Which one do you like the most? Get a Jazzmaster here: 🛒 Sweetwater imp.i114863.net/VngxO 🛒 Thomann bit.ly/3lLhQai 🛒 Amazon geni.us/SquierJazzmasterCVSB 🛒 Reverb reverb.grsm.io/gpuv8wvdgd1p 🛒 Ebay ebay.us/F7bxvx Thinking of buying a Jazzmaster but you don’t know where to start? At a quick glance, they may all appear to be the same guitar or similar. In this video we're comparing three Blue Jazzmaster models. We're comparing the Squier Affinity Series against the Squier Classic Vibe ‘60s and against the Fender Professional Series. We'll talk in depth about all the specs and how they vary from series to series, as well we will get into playing some tones. Think you can guess which guitar is making which tones? Try to to figure it out in the blind tone challenge section. Stay until the end of the video to hear what I think about each. Get a Fender Princeton amp like the one in the video 🛒 Sweetwater - imp.i114863.net/RyK6Mb 🛒 Amazon geni.us/FenderPrinceton 🛒 Thomann bit.ly/3kaw0yN the Mic is a Sennheiser e906 🛒Sweetwater imp.i114863.net/qnyyBY 🛒 Thomann bit.ly/3zbApbX Timestamps: 0:00 - the Guitars 0:20 - what is this video? 1:08 - the prices 3:00 - Blind tone challenge 3:15 - Clean Tones 4:55 - Dirty Tones 7:02 - Sponsor segment and Blind tone challenge results 9:05 - Walkthrough and specs 9:45 - Headstock and tuners 10:10 - Nuts 10:25 - Necks 10:58 - Body profiles 11:07 - Tremolos 11:20 - Pickups & Electronics 12:25 - Enjoy 13:17 - My thoughts and top picks Related deep dive Jazzmaster Videos: Squier Affinity th-cam.com/video/9zaaQRkPsWo/w-d-xo.html Squier Classic Vibe ‘60s th-cam.com/video/HouxeefKF0M/w-d-xo.html Fender Professional th-cam.com/video/XavtzHs0TPo/w-d-xo.html
Wow! That was a surprise. The Classic Vibe sounded best overall to me, with the Affinity a reasonably close second, but the Pro sounded truly awful IMO.
Agree completely. I thought X had to be the Pro it sounded so much better but no. Shows just how good squire is nowadays especially the affinity and CV series.
I do absolutely agree. Bought the CV. Took me some time to make it really playable for me. I shimed the neck and so on. But now i really love it. To my ears the PRO sounds a little bit disapointing. Especially when i saw it has ' 65 PUs. Now i know i have nothing to modify. But it's a matter of personal taste.
I agree that the CV was the best sounding one but I placed the American Pro as second. The Affinity was vanilla to my ears, so I was expecting it would be this one.
Me too. The Pro was by far my least favorite & I was completely shocked 😳 I liked the Affinity best for cleans & the Vibe for dirty due to its slightly increased clarity. The pro was worst in every case IMO.
@@alexanderball6326 Same - pretty shocked really. Thing is, a Jazzmaster is the one guitar I would use for clean tones mainly so cannot see any reason for spending more on the Fender top of the range model.
Hi Landon. Just wanted to say that this year is horrible as my wife of 8 years left me the week before Christmas. your videos (although they have inspired a lot of retail therapy) have been a constant source of calm and companionship. Just a guy having fun chatting guitars has been something that has had a huge impact on my mental health. Thank you for all you do. x
Yeah, I like guitar youtube videos when I need to mellow out & feel less anxiety. Listen or watch as much comedy as you can. Time & friends will help you you survive. 😔
@@santrixhimself3679 Honestly, that’s probably my big holdup at this point. It’s nice that it’s a modern two-point trem, but I really wish they’d gone with the normal Squier JM/Jag trem.
The Affinity punches way up from its weight class. Besides, for the price you can’t go wrong. I ordered one from Fender the other day and got 10% off just for signing up for text messages. With tax, delivered for $267.11, shipping included.
@@reno145 After going back and forth for months, I ended up going with a Classic Vibe. Around the holidays, I got it on sale for $280. For another $75 or so, I upgraded some parts to really make it nice. I’m super happy. That said, I still have my eye on the Affinity just because it’s such a nice guitar for under $300. Glad you’re liking yours!
I actually liked the clean more from the cheaper guitars, because of the warmer tone. The dirt I liked the best from te Pro actually, because it had the most definition
X= Classic Vibe (hotter output, more low-end but not muddy, still has good tone), Y= American Pro (lower output, more high end, and more clarity overall), Z= affinity (pickups don’t sound terrible, but definitely cheaper and more anemic than the previous two) (Edit) Wow…did not expect the Squier pickups to sound that much better than the Fender pickups 😧
This is exactly what I chose. Quite liked the Y guitar and assumed it was the more expensive American Pro. Particularly with the cleans, I agree that Z sounded the least interesting and even flat! Odd.
I knew before the test that I tried out an affinity and fell in love with it. Was the best Jazzmaster I had tried (for my taste). The test confirmed that X was the affinity. The Y was my 2nd favorite and I was surprised to learn it was the classic vibe. I remember also trying a professional and enjoying it a lot, so I was shocked how little I liked the sound. Super interesting. I’m getting closer and closer to buying an affinity.
I lean toward the CV, Have had really good experience with CV. I own CV70's Tele and CV70's Jazz bass. Both play and sound very good to me. Would like to own a Jazzmaster. Again i would choose the CV. Best bang for the $.
Update: after years of wanting a jazzmaster with more modern specs and a floyd rose, I bought the SBS Guitars jazzmaster copy model. Thing is awesome. I got the Sonic blue looking one, then fixed it up with an off white pickguard and pearloid block inlay decals (they look pretty good actually), so it kinda has the 1966 jazzmaster look with a floyd and hotter humbuckers, so that's satisfying my taste for a jazzmaster at the moment.
Wow, I really DID learn about the guitars. The Pro sounded worst to me in every test (I thought it was the affinity) and has a swimming pool route?! I expected the Pro to sound best, but in retrospect it occurs that only the CV has Jazzmaster pickups in this lineup.
I own the 60's Vintage Jazzmaster. I love it. I did swap out the tuning machines for the road worn Fender tuners. Now, many say you can't fit a lot of Fender products on Squire, I did my research and determined that it was an exact copy of the original 62 or 63. So I figured Fender parts should fit...and they did!!! So I have the tri-colour which reminds me of the 70's but whatever. When I see pics of the vintage one on Reverb, I can't tell the difference.
I got it right. The Affinity was a little dark/dull. The pro was very clear, bright and open sounding. My fav was the classic vibe. It was also bright, not as much as the pro, good enough, but had a much fuller overall tone. Sounded the most balanced of the three.
The results *really* surprised me. I've got the Affinity model loaded into my cart, ready to buy, but I'm doing some last second waffling about... I liked Y the most, narrowly edging out X, and really wasn't much of a fan of Z. The Z sounded muddy overall so I felt like that definitely had to be the Affinity. I'm very happy to see that I enjoyed the sound of the Affinity and as a first electric guitar I have to say that I prefer the Stratocaster style trem.
Jazzmaster asmr! Your videos are always so thorough and entertaining. Always laugh at least twice per video. I saw a pro with the rosewood neck that was shell pink and I wanted it so badly.
X was clearly the affinity, since it was the ceramic single coils, so it sounded the most different (and was actually my fave, maybe because it sounded like a strat). I did get the others right too, but it was more a guess really. anyway, I see that you also lean towards blue guitars! if I didn't buy mostly used, most of mine would be blue too
I've had an Affinity for about a month, great guitar right out of the box. Pickups are hot, warm and a bit muddy, but in the best possible way. I knew it was X right away. I was really surprised the pro was so thin and anemic sounding. I'm wondering if that's normal, the Classic had a similar character but with a nicer overall tone.
TBH i preferred the affinity over any of the others. but if i had to pick between the cv60 and the pro i'd pick the cv60. THE PRO SOUNDED LIKE A MIXTURE OF A MUSTANG AND A STRAT TBH. but that's just my opinion!!!! great video btw!!
My goodness, I got it all wrong! Not only I thought the affinity was the pro, I actually thought guitar Z wasn't as good as the others. The intro of "Just" sounded amazing on the affinity
I identified myself as a Gibson player for 25 years, but traded my SG for a classic vibe Jazzmaster months ago and now never see myself playing anything else
Just came across this video. The affinity had the most "full" tone, meaning to my ears, it had stronger mids and bass response than the CV or the fender Pro. You can pretty easily tell that the pickups were ceramic. The CV seemed to have more of the chime / glassy sound that I expected from a Jazzmaster, with something of a scooped midrange. The Pro sounded, um... not good. It had something of the scooped midrange of the CV, but didn't quite have the same brights that the CV had. I might buy an Affinity and then get something like a parametric EQ to scoop the mids a bit if I wanted a more "classic" Jazzmaster sound.
I like jingly bell tones. I think the CV has the best bell tones. I got all 3 right, but I own a CV which I chose due to its tone. I think it is the closest to the 60's JM tone. Cheers.
I’m newer to music and guitars, so I’m still learning tones and such. Got an acoustic for Christmas last year. Now looking at moving to electric. Really thinking of a Jazzmaster, so I was super happy to find you did a video on them! That being said, I felt guitar X had the warmest and smooth tones, especially in the Clean setting. I had it pegged X = Pro, Y = CV and Z = Affinity. So I had it backwards, being right on the CV. I felt the Pro’s cleans were too sharp (all personal taste). Since I’m new, I couldn’t really tell much of a difference in the dirty tones. Love the look of all 3. Like you pointed out, love the look of the Pro neck. Definitely agree that the CV is the best value, which is probably what I’ll go with (regardless if I go Strat, Tele or Jazzmaster). Love your video’s! Thanks for doing them! Look forward to more!
I have a mixture of Fenders and Squieres. I honestly can’t tell which ones are “better” based on the name on the headstock. I do know my favorite offset is a Squeire Jazzmaster. Not sure which one it is but it’s set up like the traditional Jazzy. I was planning on changing to an aftermarket pickup but there’s no reason. They sound great. Coincidentally it’s the only guitar I have ever played that I like the middle position best.
Been looking at this CV for a while. This was helpful. The weight alone is huge for me. I did mostly prefer the affinity creamy humbucker sounds though when I was doing the blind test. But that neck and headstock with the really light wood is an eye sore. Thanks for the comparison 🙏
Yay for a Joyo Sweet Baby! That’s a staple on my board. Before the reveal, I was guessing X = Squier Affinity, Y = Fender Pro, Z = Squier Classic Vibe.
I still think I prefer your Jaguar build over these. Edit: overall I preferred Y clean and Z dirty. I hated Z clean and thought X's neck pickup was too dark in comparison to it's bridge. I liked it when playing neck and bridge together but separately they were to different and lacked balance. Also, exactly how many L's are supposed to be in Challenge? Your graphic at 8:40 has me questioning..
I got all of them wrong...but then again I know nothing about Jazzmasters, and was going by what sounded good over my headphones. I liked CV the best, followed by Affinity. Didn't care at all for the Pro.
I preferred the sound of Y in all examples except clean with both pickups, that went to Z. I was slightly surprised to learn that was NOT the Fender. But, I do own several Squiers that sound better than many Fenders I’ve played, so it didn’t really shock me. But I made a guess as to which one I’d like to buy, and I’m quite thrilled it turned out to be the one I liked the sound of as well. I would have bought that just for the original control setup.
Got them correct. And this comparison reminds me why i don't need a jazzmaster regardless of how cool they look. My teles--standard and custom, both Squier--cover all the bases that those three amigos bring to the table. The Affinity stood out like a sore thumb due to the ceramic pups while the Classic Vibe and the Pro have more definition and characters. I like the Affinitys and the Pro's pared down layout. Don't care much for the Vibe traditional layout. And I'm saying that from owning and playing a MIJ 64 reissue Jaguar. I never use the rhythm circuit. Keep going with the blind fold tests. They're right on point. Adios muchachos.
I prefered the "Guitar X" for dirty bridge pickup. In all other samples "Guitar Y" was my favourite. And I was pretty sure "Guitar Z" would be the cheap Squier Affinity. 😵-Thanks a lot. - This is a perfect example that price doesn`t mean sound. By the way I own a beautiful Fender Vintera Jazzmaster which I really love.
I only have Fender Pro money if I only have one guitar. I don't like that. I currently own three electrics and each has a different feel and tone. That is what I love about instruments, especially guitars. So much variety. When I play them side-by-side in a shop on the same amp, my ear isn't "refined" enough to tell the difference so I generally go with a Squier or a player model Fender from Mexico. I kind of prefer the Players, but that's me. I'm looking at adding a Jazzmaster to my very amateur hobby and the Squier Classic Vibe looks like the one for me. Thanks for your work on this, I truly appreciate it.
I’ve owned the Affinity JM for a year now. Been playing guitar for 49 years. Every guitar I’ve ever played, expensive or affordable, has had its own issues. And it’s own charm. All guitars need to be played a little different to fully get the best out of them. It takes time to break in a guitar and get the true personality of each guitar. When I try out a guitar that I might purchase, I play it unplugged first. I play a chord and listen for how it sustains, clarity of all strings, and feel how it resonates through the body and neck. Is there any loose hardware or mechanical noises that interfere with the sound? Does the neck feel good moving around the fretboard? Any sharp edges on the bridge or fret ends? Any high frets or dead notes? How much work/ money would it take to get it where I like it? Then I plug in and check the electrical workings…switches, pots, input jack… I’m not concerned about pickups. EQ on amps and pedals will shape my sound. Then I check the emotional aspect. I just look at it. Do I like the color, shape, and layout. And lastly,…does it inspire me to play. Oh. And thank you GC for your return policy. Now, go live your life. 💪
My guess is: X: Affinity Y: Classic Vibe Z: Pro Y sounds the most like a true Jazzmaster to me. X comes pretty close but is a bit more muddy. This might be because the pots differ from the Classic Vibe (250k instead of 1m for example). Z really sounds just like a strat. And since the Pro has V-mod pickups in it, that makes sense. The Squier Classic Vibe sounds the best to me. Closest to a real Jazzmaster.
I just bought a CV and love it. Considering either upgrading the CV or going for a MIA Pro, but this video showed me that I really do not like the V-mod pickups whatsoever. I definitely preferred the CV for the dirty sounds especially.
i got the CV right but I didn't expect to fail so hard on the other ones. maybe it's a personal taste but the Pro felt cheap or maybe I'm just not used to the true Jazzmaster sound, idk
Hi Landon, I just stumbled upon your channel recently after getting back into playing guitar again (having a kid etc been keeping me busy). Just wanted to say I love the channel. I see you’re Canadian, as am I. You mention sweetwater quite a bit on your channel and I wondered do they ship to Canada? Also, I’m digging that classic vibe jazzmaster, I think it may be my next purchase
hey there! They may only be able to ship certain brands. There are distribution restrictions with cross border shipping. I'm close to the US border, so I've been able to pick up items that way in the past. Best to ask them. It's the same with Guitar Center.
I had the blind test pegged, though Y and Z were a tossup for a bit since I thought that the CV might sound more "vintage" than the Pro, but the Pro was better definition so I figured that would cost more. Pro sounds best but CV is best value still with JM tone. X was obvious all the way through since those pups aren't proper JM pups, but still sounds good as a P-90/HB toned guitar. Like to see what's up under those Affinity pup covers. Still annoying and baffling there's no trem lock on the CV JM 60s.
I liked guitar Y best, in all examples, and I thought this would be the Fender Pro. X sounded too dark and sometimes too muddy for my taste, Z, on the other hand, too bright and brittle. Awesome what Squier is able to deliver with the Classic Vibe '60s! Oh, and I think this sonic blue with the tortoise pickguard looks the best of the bunch too! But the Fender's Rosewood neck is really something special! I just don't like the blue burst...
first of all FANTASTIC video - this is how all shootouts should be done. secondly anyone thats contemplating adding a jazzmaster to your collection - take note. I recently bought the Classic Vibe JM after playing probably 20 different jazz masters ranging from top to bottom of the line - and honestly - the Squier CV absolutely SMOKED all of them, including the american ones. its worth noting though that almost anything you pull off the wall at guitar center probably just came right out of the box and wasnt set up your best bet is to get yourself a stock CV (although I was pretty impressed with how well the Affinity did), and then spend a couple hundred bucks on a Mastery bridge, toss in either some Fralin or Lollar picks - and pay a GOOD tech that really knows how to dial in a JM and you will end up with an INCREDIBLE example of a JM, easily better than if not at least comparable to the American one for well under $1000 - which is still less than what a stock Made in Mexico JM will go for.
I actually got the blind tone right! However having said that I was disappointed with the pro sound too weak and snappy to my years. The CV is a great option the affinity let down by the Strat like Bridge to me
Holy mackerel, I thought the pro was the affinity! Did not like the pro at all. I liked the CV (Y) the best. Comparison videos are the best. Rebea and Thorn can make any guutar, amp or pedal sound good.
I got the professional right, the others mixed up but i def prefer the vintage specs of the CV60’s. I love mine with the pickups swapped for the Fender true vintage 65 jm set.
I prefered Y, Z and then X. I was hoping that Y would be the Affinity. But being realistic, I kind of knew that X was the Affinity 😅 Very nice that I prefered the CV over the Pro. But I don't usually prefer the sound of most of Fenders more expensive guitars and bassguitars. I prefer their Standard series.
Mail-ordered the CV JM in Sunburst, & still can't believe that I got a guitar that looks & sounds like this for the $$$ I spent. I feel like I ripped Fender off LOL! (Edit: I'm seriously shocked by how bad / cheap / tinny the "Pro" sounded. Perhaps it's just that particular guitar that something went wrong with, as the problem seems to be more with the bridge pup than with the neck one.)
I tried to guess based on the very first sample and i thought X was the best sounding!!! I mean the sustain and the tone were amazing!!! But looks wise the pro is stunning with that rosewood neck! 😍
I got the Affinity right, but I got the Classic Vibe and the Pro backwards. I thought the Classic Vibe sounded the best, but I LOVE THAT ROSEWOOD NECK!
Nailed it, but with X being the most obvious as it really sounded cheap and had none of the magical twang of a jazzmaster, not necessarily a bad thing, good for making noise maybe, but I wouldn't go for it. I figured which ever turns out to be the CV will be totally worth it... and had the Affinity turned out to be either Y or Z then it would have been ridiculously worth it.
I actually got them all correct for a change. I definitely liked the sound of the Pro overall versus the other two but then I was hearing it from my pc speakers. I think for the actual guitar I liked the best, I'd have sit down and play them all for a bit. Love that all Rosewood neck, that looks awesome.
The affinity sounds like P90s, the 60s model sounds full, the pro sounds bright, but I would like to hear the pro on the rythm circuit...my guess is that since it's brighter and probably better electornic, you'll get a better range of tone just using the volume and tone.. but if you are like me and dime everyhting all the time, squier CV all the way
Very surprised by the blind test. I wish more folks would do that. I thought X = CV, Y = Pro, and Z = Affinity. I liked the sound of Y the best, with X in 2nd. I thought Z sounded very thin, maybe lacking low mids.
So if I go by which pickups sound the best which tells you more about my ears and sonic preferences X=CV, Y=Am, Z=Affinity. I'm wrong but does that mean I should buy the CV and be happy or am I just wrong, wrong, wrong?
I kinda hoped that the Z would be the Affinity or the Classiv Vibe. I would have bought that immediately. Unfortunately it wasn't ether. :/ There is a clear difference. Affinity sounds especially lackluster, but the CV also doesn't sound so jazzmasterish as I tought. Good though.
Watched this video quite a while ago but wanted to check it out again. All three guitars look pretty darn good. I did get the guitars right. The neck looks the best on the pro. But being honest I liked the souind quality of the CV the best. The pickups in the pro had definition but came across to me as being a little too thin missing mid range. You didn't mention playability. I figured the pro would be the best playing from a feel standpoint. Good job presenting the three guitars. Squire seams to have really upped their products.
I thought "X" sounded muffled compared to "Y" and "Z". Both "Y" and "Z" have nice, open sounds. I thought "Y" was the Pro because it sounded better than "Z". I was happily surprised that "Y" is the CV because I just bought a Squier 40th Anniversary Jazzmaster in the difficult to find Desert Sand and from my understanding, the CV and the 40th are basically the same guitar.
Rosewood is heavy, apparently. I didn't notice anything significant on my rosewood Tele neck vs the maple it replaced. I'll be interested to know how heavy your George Harrison Tele ends up being. 🤘🎸
I was totally wrong. Thought Y sounded best. I you’d compare three same guitars of one brand, do they sound the same? Is consistency in playability and sound price-dependent?
Which one do you like the most?
Get a Jazzmaster here:
🛒 Sweetwater imp.i114863.net/VngxO
🛒 Thomann bit.ly/3lLhQai
🛒 Amazon geni.us/SquierJazzmasterCVSB
🛒 Reverb reverb.grsm.io/gpuv8wvdgd1p
🛒 Ebay ebay.us/F7bxvx
Thinking of buying a Jazzmaster but you don’t know where to start? At a quick glance, they may all appear to be the same guitar or similar. In this video we're comparing three Blue Jazzmaster models. We're comparing the Squier Affinity Series against the Squier Classic Vibe ‘60s and against the Fender Professional Series. We'll talk in depth about all the specs and how they vary from series to series, as well we will get into playing some tones. Think you can guess which guitar is making which tones? Try to to figure it out in the blind tone challenge section. Stay until the end of the video to hear what I think about each.
Get a Fender Princeton amp like the one in the video
🛒 Sweetwater - imp.i114863.net/RyK6Mb
🛒 Amazon geni.us/FenderPrinceton
🛒 Thomann bit.ly/3kaw0yN
the Mic is a Sennheiser e906
🛒Sweetwater imp.i114863.net/qnyyBY
🛒 Thomann bit.ly/3zbApbX
Timestamps:
0:00 - the Guitars
0:20 - what is this video?
1:08 - the prices
3:00 - Blind tone challenge
3:15 - Clean Tones
4:55 - Dirty Tones
7:02 - Sponsor segment and Blind tone challenge results
9:05 - Walkthrough and specs
9:45 - Headstock and tuners
10:10 - Nuts
10:25 - Necks
10:58 - Body profiles
11:07 - Tremolos
11:20 - Pickups & Electronics
12:25 - Enjoy
13:17 - My thoughts and top picks
Related deep dive Jazzmaster Videos:
Squier Affinity th-cam.com/video/9zaaQRkPsWo/w-d-xo.html
Squier Classic Vibe ‘60s th-cam.com/video/HouxeefKF0M/w-d-xo.html
Fender Professional th-cam.com/video/XavtzHs0TPo/w-d-xo.html
classic voibe because i can afford it
I've always fancied a jaguar any video of you taking one apart
Wow! That was a surprise. The Classic Vibe sounded best overall to me, with the Affinity a reasonably close second, but the Pro sounded truly awful IMO.
I thought the Pro was the worst sounding from the beginning...said to myself, "That's gotta be the Affinity."
@@lext4374 LOL, I said the same thing. Could it be pickup height?
Agree completely. I thought X had to be the Pro it sounded so much better but no. Shows just how good squire is nowadays especially the affinity and CV series.
I do absolutely agree. Bought the CV. Took me some time to make it really playable for me. I shimed the neck and so on. But now i really love it. To my ears the PRO sounds a little bit disapointing. Especially when i saw it has ' 65 PUs. Now i know i have nothing to modify. But it's a matter of personal taste.
I agree that the CV was the best sounding one but I placed the American Pro as second. The Affinity was vanilla to my ears, so I was expecting it would be this one.
Favorite clean neck goes to Affinity. All other favorites were Classic Vibe. I thought the Pro sounded horrible.
I thought the same. I was sure Y would be the American Pro
Me too. The Pro was by far my least favorite & I was completely shocked 😳
I liked the Affinity best for cleans & the Vibe for dirty due to its slightly increased clarity. The pro was worst in every case IMO.
Yeah, I thought that, thought it was the affinity! Liked the CV best.
I thought the pro was the affinity the whole time :s
@@alexanderball6326 Same - pretty shocked really. Thing is, a Jazzmaster is the one guitar I would use for clean tones mainly so cannot see any reason for spending more on the Fender top of the range model.
I can't believe how thin and anemic the Pro sounded. For me it was CV all the way. Fuller, clearer with more character.
Hi Landon. Just wanted to say that this year is horrible as my wife of 8 years left me the week before Christmas. your videos (although they have inspired a lot of retail therapy) have been a constant source of calm and companionship. Just a guy having fun chatting guitars has been something that has had a huge impact on my mental health. Thank you for all you do. x
Yeah, I like guitar youtube videos when I need to mellow out & feel less anxiety.
Listen or watch as much comedy as you can. Time & friends will help you you survive. 😔
Hopefully things are better now for you friend
The affinity surprised me in the blind challenge. All sound good. Just bought the cv60s. Love it.
nice!
That sounds pretty much like "I love that amazing woman but I finally married the blonde model... " LOL...
I definitely did not guess right on the blind tone challenge. The sounds coming out of the Affinity are making it a contender for me again!
agree. if only there was a jazzmaster style vibrato on that thing
@@santrixhimself3679 Honestly, that’s probably my big holdup at this point. It’s nice that it’s a modern two-point trem, but I really wish they’d gone with the normal Squier JM/Jag trem.
The Affinity punches way up from its weight class. Besides, for the price you can’t go wrong. I ordered one from Fender the other day and got 10% off just for signing up for text messages. With tax, delivered for $267.11, shipping included.
@@reno145 After going back and forth for months, I ended up going with a Classic Vibe. Around the holidays, I got it on sale for $280. For another $75 or so, I upgraded some parts to really make it nice. I’m super happy. That said, I still have my eye on the Affinity just because it’s such a nice guitar for under $300. Glad you’re liking yours!
Hey do you remember where you found that price?? Cheers haha@@leamanc
I love that you do blind sound tests! I got them all right, but I liked the CV tones the best.
I actually liked the clean more from the cheaper guitars, because of the warmer tone. The dirt I liked the best from te Pro actually, because it had the most definition
I actually preferred the Classic Vibe’s tones all around. Might be because I play one all the time
X= Classic Vibe (hotter output, more low-end but not muddy, still has good tone), Y= American Pro (lower output, more high end, and more clarity overall), Z= affinity (pickups don’t sound terrible, but definitely cheaper and more anemic than the previous two)
(Edit) Wow…did not expect the Squier pickups to sound that much better than the Fender pickups 😧
This is exactly what I chose. Quite liked the Y guitar and assumed it was the more expensive American Pro. Particularly with the cleans, I agree that Z sounded the least interesting and even flat! Odd.
@@MichelLamblin Z sounded _tinny_ to me.
I've heard that the CV pups in all models use Alnico III magnets, which are pretty much unique amongst the current Fender/Squier offerings.
Sheeet!!!! That is not what the vid was supposed to end...
I knew before the test that I tried out an affinity and fell in love with it. Was the best Jazzmaster I had tried (for my taste). The test confirmed that X was the affinity. The Y was my 2nd favorite and I was surprised to learn it was the classic vibe. I remember also trying a professional and enjoying it a lot, so I was shocked how little I liked the sound. Super interesting. I’m getting closer and closer to buying an affinity.
Thanks for sharing!
I lean toward the CV, Have had really good experience with CV. I own CV70's Tele and CV70's Jazz bass. Both play and sound very good to me. Would like to own a Jazzmaster. Again i would choose the CV. Best bang for the $.
Update: after years of wanting a jazzmaster with more modern specs and a floyd rose, I bought the SBS Guitars jazzmaster copy model. Thing is awesome. I got the Sonic blue looking one, then fixed it up with an off white pickguard and pearloid block inlay decals (they look pretty good actually), so it kinda has the 1966 jazzmaster look with a floyd and hotter humbuckers, so that's satisfying my taste for a jazzmaster at the moment.
When I heard In Limbo being played I SCREAMED. One of my favorite songs to play! You have good music taste.
I'm still not down with the Jazzmaster, but If I could pick I'd get the Classic Vibe, it seems like a good middle ground.
Glad I'm not the only one that thought the CV sounded best.
Obviously the Squiers are the bomb. The Fender was ok.
Wow, I really DID learn about the guitars. The Pro sounded worst to me in every test (I thought it was the affinity) and has a swimming pool route?! I expected the Pro to sound best, but in retrospect it occurs that only the CV has Jazzmaster pickups in this lineup.
I own the 60's Vintage Jazzmaster. I love it. I did swap out the tuning machines for the road worn Fender tuners. Now, many say you can't fit a lot of Fender products on Squire, I did my research and determined that it was an exact copy of the original 62 or 63. So I figured Fender parts should fit...and they did!!! So I have the tri-colour which reminds me of the 70's but whatever. When I see pics of the vintage one on Reverb, I can't tell the difference.
nice!
I guessed right on the Affinity but I had no idea which was which between the other two. I like the tone best on the CV.
Classic vibe was my favourite sounding of all the tones.
I got it right. The Affinity was a little dark/dull. The pro was very clear, bright and open sounding. My fav was the classic vibe. It was also bright, not as much as the pro, good enough, but had a much fuller overall tone. Sounded the most balanced of the three.
Good stuff!
X was the blue one, Y was the other blue one, and I'm unsure about Z.
So jazzy though.
The results *really* surprised me. I've got the Affinity model loaded into my cart, ready to buy, but I'm doing some last second waffling about... I liked Y the most, narrowly edging out X, and really wasn't much of a fan of Z. The Z sounded muddy overall so I felt like that definitely had to be the Affinity. I'm very happy to see that I enjoyed the sound of the Affinity and as a first electric guitar I have to say that I prefer the Stratocaster style trem.
Jazzmaster asmr! Your videos are always so thorough and entertaining. Always laugh at least twice per video. I saw a pro with the rosewood neck that was shell pink and I wanted it so badly.
that would look good!
I got the 60's Classic Vibe and I'm stoked!
those Classic Vibe guitars are great
X was clearly the affinity, since it was the ceramic single coils, so it sounded the most different (and was actually my fave, maybe because it sounded like a strat). I did get the others right too, but it was more a guess really.
anyway, I see that you also lean towards blue guitars! if I didn't buy mostly used, most of mine would be blue too
love blue!
I've had an Affinity for about a month, great guitar right out of the box. Pickups are hot, warm and a bit muddy, but in the best possible way. I knew it was X right away. I was really surprised the pro was so thin and anemic sounding. I'm wondering if that's normal, the Classic had a similar character but with a nicer overall tone.
TBH i preferred the affinity over any of the others. but if i had to pick between the cv60 and the pro i'd pick the cv60. THE PRO SOUNDED LIKE A MIXTURE OF A MUSTANG AND A STRAT TBH. but that's just my opinion!!!!
great video btw!!
My goodness, I got it all wrong! Not only I thought the affinity was the pro, I actually thought guitar Z wasn't as good as the others. The intro of "Just" sounded amazing on the affinity
play again! 😝
I identified myself as a Gibson player for 25 years, but traded my SG for a classic vibe Jazzmaster months ago and now never see myself playing anything else
Just came across this video. The affinity had the most "full" tone, meaning to my ears, it had stronger mids and bass response than the CV or the fender Pro. You can pretty easily tell that the pickups were ceramic. The CV seemed to have more of the chime / glassy sound that I expected from a Jazzmaster, with something of a scooped midrange. The Pro sounded, um... not good. It had something of the scooped midrange of the CV, but didn't quite have the same brights that the CV had. I might buy an Affinity and then get something like a parametric EQ to scoop the mids a bit if I wanted a more "classic" Jazzmaster sound.
I like jingly bell tones. I think the CV has the best bell tones. I got all 3 right, but I own a CV which I chose due to its tone. I think it is the closest to the 60's JM tone. Cheers.
I’m newer to music and guitars, so I’m still learning tones and such. Got an acoustic for Christmas last year. Now looking at moving to electric. Really thinking of a Jazzmaster, so I was super happy to find you did a video on them!
That being said, I felt guitar X had the warmest and smooth tones, especially in the Clean setting. I had it pegged X = Pro, Y = CV and Z = Affinity. So I had it backwards, being right on the CV. I felt the Pro’s cleans were too sharp (all personal taste). Since I’m new, I couldn’t really tell much of a difference in the dirty tones.
Love the look of all 3. Like you pointed out, love the look of the Pro neck. Definitely agree that the CV is the best value, which is probably what I’ll go with (regardless if I go Strat, Tele or Jazzmaster).
Love your video’s! Thanks for doing them! Look forward to more!
👍😁
I have a mixture of Fenders and Squieres. I honestly can’t tell which ones are “better” based on the name on the headstock. I do know my favorite offset is a Squeire Jazzmaster. Not sure which one it is but it’s set up like the traditional Jazzy. I was planning on changing to an aftermarket pickup but there’s no reason. They sound great. Coincidentally it’s the only guitar I have ever played that I like the middle position best.
Been looking at this CV for a while. This was helpful. The weight alone is huge for me. I did mostly prefer the affinity creamy humbucker sounds though when I was doing the blind test. But that neck and headstock with the really light wood is an eye sore.
Thanks for the comparison 🙏
Glad it was helpful!
got all of them right but didn't expect that fender to sound like that
good or bad?
@@landonbailey idk if its good or bad but it sounded a little bit thinner than the other. i think it's unique the dirty tone of it is awesome to me
Yay for a Joyo Sweet Baby! That’s a staple on my board. Before the reveal, I was guessing X = Squier Affinity, Y = Fender Pro, Z = Squier Classic Vibe.
great pedal!
The Affinity sounds just like my one, the others sounded good but not so much I would spend the extra .
I still think I prefer your Jaguar build over these.
Edit: overall I preferred Y clean and Z dirty. I hated Z clean and thought X's neck pickup was too dark in comparison to it's bridge. I liked it when playing neck and bridge together but separately they were to different and lacked balance.
Also, exactly how many L's are supposed to be in Challenge? Your graphic at 8:40 has me questioning..
good eye! I'm firing my editor!
Excellent review , I like the ambient music at the end and the detailed videography. ..
Thanks for watching
I like the blue one best 😁
I got all of them wrong...but then again I know nothing about Jazzmasters, and was going by what sounded good over my headphones. I liked CV the best, followed by Affinity. Didn't care at all for the Pro.
I preferred the sound of Y in all examples except clean with both pickups, that went to Z. I was slightly surprised to learn that was NOT the Fender. But, I do own several Squiers that sound better than many Fenders I’ve played, so it didn’t really shock me. But I made a guess as to which one I’d like to buy, and I’m quite thrilled it turned out to be the one I liked the sound of as well. I would have bought that just for the original control setup.
🎸👍
Got them correct. And this comparison reminds me why i don't need a jazzmaster regardless of how cool they look. My teles--standard and custom, both Squier--cover all the bases that those three amigos bring to the table.
The Affinity stood out like a sore thumb due to the ceramic pups while the Classic Vibe and the Pro have more definition and characters.
I like the Affinitys and the Pro's pared down layout. Don't care much for the Vibe traditional layout. And I'm saying that from owning and playing a MIJ 64 reissue Jaguar. I never use the rhythm circuit.
Keep going with the blind fold tests. They're right on point. Adios muchachos.
👍🎸
I prefered the "Guitar X" for dirty bridge pickup. In all other samples "Guitar Y" was my favourite. And I was pretty sure "Guitar Z" would be the cheap Squier Affinity. 😵-Thanks a lot. - This is a perfect example that price doesn`t mean sound. By the way I own a beautiful Fender Vintera Jazzmaster which I really love.
Afortunatly, got an Squier Vintage Modified Jazzmaster and I took cos the amazing sound, good construction, rosewood and nice low price
I only have Fender Pro money if I only have one guitar. I don't like that. I currently own three electrics and each has a different feel and tone. That is what I love about instruments, especially guitars. So much variety. When I play them side-by-side in a shop on the same amp, my ear isn't "refined" enough to tell the difference so I generally go with a Squier or a player model Fender from Mexico. I kind of prefer the Players, but that's me. I'm looking at adding a Jazzmaster to my very amateur hobby and the Squier Classic Vibe looks like the one for me. Thanks for your work on this, I truly appreciate it.
I’ve owned the Affinity JM for a year now. Been playing guitar for 49 years. Every guitar I’ve ever played, expensive or affordable, has had its own issues. And it’s own charm. All guitars need to be played a little different to fully get the best out of them. It takes time to break in a guitar and get the true personality of each guitar.
When I try out a guitar that I might purchase, I play it unplugged first. I play a chord and listen for how it sustains, clarity of all strings, and feel how it resonates through the body and neck. Is there any loose hardware or mechanical noises that interfere with the sound? Does the neck feel good moving around the fretboard? Any sharp edges on the bridge or fret ends? Any high frets or dead notes?
How much work/ money would it take to get it where I like it?
Then I plug in and check the electrical workings…switches, pots, input jack…
I’m not concerned about pickups. EQ on amps and pedals will shape my sound.
Then I check the emotional aspect. I just look at it. Do I like the color, shape, and layout.
And lastly,…does it inspire me to play. Oh. And thank you GC for your return policy. Now, go live your life. 💪
My guess is:
X: Affinity
Y: Classic Vibe
Z: Pro
Y sounds the most like a true Jazzmaster to me. X comes pretty close but is a bit more muddy. This might be because the pots differ from the Classic Vibe (250k instead of 1m for example).
Z really sounds just like a strat. And since the Pro has V-mod pickups in it, that makes sense.
The Squier Classic Vibe sounds the best to me. Closest to a real Jazzmaster.
🎸👍
I just bought a CV and love it. Considering either upgrading the CV or going for a MIA Pro, but this video showed me that I really do not like the V-mod pickups whatsoever. I definitely preferred the CV for the dirty sounds especially.
I got the affinity correct, I thought the CV sounded best .
My god the Y sounded so good in comparison to Z
I'm a little stunned but I guessed the blind test exactly.
did not expect to hear Radiohead's In Limbo at 3:44! underrated banger!
🎸👍
i got the CV right but I didn't expect to fail so hard on the other ones. maybe it's a personal taste but the Pro felt cheap or maybe I'm just not used to the true Jazzmaster sound, idk
I like to play guitar and have fun. Is this the place for me? Cheers, Landon.
it just may be!
Hi Landon, I just stumbled upon your channel recently after getting back into playing guitar again (having a kid etc been keeping me busy). Just wanted to say I love the channel. I see you’re Canadian, as am I. You mention sweetwater quite a bit on your channel and I wondered do they ship to Canada?
Also, I’m digging that classic vibe jazzmaster, I think it may be my next purchase
hey there! They may only be able to ship certain brands. There are distribution restrictions with cross border shipping. I'm close to the US border, so I've been able to pick up items that way in the past. Best to ask them. It's the same with Guitar Center.
@@landonbailey oh ok. I’m in Windsor so im next to the border as well. I’ll contact them to see if I can pick up any order I make as well. Thanks!
60's Classic Vibe all the way.
Didn't try to guess, but I preferred the Classic Vibe.
that seems to be the common response!
I’d love to see a tonal comparison with a black one!
Got'em correct. The CV was unmistakeable as it has the most vintage sound. The Affinity doesn't sound like a JM. Fairly easy to pick them out.
I had the blind test pegged, though Y and Z were a tossup for a bit since I thought that the CV might sound more "vintage" than the Pro, but the Pro was better definition so I figured that would cost more. Pro sounds best but CV is best value still with JM tone. X was obvious all the way through since those pups aren't proper JM pups, but still sounds good as a P-90/HB toned guitar. Like to see what's up under those Affinity pup covers. Still annoying and baffling there's no trem lock on the CV JM 60s.
I thought the affinity was the classic vibe, the classic vibe was the pro, and the pro was the affinity
Woooow. I was wrong on all three. Favored the Classic Vibe over all, but that American Pro sounded terrible. Really lacking clarity on all settings.
I liked guitar Y best, in all examples, and I thought this would be the Fender Pro. X sounded too dark and sometimes too muddy for my taste, Z, on the other hand, too bright and brittle. Awesome what Squier is able to deliver with the Classic Vibe '60s! Oh, and I think this sonic blue with the tortoise pickguard looks the best of the bunch too! But the Fender's Rosewood neck is really something special! I just don't like the blue burst...
first of all FANTASTIC video - this is how all shootouts should be done. secondly anyone thats contemplating adding a jazzmaster to your collection - take note. I recently bought the Classic Vibe JM after playing probably 20 different jazz masters ranging from top to bottom of the line - and honestly - the Squier CV absolutely SMOKED all of them, including the american ones. its worth noting though that almost anything you pull off the wall at guitar center probably just came right out of the box and wasnt set up
your best bet is to get yourself a stock CV (although I was pretty impressed with how well the Affinity did), and then spend a couple hundred bucks on a Mastery bridge, toss in either some Fralin or Lollar picks - and pay a GOOD tech that really knows how to dial in a JM and you will end up with an INCREDIBLE example of a JM, easily better than if not at least comparable to the American one for well under $1000 - which is still less than what a stock Made in Mexico JM will go for.
🎸👍
I actually got the blind tone right! However having said that I was disappointed with the pro sound too weak and snappy to my years. The CV is a great option the affinity let down by the Strat like Bridge to me
Guessed the Affinity’s darker tones. Preferred sound of sample Y but wasn’t sure which one it was.
Holy mackerel, I thought the pro was the affinity! Did not like the pro at all. I liked the CV (Y) the best. Comparison videos are the best. Rebea and Thorn can make any guutar, amp or pedal sound good.
Not that you cannot make everything sound good but I meant that comparisons are better. Texting gets me confused.
I got the professional right, the others mixed up but i def prefer the vintage specs of the CV60’s. I love mine with the pickups swapped for the Fender true vintage 65 jm set.
I prefered Y, Z and then X.
I was hoping that Y would be the Affinity. But being realistic, I kind of knew that X was the Affinity 😅
Very nice that I prefered the CV over the Pro. But I don't usually prefer the sound of most of Fenders more expensive guitars and bassguitars. I prefer their Standard series.
Thanks for sharing!
own an Affinity and two things i'd change the pickups and the tuners but i love it
🎸👍
I have an Affinity Jazzmaster. I added some Hipshot locking tuners, and I love playing it. What did you swap out for pickups?
Guitar Fetish KP-GFS JM90s vintage overwound neck and bridge
I think I'm on the verge of becoming a Jazzmaster owner. There is a Classic Vibe 60's in 3 colour burst calling my name.
give it a shot!
Mail-ordered the CV JM in Sunburst, & still can't believe that I got a guitar that looks & sounds like this for the $$$ I spent. I feel like I ripped Fender off LOL!
(Edit: I'm seriously shocked by how bad / cheap / tinny the "Pro" sounded. Perhaps it's just that particular guitar that something went wrong with, as the problem seems to be more with the bridge pup than with the neck one.)
I tried to guess based on the very first sample and i thought X was the best sounding!!! I mean the sustain and the tone were amazing!!! But looks wise the pro is stunning with that rosewood neck! 😍
the rosewood is awesome
i got it right, hoping Y was a CV, just because i buy CV pickup for my jazzmaster build.
clearly Z was better sounding
I got the Affinity right, but I got the Classic Vibe and the Pro backwards. I thought the Classic Vibe sounded the best, but I LOVE THAT ROSEWOOD NECK!
Nailed it, but with X being the most obvious as it really sounded cheap and had none of the magical twang of a jazzmaster, not necessarily a bad thing, good for making noise maybe, but I wouldn't go for it. I figured which ever turns out to be the CV will be totally worth it... and had the Affinity turned out to be either Y or Z then it would have been ridiculously worth it.
Wonder what the sound differences would be if you played with winter gloves on.
I actually got them all correct for a change. I definitely liked the sound of the Pro overall versus the other two but then I was hearing it from my pc speakers. I think for the actual guitar I liked the best, I'd have sit down and play them all for a bit. Love that all Rosewood neck, that looks awesome.
Love that rosewood neck.
it's great!
Wow Y was my favourite with Z closely behind Y
Edit: and really enjoyed the Radiohead tracks will always be my favourite band
I thought the fender was Z. I thought it sounded pretty weak. X sounded best to me
I onl get X right because I'm have very same one. Kept mixing up Y and Z though 😅
thanks for playing! :)
Liked y. Have a Vintera 60's coming from Sweetwater on Thursday. Have not seen many YT videos on the Vintera series, do you have plans for one?
The affinity sounds like P90s, the 60s model sounds full, the pro sounds bright, but I would like to hear the pro on the rythm circuit...my guess is that since it's brighter and probably better electornic, you'll get a better range of tone just using the volume and tone.. but if you are like me and dime everyhting all the time, squier CV all the way
Very surprised by the blind test. I wish more folks would do that. I thought X = CV, Y = Pro, and Z = Affinity. I liked the sound of Y the best, with X in 2nd. I thought Z sounded very thin, maybe lacking low mids.
3:45 oh god i didnt expect to hear In Limbo in this vid
I throw in Radiohead all the time!
So if I go by which pickups sound the best which tells you more about my ears and sonic preferences X=CV, Y=Am, Z=Affinity.
I'm wrong but does that mean I should buy the CV and be happy or am I just wrong, wrong, wrong?
I kinda hoped that the Z would be the Affinity or the Classiv Vibe. I would have bought that immediately. Unfortunately it wasn't ether. :/ There is a clear difference. Affinity sounds especially lackluster, but the CV also doesn't sound so jazzmasterish as I tought. Good though.
Watched this video quite a while ago but wanted to check it out again. All three guitars look pretty darn good. I did get the guitars right. The neck looks the best on the pro. But being honest I liked the souind quality of the CV the best. The pickups in the pro had definition but came across to me as being a little too thin missing mid range. You didn't mention playability. I figured the pro would be the best playing from a feel standpoint. Good job presenting the three guitars. Squire seams to have really upped their products.
I think the Y also was best💥😬
I thought "X" sounded muffled compared to "Y" and "Z". Both "Y" and "Z" have nice, open sounds. I thought "Y" was the Pro because it sounded better than "Z". I was happily surprised that "Y" is the CV because I just bought a Squier 40th Anniversary Jazzmaster in the difficult to find Desert Sand and from my understanding, the CV and the 40th are basically the same guitar.
My CV Jazzmaster arrives tomorrow... Unfortunate, then, that I thought it sounded the worst of the bunch. Oh well. I'm sure I'll enjoy it, regardless!
The Am Pro has V-Mod pickups not Pure Vintage 65s.
this was a limited edition 2020 model
Rosewood is heavy, apparently. I didn't notice anything significant on my rosewood Tele neck vs the maple it replaced. I'll be interested to know how heavy your George Harrison Tele ends up being. 🤘🎸
I was totally wrong. Thought Y sounded best.
I you’d compare three same guitars of one brand, do they sound the same? Is consistency in playability and sound price-dependent?
I love that you always play some Radiohead shit.
Holy sh*** I liked the affinity the best in the blindtest
👍🎸
Can’t be definitive without the J Mascis!
I’m going to strip a used affinity to the husk and turn it into a hard rock machine.
Rock on!