Fender is no stranger to injecting a little Les Paul DNA into its Parallel Universe Volume II models – just take a look at the Troublemaker Tele Deluxe and Uptown Strat – but its latest release looks to another Gibson model, the Firebird VII, for inspiration.
The Spark-O-Matic Jazzmaster teams classic Jazz appointments with a number of features derived from Gibson’s iconic ’bird.
For starters, it’s built using a three-piece body, composed of a mahogany core and chambered ash wings, rather than the one-piece alder body you’d usually find on a Jazzmaster. Here, it’s decked out in a 3-Color Sunburst – with no pickguard.
But it’s the pickups that really draw deep from the Gibson well: three chrome-covered Seymour Duncan SM-1N and SM-3B mini-humbuckers are onboard, adjusted via a five-way switch. Fender promises everything from “smooth growl to full-throttle roar” from the arrangement.
More typical Fender appointments come in the form of an American Pro Jazzmaster bridge and tailpiece, 18:1-ratio ClassicGear tuners, and a 9.5”-radius, 22-fret rosewood fingerboard on 25.5”-scale Deep C maple neck.
The Parallel Universe Volume II Spark-O-Matic Jazzmaster is available now for $1,999. Check out Fender.com for more info.
“After having been involved with Chapman for some time I realized we had a shared vision”: Chapman Guitars brings major industry player onboard as part of company restructure – and teases first-ever amp
“You might want to play on the cleaner side of the tracks, but try cranking it up a little – it damn-near takes off”: Why Gibson’s B.B. King ‘Rumble in the Jungle’ 1974 ES-355 is a technical knockout
