Fender American Performer Jazzmaster

first play
FENDER AMERICAN PERFORMER JAZZMASTER & MUSTANG
20
GUITARIST SEPTEMBER 2019
tone and three-way toggle for the bridge
and neck pickups, and a ‘rhythm’ mode
with roller volume and tone controls that
only fed the neck pickup. The idea was you
could switch between two preset tones. As
previously stated, the American Performer
does away with all that kerfuffle.
Your classic and reissue Mustang features
a pair of three-way pickup selector slider
switches. These allow the single coils to
be switched off, and run in parallel and
out of phase. Not bad when you consider
this model was designed for students. Like
the American Performer Jazzmaster, this
Mustang is running a much simpler setup.
Considering that the Jazzmaster and
Mustang appeal to a similar crowd – indie
kids, grunge throwbacks, alt-country
types – you’d expect them to sound quite
similar. In practice, the inch-and-a-half of
scale length difference is crucial. Where
the Jazzmaster is all twang and brightness,
the Mustang has some low-end grunt. The
former is like a Strat on helium; the latter is
a grumpy Telecaster.
Running clean, you can see why the
Jazzmaster’s big single coils were so
popular during the early 60s surf music
craze. The top-end from the Yosemite
bridge single coil is spine-tingling, especially
when you crank up the reverb. The neck
pup maintains much of that treble response,
but there’s a bit more Duane Eddy-esque
depth. Switch reverb for slapback echo and
the Jazzmaster makes a credible rockabilly
machine. Lest we forget, one of this model’s
earliest supporters was much-loved Johnny
Cash sideman Luther Perkins.
Start piling on the dirt and the Jazzmaster
goes all alternative rock. That sizzling
top-end definition coexists beautifully with
dirt and delay. You don’t necessarily have
to gaze down at your shoes, but that’s the
sound you’ll get.
As we expected, the Mustang offers
less twang and sustain than its longer-
necked brother. It’s typically typecast as
a strummer’s guitar, but there’s more to it
than that. Its single coils definitely work at
their best with effects. A touch of overdrive,
some reverb and delay – that all works
wonders. Combining the pickups actually
works great for some sweet Curtis Mayfield
and Hendrix doublestops. The shorter scale
adds some fluffiness to the bottom-end
that would be a problem for other guitars.
Here, that slight lack of definition comes
across as extra warmth.
There’s enough
vintage DNA in these
models to make them
cool, balanced with
modern build quality
and playability
4. Our American
Performer Mustang
features the
non-contoured
’65-style body in a
polyurethane Vintage
White finish. This is
Vintage White at its
most ‘banana milk’.
The lack of contours
is not a problem; the
body is thin and easy
to grapple with
VIDEO DEMO http://bit.ly/guitaristextra
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GIT450.rev_fender.indd 20 8/8/19 5:09 PM