options, the model remained largely unchanged from its introduction in 1999 until it

924-517: A guitar with four pickups hidden beneath the pickguard before apparently deciding against going into production, again for unspecified reasons. Both Fender prototypes and the Rickenbacker prototypes survive to this day. However, to date no additional photographs of Freeman's original hidden-pickup Marauder nor the Rickenbacker version have been published either in print or online, nor have any credible claims of their existence been made known publicly to

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1008-623: A huge range of instruments, often limited in number, which reflect its original mission as a link between the needs of specific players and the Fender corporation and their established designs and innovations as a whole. First and foremost, the Custom Shop creates one-off products, not explicitly intended for the public, designed to meet the needs of specific artists. Examples include the tweed Twin remakes crafted by hand by John Suhr for Eric Clapton , and later delivered to Mark Knopfler and B.B. King ,

1092-453: A new flash-finish method meant to create a thinner lacquer finish, and vintage-reproduction paperwork and manuals. Some improved vintage details included neck shape, thinner cases, decals, colors, pickups, tuners, and various production techniques. The American Vintage line includes a single Jazzmaster model: the 1965 Jazzmaster. In keeping with the original 1965 models, the AV 1965 Jazzmaster includes

1176-533: A noted player's trademark instrument—including the " relic " treatment and the various degrees of ageing (patterns of wear, modifications, stickers and abuse)—such as in the case of the Jeff Beck Tribute Esquire, the Jaco Pastorius ersatz fretless Jazz Bass , and a replica model of Stevie Ray Vaughan 's heavily weathered trademark Stratocaster . These models are meticulously crafted by hand, under

1260-605: A number of otherwise unavailable Custom Colors, and many of the Custom Color Thin Skins featured period-correct matching headstocks. The Thin Skins were 100% nitrocellulose, including the sealer, which was polyurethane on the normal '62 Jazzmaster. This, in addition to thinner color and clear coats, created a much thinner finish than the normal. Also offered through Wildwood was a unique model, the American Vintage Reissue Thin Skin 1959 Jazzmaster. The '59

1344-412: A pickup switch that operates from side to side, a black headstock, and only one volume knob. The difference lies in the pickup, bridge, colour, and the relative placement of the volume knob to the jack input. Ranaldo's instrument has a Sapphire Blue finish and features dual Fender Wide Range humbucking pickups that are re-spec'd to Ranaldo's specifications and a Mustang bridge. Moore's version features

1428-547: A standard fretboard material on other Fender models around 1959. The walnut 'skunk stripe' which covers the truss-rod channel on the back of one-piece necks, is absent where the truss-rod was installed from the top, and the rosewood fretboard glued on afterwards. As with many other Fender models, there are significant differences between pre-CBS models and models made after the CBS acquisition of Fender. The changes implemented by CBS after their purchase of Fender were largely universal, and

1512-513: A sunburst vibrato version and a non-vibrato "hard-tail" green one, in their 1965–66 catalog as their most expensive guitars. Don Randall listed the instruments on more than one price sheet beginning in early 1965 before abandoning the project for unspecified reasons. Besides the three seen in Bob Perine's promo picture, it is not known where any of the other Marauders (one in sunburst and one in candy apple red) are now. One possible reason they ditched

1596-516: A three-way toggle switch. Other features include an alder body, maple neck with 9.5"-radius rosewood fretboard, 21 medium-jumbo frets, gloss polyester finish and chrome hardware. The Jazzmaster Standard was evolved from the Blacktop model. The Standard featured two coil-tapped Blacktop humbuckers and a Pau Ferro neck; often mistaken for Rosewood. Outside of these changes, the Standard had identical specs as

1680-448: A tribute to, and under the design influence of Ford 's Mustang automobile. Many of the Art guitars created by the Custom Shop vastly expand upon Leo Fender 's historical decorative innovations, who originally pioneered the use of custom colors on their instruments, which are essentially based on traditional designs but do not strive for accuracy to specific models. The Fender Custom Amp Shop,

1764-609: A veneer fretboard when the American Vintage Series were revamped in 2012. Fender revamped their Jazzmaster offerings and makes the following models. Starting at the bottom with the Squier Affinity Series, a traditional Jazzmaster with Seymour Duncan -designed wide single coil pickups, Squier Classic Vibe 60's Jazzmaster and there is also the Mexican Classic Player series which have a vibrato-unit closer to

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1848-402: A vintage-style Stratocaster tremolo bridge. Fender's 2017 "American Professional Series" includes a new version of the Jazzmaster which has a Deep C-shaped neck with 22 narrow-tall frets and features different controls and V-Mod pickups. Fender's 2020 "American Ultra Series" The American Ultra Jazzmaster features a unique "Modern D" neck profile, and the tapered neck heel allows easy access to

1932-629: Is also available in Copper Age with maple fingerboard, black block inlays and binding since August 25, 2020. The vintage Jazzmasters (original series) were produced in the following colors: Some available Custom Colors (this is not an all-inclusive list): Vintage Jazzmasters were available in most of the common Fender Custom Colors of the era. Fender would also occasionally paint guitars in colors owners requested that were not otherwise available as 'official' Custom Colors; due to this, there are Jazzmasters in colors that deviate from Fender's offerings from

2016-590: Is an electric guitar designed as a more expensive sibling of the Fender Stratocaster . First introduced at the 1958 NAMM Convention , it was initially marketed to jazz guitarists, but found favor among surf rock guitarists in the early 1960s. Its appearance is similar to the Fender Jaguar , though it is tonally and physically different in many technical ways, including pickup design, scale length and controls. The Jazzmaster's contoured "offset-waist" body

2100-477: Is inlaid into the maple neck. In 2016, Fender released a "Limited Edition American Special Jazzmaster" which featured stripped-back controls and a Bigsby B50 tremolo/tailpiece instead of the traditional Jazzmaster tremolo/tailpiece. It also had a different type of bridge. In January 2018 the American Performer Jazzmaster was introduced, featuring Yosemite pickups with Greasebucket tone circuit and

2184-418: Is the pickup circuit featuring unusual "roller" thumbwheel controls and a slide switch at the upper neck end of the pickguard. The slide switch selects between two different pickup circuits, the "lead" and "rhythm" circuits. When the switch is in the lead position, the guitar's tone is controlled by the conventional tone and volume knobs and the pickup selector switch. When it is in the rhythm position, it selects

2268-540: The Dinosaur Jr frontman. This model is much the same as previous Jazzmaster models aside from its Adjust-o-matic bridge (the Fender equivalent of the Gibson Tune-o-matic bridge), and its unusual purple sparkle finish. It was for a time the only model of Jazzmaster in production with a matching headstock , but later certain color options of the '65 American Vintage Reissue Jazzmaster appeared with that option. After

2352-576: The Jag-Stang model designed with help from Kurt Cobain and later manufactured by Fender Japan , and the Danny Gatton Telecaster , a very early Custom Shop effort that eventually mutated into a limited production item. Closely related, and in some cases a direct result of collaborations with and for specific players, are the artist models that are specifically available to the public. Some of these models are designed to be near-exact replicas of

2436-465: The 2000s by companies such as Mastery, Staytrem and Halon. The body is larger than that of other Fender guitars, requiring a more spacious guitar case. The Jazzmaster has unique wide, white 'soapbar' pickups that are unlike any other single coil guitar pickup . Although they closely resemble Gibson 's P-90 pickups, they are constructed differently; the P-90 has its magnets placed underneath its coil, whereas

2520-598: The AVRI Thin Skins, some '65 AV Jazzmaster Thin Skins are available with the modern 9.5" fingerboard radius and larger 6105 fretwire. Some dealers, such as Wildwood, also tout lighter body weights. The Fender Custom Shop also produces various Jazzmaster models, including reissues, relics, and models with modern appointments, such as flamed maple tops, humbuckers, hardtails, and modified or non-production bridges. Fender's Japanese facility produces offset-waist guitars which have been sporadically available outside Japan since

2604-466: The American Vintage Reissue (AVRI) series to include two offset models, one of which being a reissue of the 1962 Jazzmaster. The reissue was mostly true to the original 1962 Jazzmaster, featuring vintage-inspired pickups, hardware, a period-correct brown tolex case with a gold interior, and a variety of Custom Colors. The Custom Color Jazzmasters in this line did not feature matching headstocks,

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2688-479: The Carved Maple Top Jazzmaster HH to its premium Select series. The instrument features an alder body with a carved maple top, a pair of new Wide Range Special humbuckers controlled by a three-way switch, volume and tone (with push-pull S-1 switch), and an Adjusto-Matic bridge and tailpiece arrangement. It also features an innovative "channel-bound" rosewood fingerboard, in which the fingerboard itself

2772-577: The Fender version was discontinued, Squier released a J Mascis Signature with similar specifications, in antique white with a gold anodized aluminum pickguard. In the past, a Nokie Edwards (of The Ventures ) signature model was produced in Japan, without rhythm circuit. April 2008 saw the introduction of the Elvis Costello Jazzmaster, the second signature Jazzmaster model made at the Corona facility –

2856-506: The Jazzmaster was no exception. From 1968 until the model was discontinued in 1980, it remained largely unchanged. After years of dwindling sales, with instruments being pieced together from leftover factory stock, the Jazzmaster was officially discontinued in September 1980, but has since then been re-released in many forms and modifications. The Jazzmaster was re-introduced in 1986 as a 1962 reissue model from Fender's Japanese factory, with

2940-524: The Jazzmaster's followup, the Jaguar. Jazzmasters, along with Jaguars and their imitators, fell out of fashion among players during the 1970s largely due to their "old-fashioned" appearance and sonic characteristics. The 70s rock sound meant "fat" humbucker tone and much sustain, so guitarists gravitated toward the Gibson Les Paul and its copies. Fender continued to offer the Jazzmaster as part of its product line until 1980. Just as Fender discontinued

3024-551: The Jazzmaster's signature bridge and tremolo setup with a Stratocaster-derived assembly. This modification is in the 1990s Japanese Squier Vista Series Jagmaster guitar. Fender has since introduced more faithful recreations of the original Jazzmaster, with genuine Jazzmaster bridge and tremolo assemblies. There are also several manufacturers of high-end Jazzmaster-styled guitars, such as Danocaster, Nash, Bilt, Rhoney and Kauer. American-made Jazzmasters were out of standard production entirely from 1980 to 1999. In 1999, Fender expanded

3108-477: The Jazzmaster, Tom Verlaine of Television and Elvis Costello started giving the guitar a cult following. They were later embraced by the American indie rock scene. There are a wide array of budget-priced Jazzmaster imitations, particularly from the 1960s and '70s. Eko, Greco, Dillion, Univox, Epiphone, Yamaha, Framus, Teisco, Aria, Jansen, Harmony, and National are but some of the brands who released guitars in

3192-448: The Marauder might have been a disagreement of some sort between the new CBS owners of Fender and Freeman. Patent #3,035,472, dated May 22, 1962, covers the Marauder's hidden pickups: "the construction is such that the electromagnetic pickups may be housed within the body of the stringed musical instrument..." After Fender bailed out, Freeman took his patented hidden pickup design to Rickenbacker, and in 1968, Rickenbacker made one prototype of

3276-437: The Marauder story. This Marauder had four large, slightly offset 12-pole experimental pickups with deep armatures producing a very percussive tonality. Freeman also developed a novel hidden vibrato arm channeled within this prototype guitar. This Marauder eventually became part of the permanent collection of a well-known Bay area musician, where it remains as of May 17, 2012. Between 1964 and 1965, Fender built several examples of

3360-555: The NAMM Show in January 2014, Fender debuted a Jim Root Signature Jazzmaster, based on the recommendations by the guitarist of Slipknot and formerly Stone Sour . While the guitar is a Jazzmaster by name it features none of the normal Jazzmaster accoutrements, except for the silhouette. Instead, it features high output EMG 60 and 81 humbuckers, black satin lacquered mahogany body, a single volume control with three-way pickup selector switch,

3444-562: The Senior Master Builders at the time, attended a Stones recording session in Los Angeles . Was wanted Black to beat up his new Sadowsky bass that he was due to play with Bonnie Raitt at a Grammy Awards ceremony because he felt "it looked too squeaky clean". The Relic models are finished in a shabby chic style and aspire to perfectly replicate vintage instruments, both in terms of the parts, design and finishes used, as well in

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3528-643: The Telecaster and Stratocaster had done in other popular musical genres, Fender hoped to initiate a revolution in jazz guitar, at the expense of competitor Gibson . While the Jazzmaster never caught on among its intended audience, they were most successful in the burgeoning Southern California-based surf music and instrumental rock scene of the late 1950s and early 1960s. Fender headquarters were located in Southern California, and Leo Fender himself actively solicited local players' input and guidance in designing

3612-638: The Thin-Skin models. These models were identical to the normal production AVRI models, with the exception of the thickness of the finish (due in part to a thinner, nitrocellulose sealer), as well as additional colors and matching headstocks (though this option was not present on all Thin Skins). Some available colors: Their pickguards came in Mint Green or Brown Shell colors. Jazzmasters featured bound necks with dot inlays in 1965, with block pearloid inlays from 1966 until

3696-1079: The accuracy, detail, and quality—as well as customization and personal touches—that were widely perceived as omitted under the tutelage of CBS, and considered lacking on the revamped Fender's mass-produced instruments. In 1991, the Fender Custom Amp Shop was created and housed in Scottsdale, Arizona . Seven years later, Fender USA manufacturing, R&D and Custom Shop divisions, were moved to its present location in Corona, California . The Fender Custom Shop employs over fifty craftsmen and produces both custom one-off projects and limited CNC -tooled production runs. The 2023 roster of master builders are: Dale Wilson, Paul Waller, Jason Smith, Yuriy Shishkov, Todd Krause, Dennis Galuszka, Greg Fessler, Kyle McMillin, Vincent van Trigt, Austin MacNutt, Andy Hicks, David Brown, Ron Thorn, and Levi Perry. The Fender Custom Shop has produced

3780-608: The aforementioned Jag-Stang and the Venus model, designed with Courtney Love , are designed by the Custom Shop but manufactured by Fender's Far-Eastern import facilities, and in the case of the Venus model, Fender's low budget offshoot Squier . For further confusion, several models are available from both the Custom Shop, and made in the US, and from Fender Musical Instruments' overseas facilities, often in much less limited quantity, and for much less cost. An offshoot of Fender's forays into replicating

3864-542: The bridge, a reworked bridge and hot P90 pickups, the Classic Lacquer series with AV65 pickups and the traditional appointments, and the American Special, and American Professional series which both omit the rhythm-circuit, opting for a single circuit layout. Fender intended the Jazzmaster to represent a solid body alternative to the hollow body archtop guitars that were then ubiquitous among jazz guitarists. As

3948-480: The color. Colors of the signature editions: Fender Custom Shop The Fender Custom Shop is a division of Fender Musical Instruments Corporation , housed within its headquarters complex in Corona , Riverside County , California . The Fender Custom Shop produces special-order guitars for customers through a Custom Shop dealer network, creates limited edition high end quality guitars, builds limited edition amplifiers , and does some research & design for

4032-459: The end of their original run in 1977; the headstocks were also larger ("CBS-style") in this era. They have featured matching headstocks (headstocks painted the same color as the body) at several points throughout the guitar's history. Matched-headstock versions generally fetch a higher price. In 2012, Fender replaced the AVRI line with the American Vintage (AV) series. The AVRI 1962 Jazzmaster

4116-501: The entire guitar from going out of tune if one string breaks. The Jazzmaster also had an extra-long vibrato arm . The bridge and vibrato construction is very different from that of the Stratocaster , and gives the Jazzmaster a different resonance and generally less sustain. The bridge sits on two fulcrum points and moves back and forth with the vibrato motion. Aftermarket versions that provided more sustain and less buzz were created during

4200-570: The era. Additionally, many of the Custom Color Jazzmasters have matching headstocks. Blonde and sunburst models did not feature this option. In 1999, Fender added the Jazzmaster to the American Vintage Reissue series. The American Vintage Reissue (AVRI) 1962 Jazzmaster was produced in the following colors: There were also limited edition variations of the American Vintage Reissue Jazzmaster available, most notably

4284-579: The first finished in Lake Placid blue and featuring a headstock with a German carve. Four of the prototypes had angled frets . The unnamed guitar commonly referred to as the Marauder "Type II" design has three exposed pickups, with the bridge pickup slanted similar to that of a Stratocaster . It also has seven switches and four knobs. The goal of the design was to combine the ideas behind the Stratocaster and Jaguar guitars while adding new features to increase versatility. Freeman's other personal instrument

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4368-517: The general body shape of the 1960s original but has a simplified switching system featuring a 5-way switch and master volume and tone controls. It also sports a Triplebucker humbucking pickup and a Modern Player Jazzmaster pickup in the lead and rhythm positions. This model is also unique as the first Fender production model to be made with a Koto wood body. The guitar has a C-shaped maple neck, rosewood fretboard, vintage-style synchronized tremolo bridge, vintage-style tuners, and nickel/chrome hardware. It

4452-416: The general public, albeit in more limited quantity than Fender's standard lines. This line includes high-end models in series such as Custom Classics, Showmasters and Time Machines. Examples of guitars designed by specific players and manufactured by the Custom Shop include signature guitars for David Gilmour , Eric Clapton , Jeff Beck , Albert Collins , Merle Haggard , and John5 . Some models, such as

4536-450: The guitar collecting world at large. The currently publicly known, extant, and original prototype guitars were initially owned by Freeman and their provenance from him to the current owners is claimed to be well-documented by unknown and unnamed persons who are alleged to still be alive today . It is further alleged that these anonymous owners wish to remain unknown to all but a few similarly unidentified guitar collectors . Later guitars with

4620-474: The highest register. A 10"-14" compound-radius fingerboard with 21 medium-jumbo frets makes for easier soloing at the upper frets, while the Ultra Noiseless Vintage pickups and new wiring options provide a wider variety of available tones. Other features include sealed locking tuning machines, chrome hardware and bone nut In July 2007, Fender released the J Mascis signature Jazzmaster, in honour of

4704-414: The initial Marauder prototypes, though the model ultimately did not progress from the prototype to production stage, allegedly because the hidden pickups of the Marauder were either too expensive for mass production or the technology itself was too expensive to license. These original Marauder examples had four wide, high powered pickups with 16 pole pieces, all submerged deep into the body and hidden under

4788-409: The introduction of the Jazzmaster, Fender used 250kΩ potentiometers on their guitars. The Jazzmaster's lead circuit uses 1MΩ potentiometers instead, contributing to its unique tonal characteristics. As a concession to its more conservative audience, the Jazzmaster was the first Fender guitar carrying a rosewood fingerboard instead of maple. The fingerboard had "clay dot" position inlays and was glued onto

4872-593: The late 1980s, either from Japanese dealers willing to ship overseas, or from US dealers who have imported them. Since 1996, its Squier offshoot has manufactured a budget version called the Jagmaster . In May 2008, Fender introduced the Classic Player Series Jazzmaster, which was made in Mexico. Fender made changes to the original design. This included replacing the bridge with a Tune-o-matic type, giving it

4956-623: The look of heavily worn instruments was the introduction of the Fender Relic series in the late 1990s. Urban legend states that idea came as guitarist Keith Richards of the British rock group The Rolling Stones told the Custom Shop that some replicas he commissioned for a Stones tour 'looked too new', stating: "Bash 'em up a bit and I'll play 'em," but this has been denied by multiple Fender employees and Richards himself. The true story stemmed from Stones' producer Don Was . In 1994 Jay W. Black, one of

5040-414: The maple neck. Some early pre-production/prototype examples came with a one-piece maple neck, others with an ebony fingerboard, or a black painted aluminum pickguard. Longtime Fender associate George Fullerton owned a 1957 Fiesta Red pre-production body coupled with an unusual and experimental fretboard manufactured in 1961 using vulcanised rubber — reportedly one of two ever made. Rosewood became

5124-482: The middle pickup position. This position eliminates the typical mains hum that is inherent in most single-coil pickups. The Jazzmaster has a mellower, 'jazzier' tone than the Stratocaster, although it was not widely embraced by jazz musicians. Instead, rock guitarists adopted it for surf rock . The Ventures , The Surfaris , and The Fireballs were prominent Jazzmaster users. One of the Jazzmaster's notable features

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5208-474: The neck pickup only with the brightness rolled off slightly due to different values of the potentiometers (500k Ω vs 1MΩ in the lead circuit), and the volume and tone are controlled by the two thumbwheels; the other controls are bypassed. The intention was that this circuit would allow the performer to quickly switch to a "preset" volume and tone setting for rhythm playing. The lead circuit potentiometer values also stray from Fender's usual specifications. Up until

5292-526: The original Marauders shown in the 1965 Fender catalog. Around the turn of the 21st century, the Fender Custom Shop made a 12-string Marauder model. However, this guitar was radically different from the mid-1960s original, having fewer switches and a very different body shape. In October 2011, Fender introduced a new Marauder model as part of the Modern Player entry-level series. This Marauder shares

5376-466: The originals as according to Stuart, no one knew the exact specifications of those Marauders from the 1965 catalog, not even Fender old-timers nor collectors . Stuart stated that all he had to work with was the catalog photo and one body template, found in the Fender shop and labeled "Marauder" in pencil. These Custom Shop "Marauders" were wired differently, had different pickups, and had different body shapes and slightly different dimensions and geometry from

5460-426: The parent company. For nearly 20 years (since 1965), Fender was owned and operated by CBS . Many guitar players felt that the interests of CBS were at odds with the marketplace and profits declined. In 1984, CBS sold the rights to the Fender name and designs to an investor group of employees led by Bill Schultz who launched Fender Musical Instruments Corporation (FMIC). The Fender Custom Shop began in 1987, under

5544-507: The pickguard. Freeman's design concept was to create an instrument capable of providing total ease of playability without the physical interference of large pickups protruding from the instrument's face, while simultaneously providing very versatile electronics . The hidden pickups reminded Freeman of a "masked marauder", hence the official catalog name. The four 3-way switches gave 48 different tonal characteristics with their in- and out of phase pickup positions. While originally intended to join

5628-447: The pole pieces of the Jazzmaster pickup are magnets themselves. Also, the JM coil is wound flat and wide, even more so than that of the P-90. This is in contrast to Fender's usual tall and thin coils. This 'pancake winding' gives them a warmer thicker tone without losing their single coil clarity. Additionally, due to the pickups being reverse-wound, the pickups provide a 'hum cancelling' effect in

5712-575: The previous Blacktop model, including the relocated tailpiece. Despite numerous modernising design changes, the Standard shipped with a vintage bridge, long lambasted for its instability and frequency to buzz. The Player Jazzmaster replaced the Standard in 2018. While specs remained similar, the neck was extended to 22 frets, pickup rings were replaced with scratchplate mountings and the humbuckers replaced with more 'vintage' voiced models. Knobs and other plastic details (excluding scratchplate) were switched from black to white. In January 2013, Fender added

5796-484: The product line shortly before Leo Fender sold the company to CBS, the Marauder remained a prototype and did not enter series production. These Marauders were never made available to the public, and the six known pre-production models were given away as promotions to shops around the Fullerton, California area. In 1966, a second series of prototypes was developed by Gene Fields of Fender. Eight prototypes were created, with

5880-657: The relic series, from light to very heavy 'wear', and has since introduced a line of 'NOS' (new old stock) and 'Closet Classic' instruments that employ period-correct parts, designs and finishes but do not feature faux abuse, weathering, or aging. Recently, the Fender Custom Shop has devoted much time and resources to creating limited 'Art' guitars and basses. Generally shown off at the annual NAMM Show , these instruments are generally geared more towards guitar collectors than players and are often created to tie in with other industries as collector items, such as guitars created as

5964-531: The saddles and increasing clearance over the tailpiece's domed screws (this is more commonly achieved by increasing bridge height with a tapered neck pocket shim, or a factory-machined angled pocket on some models). The contentious relocated tailpiece has remained in some of the Mexican Jazzmaster line ever since. Fender has also sometimes used different, specially-designed P-90-type high-output single-coil pickups on limited lines. These P-90 pickups operated with

6048-480: The same NAMM Show, Fender also unveiled a Troy Van Leeuwen signature Jazzmaster, in honor of the Queens Of The Stone Age guitarist. The TVL Jazzmaster is based on a late 1960s Jazzmaster, with block pearloid fretboard inlays, unique gloss Oxblood finish with matching headstock, Mustang bridge, and other late 1960s-style features including a bound rosewood fingerboard and white "witch hat" knobs. This model

6132-451: The spirit of the Jazzmaster, mainly to capitalize on the surf rock sound of the 1960s. Most of these manufacturers took inspiration from the Jazzmaster, but made significant changes to their finished product before bringing them to market. Foreign Jazzmaster inspired guitars with faithful pickup variants are rare, though examples of nearly identical tremolo systems were far more common. It wasn't uncommon to see modern copy variants replace

6216-413: The supervision of one luthier as opposed to part of an assembly line . Fender makes this distinction by tagging these models as 'Master Built' and 'Team Built'. These instruments are designed to closely replicate the original examples and are very limited in number and often extremely expensive. Far more common under the Custom Shop banner are production models commissioned by players and made available to

6300-509: The supervision of then-CEO Schultz. The initial staff comprised only two Master Builders (John Page, Michael Stevens) and a Haas VF4 CNC machine (modified for woodwork) that cuts three bodies or four necks at once. The primary intent of the Fender Custom Shop was to create instruments in the tradition of Leo Fender and his staff at the original Fender facilities in Fullerton, CA , accommodating famous endorsers and other discerning players who wanted

6384-405: The tailpiece in the same position, meaning the Jazzmaster's tailpiece sits closer to the bridge than it does in higher-end Fender models. This move changed the visual style of the guitar slightly making it distinct from all other Jazzmasters. While altering the visual style, the relocated tailpiece imposed solutions to two of the important setup issues in the guitar, by increasing the break angle over

6468-544: The three visible pickups and/or slant frets were built on a differently shaped body, and were never officially named by Fender as Marauders or anything else. Still, some people refer to these experimental guitars as "Type II Marauders" for reasons that have never been clear. Between 1999–2001, Fred Stuart of the Fender Custom Shop built a series of guitars that bore some, but not all, of the Marauder characteristics and which were sold as Fender Marauder Custom Shop reissues. These reissues were not entirely accurate representations of

6552-452: The varying degrees of wear typically found on a 40- to 50-year-old instrument. Fender tarnishes metal parts, purposely marks and scratches paintjobs, yellows and cracks plastic parts, and cigarette burns marks in the headstock (some players allegedly timed jam sessions by cigarette burn time). "Relic-ing" is controversial among players who question the logic of paying a premium for a deliberately damaged instrument. Fender offers grades of wear in

6636-458: Was a vibrato guitar in ice blue metallic (later aged to a teal green metallic) with a matching headstock. It had five switches: four pickup controls (one per pickup with on, off, and phased positions) plus a "lead/rhythm" Jaguar-style upper bout switch. It had two sets of volume/tone pots: rollers on the top control plate (the rhythm position) and traditional pots on the lower control plate (the lead position). Freeman's ice blue metallic Marauder had

6720-552: Was available in black and Lake Placid Blue versions. A review of the humbucker mode cites a bright and punchy sound, which is said to work on heavy riffs and power chords while the triple-coil setting creates warmer tone at a slightly decreased output. As of 2014, the Fender Modern Player Marauder model has been discontinued with multiple vendors presently listing this version as an increasingly collectable model. Fender Jazzmaster The Fender Jazzmaster

6804-418: Was designed for comfort while playing the guitar in a seated position, as many jazz and blues artists prefer to do. A full 25.5-inch (647.7 mm) scale length , ' lead ' and ' rhythm ' circuit switching with independent volume and tone controls, a 'floating vibrato ' with vibrato lock, and a uniquely designed bridge were other keys to the guitar's character. The vibrato lock can be manually activated to keep

6888-476: Was discontinued in 2012. In the late 2000s, Fender produced limited quantities of the 1962 Jazzmaster known as Thin Skins. These were almost identical in spec to the standard AVRI Jazzmasters, with the notable exception of the finish, though some, such as those offered by Wildwood Guitars in Louisville, Colorado, offered Thin Skins with a 9.5" radius in lieu of the vintage-spec 7.25". The Thin Skins were offered in

6972-410: Was offered in a variety of colors, and a special version in blonde was offered featuring vintage appointments instead of the 6105 fretwire and 9.5" radius fingerboard. In 2012, Fender discontinued the entirety of the American Vintage Reissue (AVRI) series, including the 1962 Jazzmaster. The line was replaced by the American Vintage (AV) series. The new series featured more accurate vintage appointments,

7056-441: Was subsequently replaced with the AV 1965 Jazzmaster. The current American Vintage Jazzmaster comes standard in the following colors: This series has also been offered in limited quantities in some of the following colors: As with the AVRI '62 Jazzmaster, Thin Skin models are available, also in additional Custom Colors, including: Like their vintage counterparts, pickguards come in Mint Green or Brown Shell colors, depending on

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