www.shortscale.org

[dezb1]

Am planning on buying one as my 'second' guitar for some wobbly trem action (and some hipster pointage) the contenders are Squier VM , Squier J Mascis, fender modern player (red with the rosewood fretboard). Which one would you guys choose from those 3?
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Extreme distortion used discreetly...

[timhulio]

Sorry, sheer ubiquity means you no longer get free hipster points with each Jazzmaster sold

Sadly not tried these ones, just the AVRI and Japanese reissues.
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The Sailplanes - London band
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[Josh]

absolutely love my vm jazzy. have tried the j mascis and classic player and the trem placement really sells the vm for me. you could always swap the pups or bridge if they're not to your taste, but I've kept mine stock and it probably gets played the most outve all my guitars.

tl;dr: vm jazzy is incredible bang for buck, I love mine, and DAT SONIC BLUE.

[Rox]

If those are the options out of those the JMJM is the best of them. Epecially for the money. The Modern player is ok but it's all hype to a J Mascis. Hell, for a Squier it plays as good if not better than a Classic Player Jazzmaster. See for yourself.

[Thomas]

VM are great bang for your buck but if I were to buy another Jazzmaster I'd probably pay the extra hundred or two and buy a second hand Japanese one. I kept the VM Jazzy I had for a couple of weeks. Having played my Japanese and vintage ones the VM was lacking in comparison. Great VFM but not a patch on the Japanese one.

Plus by the time you swap out the parts you don't like on the VM you'd have been better off just buying the Fender in the first place.

Also classic player is better quality-wise than the VM. Plus you can usually get them for less than a Japanese one. If you'd prefer the vintage look with modern radius etc then the Classic player has the perfect mix. Anyone who thinks the VM is as good is either:

a) Dreaming

or

b) Hasn't played the Fender versions

In all fairness tho any secondhand VM guitar is a no brainer. They're a helluva guitar for £100ish. As for the JM JM I've never owned one of them.

[Nick]

^ MODERN player, not classic player. Two different series.

Classic is MIM, pretty decent Fender quality.

Modern Players IIRC are more or less Squier CV's, and priced accordingly. Not that it's a bad thing in terms of quality, just a bit Paul1k of them.

In terms of these three I'd say it should be an easy decision because of how different they all are. Fender has humbuckers, the Mascis has a TOM style tailpiece, and the VM is closest to vintage spec as you're gonna get at that price but it'd probably be worth at least upgrading the bridge. Also the QC on those based on the varied reviews would have me wanting to try one in person if I could.
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[speedfish]

I love my JMJM. Outstanding quality and sound for the money, but if you want
hipster cred then probably should go with the VM.
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Disciple of Pain

"I'm like the monkey screwing the skunk. I haven't had enough, but I've about had all that I can stand!"

[Rox]

[dezb1]

[Noirie.]

loved the Squier JMJM I tried recently. Great bridge and the pickups were hot and full of jangle.

Kevin Shields told a guy at work if he wanted a Jazzmaster that was the best way to go.

Do an JMJM, ffs.
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[singlepup]

VM JM is a solid choice on the whole. I've owned one for a few years. It has its plusses and minuses.

I like the JMJM a bit better, but you have to be OK with a chunkier neck, jumbo frets, P90ish pickups, TOM, and revised trem placement. If I could do it over again, I prolly would have gone for the Mascis.

I don't have enough experience with MIJ guitars, but if you were to snag one of these, you'd prolly need a pup swap.

[lorez]

JMJM all the way. Amazing guitars for the price. Great value for money. I have an old JM & this was an amazing alternative. Great sound, lovely neck & sweet look.
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[NickD]

Another vote for the JMJM here, the best player out of your choices.

[benecol]

Yarp, not heard one bad thing about the Squier Mascis.

[gusman2x]

I own the JMJM and agree it's the best player. However, if you're in it for the trem, then I think you'd be better off with a s/h Japanese model. Reason being is that the JMJM has the TOM, so you would at least need the roller bridge replacement. Plus the pups are pretty hot on the JMJM, but I guess they're shit on a MIJ.

One thing I can say, the neck on the JMJM is AMAZING.

[ultratwin]

The JMJM has the appointments, it's probably the best quality bang for the buck, and I'm convinced the included TOM-like bridge & 9/5" fretboard radius is a good plus for Virgin Jazzers like yourself.

The standard VM Jazz felt weird to me and the tone seemed strangely "loose" compared to my CIJs, but I'm still keeping the body for a baritone project #maybe

[George]

my mate is selling a CAR matching headstock 2007 CIJ for £250 atm on facebook lmao. i pm'd him to get him to raise the price and everything

apparently there's a few scratches but really it looks in vgc

i might buy it, see how i get on, then set it free within the shortscale family

[NickD]

You should, that's a hell of a price.

[George]

which irks me a bit (the low price), but he wouldn't have any of it. i think he wants rid because in his head it's awful, likely because he doesn't have much setup experience and didn't learn the idiosyncrasies. i've messaged him now.

edit: drat, it's gone. oh well, wasn't that bothered tbh.

[jagsonic]

Really love my JMJM