Your primer in surf-rock, alt-rock, metal and grunge powered by Jazzmasters, Jaguars and Mustangs
(Image credit: Future / Olly Curtis)
Fender’s Jazzmaster was released in 1958 as a premium sister model to the Stratocaster. Its target market of jazz guitarists never really took to it, but its warm, twangy tones soon found favour amongst a generation of surf guitarists, then later in alt-rock and indie/shoegaze.
We love the classic Jazz shape here at TG, but it’s easy to mix it up with similar off set lines of Fender’s Jaguar – which would appear in 1962. The principal difference is the scale length (the Jazz is 25.5” compared to the Jag’s 24”).
But also look out for the pickups – the Jazz is usually spec'd with soapbar-style single coils, whereas humbuckers and standard single coils are more commonplace on the Jag. Below we inspect a handful of artists, genres and tones associated with Fender offsets.
1. Surf
(Image credit: Future)
The Jazzmaster’s futuristic look fitted right in with the 50s and 60s surf boom – The Ventures and The Surfaris were both spotted with ’em. Strats were also popular for surf and a bridge single-coil pickup with a fairly clean tone is your best option for this lick.
2. The alt choice
(Image credit: Future)
The leftfield look of the Jazzmaster found favour in alt-rock, notably with Dinosaur Jr’s J Mascis, while Sonic Youth, Television and My Bloody Valentine regularly used Jaguars and Jazzmasters. Our distorted alt-rock riff employs powerchords and single notes. Easy!
3. Nirvana
(Image credit: Future)
On In Utero, Kurt Cobain refined his rig. Jaguars and Mustangs had already made studio appearances in the Nevermind sessions, but where Mesa/Boogie and Vox featured heavily in 1991, by 1993 he opted for the services of a Fender Twin Reverb. Try your hand at our simple Cobain-inspired riff.
4. Slipknot-style metal
(Image credit: Future)
Jim Root took the well known Jazzmaster recipe and spiced up the signal with active EMG humbuckers. Our example uses low voiced powerchords to create a grinding riff. Try playing the same riff in drop-B (B F# B E G# C#) for the full Slipknot effect.
5. Johnny Marr-style cleans
(Image credit: Future)
Marr’s a well-known Jaguar, player but none of The Smiths material was recorded with one – Johnny picked his Jag up in 2005. Still, it’s a mainstay in his rig now, and you’ll hear it used for Smiths covers, too. Try out these Marr-style arpeggios and remember to hold down each chord shape for its full duration.
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