Fender Jazzmaster - Influence

Influence

Fender intended the Jazzmaster to represent a solid body alternative to the hollow body archtop guitars that were then ubiquitous among Jazz guitarists. As 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, Jazzmasters were most successful in the burgeoning California-based surf music and instrumental rock scene of the late 1950s and early 1960s. Fender headquarters was located in Southern California, and Leo Fender himself actively solicited local players' input and guidance in designing 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 lots of sustain, so guitarists gravitated toward the Gibson Les Paul and its copies. The Jazzmaster's short sustain and warm piano-like tone was not favored. Fender continued to offer the Jazzmaster as part of its product line until 1980, however many collectors believe actual production ceased around 1976, with guitars sold after that period representing unsold inventory. Due to the unwanted, pawn-shop status of the guitars, young musicians were able to purchase the instruments very cheaply, obtaining the high quality guitars for little money.

Just as Fender discontinued 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. Sonic Youth are notorious for the hoard of Jazzmasters they acquired starting around 1985 while the guitars were still affordable, and for their unique customization jobs (e.g. Lee Ranaldo's "Jazzblaster" with Fender Wide Range pickups). Sonic Youth were also famous for playing on the strings below the tailed bridge (near the tailpiece) to get church-bell-like tones; this is sometimes referred to as 3rd bridge technique. Other bands, such as Yes picked behind the nut to achieve similar sounds (on other guitar models), but in a Guitar World interview, Sonic Youth rejected this practice as "art rock". Ranaldo even has a pickup mounted behind the bridge on one of his guitars. With the increasing visibility of old Jazzmasters, and the prices of collectible Telecasters and Stratocasters soaring out of sight in the 1990s, Jazzmasters became highly valuable. Thefts of vintage Jazzmasters from Sonic Youth, Dinosaur Jr. and The Raveonettes in recent years illustrate this. Sonic Youth had nine Jazzmasters stolen from them in July 1999.