Jazzmaster/Jaguar and Roadster?

[manwithnoname]

Hi Everyone!

I am in the market for a Jazzmaster or a Jaguar, and I am wondering if anyone has had experience playing one through a Roadster, or any other Mesa rectifier, or if anyone knows of an artist that uses this combination.

I understand that both of these guitars (stock) are low output, but I'd like to know how they sound with rectifier distortion. It would be great if anyone could give me their opinion.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Pinweaver]

It's not what you're looking for, but I play a jazzmaster through a mark IV and I can tell you this much: if it's a Japanese model, order some seymour duncan replacement pickups right away. The stock pickups are crap compared to the originals.
Mine is a '91 MIJ (made in Japan) jazzmaster and although the craftsmanship is excellent, there was one thing which bothered me quite a lot over the years: this guitar has very shrill highs and almost no mids. I replaced the stock pickups with SD Antiquity II's (very faithful replica of the 60's version of the jazzmaster) and I changed my strings to 12s. Now I use a custom tuning but the set of 12s helped a lot.
Btw, these pups are higher output than your average stock Fender strat or tele. Although I don't care for rectifiers I did play through a dual rect once and it sounded awesome. I have a lot more trouble getting a good sound on my mark IV lead channel, but nothing beats this guitar on R1 clean or R2 crunch.

Small ps:
If your buying a CIJ (crafted in Japan) Fender, make sure you test it properly. One of my students bought one and it's really disappointing. The frets and neck don't feel right, the switches don't feel solid... completely different from mine.

 

[manwithnoname]

Hello Pinweaver!

Thanks for the insight! I am purchasing a new American Vintage Re-Issue, so I am hoping it will be OK. I've heard the pickups are a little weak, and as you suggest, Seymour Duncan pickups can really do wonders.

I currently have a custom shop Les Paul that sounds great through all of the Mesa's I have tried it through, but I am looking for a second guitar with a different sound/texture. I really am not a fan of Strats for some reason, and the cigarette box bridge of a Tele tend to cut my hand up with my play style haha.

Thanks again!

 

[Pinweaver]

I really am not a fan of Strats for some reason, and the cigarette box bridge of a Tele tend to cut my hand up with my play style haha.

Ah forgot to tell you. The original jazzmaster bridge is a complete disaster. I changed mine to a mustang bridge (perfect replacement, no change to the guitar whatsoever), lots of people do this and for good reason. Once you've played with the original for a while, you'll understand what I mean...

For now you can check out this cool site for more info: Jazzmaster & Jaguar info

 

[Grendeltone]

Depends on what tone you are looking for... if you want a singing tone.. the Jazzmaster rocks... the Jaguar sounds better to me through the Lone Star or the amps with reverb...

I use a 1965 Fender Mustang w/ 50's PAFs and that really rocks...