Lindsey Buckingham appears on the first episode of Fender's Re-Creation, a YouTube show featuring artists performing a classic from their catalogue.
Performing Never Going Back Again from Fleetwood Mac's 1977 landmark album, Rumours, Buckingham offered a high-profile showcase for the Fender American Acoustasonic Jazzmaster, with the offset being the latest to receive the hybrid acoustic-electric treatment in what might be the most versatile Fender guitar yet.
Is it an acoustic guitar or an electric guitar? That is the existential question the Acoustasonic series asks of us. Why not both?
That's the idea behind the design, which has taken classic the Telecaster, Stratocaster and now the Jazzmaster and reimagined them anew, matching an electric guitar feel to an acoustic build, with some very clever electronics under the hood.
As MusicRadar's review says, the Jazzmaster is the boldest yet in the Acoustasonic series. It is recognisably a Jazzmaster, with that classic offset silhouette, but a very different beast.
There's no vibrato for a start. But the other differences are major enough to render this a moot point. This Jazzmaster has a hollow Acoustasonic build, with solid Sitka spruce top partnering a solid mahogany back and sides. To this, you've got a bolt-on mahogany neck that is carved into a Modern Deep 'C' profile and finished in satin urethane.
• Fender Acoustasonic Telecaster (opens in new tab)
The original Acoustasonic model offers a single-coil sound with a light crunch that can be dialled in.
• Fender Acoustasonic Stratocaster
(opens in new tab)Another winner from Fender with its other iconic silhouette.
The electronics make the Acoustasonic Jazzmaster a potentially game-changing instrument for the gigging musician.
You've got a three-pickup configuration that sees a Fishman under-saddle transducer, a bridge plate body sensor, and a Fender Acoustasonic Shawbucker working in a control circuit that features master volume, a Mod knob that works much like a blend control, and a five-way Voice Selector switch.
If the unplugged tones are even more impressive than its Acoustasonic siblings, the variety of amplified tones is quite incredible.
You can check the Fender American Acoustasonic Jazzmaster out in the company of Mr Buckingham above. And also in our demo video below.
The American Acoustasonic Jazzmaster is out now, priced £1749 / €1999 / $1999. See Fender (opens in new tab) for more details.
