Fender American Professional II Jazzmaster - Miami Blue with Maple Fingerboard Reviews

This guitar looks a Smurf ran directly into one of the coolest Jazzmasters I have ever played. Tones are amazing, was set up perfectly. Pictures of the color don't do it justice!!!

I've got the top 3 American Jazzmasters available right now: American Ultra, American Vintage II 1966, and this American Professional II. Out of all 3 of them, this one is by far my favorite.

It doesn't sound dead-on to a vintage Jazzmaster, the American Vintage II does, and that's why I love this one. The sound is much more versatile in my opinion. The pickups are phenomenal, just the right amount of output for my tastes. I play shoegaze & dream pop. The tap switch does allow the bridge pickup to get into vintage territory, it's not dead-on, like I said, but it is very close. Without the tap engaged, the bridge sounds thick and beefy, without too much treble/brightness. The tone pot does it's job and gives a wide range of roll-off throughout the turns; it's highly usable. The neck pickup is great on its own, and very balanced. In parallel, both pickups sound phenomenal. One might think the traditional Jazzmaster rhythm circuit would be missed on this guitar, but it's not the case for me. It doesn't give the full dark and wooly sound that one might be accustomed to, when engaging the rhythm circuit. But, when engaged, for series mode, the sound gets really beefy and thick, with the perfect amount of darkness. It sounds thick, like humbuckers, with high output, but plenty of clarity, and like I said, just the right amount of darkness to feel and sound like the rhythm circuit should. The tap switch even adds a nice variation in this mode too. All in all, the electronics give so many different possibilities, it covers every single base needed.

All else on the guitar is fantastic. The neck is fast, and shaped somewhere between the vintage ii and the ultra. It's the perfect middle ground for me. The tuners are great, as is the bridge. The finish is flawless, and looks great. The panorama tremolo system is a welcome addition. I love the range, and don't find any tuning issues. The action was great out of the box. I should also mention, the case is fantastic. Same case as the Ultra. I like it much more than the vintage style case.

There is only one negative thing I can say about the guitar, and that is the tremolo arm. Unlike the vintage ii and the ultra, it doesn't stay in place very well. I haven't really looked into a fix for it, yet, but I am sure there is a way to get it to stay in place like the others.

All in all, my favorite Jazzmaster, by far. Shout out to Brad for being such a phenomenal rep. As always, with Sweetwater, the service is phenomenal. 10/10 & 5 stars all around.

Purchased this guitar about three months ago. Very well pleased. The tonal range is as good as it gets; balanced through all strings. The neck, in my hand, moves quickly and bends easily. The trem stays in tune.
I am not familiar with other models of this Jazzmaster, but recommend this all day long.

I been playing guitar for 54 years and owned many jazzmasters over the years and had to deal with strings popping out of bridge and weak pickups and would have to make modifications to over come the problems. Now Fender has really finally fixed the issues. This is a great guitar right out of the case.

I been playing guitar for 54 years and owned many jazzmasters over the years and had to deal with strings popping out of bridge and weak pickups and would have to make modifications to over come the problems. Now Fender has really finally fixed the issues. This is a great guitar right out of the case.

I been playing guitar for 54 years and owned many jazzmasters over the years and had to deal with strings popping out of bridge and weak pickups and would have to make modifications to over come the problems. Now Fender has really finally fixed the issues. This is a great guitar right out of the case.

I had long set my sights on this guitar for ambient music. And it does that perfectly. What I did NOT expect, however, is that it tends to do EVERYTHING better than any guitar I have. Set the push/pull out on the bridge pick up but some smooth blues, or crank the tone up for ice picking melodies. Put it through some high gain to rock the roof off. This guitar truly does it all.

Not to mention it looks amazing, and plays fantastic. Now I will say the full scale may not be comfortable for everyone, but personally I love it. After I play this thing for a few hours, any other guitar I pick up feels like a child's guitar. The Jazzmaster is truly a "big boy" instrument. Looks like it, plays like it, sounds like it!

I have been playing a American Professional Jazzmaster as my main player since Fender released them. This next generation of that series is awesome, and tonally completely different. Super glad I picked this guitar up. The Miami Blue is even better in person as well!

Ya'll know what's up…this guitar is bad ass. It feels good in the hands and on the body, fat voluptuous neck with a good nut job ;)… dude the thing can play and sound like any style, like anything. No BS. BUTTT, the bridge is like what dude?, the trem system is sub par for a guitar build now. Feels retro, like good metal and materials. It's just kind of a bad design. I really need to chill on the trem bar and often need to whammy back into tune… my PRS SE (way different but much cheaper) stays in tune. This issue makes me reluctant to grab this for a jam sesh… my body says yes, but my mind, oh baby, my mind says no!!

Okay and then lastly the resting on the 1st (high E, little baby string) is dookie. Because of the length… dang I don't know how to describe this.. so like you have to use the whole baby string. I need to use pliers to hold the string while I turn the tuning peg. I get scared to use my fingers because I imagine the little baby string piercing my finger tip and then I get tetanus and then maybe I'll get lockjaw and then because of that I have to eat out of a straw for the rest of my life.
So yeah it's kinda strange for me but everyone is different. Okay cool…..

So to recap the thing is bad ass, she often needs attention to stay in tune and needs a more diligent hand for a re-string.

Buy the guitar and shred for days mang! Ish is dope foo.