Long rumoured, much anticipated, and quietly radical, the Fender Acoustasonic Player Jazzmaster is now available to buy – and it offers a more affordable Mexican-built version of the hybrid acoustic electric guitar that was the most-versatile Acoustasonic we have played.
As with the Acoustasonic Player Telecaster, the control platform has been scaled down a little, so it might not compete with the 360º versatility of its US-built equivalent.
But with an Acoustasonic Shawbucker magnetic pickup at the bridge, and a piezo secreted under the saddle, a three-way pickup selector, plus Blend and volume controls, the Acoustasonic Player Jazzmaster still has plenty of tricks up its sleeve – acoustic guitar tones, electric guitar tones, and the unclaimed borderlands between them both.
It arrives in four finishes: Shell Pink, Ice Blue, Antique Olive, and 2-Color Sunburst, the solid-colours applied to the solid A-grade Sitka spruce tops of a hollow mahogany body, with said body’s contours and dimensions evoking the Acoustasonic Player Jazzmaster’s solid-bodied kin.
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The body is finished in matt poly. The neck, also of mahogany, is shaped into a Modern ‘Deep C’ and is bolted to the body, and topped with a 12” radius rosewood fingerboard that seats 22 narrow tall frets. The scale length is classic Fender, 25.5”.
There’s a Graph Tech Tusq nut, Fender die-cast staggered tuners and string tree, an asymmetrical rosewood bridge, while a bi-flex truss rod allows for precise neck adjustments.
At the heart of the Acoustasonic design is the ‘donut soundhole’, or rather the Stringed Instrument Resonance System (SIRS), which accommodates a pure, unplugged acoustic performance via a “waterfall” design that controls the flow of air into the body, and the Acoustic Engine, co-designed by Fender with Fishman, that puts all these new tones within reach. The active electronics are powered by a 9V battery.
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The bridge pickup was designed specifically for the Jazzmaster, which Fender promises has enough aggression to hold its own as an electric guitar pickup in its own right, but bringing the acoustic voices into the mix is where things get really interesting. For an idea of how that sounds, check out the demo at the top of the page.
Fender ships the Acoustasonic Player Jazzmaster with a set of its own Dura-Tone 860CL Coated Phosphor Bronze acoustic guitar strings (gauge .011), and in a deluxe gig-bag.
The Acoustasonic Player Jazzmaster is available now, priced £1,049 / $1,199. For more information, head over to Fender.
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