I knew this one would be a fun video... but I didn't expect to like it as much as I did! Vote in the Poll: th-cam.com/users/postUgwesL6dfvHU6ON50CB4AaABCQ 🔴Reverb: reverb.com/shop/troglys?_aid=growsumo&gs_partner=Trogly ❓Private Help Sessions: troglysguitarshow.com/help-appraisals/ 👕 Merch: teespring.com/basic-logo-4245?pid=211 🎸New Guitar Day Program: troglysguitarshow.com/ngd/
Oh boy. I hope you don't get dinged for the ding. As for the selector switch and the back plates, seems like an afterthought. Nothing like the mystical Stratguar. It does sound great though.
I really love it. I'm actually a fan of of jazzmaster shape, as I own a jagmaster which a hybrid jazzmaster Jaguar guitar. Mine has dual humbuckers ( I believe) as it's a guitar my brother gave me for Christmas. Only issue it faces really is its tuning stability, which got a lot better after graphiting the nut thoroughly.
@@justinguitarcia Mini humbuckers are underrated, I agree... but you just proved how underrated firebird pickups are and that people constantly get them confused with mini humbuckers. I have a Firebird 1 that has only a single bridge pickup, and though it can sound a little scooped, it does wonders just by using the Tone control (which I usually don't ever touch on my other guitars). That being said it also does amazing things with pedals by staying clear, rich, fat, and chimey without being to high output. I like guitars with plenty of options for "sonic sculpting", but these pickups have almost changed my mind about that as well making me second guess using p90s or Charlie Christians
It may be you not seeing the connection but I was not around in the 50’s so I guess I’d not be a good judge but that being said I can think of a lot of a few off the TOP such as daddy-O , back seat bingo and ankle biter for a few I have way too much time on my hands
When set up correctly, the locking tremolo will be floating. Use the screw to set the tension so that the button will slide over to the lock position with only a little resistance (you shouldn't have to move the bar at all to lock it)
I actually like this thing. I love the looks of a Jazzmaster, but haven’t liked the standard pickups. I’ll be looking for one of these on the used market.
Every time you pull the pickups out of a guitar and set them on the guitar top -- without using a cloth or something to protect the top from scratches -- I cringe.
That and putting stuff (guitars and cases) partly on top of box cutters and other crap, or stacking two cases and touching one's surface with the other's feet.
I start every morning with a cup of coffee and the latest Trogly video. Through this entire pandemic these videos are the only thing that has remained the same as before and I am thankful for that.
Sparkomatic was an independent low end car audio company directly competing with Clarion. Sparkomatic actually bought Altec Lansing in the early 1990's.
Nice! So as history goes, Fender releases Jazzmaster in 1958. Gibson responds with the Firebird in 1963 with a noiseless pickup that sounds more “Fendery” than any attempt at noiseless pickups Fender has attempted, so now we get this!. Seriously, though, Firebird style pickups like they used here (not to be confused with the Les Paul style mini humbuckers) definitely don’t get enough love. No hum, more than enough juice to kick any amp into overdrive, full balanced tone, a sparkle and chime that sounds like a good single coil. The only place I think they really dropped the ball is the tuning machines- should have been locking tuners. I think I finally found a jazzmaster id actually like to own!
rebelcat420 I totally agree with you, the Mini-Humbucker Pickups found in a Les Paul Deluxe are a totally different construction as compared to a Firebird Mini-Humbucker. It is my understanding the Firebird Pickups use a bar magnet within the bobbin/coil windings where as the Les Paul Deluxe type Mini-Humbucker are basically a scaled down PAF style. Either way this Sparkomatic sounded great.
Trogly, the Floating Trem lock was, I believe, primarily designed so that if you break a string you can roughly return to pitch. You set the lock so you can only just slide it across when you're in tune. If you break a string you push the trem down and slide the lock and it end up being close to the position it was in when you were in tune. All the best
Shut up and take my money, Fender! Oh, wait. You totally dropped the ball on the back plates. Phoned it in, did ya? I'm still going to build a Tele-bird one of these days.
Yeah, I don't know if the body is so thin that the switch and pots would hit or if rebating the edge would be an issue because of the chambering making the wood too thin but they should have found a better way to do that on a $2000 guitar. They should have found a better way to do that on a $300 guitar. It kills me when it's 98% stunning and 2% disgusting.
@@5000rgb Seriously, that back looks like a home mod job on a Reverb guitar. If it was a choice between pickguard-mounted electronics or the back rout, they should have chosen to pickguard mount. Still, I can't get over the tones, especially OD'ed. It sounds amazing. The only thing I would change (besides the back routing) would be some push-pull coil splitting and an option for all three pickups. It's the closest they've come to G&L features and functionality.
@@jefferson4245 Go for neck and bridge along with the all three pickups option. I don't know how that would sound with this guitar but I find those options very important on a Strat.
R B Yeah, I agree with you in that there has to be a solution for those control cover plates. Maybe they will update how it's built if it becomes popular enough. Funny thing is, if they do fix how those covers are attached I'd then want one of the early ones with the ugly covers sitting on top of the back! I chalk it up to first year build details that change as the guitar's design matures.
@@5000rgb I wouldn't build a guitar with three pickups, HBs or single coils, without the selecting option for all 3. If a guitar is going to gave three pickups, you should have the option to use all three at the same time. Maybe throw in some mini toggles for coil splitting and phasing, too.
I actually like this one! Looks nice, I’m actually grateful for the lack of pickguard even if that means ugly plates on the back. Very grunge-y distorted sound, too, on top of the crisp clean sounds. A fun instrument to play around with. 👍 Always good to see a brand trying something other than the 42 billionth variation on the same old boring strat.
One thing that stands out superb is the coax wires from pickups. any un shielded wire length is vulnerable to receive RF noise. (Consider the guitar cord itself).
This makes me want a guitar with Firebird pickups like these so bad. They sound absolutely incredible I just wish this and Gibson Firebirds weren't so expensive. Maybe I'll just have to get an Epiphone one and put these pickups in
Fender addressed the weak link in their mid price lineup, top shelf pickups. No need to change these out. I used a towel when I upgraded Lollars into my AM Pro Jazz to stave off the butter fingers chip ding.
Liked it! Yeah, I think I'd recess those back covers flush with the body, make a pickguard for it -- and that's about it. Looks and sounds great. Thanks for another good one, Trogly!
Thank You, Austin! Allways great, what You‘re doing to those guitars and for all of us on Your Channel! Please start again, to also write the width of the necks in metric! I can tell You, your videos will be watched all over the world. At least here in Switzerland...
I have a Hanson Firenze II which is basically a three-firebird pickup Jazzmaster like this only solid ash with pickguard and Bigsby. Also middle position on mine is bridge and neck which gives some twang; middle on mine only used in combination with bridge or neck. This Spark-o-matic is almost as nice.
The resistance of the bridge and middle pickups in parallel was never going to be "in between those guys". Parallel resistance calculation is (R1*R2)/(R1+R2). That's always less than both R1 and R2.
Sounds awesome. That back though... If it were mine I'd cut some dowels and glue them in the control cavities under the screw holes, then route it out to recess the covers.
The only thing that lets this down are the covers on the back' ...the tones are fantastic and the look is tasty' well done Fender great choice of PUs on a unique variant ...superb video too, as usual, thanks.
It sounds killer with distortion! Kinda wishing I bought a Firebird instead of an Explorer now. The mini humbuckers still have that jangliness similar to a single coil, something I'm struggling to get with the ProBuckers and was literally just complaining about to my wife when I got the notificationfor this video.
@@mubodude Every guitar should be offered with a P90 option. P90s are the best sounding pickup. The Gibson Explorer I played on back in the day had P90s that I swapped for SD Full Shreds, which, with age, wisdom, and experience, I know was a stupid mistake. There were many mistakes I made with that guitar.
@@mubodude I will probably swap out the ProBuckers for something SD or Mojotone, looking for that definition and clarity in attack across the spectrum and high end jangle. Seth Lover and/or Pearly Gates, or the Mojotone PAF clones. I spent so long playing Telecaster single coils. I got the Explorer out of nostalgia, love of the body style, and a desire for humbucking drive and push on the amp and pedals, but I still want the definition and attack of the single coils. Like I said, there should always be a P90 option, so I might get another Epi and mod it for true P90s, because that sound is killer. My Tele currently has G&L MFDs for the hotter output and growl, closer to a P90, but not quite there. I hope the upgraded pickups on the Explorer get me closer, or I may be looking at humbucker-sized replacements, even though they aren't TRUE P90s. The P90 really does solve all of the complaints about HBs and single coils excepting the hum.
@@mubodude I learned to deal with it for the Tele. I'm just trying to figure out how I could justify a P90 rout and swap, or a new guitar with the same to my wife. Thankfully, she has OF HER OWN FREE WILL admitted that the Explorer sounds significantly different and/or better than my Teles in some circumstances, which was my justification for the new guitar. She usually comes around when I make big purchases, admitting that the premium gear sounds better. I'm still trying to juggle her reservations with honing my sound(s) to the goal of recording (which means experimenting on and expanding my arsenal). Hell, even I agree with her that I sound/play better on acoustics after all these years than on electrics. Even though she doesn't like Dave Matthews, she likes the results of spending my youth emulating him at the expense of neglecting my electric gear/sound. Go figure
@@mubodude Haha! For all the flack he gets, he is no joke. A player's player, if ever there was one. Stretched positions, atypical key signatures, "groogrux" rhythms. I am a classically trained musician on non-stringed instruments, and a third generation music educator/band director. For all my love of rock, emo, and punk and everything in between, I love the musicianship of the Dave Matthews Band. They are all amazing musicians and always (appear to) have fun on stage. I know he's antithetical to most of the music I listen to and try to emulate, but I will NEVER disavow him/them. You learn the most from the people that challenge you, and he is always challenging.
@@mubodude I grew up in West Texas, but spent summers in the mountains of New Mexico. DMB was an occasional radio play at home, but my friends at music camp were totally sold. We were all students of what was actually happening in the music. It had an effect on me, and it continues to do so. For all the repudiation of musicality in place of emotional message and "power", nothing is as fun to someone who enjoys a challenge as an instrumentalist. More than a few of the people I went to camp with, who also schooled me on the "real" emo scene of the 1990s and early 2000s, went on to schools like Berkeley and Juilliard. But they could all play "What Would You Say" on acoustic.
i think this is the first Jazzmaster i really like only without the mini buckers but it does sound good like thet way it is the only thing i don’t like is the control cavity plates that stick out other then that it’s really nice great sound
I must tell you this, that blew me away!!! I love the Spark-o-matic!!🤯 My Dream is to see it in different colors and make the head match the body color 😍🤤 oh mercy mercy me!! This takes me back to when I was a kid and you would see those Kay Guitars and other Japanese Guitars that you could see in wards and Sears catalogs! Some of them was very good quality and sounded good. Clean and crisp for a cheap knockoff. I Will get me one of those Spark-o-matics! I hope they will have more colors and even maybe some dipped colors soon!😍👍
I like it. I love firebird pickups My first electric was a 63 firebird V that I bought new when it came out. The jazzmaster shape is very comfortable. Looks good in sunburst but would like to see colors as well. I’m good with simple and no pick guard. The access plate on the back should be recessed. I like the feel of jazz master trems but never liked the big chrome plate but it kind of fits the space. The clean sound demo didn’t come across too well and the distortion sound like the peddle so... hard to say but I’m sure it’s good.
I understand why they didn't recess the plates on the back flush with the body, but I think they should have at least put a 45 degree chamfer on the edges of them. It would probably look better than those hard 90 degree edges. Yuck.
They shouldn't have hollowed out as much of that wing, then it would have had more wood underneath to recess the plates. Makes me wonder if it was an afterthought, like they hadn't decided between using a top route with a pickguard or a back route until the last minute.
I’m not a fan of the jazzmaster but this one sounded so good I’m a fan of this model. The demo sounded amazing! Everything I would want in my sound. Thank you Trogly. 🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼
I have to say I love your Fender videos. I am a Fender guy so I might be biased. But I've been loving the last weeks. I've binged all your videos during lockdown the last two months. And that not because I'm interested in Gibson. Love this format and how you document guitars. You could be doing for any other product and I'd still watch it. But I have to say the Fender videos is just as good as your Gibson videos. If you keep getting flak for Fender I hope you ignore it. I came for guitar specs, stayed because of your personality. But please feel free to do more bass videos. I won't stop you. And if Fender reads this comment, send Trogly some more stuff. This was great PR.
Trygve Yatta Heivang Well said Sir. I do enjoy his format and style, it helps that he is totally honest and genuinely interested in all of the instruments he reviews. I've been a fan of this channel since back when he had less than 15K subscribers. He's come a long way and I hope he continues for many, many years.
I love this Guitar!!! It cleans up so well. I only wish the neck was a chunkier full C.I’m usually not that interested in any guitar that doesn’t have single coils but man these pick ups sound incredible!!!
Trogly, Trogly, Trogly... ... by now you should know that ANY time you are working on an instrument you should have it covered, have it protected. Well, lesson learned, right? Another great piece of content, keep it up.
Man i had one of those SG Specials with a mini Humbuckers from 2016 and I loved those mini Humbucker pickups, they sounded killer! Should have never sold that guitar, they raised in value
As I've commented below other uploads about the Parallel models, this one is more like the *Bass Six up an octave* to me. This one is only missing the tortoise shell guard. Wasn't thinking I would enjoy the sound of the middle pickup, but I did. That's only because I am so used to a single coil middle pickup that I wasn't sure what to expect from a mini bucker. All three of them explode.
I like the guitar..... but hate the switch and knobs location. They should have put them in the Gibson SG position. I would buy this guitar if they had done that. I would also rout a lip on those covers.... they are horrible. Maybe put the 5 way on the top horn. A telecaster control panel is the answer i think..... I would definitely buy it then.
Love fender, but what’s they’re issue with recessing backplates and string ferrules on modern guitars? They were able to recess the ferrules on the old blackguard teles. Why can’t they do it now?
There is something really smart business wise for Fender to sponsor the guy who does Gibson reviews to get him to say good things about one of their “Gibson” style models
Sounds like it stays in tune pretty well, and I sense no neck dive, I've always loved the off set body's for the weight distribution and looks, although it sounds nothing like a firebird, gibson is no longer the only one offering mini humbuckers, I can see this spark o matic, selling very well.
I agree that they should bling it up a bit. Some other finishes would be nice. It reminds me of the offset guitars from Bilt Guitars out of Des Moines. I think they have a triple-mini humbucker version of their Revelator that reminds me of this.
Never lubricate saddles on a rocking jazzmaster bridge ! First thing to do would be remove the nylon inserts in the thimbles. The bridge wants to move with the strings when you use the tremolo. You need to let it. The strings grip the saddles to rock the bridge.
That’s a great-sounding guitar! Looks cool too. If Fender ever does a production version, I think it should have block inlays and binding on the fingerboard.
I love the sound of this guitar. I personally just bought my first guitar this last Friday, a Schecter Snow Leopard from Sweetwater though. This will stay on my radar as an awesome instrument however! Lastly, Troglies show needs to be more recommended. Sweet demos of rad guitars here!
special situation because Fender decided not to release anything about this guitar until a couple a weeks ago. I wanted to purchase one last year when I first saw it, but not a single review or even namm snippet of it. I was upset they didn't go for a neck-thru. Also, I couldn't play one because they never released them... so I bought other guitars instead. Technically Firebird pickups and mini humbuckers are two completely different pickups. It's almost like saying p90s and jazzmaster pickups are the same. Firebird pickups have metal baseplate pickups rings and a different magnet layout with a completely different magnetic field with no exposed pole pieces like the mini humbucker. The firebird is technically not Gibson's answer to the Jazzmaster... Fender just claimed that stating the Jazzmaster was "the most copied guitar on earth" just because the Firebird was "offset". It's not just glued, it's also probably dove tailed like the Firebird... this guitar is clearly a take on a firebird mixed with a full blown Fender, To be a self proclaimed Gibson nut you clearly don't care much about what I consider the "interesting" Gibson guitars.
I knew this one would be a fun video... but I didn't expect to like it as much as I did!
Vote in the Poll: th-cam.com/users/postUgwesL6dfvHU6ON50CB4AaABCQ
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That looks sweet!
I'm going to definitely get me one of these
Oh boy. I hope you don't get dinged for the ding. As for the selector switch and the back plates, seems like an afterthought. Nothing like the mystical Stratguar. It does sound great though.
Peace sells, but who's buying?!!!! You are 16+ times a day lol.
Those mini-hums 😍😍... and allow triple hums NOT look ugly. Those backplates gotta go though. Horrible
Fender sponsored video
*immediately pulls a knob off*
"Guess I'll have to put that back on."
I laughed.
then chips the finish
@@vasectomyfail442 ......at that point he won "TOOL" of the week.
@@vasectomyfail442 Well I sure was nervous about that... Hope they spare Austin's soul.
Classic Trogly
Why do their knobs always fall off? The bottom knob of my jazz bass fell off as well. All the others are rock solid lol it's so funny.
genuinely surprised by how good those pickups sounded. the over-driven sound had a lot of clarity.
Mini hb's are great, underrated imo
I really love it. I'm actually a fan of of jazzmaster shape, as I own a jagmaster which a hybrid jazzmaster Jaguar guitar. Mine has dual humbuckers ( I believe) as it's a guitar my brother gave me for Christmas. Only issue it faces really is its tuning stability, which got a lot better after graphiting the nut thoroughly.
@@justinguitarcia Mini humbuckers are underrated, I agree... but you just proved how underrated firebird pickups are and that people constantly get them confused with mini humbuckers. I have a Firebird 1 that has only a single bridge pickup, and though it can sound a little scooped, it does wonders just by using the Tone control (which I usually don't ever touch on my other guitars). That being said it also does amazing things with pedals by staying clear, rich, fat, and chimey without being to high output. I like guitars with plenty of options for "sonic sculpting", but these pickups have almost changed my mind about that as well making me second guess using p90s or Charlie Christians
Is it me, or is Spark-o-Matic one of the most 50's names in history?
@@mubodude Spark-O-Matic made CB Radios back in the day too........ =D
It may be you not seeing the connection but I was not around in the 50’s so I guess I’d not be a good judge but that being said I can think of a lot of a few off the TOP such as daddy-O , back seat bingo and ankle biter for a few I have way too much time on my hands
I’ve had a few sparkomatics from Pep Boys
@@mubodude Sparkomatic was an independent company and not any ones house brand. They were sold everywhere just like Pioneer, Craig, Clarion, etc.
Sounds like what you'd use to get a propane grill lit.
When set up correctly, the locking tremolo will be floating. Use the screw to set the tension so that the button will slide over to the lock position with only a little resistance (you shouldn't have to move the bar at all to lock it)
Austin: this IS Not my guitar
also Austin: oops i drop the pickup ring and i ding it 🤭
Probably his guitar now lol
I'm here for that sort of honesty.
I actually like this thing. I love the looks of a Jazzmaster, but haven’t liked the standard pickups. I’ll be looking for one of these on the used market.
Ditto to that.
Used market for me also
It's official! Dave Mustaine is with Gibson (or one of their brands) I really hope it's a kramer. The brand needs to come back STRONG!
The teaser Cesar posted on IG shows a Kramer and 2 Gibsons. Looked like a pointy Kramer V, and traditionally shaped Gibson V, and a Les Paul.
Don’t we all Quim Eater
reverse headstock would've been cool and more Firebird-esque
heck maybe even a reverse body like those Boracha Jazzmasters!
A starcaster headstock would’ve been so cool
Oh fo sho
I love that Fender exactly knows what they‘re doing. They are searching for Trouble and i think they had a Firebird and a lots of fun designing this.
Every time you pull the pickups out of a guitar and set them on the guitar top -- without using a cloth or something to protect the top from scratches -- I cringe.
That and putting stuff (guitars and cases) partly on top of box cutters and other crap, or stacking two cases and touching one's surface with the other's feet.
These things have such a thick poly coating that those things don’t really matter.
@@VintageSlide This guitar and most of the guitars he reviews do not have a poly finish.
One of the best sounding demos you’ve done. Guitar sounds awesome. Balances out the look of the back which was almost deal breaker.
You always somehow time these uploads with me making a fresh cup of coffee, welcome back Troglodytes!
@@mubodude I mean I'm in Australia but sure
I start every morning with a cup of coffee and the latest Trogly video.
Through this entire pandemic these videos are the only thing that has remained the same as before and I am thankful for that.
Best sounding guitar i've heard in a long time!
I think it sounds great. Dunno if it’s my thing but it has a cool tone.
SPARK-O-MATIC sounds like a car stereo I had in the 70`s. CLARION i BELIEVE WAS THE BRAND NAME.
Jensen
Spark-o-matic sounds like one of those Tokai Strats from the 70`s
@@aac7183 Marc wins, he knew the real maker.lol
Sparkomatic was an independent low end car audio company directly competing with Clarion. Sparkomatic actually bought Altec Lansing in the early 1990's.
Hugo Fuguselv I think we had them at Kmart back in the 80’s, worked in automotive. Along with Jensen.
I really like this thing. Jazzmasters are my favorite Fenders too. Would love to have one of these.
Holy shit, this is everything I want in a jazzmaster
My favorite sounding guitars you have reviewed; this one and the Japanese tele with the sustainer played on all 3 pickups. Thanks
Nice! So as history goes, Fender releases Jazzmaster in 1958. Gibson responds with the Firebird in 1963 with a noiseless pickup that sounds more “Fendery” than any attempt at noiseless pickups Fender has attempted, so now we get this!.
Seriously, though, Firebird style pickups like they used here (not to be confused with the Les Paul style mini humbuckers) definitely don’t get enough love. No hum, more than enough juice to kick any amp into overdrive, full balanced tone, a sparkle and chime that sounds like a good single coil.
The only place I think they really dropped the ball is the tuning machines- should have been locking tuners.
I think I finally found a jazzmaster id actually like to own!
rebelcat420 I totally agree with you, the Mini-Humbucker Pickups found in a Les Paul Deluxe are a totally different construction as compared to a Firebird Mini-Humbucker. It is my understanding the Firebird Pickups use a bar magnet within the bobbin/coil windings where as the Les Paul Deluxe type Mini-Humbucker are basically a scaled down PAF style.
Either way this Sparkomatic sounded great.
Those pickups sound great. This might be my next guitar.
That guitar sounds amazing.
So glad you’re covering @Fender in more depth.. also your new cameras look good !!
I love it. If I I bought it I would need to buy a muscle car too. It just screams 1970s to me .
Great video, but that is a far cry from a Firebird.
Trogly, the Floating Trem lock was, I believe, primarily designed so that if you break a string you can roughly return to pitch. You set the lock so you can only just slide it across when you're in tune. If you break a string you push the trem down and slide the lock and it end up being close to the position it was in when you were in tune.
All the best
If this were a hard tail I would buy it in an instant. I love the looks and the sound is great.
They make fixed tailpieces to replace jazzmaster vibratos, they drop in with no modifications
Oh man
I was looking forward to this one
Even if I'd never be able to buy this model
Those pickups rock!
Shut up and take my money, Fender! Oh, wait. You totally dropped the ball on the back plates. Phoned it in, did ya? I'm still going to build a Tele-bird one of these days.
Yeah, I don't know if the body is so thin that the switch and pots would hit or if rebating the edge would be an issue because of the chambering making the wood too thin but they should have found a better way to do that on a $2000 guitar. They should have found a better way to do that on a $300 guitar. It kills me when it's 98% stunning and 2% disgusting.
@@5000rgb Seriously, that back looks like a home mod job on a Reverb guitar. If it was a choice between pickguard-mounted electronics or the back rout, they should have chosen to pickguard mount. Still, I can't get over the tones, especially OD'ed. It sounds amazing. The only thing I would change (besides the back routing) would be some push-pull coil splitting and an option for all three pickups. It's the closest they've come to G&L features and functionality.
@@jefferson4245 Go for neck and bridge along with the all three pickups option. I don't know how that would sound with this guitar but I find those options very important on a Strat.
R B Yeah, I agree with you in that there has to be a solution for those control cover plates.
Maybe they will update how it's built if it becomes popular enough.
Funny thing is, if they do fix how those covers are attached I'd then want one of the early ones with the ugly covers sitting on top of the back!
I chalk it up to first year build details that change as the guitar's design matures.
@@5000rgb I wouldn't build a guitar with three pickups, HBs or single coils, without the selecting option for all 3. If a guitar is going to gave three pickups, you should have the option to use all three at the same time. Maybe throw in some mini toggles for coil splitting and phasing, too.
The glowing effect really adds something.
I actually like this one!
Looks nice, I’m actually grateful for the lack of pickguard even if that means ugly plates on the back.
Very grunge-y distorted sound, too, on top of the crisp clean sounds. A fun instrument to play around with. 👍
Always good to see a brand trying something other than the 42 billionth variation on the same old boring strat.
Wow! I love it! The back plates sticking out sucks but I could live with it for those tones.
I would dig that Fender Spark-o-matic if they had done a reverse (upside down) body.
Then Gibson would sue them
Fender: *Sends a Guitar to Trogly*
Trogly: *Pops off a Knob* Now let's check under the hood
Fender: 👁👄👁
I'm digging that bridge pickup a lot!! The strum has an acoustic sound to me which is awesome
One thing that stands out superb is the coax wires from pickups. any un shielded wire length is vulnerable to receive RF noise. (Consider the guitar cord itself).
This makes me want a guitar with Firebird pickups like these so bad. They sound absolutely incredible I just wish this and Gibson Firebirds weren't so expensive. Maybe I'll just have to get an Epiphone one and put these pickups in
Looks more comfortable to play then my Firebird.Never been into Jassmasters but I'm liking this look.
I really didn’t think I would like this one but it actually seems pretty darned cool. Thanks for bringing it to us Austin!
Id like it in a solid or natural finish...im not much of a "burst" guy....some bursts are cool on les pauls, but I like the solid colors more
Something like lake placid blue, or sea foam green might look cool.
That distortion surprised me!! Love that bridge!!
Really nice clean sound! Overdriven, it is nice and full. Lots of different "characters" brought out by that selector switch.
Comparing this to the Epiphone Firebird would you say they have the same tone/sound or the difference is too big?
Dude, when you actually like a guitar you can hear it in your playing, my favorite tones in a while and great playing.
Fender addressed the weak link in their mid price lineup, top shelf pickups. No need to change these out. I used a towel when I upgraded Lollars into my AM Pro Jazz to stave off the butter fingers chip ding.
Liked it! Yeah, I think I'd recess those back covers flush with the body, make a pickguard for it -- and that's about it. Looks and sounds great. Thanks for another good one, Trogly!
Thank You, Austin! Allways great, what You‘re doing to those guitars and for all of us on Your Channel! Please start again, to also write the width of the necks in metric! I can tell You, your videos will be watched all over the world. At least here in Switzerland...
When you plugged it in with the background reminds me of the video for no one knows by qotsa
What was with that hole on the bottom side of the case? He seems to even zoom in on it, but says nothing. Is it normal for these cases?
I have a Hanson Firenze II which is basically a three-firebird pickup Jazzmaster like this only solid ash with pickguard and Bigsby. Also middle position on mine is bridge and neck which gives some twang; middle on mine only used in combination with bridge or neck. This Spark-o-matic is almost as nice.
The resistance of the bridge and middle pickups in parallel was never going to be "in between those guys". Parallel resistance calculation is (R1*R2)/(R1+R2). That's always less than both R1 and R2.
Sounds awesome. That back though...
If it were mine I'd cut some dowels and glue them in the control cavities under the screw holes, then route it out to recess the covers.
Looks like they've been flicking through the Rivolta catalogue over at Fender, hehe :-)
Considering Rivolta were the ones doing the ripping off
I love my Rivolta!
@@gorlagOv great guitars - which one ?
Definitely has a Dennis Fano vibe.
@@autistichead8137 Mondata VII baritone.
The only thing that lets this down are the covers on the back' ...the tones are fantastic and the look is tasty' well done Fender great choice of PUs on a unique variant ...superb video too, as usual, thanks.
It sounds killer with distortion! Kinda wishing I bought a Firebird instead of an Explorer now. The mini humbuckers still have that jangliness similar to a single coil, something I'm struggling to get with the ProBuckers and was literally just complaining about to my wife when I got the notificationfor this video.
@@mubodude Every guitar should be offered with a P90 option. P90s are the best sounding pickup. The Gibson Explorer I played on back in the day had P90s that I swapped for SD Full Shreds, which, with age, wisdom, and experience, I know was a stupid mistake. There were many mistakes I made with that guitar.
@@mubodude I will probably swap out the ProBuckers for something SD or Mojotone, looking for that definition and clarity in attack across the spectrum and high end jangle. Seth Lover and/or Pearly Gates, or the Mojotone PAF clones. I spent so long playing Telecaster single coils. I got the Explorer out of nostalgia, love of the body style, and a desire for humbucking drive and push on the amp and pedals, but I still want the definition and attack of the single coils. Like I said, there should always be a P90 option, so I might get another Epi and mod it for true P90s, because that sound is killer. My Tele currently has G&L MFDs for the hotter output and growl, closer to a P90, but not quite there. I hope the upgraded pickups on the Explorer get me closer, or I may be looking at humbucker-sized replacements, even though they aren't TRUE P90s. The P90 really does solve all of the complaints about HBs and single coils excepting the hum.
@@mubodude I learned to deal with it for the Tele. I'm just trying to figure out how I could justify a P90 rout and swap, or a new guitar with the same to my wife. Thankfully, she has OF HER OWN FREE WILL admitted that the Explorer sounds significantly different and/or better than my Teles in some circumstances, which was my justification for the new guitar. She usually comes around when I make big purchases, admitting that the premium gear sounds better. I'm still trying to juggle her reservations with honing my sound(s) to the goal of recording (which means experimenting on and expanding my arsenal). Hell, even I agree with her that I sound/play better on acoustics after all these years than on electrics. Even though she doesn't like Dave Matthews, she likes the results of spending my youth emulating him at the expense of neglecting my electric gear/sound. Go figure
@@mubodude Haha! For all the flack he gets, he is no joke. A player's player, if ever there was one. Stretched positions, atypical key signatures, "groogrux" rhythms. I am a classically trained musician on non-stringed instruments, and a third generation music educator/band director. For all my love of rock, emo, and punk and everything in between, I love the musicianship of the Dave Matthews Band. They are all amazing musicians and always (appear to) have fun on stage. I know he's antithetical to most of the music I listen to and try to emulate, but I will NEVER disavow him/them. You learn the most from the people that challenge you, and he is always challenging.
@@mubodude I grew up in West Texas, but spent summers in the mountains of New Mexico. DMB was an occasional radio play at home, but my friends at music camp were totally sold. We were all students of what was actually happening in the music. It had an effect on me, and it continues to do so. For all the repudiation of musicality in place of emotional message and "power", nothing is as fun to someone who enjoys a challenge as an instrumentalist. More than a few of the people I went to camp with, who also schooled me on the "real" emo scene of the 1990s and early 2000s, went on to schools like Berkeley and Juilliard. But they could all play "What Would You Say" on acoustic.
Would have been really cool if they reversed the body to make it look more like a firebird.
i think this is the first Jazzmaster i really like only without the mini buckers but it does sound good like thet way it is the only thing i don’t like is the control cavity plates that stick out other then that it’s really nice great sound
I must tell you this, that blew me away!!! I love the Spark-o-matic!!🤯 My Dream is to see it in different colors and make the head match the body color 😍🤤 oh mercy mercy me!! This takes me back to when I was a kid and you would see those Kay Guitars and other Japanese Guitars that you could see in wards and Sears catalogs! Some of them was very good quality and sounded good. Clean and crisp for a cheap knockoff. I Will get me one of those Spark-o-matics! I hope they will have more colors and even maybe some dipped colors soon!😍👍
I like it. I love firebird pickups My first electric was a 63 firebird V that I bought new when it came out. The jazzmaster shape is very comfortable. Looks good in sunburst but would like to see colors as well. I’m good with simple and no pick guard. The access plate on the back should be recessed. I like the feel of jazz master trems but never liked the big chrome plate but it kind of fits the space. The clean sound demo didn’t come across too well and the distortion sound like the peddle so... hard to say but I’m sure it’s good.
I have those pickups in my 71 Les Paul Deluxe. Possibly my best sounding guitar. People at gigs actually compliment it.
My favorite so far.
I understand why they didn't recess the plates on the back flush with the body, but I think they should have at least put a 45 degree chamfer on the edges of them. It would probably look better than those hard 90 degree edges. Yuck.
They shouldn't have hollowed out as much of that wing, then it would have had more wood underneath to recess the plates. Makes me wonder if it was an afterthought, like they hadn't decided between using a top route with a pickguard or a back route until the last minute.
That riff at 17:35 was pretty cool.
NSP Indeed, a little delay with the gain sounded great on that riff.
I really love the sound of that fender clean and dirty! I might have to get one.
When are you getting the Marshall amps?
I want to hear them 80s pickups.
FINALLY
Thank you MR TROGLY!!
I love the distorted Middle and Middle+Bridge tones. Wow. I was hoping this video would dissuade me from buying one of these, but...
Slacktory Records Yeah, no way to deny how good this guitar sounded.
Pickguard, with Jaguar style switches would make that unbelievable.
I’m not a fan of the jazzmaster but this one sounded so good I’m a fan of this model. The demo sounded amazing! Everything I would want in my sound. Thank you Trogly. 🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼
Those cover plates on the back look like an afterthought. Ugly. That fretboard was indeed parched.I like the overall look and the tones though.
Is so plain an basic. Shame.
I have never seen this. Very cool guitar.
Any chances of a squire bass vi video? I’d like to see your take on it. I’m patiently waiting on my to come from Sweetwater.
That thing is a beauty Wow. Thanks for sharing Austin 🤟
Good looking Spark o Matic.I agree,I'm somewhat longing for a pickguard.👍
Beautiful Sparko! I'm down!
I have to say I love your Fender videos. I am a Fender guy so I might be biased. But I've been loving the last weeks. I've binged all your videos during lockdown the last two months. And that not because I'm interested in Gibson. Love this format and how you document guitars. You could be doing for any other product and I'd still watch it. But I have to say the Fender videos is just as good as your Gibson videos. If you keep getting flak for Fender I hope you ignore it. I came for guitar specs, stayed because of your personality. But please feel free to do more bass videos. I won't stop you. And if Fender reads this comment, send Trogly some more stuff. This was great PR.
Trygve Yatta Heivang Well said Sir.
I do enjoy his format and style, it helps that he is totally honest and genuinely interested in all of the instruments he reviews.
I've been a fan of this channel since back when he had less than 15K subscribers.
He's come a long way and I hope he continues for many, many years.
I'd see this as a good gigging guitar , versatile tones. Great review.🤟👍😎😷🎵🎼
Oh man this thing is cool
It would be cooler if it had a pickguard with a little emblem like a real Firebird
Oh man I'm so pumped for this, had my eye on one of these!
I love this Guitar!!! It cleans up so well. I only wish the neck was a chunkier full C.I’m usually not that interested in any guitar that doesn’t have single coils but man these pick ups sound incredible!!!
Disappointed. To me this thing screams 60's custom car colours with matching headstock.
Bridge pickup sounded great!
Trogly, Trogly, Trogly...
... by now you should know that ANY time you are working on an instrument you should have it covered, have it protected.
Well, lesson learned, right? Another great piece of content, keep it up.
Man i had one of those SG Specials with a mini Humbuckers from 2016 and I loved those mini Humbucker pickups, they sounded killer! Should have never sold that guitar, they raised in value
Trogly's in the HOUSE!!!
13:12 Somebody went to the funk guitar dojo.
I dig it. I like the color, I like the pickups, I like the bridge.
One offset here so i'm set but dig the Fender Firebird bit.
Reverse was stopped but next was more 'F" like than the other.
As I've commented below other uploads about the Parallel models, this one is more like the *Bass Six up an octave* to me. This one is only missing the tortoise shell guard.
Wasn't thinking I would enjoy the sound of the middle pickup, but I did. That's only because I am so used to a single coil middle pickup that I wasn't sure what to expect from a mini bucker. All three of them explode.
I like the guitar..... but hate the switch and knobs location. They should have put them in the Gibson SG position. I would buy this guitar if they had done that. I would also rout a lip on those covers.... they are horrible. Maybe put the 5 way on the top horn. A telecaster control panel is the answer i think..... I would definitely buy it then.
Love fender, but what’s they’re issue with recessing backplates and string ferrules on modern guitars? They were able to recess the ferrules on the old blackguard teles. Why can’t they do it now?
There is something really smart business wise for Fender to sponsor the guy who does Gibson reviews to get him to say good things about one of their “Gibson” style models
Viper 6172 Totally agree with you.
Sounds like it stays in tune pretty well, and I sense no neck dive, I've always loved the off set body's for the weight distribution and looks, although it sounds nothing like a firebird, gibson is no longer the only one offering mini humbuckers, I can see this spark o matic, selling very well.
Trogly just keeps getting funkier, would love to see him play some fearless flyers on the fiore when it's comes through
Or he could learn Cory’s solo from Lingus on guitar because internet.
One of the best sounding guitars I’ve heard on your channel.
I agree that they should bling it up a bit. Some other finishes would be nice. It reminds me of the offset guitars from Bilt Guitars out of Des Moines. I think they have a triple-mini humbucker version of their Revelator that reminds me of this.
Fender... suggestion... don't chamber the body and recess the back plates... that looks like Chipson work...
Never lubricate saddles on a rocking jazzmaster bridge ! First thing to do would be remove the nylon inserts in the thimbles. The bridge wants to move with the strings when you use the tremolo. You need to let it. The strings grip the saddles to rock the bridge.
Dude, You have improved your playing a lot!
That’s a great-sounding guitar! Looks cool too. If Fender ever does a production version, I think it should have block inlays and binding on the fingerboard.
I love the sound of this guitar. I personally just bought my first guitar this last Friday, a Schecter Snow Leopard from Sweetwater though. This will stay on my radar as an awesome instrument however!
Lastly, Troglies show needs to be more recommended. Sweet demos of rad guitars here!
special situation because Fender decided not to release anything about this guitar until a couple a weeks ago. I wanted to purchase one last year when I first saw it, but not a single review or even namm snippet of it. I was upset they didn't go for a neck-thru. Also, I couldn't play one because they never released them... so I bought other guitars instead. Technically Firebird pickups and mini humbuckers are two completely different pickups. It's almost like saying p90s and jazzmaster pickups are the same. Firebird pickups have metal baseplate pickups rings and a different magnet layout with a completely different magnetic field with no exposed pole pieces like the mini humbucker. The firebird is technically not Gibson's answer to the Jazzmaster... Fender just claimed that stating the Jazzmaster was "the most copied guitar on earth" just because the Firebird was "offset". It's not just glued, it's also probably dove tailed like the Firebird... this guitar is clearly a take on a firebird mixed with a full blown Fender, To be a self proclaimed Gibson nut you clearly don't care much about what I consider the "interesting" Gibson guitars.