A while back info about the Fender Jazzmaster 50th Anniversary Concert in NYC was posted here, well the event took place and Pitchforkmedia.com managed to get some good photos up on their site.

It seems like somewhat of a big event to have for a Fender guitar but it’s an important one. The Fender Jazzmaster and Jaguar proved to be incredibly influential during the formative years of alternative rock. Bands like Nirvana, Sonic Youth, Dinosaur Jr, My Bloody Valentine and countless others would go on to re-popularize the Jazzmaster and Jaguar.

During the early 90’s Jazzmasters and Jaguars were largely regarded as surf-music guitars by most players. As a result you could buy high-quality vintage versions of these guitars for around $200 or $300. As a result of their popularity vintage models now routinely sell for thousands of dollars. I’m pretty sure they’ll do a similar event for the 50th anniversary of the Fender Jaguar as well.

Guitar Blog has a great piece up (dated July 28th, 2008) about the inappropriate use of decals on guitars. In it, several points are mentioned about how it is not only deceiving to mark a guitar with the incorrect decal, but also an insult to the guitar you may currently have..

The most commonly used decals are Fender’s, these are put on everything from strat knock-offs to guitars that don’t even closely resemble a Fender. Squier guitars are common victims of the fake decal routine but as stated at Guitar Blog, you shouldn’t be ashamed to play a Squier Guitar as some of them are great guitars in their own right.

The desire to want guitars beyond your means is something every guitarist goes through. It is only after you  see many of your musical idols performing with cheap gear that you realize the instrument isn’t usually what makes them so good, it is their playing and that is what is most important.

Stereogum has a very interesting post up today, which essentially is a link to a bootleg of a Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks performance at The Siren Festival from July 19th.

This is interesting because not only is a pretty official website posting a bootleg, but during the performance the band played a new song, not yet released titled “Astral Facial”.

Also of note is the picture above from the post, where it appears that Stephen Malkmus is playing a Japanese Fender Stratocaster, the kind I am always looking for because of the smaller neck radius.

Source.

Music-equipment company Grpah Tech is releasing its new Supercharger Kits for acoustic and electric guitars. This is something of an upgrade kit for any older guitars one might have.

“The Supercharger Kit provides a complete solution to really improve any guitar’s performance including sustain, harmonic content/richness, string breakage reduction and tuning stability.” says Dave Dunwoodie, Graph Tech’s president and founder. “For 25 years, Graph Tech has created high-performing accessories that unlock the full potential of every guitar so musicians can play with confidence. This is the first time we’ve packaged them together in a simple kit format for our customers.”

“Three acoustic kits are available and include TUSQ® high-performance saddle and bridge pins. Electric kits are available for Tele and Strat (American, Import, or Offset) and for Gibson and Epiphone style guitars. Included in the kit are Black TUSQ XL nuts and String Saver™ saddles, installation instructions, two grades of adhesive backed sandpaper for nut installation, a Graph Tech pick and a hex key. Four bridge color choices — chrome, nickel, gold, and black are also available for Gibson and Epiphone style guitars.”

This package looks like it could be something really great for people with older guitars, especially those that need constant tweaks. My only complaint is that for people with older guitars such as Fender Mustangs, Jaguars, etc…This apparently cannot be used, as the only Fender’s its completely compatible with are Strats and Teles.

Source.

So…I still haven’t gotten a Telecaster yet, BUT…I am still searching and considering different options. As I stated in my last post, I am looking for a Japanese made Fender Telecaster (or MIJ), because of the smaller neck radius, craftsmanship and the $600 price tag. The $1200+ American price tag (for basically the same guitar), is a little much.

I’ve looked online, at new guitars, on eBay (my usual guitar browsing place) for used Tele’s. I however, do not want to buy a guitar without having played it first. Obviously playability is one of, if not, the most important part of a guitar. The problem is, a lot of local guitar shops around Los Angeles are so ridiculously overpriced.

I think my best option is probably to try and find the model that I want, play it locally and then shop around online for the same model. Although this is hard as well, since every guitar, even the same models play differently. Just have to figure out something I guess…when I do, I’ll post here.

No not the British slang for Television. Telecaster. Yea I’ve been considering buying a Telecaster. I’m not exactly sure why I have been interested in buying one recently but I have. I think after seeing various pictures of them and famous players with them in hand, its got me interested.

Most guitarist’s playing indie-rock or “alternative” music don’t normally play them. You usually see guys like Bruce Springsteen and Tom Petty playing Fender Telecasters and alternative rockers playing Fender Jaguars, Strats and Gibson Les Pauls or SG’s. It’s not that I’m trying to “break the mold” or anything, I just really like the look, feel and playability of Telecasters.

I have decided that I’m going to start shopping around for one, definitely used.  I much prefer Japanese-made Fender guitars because of their smaller radius necks (7.25 vs. the regular American 9.25).  They do produce vintage reissue in America with the small neck radius but they go for over $1000 and are hard to find used. Most Japanese Fenders from the early 90’s sell for around $600 or so.

When/if I do end up following through with this post and buying one, I of course will post pics here. Until then, I’ll just stare at the picture I posted above.

Been busy lately. The Monotonix - “Body Language” EP review will be up tomorrow as promised.