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Surf Green or Sunburst??


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I might be getting a Jazzmaster. I am stuck on a color -- surf green or sunburst. The sunburst seems classic, while the surf green seems cool. I'm not sure what color would be a better "vibe". I currently have a sunburst strat, which makes me lean a little to the surf green. Any thoughts?

 

I am not interested in the sparkly Mascis one.

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I just don't want it to look like "Kurt Cobain's guitar" or feel its power of color driving me to a surf-rock extravaganza. Plus, I'd want a tortoise pickguard and that's extra buckaroos on top of the guitar + a buzz stop and different bridge.

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Haha. I'd vote for the white too.

 

But, out of your choices, go for the green. The sunburst is beautiful, but with the shape of the guitar and the new pickguard, it's gonna look even better. Plus, with the strat already in the sunburst, you might as well mix it up a little.

 

Win from Arcade Fire has a surf green Jaguar with a black pickguard, and it's fan-freaking-tastic. Search out a few pictures of that one-- completely different dimension to the look.

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The good news is that you can't make a bad choice here. I'd encourage you to check the specs. Generally, when Fender does a sunburst guitar they use an ash body. A color like surf green typically is put on an alder body. Both are great tone woods, but ash is generally considered to be better.

 

For me, the general rule of thumb is that I want to be excited to see a guitar when I open the case. You know what I'm talking about, that split second where you suck in air really fast when you lay eyes on your guitar. Which is more likely to do that for you, the burst or surf green? Only you know the answer because it will be your guitar.

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Very good advice, fainting goat. In the end, tone is what will sell me every time. If it sounds superb, but looks like a coffee table with strings...I'd say I'd have to use a big strap :)

 

I know what you mean, wrt the wow...It's a pretty close race right now. Maybe 55% to the sunburst. This is a wonderful problem to have :)

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I didn't realize that the color chosen often dictates the wood used for the body. I, too, like the tone of ash much more than alder. Makes sense, thought, that they would use ash for a finish where the wood grain shows through some. Alder doesn't present much of grain pattern -- it's the reason I'm grabbing a replacement swamp ash body for my strat project (well, that and the fact that the original body appears to be perhaps, um, poplar -- yikes. I guess that's what Fender used on their cheaper Japanese Strats in the 80s).

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My friend went through a phase where he wanted all his guitars to match-- nice blue finishes.

 

Sounded like a great idea, but as soon as he actually started collecting them, he decided that it wasn't the best plan. It looked neat for a second, but you realize that when they're all different, it's easier for them to adopt their own personalities, which, with instruments that different, you may want to consider. I don't know about you guys, but sometimes (more than I'd like to admit) the asthetics of a guitar reflect how I play it to an extent.

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  • 2 weeks later...

And the verdict:

 

img0600cv2.jpg

 

Fantastic guitar. Playability rivals my 335. The tones are so versatile and so easy to obtain with the different tone circuits. For fellow Jazzmaster owners: Is it me or is the tremolo lock a big fat pain to get set correctly? (which I think I finally did)

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