J Mascis Signature Squier Jazzmaster – A Day at the Spa

I would say now that I can call myself a collector of Jazzmaster guitars. Six months ago, I was indifferent at best to the model of guitar, so this is a new thing. I now own six Jazzmasters of various makes and models.

I think the Squier models Jazzmasters at the under $500 price point are introducing the Jazzmaster to guitar players that have not been interested in the guitar in the past. As a result, there is a resurgence of appreciation similar to when the punk and alt rock players discovered the guitar in prior years.

Sort of related and something I am excited about - an example of Jazzmaster guitars I have recently purchased is the 2023 Fender Troy Van Leeuwen Jazzmaster in Oxblood Finish. I have to say that this is a stunning guitar and playability is equal to how the guitar looks. I will do an On the Bench video on this guitar soon.

I have been reading about and seeing videos about the J Mascis Signature Squier Jazzmaster for a long while now. I recently decided I would go ahead and get one for myself. At first, I was thinking about buying a new model. In my research I found that prior to 2017 the guitar came with a Rosewood fretboard instead of the present-day Indian Laurel. Although you have to be careful when purchasing a 2017 model because I have seen some folks say they had switched to Indian Laurel near the end of production.

The guitar in general has a cult following and most definitely inspires a lot of conversations in the guitar forums. I jokingly report that it even has its own acronym of JMJM which stands for J Mascis Jazzmaster.

Squier released the JMJM in 2011 and it was produced until 2021. There was such an outpouring of requests for the guitar when Squier stopped producing it that it was re-released in 2023 and is in production today.

Here are some of the specifications for the guitar. I will call out notable differences between the two releases of the guitar.

The guitar has a basswood body and a C-shaped maple neck. Prior to 2017 they were released with a rosewood Fretboard and post 2021 an Indian Laurel Fretboard. The neck has a 9.5" radius and 21 jumbo frets.

It comes with JM selected high output single-coil Squier Jazzmaster pickups, three-position switching and dual tone circuits, gold anodized aluminum pickguard, aged white plastic parts (knobs, switch tip, pickup covers), Adjusto-Matic™ bridge with vintage-style floating tremolo tailpiece, vintage-style tuners, chrome hardware, Vintage White finish, and J Mascis signature on the back of the large '60s-style headstock.

Just like a normal Jazzmaster the JMJM has two tone circuits as I said before. This consist of:
• Lead Circuit Controls (Slide Switch Down): Master Volume (Neck and Bridge), Master Tone
• Rhythm Circuit Controls (Slide Switch Up): Two Thumbwheel Controls for Neck Pickup


$359 - $474 Used All Models. The pre-2017 models go for more.

$499 New

I was on eBay and saw a new seller who had a mint JMJM body for sale for a steal, so I purchased it for maybe a project later.

It took me a few weeks to find the guitar I wanted. I finally zeroed in on a guitar that was playable but needed a little work. I purchased it for a fair price and when I got the guitar I went over it.

The first thing I noticed was the sounds of the pickups did not match any JM guitar I had heard prior. I mean it was to the point of being odd.

When I took the pickguard off, I discovered why. The bridge pickup with the red dot was wired into the circuit as the neck pickup and the neck pickup with the blue dot was wired into the circuit as the bridge pickup. Also, the tone pot does not appear to be original.

I checked with the seller, and he told me that this had all been done prior to him getting the guitar and would explain why the neck pickup sometimes could be shrill.

The body had some dings and holes. Although I would normally be cool with this I decided since I already had a mint body, I would swap them out.

Another observation was that the string height adjustment was fine. Either the guitar was already shimmed, or the neck and body were just really well mated which is I am learning is unusual with a JM guitar. When I pulled the neck off there was no shim which pleased me.




After replacing the kitchen sponges being used as the spacers for the pickups with adhesive foam blocks made for a JM guitar, I assembled the guitar and restrung it.

Sometime I need to dress the frets as there is some visible play wear, but it is not too bad and can be easily fixed without a refret.

I was worried I would need to replace the wiring harness not know what was done to the existing one. For now, I think the guitar sounds great and I will leave it alone.