The Andertons and Chicago Music Exchange exclusives pair Player Series affordability with American Made tones, and arrive in a batch of sleek colorways including Olive Green, Ice Blue Metallic and Olympic White
(Image credit: Fender)
Fender has bolstered its lineup of offset offerings with the release of new-and-improved limited-edition Player Series Jazzmasters.
Based on the blueprint of a regular Player Jazzmaster, the big F has sought to instill a souped-up sonic variety and upgrade the Mexican-made model further by equipping its latest electric guitars with US-wired Pure Vintage ‘65 pickups.
Arriving as Andertons and Chicago Music Exchange exclusives, the models also come equipped with a palette of sleek colorways. While Andertons is offering a Black and rare Olive Green finish, CME is serving up Black, Ice Blue Metallic, Sonic Blue, Three-Color Sunburst and Shell Pink iterations.
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The latter crop of guitars will join up with CME’s recently unveiled Pacific Peach Jazzmaster, which was already ahead of the curve and treated to the electronic upgrades found on the rest of the collection.
Unlike the existing Player Jazzmasters – which feature a pair of Player Series Alnico 2 humbuckers – the new-and-improved offsets aim to tap into a far more vibrant voice by way of the Pure Vintage pickups, which are usually found on the more expensively priced American Made Jazzmasters.
Also new to the Player Series offset is an upgrade on the usual three-way switch – a four-way pickup selector that offers up series/parallel voices.
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To hear the pickups in action, check out CME’s video below, which sees Elizabeth Moen, Sam Porter and Nathaniel Murphy put the limited-edition Jazzmasters under the microscope.
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Aside from that, the crop of guitars are standard Player Series Jazzmasters. That means the boutique pickups are joined on the spec sheet by an alder body, a modern-C maple neck and a pau ferro fretboard, which is topped with 22 medium jumbo frets.
Other appointments include a six-saddle adjustable bridge with a vintage-style floating tremolo, as well as a 9.5” fingerboard radius, 25.5” scale length and a synthetic bone nut.
In terms of price, Chicago Music Exchange’s Olympic White, Black, Sonic Blue, Three-Color Sunburst and Pacific Peach models are available for $874, while the Ice Blue Metallic iteration is available for $849.
The Andertons models, meanwhile, are both available for £749.
Matt is a Senior Staff Writer, writing for Guitar World, Guitarist and Total Guitar. He has a Masters in the guitar, a degree in history, and has spent the last 16 years playing everything from blues and jazz to indie and pop. When he’s not combining his passion for writing and music during his day job, Matt records for a number of UK-based bands and songwriters as a session musician.