Fender’s new Jazzmaster gives the Acoustasonic range a hipness upgrade

The Jazzmaster has long been the misunderstood teenager of the Fender guitar family: it’s brilliant, but the olds just don’t take it seriously because of its scruffy shoes and weird hair. This, though, might be the moment when even the pipe-smoking traditionalists have to accept their snotty nephew into the fold with an appreciative shoulder-pat. Building on the success of the American Acoustasonic Telecaster and Stratocaster, Fender has launched a Jazzmaster version of its fiendishly smart acoustic/electric hybrid – and it’s a bit of a gem. The offset-waist body shape is slightly more voluminous than that of the Tele or Strat, and that’s allowed Fender to digitally emulate some larger acoustic guitar varieties, including a jumbo and a slope-shouldered J-45 type. There are 10 voices in all, among them some interesting ‘amplified electric’ options, and the price is a defiant £1879 – yep, £100 more than the Tele and Strat versions. Take that, squares.