Fender Gold Foil Jazzmaster Electric Guitar
The Gold Foil Jazzmaster is a truly beautiful mutation. It has attributes of a Gibson, with a mahogany body and mini humbuckers. The body is Fender’s shapely Jazzmaster profile. It has a 25 1/2″ scale, a Jaguar-inspired pickup selector and a Bigsby. This guitar has a lively sound and is exciting to play.
Design and Build
This guitar in Candy Apple Burst, looks pretty amazing, but even flashier in Shoreline Gold. The block inlays add a custom design element. Its appearance is eye-catching. It resembles the late 1960’s style Jazzmasters. The white plastic keys on the vintage Kluson-style tuners, match the white neck binding and white control knobs. While they match in color, they don’t match the high quality style of the rest of the instrument.
The name of this guitar gives it a fancy image. The Fender Gold Foil pickups that provide its handle are not traditional gold foil. Instead, they are alnico-based mini humbuckers. There are 3 pickups , which allow a multitude of sounds to work with.
The bridge pickup produces a clear, airy tone, similar to a Stratocaster single-coil. It also delivers the punch of a Rickenbacker Hi-Gain with more sustain. They are heavy on midrange, which works well with black-panel Fender amplifiers.
The modes lack some of the classic attributes of a Stratocaster, but they have their place. They make a muted and subdued sound. This isnt ideal for picking dynamics, but perfect for softer melodic leads and rhythm. They sound better through a fuzz or an overdrive pedal. The mini humbuckers work best when isolated or in the neck-and-bridge setting. This makes it similar to a traditional Jazzmaster, which can make beautiful tones.
The Bigsby is really fun, it looks awesome, and it is very stable. If you like a classic Jazzmaster or Jaguar vibrato, the Bigsby can feel limiting. You can’t pull the vibrato arm past the position where the arm is parallel with the strings. This is fine if you’re used to Bigsbys, or new to using tremolo bars. On a traditional Jazzmaster, the vibrato arm can be pulled much farther. That would allow the ease of holding it, while you perform more complex picking maneuvers. That is a classic Jazzmaster quality and appeal.
Build quality and playability is excellent. It does produce a variety of tones. The mahogany body is good for a solid body guitar. There are several switching options, which give you the ability to alter sounds quickly. The guitar is very stylish and alluring. It’s a beautiful guitar, and you can do a lot with it.
If you appreciate late-’50s – early ’60s styles, you will love the Jazzmaster silhouette. It has a flashy appeal and well-balanced hardware and trim. The design is reminiscent of classical custom car designs. It makes a great addition to any guitar collection. It may lack a little in performance for some players. This model has more flash than substance. Overall, its a Fender, and it is still a very nice instrument.
