| The first time I ever encountered a Jazzmaster
in person, it was in the hands of a great guitarist by the name of Stan
Gadziola, who was one of two guitarists slinging their axes in the service
of an amazing R&B band called Sounder. They played around the Georgian
Bay area in the 1980s, and I managed to misspend a fair chunk of my misspent
youth at their gigs. I thought the Jazzmaster was just about the coolest
looking thing on the planet, especially in an era that was overpopulated
by Kramer and Charvel wannabes.
While watching Stan play, I noticed that he would
often reach back by the bridge and make some funny little gesture with
his pinky, almost like he was flicking an invisible toggle switch or something.
One night after a Sounder gig, I asked Stan why he was making that odd
gesture and he matter-of-factly informed me that it was because his high
E string would always pop out of the saddle. He said it was just the way
Jazzmasters were designed, and he’d thought of installing a Tune-O-Matic,
but the radius wouldn’t be correct, and besides he was used to it after
having played the guitar for so many years. We agreed that it was too bad
Fender hadn’t come up with a more rugged bridge design.
Fast forward to now, and as I sit here at the
computer, I have one of Fender’s new Classic Player Jazzmaster Specials
in my hands. Not only did they upgrade the bridge to a Fender Adjusto-matic
model, but they’ve made the pickups a bit hotter too. This guitar still
has the “warm but clear” tone that Jazzmasters are known for, but it hits
the front end of your amp just a little harder for an extra bit of attitude.
Nice.
Which leaves me in a bit of a dilemma. Should
I fulfill my adolescent dream and finally buy a Jazzmaster now that they’ve
fixed the saddles, or should I try to track down Stan and tell him about
this guitar?
Feel free to make it a moot point by buying it
for yourself before I decide…
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