A Modded-out Tribute to the Jazzmaster’s Earliest Era
The Fender Custom Shop ’59 250K Jazzmaster Journeyman Relic offers a mellowed-out spin on Fender’s iconic offset guitar, complete with a few choice sonic modifications. It all starts off with a lightweight 2-piece select ash body mated to an ultra-sturdy rift-sawn maple neck in a ’62-style Jazzmaster “C” profile. Next, the 9.5-inch-radius rosewood fingerboard and 21 narrow tall frets offer a much more modern feel than your typical traditional-spec Jazzmaster. And while this guitar’s Fender Custom Shop Hand-wound Jazzmaster pickups deliver a thoroughly vintage-style bite, 250K pots round over the high-end for a warmer, smoother, and (dare we say) jazzier vibe. You also get a rock-solid RSD J-Bridge, a “Floating Vibrato” tailpiece, and vintage-style Fender tuners that allow you to warble, bend, and sway with impunity. To complete this guitar’s charming old-school aesthetic, the ’59 250K Jazzmaster Journeyman Relic sports a Journeyman Relic nitrocellulose lacquer finish instrument that will gracefully age right along with you.
Related Videos: '59 250K Jazzmaster Journeyman Relic Electric Guitar - Chocolate 3-color Sunburst
250K potentiometers for a rounded-over response
Ever the outlier in Fender’s 6-string catalog, both the Jazzmaster and Jaguar sport 1-meg potentiometers — four times the value of the 250k pots found on almost every other single-coil-equipped Fender guitar. Rather than rely on the offset tradition, the ’59 250K Jazzmaster Journeyman Relic takes a leaf out of the Telecaster and Stratocaster’s tonal book with 250K pots for both the volume and tone control. The result? A warmer, more mellow tone that tames some of the Jazzmaster’s iconic springy top-end. A pair of Fender Custom Shop Hand-wound Jazzmaster pickups seal the deal, packed to the brim with all the crystalline highs, growling mids, and rotund lows one would expect from a world-class vintage-style Jazzmaster.
Fast-playing ’62-style Jazzmaster “C” profile
The Fender Custom Shop ’59 250K Jazzmaster Journeyman Relic sports a classic early-1960s-inspired ’62 Jazzmaster “C” maple neck. A far cry from Fender’s earlier baseball-bat necks, this profile provides a fast, speedy feel, with just enough heft to hold on to when sliding up and down the flat-laminated rosewood fingerboard. Players who prefer the effortless feel of a modern instrument are sure to appreciate the neck’s 9.5-inch radius, and it’s all topped off with 21 narrow-tall frets.
The offset bridge of the future
Ask any offset fanatic — the “floating” bridge found on vintage Jazzmasters and Jaguars can be a tough beast to wrangle, especially if you’re a fan of light-gauge strings and low action! Luckily, the ’59 250K Jazzmaster Journeyman Relic boasts a Fender Custom Shop RSD J-Bridge for superlative stability and a much more solid feel overall. This bridge replaces the standard Jazzmaster bridge’s six saddles for two brass inserts, drastically simplifying the design for greater reliability. What’s more, many of Sweetwater’s Jazzmaster aficionados have reported that the RSD J-Bridge grants you quite a bit of extra sustain and resonance. This bridge is paired with a classic Fender “Floating Vibrato” tailpiece that supplies everything from surfy sway to shoegaze-style warble in ample abundance.
Fender Custom Shop ’59 250K Jazzmaster Journeyman Relic Electric Guitar Features:
- Period-correct 2-piece select ash body gives you a slightly warmer and less mid-forward tone than alder-bodied Jazzmasters
- Sturdy rift-sawn maple neck carved into an easy-playing ’62-style Jazzmaster “C” profile
- Sleek flat-lam rosewood fingerboard studded with 21 narrow-tall frets in a 9.5-inch radius to ensure your bends remain clear and buzz-free
- Dual Custom Shop Hand-wound Jazzmaster pickups supply a bright, springy, and full-range wash of tone
- 250K volume and tone pots tame some of the Jazzmaster’s zingy top end, resulting in a slightly mellower response overall
- Traditional Jazzmaster rhythm circuit controls located on the upper horn
- Eye-catching gold anodized aluminum pickguard
- Rock-solid RSD J-Bridge for enhanced reliability, paired with a classic “Floating Vibrato” tailpiece
- Vintage-style Fender tuning machines make changing strings a breeze
- Thin nitrocellulose lacquer finish, aged to perfection by the Fender Custom Shop’s master luthiers to their Journeyman Relic specs
