Classic Vibe '60s Jazzmaster Left-handed - Olympic White Review

Squier Classic Vibe '60s Jazzmaster Lefty

I was a little iffy on this guitar when I first received it. The cut on the nut was pretty poor, action was too high for my taste, frets were very rough, plus it had a lot of "buzz" at the neck and bridge pickup positions. It was almost unplayable IMO. I had watched a bunch of video reviews and about half of them stated that these guitars need a little more extra setup out of the… read more box than most guitars, so I wasn't that surprised about how it arrived from the factory. There's a few good how-to setup a jazzmaster videos on Youtube so I decided to go for it and tear it down and rebuild it. I layered two stewmac shims .25° + .5° to get a better neck angle / raised the bridge / polished the frets / widened the nut slots to accommodate new thicker .011 strings / Did a little polishing to the vibrato components + "hammer tricked" the Tremolo arm / shielded the body cavity with copper conductive tape, adjusted the action and pickup heights, and voila, it instantly played liked I'd hoped, greatly reduced the pickup hum, stays in tune and sounds GREAT. It only took a few hours of a Sunday afternoon to pull it off. I was able to do most of it with tools I already had and it was actually kind-of fun to play luthier for a day. I'm not a very mechanical/handy guy and it wasn't difficult at all. Cost of the shims, copper tape, and a tool added about $50 to the cost of the guitar but was well worth it. Pickups sound pretty great actually but I may eventually upgrade them and the other electronics. Overall, I'm totally happy with it and love playing it. It's tonally unique and fun to play. It really is a well made guitar. Mine just needed a little help to reach its full potential.

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A great guitar that just needed some TLC

I got my Jazzmaster a few days ago and I'm literally playing as much as I did when I was 16 again. It's a terrific guitar, sounds very nice and plays well! The guitar is very lightweight, even compared to my japanese mustang. It does, however, need a bit of work to get there. The stock 9s aren't what the guitar needs. I strung it with 10s and will maybe go to 11s, since it was… read more designed that way. The frets needed leveling, but weren't sharp and the overall build quality is very nice. It has a tendency to create natural harmonics when you mute the bridge with your hand, and it's especially noticably when subjected to gain, but even acousticly it's fairy loud. Some might say it's part of the Jazzmaster charm but I personally am not a fan. I found that a cheap hair tie wrapped around the edge of the tremolo, at the base of the strings, does wonders and now it plays great! Overall, if you're in the market for a second/backup guitar, and you want an affordable guitar that's unique and isn't another strat or tele, this could very well be it. I want to also say a huge thanks to the guys at Sweetwater who shipped it half a world away and made me a very happy guy!

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Amazing!

For the price this is the best guitar you can get. The only complaint which is expected for this price is the pickups are a little less than useable for a band and recording scenario. There are multiple after market pickups which are cheap enough and great. The neck is in a very thick lacquer but it looks and still feels great. If you're looking for a left-handed offset guitar this… read more is the best choice for you.

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Amazing guitar

Great guitar, only gripe I had was the fretboard was super dry but it's not a big deal easy to fix. It's a great guitar. Feels great, sounds good. Great secondary guitar and would rather get it then a player fender. I however would not recommend this as a first guitar, it's complex, get an Affinity Stratocaster. But if your looking for a second guitar to become a mainstay for when… read more you start really playing, this is a perfect option.

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A Jazzmaster for Lefties, finally!

The wait for this guitar was worth it, I'm completely blown away by the fit, finish, and quality of this guitar. The guitar came setup very well, thanks to Sweetwater's inspection and setup. I find this guitar to be a very comfortable instrument, with lots of features that make it an outstanding investment. These guitars will likely be classic instruments in the future!

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