*I decided this worked better with the blue Johnny Marr hard case. Everything else is the same. If you prefer the black case I still have that one listed

This is a 2025 Fender Vintera II 50's Jazzmaster in Sonic Blue alder wood body with a 3-ply Parchment White pickguard and 7.25" radius Rosewood fretboard neck. I've done many versions and variants of the Vintera II Jazzmaster but surprisingly never a full non-parts build of the Sonic Blue one, so with the release of the new Vintera III models, I figured I would do an "ultimate version" of the Vintera II in Sonic Blue with all of my usual overhaul and mods and as usual it came out awesome!

The thing that was really surprising with this particular one I acquired is that the fretboard edges are ROLLED! And as I've said I've owned and worked on at least a dozen of these same Vintera II Jazzmaster necks and while the fretboard edges were comfortable and not sharp, for whatever reason these ones are clearly rolled like they are on American Standard/Professional/Deluxe, etc. models making this incredibly unique. And comfortable!

If you've followed me over the past couple of years you know how much I love Jazzmasters and "Offset" Fenders in general. Please read further for all the details as it is well worth your time so you know exactly what you're getting:

Condition wise, it has some signs of very light use, maybe some light scratches or a small nick here and there but other than that, the body and neck are in truly excellent condition with no fret wear and nice shiny frets.

These traditional and vintage style "Offsets" from Fender sit on a great foundation, but I'm really surprised how they sell any of them because they're setup so horribly from the factory and buzz like crazy with anything less than a set of 12s (I know, they're absolutely gorgeous looking guitars, so probably form over function in most cases. Even the American made offsets have this same problem because of the same original location of the tremolo (further back), vintage style floating bridge and the lack of break angle on them. This on top of some mediocre hardware and electronics choices from the factory, I decided I would overhaul many of these issues so you can enjoy this guitar with a set of 10s and not have to string it up with bridge cables or use one of those Buzz Stops that not only changes the look of the guitar but the feel and tone as well. These modded ones of mine will hold their own against American models any day of the week.

Please read further to see the list of upgrades as well as how the guitar was setup:

Weight is nice and balanced around 8.1 lbs

-USA made WD Music 3-ply Parchment pickguard. As usual I wanted to significantly change the look of the guitar so I replaced the stock gold anodized aluminum one. And to separate this even more visually with the current Vintera III Sonic Blue one which uses a 3-ply Mint Pickguard I opted for 3-ply Parchment instead and adds a softer more subtle look.

-Fender '65 American Vintage knobs and Vintage White trim. I replaced the stock Strat knobs and pickguard covers that were inWhite to the Vintage White ones from the '65, that are a shade darker and gives that subtle contrast with the parchment pickguard. The knobs are also nicer screw-on witch hat style ones than the push on Strat ones

-Modified stock '65 American Vintage Jazzmaster pickups. The Vintera II 50s Jazzmaster came with different pickups but I opted to go with the American Vintage '65 pickups instead. These are great vintage style Jazzmaster pickups that read in their expected range of 6.7k each. The slight modification I did was slightly raise the D string poles on each pickup to give it that hybrid stagger like on many Lindy Fralin pickups to help compensate for the drop off in volume when going from a wound D to unwound G that usually occurs when the pickups are not staggered for this. This results in a more balanced sound, especially with the rounder 7.25" fretboard radius

-CTS 500K audio volume and tone pots. These are what really took these pickups to another level. The typical Jazzmaster 1meg pots can sound a little shrill, so I bumped them down to 500K which make that top end a lot smoother but still plenty of highs on tap.

-Treble bleed circuit (.001uf cap and 1/4w 150k resistor in parallel) to allow the highs to remain when you turn the volume pot down and not get muddy. Also great if you wanted less heat for a sound more like the stock '65s

-Orange Drop .033uf and .022uf lead and rhythm circuit tone caps. This is the same value as stock but generally considered an upgrade

-Fully shielded the pickup and control cavities with copper tape for reduced noise and much quieter operation. These guitars can be quite noisy without

-Gavitt 22 gauge vintage push back cloth wire. Built a new wiring harness and the original PVC wiring has been replaced with the vintage push back cloth wire and color coded just like in the American Vintage and American Original series

-Lock washer added to the 3-way toggle and also turned the switch 45 degrees so it's at an angle and easier to switch than side to side

-American Vintage Jazzmaster Tremolo with lock and push in bar with aged white tip ($150). This was an upgrade over the stock tremolo which is an import variation of the American Vintage version. This allows you to lock the tremolo if you break a string as well as more easily measure the string tension via the tremolo. It's a lot harder to properly set these guitars up when you don't have the lock to help you gauge this

-0.25 degree full wood neck pocket shim. This is one of the main reasons why these guitars are never setup right from the factory and buzz like crazy and don't sustain with lighter gauge strings. This allows the bridge height to move up and increase the break angle after the bridge and give you enough tension to use lighter gauge strings without having to use a Buzz Stop or heavier strings while still retaining that classic Jazzmaster feel. The problem with using a Buzz Stop is that it increases the string tension so much that it starts to feel and sound more like a Strat or Tele and that more loose Jazzmaster magic is gone

-Revised 2018 Johnny Marr Jaguar modern narrow spacing 7.25" radius bridge with Mustang style saddles. This is the current updated version of the Marr bridge that has the modern 2-1/16" (52mm) string spacing that brings the strings further away from the fretboard edge and a lot more comfortable to play. The original version of the Johnny Marr bridge (and most stock vintage style Jazzmaster bridges) have the vintage 2-3/16” (56mm) spacing and are almost unplayable in my opinion. Fender quietly made this update a few years back and essentially makes this a lot more like a Staytrem bridge (same spacing as the Mastery bridge too). Like the original Marr bridge, it still has the Mustang style saddles and tighter threading screw posts so it doesn't sink down overtime when you play, which is also a major upgrade over the stock threaded saddles

-American Vintage bridge thimbles. These have the wider standard diameter and are constructed better than the import version it came with stock (these are also wide enough to fit a Mastery bridge if for whatever reason you prefer those without worrying about changing the thimbles because it's already been done). When the neck pitch and break angle is setup properly on these guitars as I've done, I still prefer the American Professional bridge and also love the more traditional look over the Mastery

-Fender/Schaller strap locks and buttons with white felt washers

-Fender American Vintage tuner bushings replacing the narrower and cheaper stock ones

-Kluson Supreme 18:1 Staggered tuners ($79 upgrade). These are the best vintage style Kluson replacement tuners out right now and still retain that same classic look, but with a much finer tuning adjustment over the stock 14:1 tuners and also a better break angle over the nut on the D and G strings for better sustain. Not to mention these are genuine Klusons while the stock ones are not

-Fender Bone nut. Unfortunately the stock nut was not centered or cut properly, which I always use as an opportunity to upgrade to bone (in most cases if it's centered, cut and seated properly I will leave the stock nut, but that's an argument for another day). On top of simply replacing and cutting a new nut, I've also radius'd, sanded and polished, rounded and softened the sharp edges of the nut for a much more comfortable feel exceeding that of even the American models

-Fender American Professional Bass Corona CA lightweight aluminum neck plate. These neck plates are about 0.5 oz vs the normal 2 oz steel plates and help with shaving some weight off

-Fender G&G style Deluxe Johnn Marry Jaguar hard case from a '25 model in grey speckle tolex with black leather ends/handle and blue poodle plush interior. These cases are classic and a must have for a guitar like this IMO (over $349 value alone) which you can't purchase retail unless it was parted out from a Johnny Marr model. Key included in the compartment

On top of these upgrades, it has also been cleaned, polished, oiled and conditioned the rosewood fretboard and fully setup with brand new D'Addario EXL110 (10-46) strings with enough relief in the neck balanced for both lead and rhythm and a light touch (5/64" string height on the low E and 4/64" on the high E strings). The saddles have been perfectly intonated and the bridge already has the 7.25" fretboard radius. The nut slots have been cleaned and filed for optimal contact and take off points for better sustain. The neck and bridge pickup heights are adjusted to 5/64" on the bass side and 5/64" on the treble side.

I fully stand by the work and believe this guitar is going to feel and play better than most Jazzmasters you're going to pull off the shelf new at the store and will put it against any of the American Vintage, Original, etc. versions any day of the week all because of things like the quality components and attention to detail in the setup. You're just not going to get that from a new Fender production model unless you perform all of these upgrades and do or pay for the work yourself. Why spend over $2500 on an American Vintage Jazzmaster that'll still need work and not play as well? Why not just be done with it, have all the upgrades already completed with an awesome hard case and come out ahead with a better feeling, playing and sounding guitar? :)

Below are the stock specs of the guitar:

Specs
Series: Vintera II
Orientation: Right-Hand
Color: Sonic Blue
Country of Origin: MX (Mexico)
Body Shape: Jazzmaster
Body Material: Alder
Body Finish: Gloss Polyester
Neck Material: Maple
Neck Finish: Gloss Urethane
Neck Shape: Late '50s "C"
Neck Construction: 4-Bolt Standard
Fingerboard Material: Slab Rosewood
Fingerboard Radius: 7.25" (184.1 mm)
Position Inlays: White Dot
Side Dots: White
Number of Frets: 21
Truss Rod Type: Vintage-Style Butt Adjust
Truss Rod Nut: Vintage-Style Butt Adjust
Nut Material: Synthetic Bone
Nut Width: 1.650" (42 mm)
Bridge: 6-Saddle Vintage-Style Adjustable with "Floating" Tremolo Tailpiece
Bridge Cover/Tailpiece: Vintage-Style Floating Tremolo with Tremolo Lock Button and Push-In Tremolo Arm
Control Knobs: Parchment Plastic
Switch Tip: Amber
Hardware Finish: Nickel/Chrome
Tuning Machines: Fender Vintage Style
String Trees: Butterfly
Neck Plate: 4-Bolt
Strap Buttons: Vintage-Style
Tremolo Arm: Pop-In Vintage-Style Jazzmaster
Bridge Pickup: Vintage-Style '50s Single-Coil Jazzmaster
Neck Pickup: Vintage-Style '50s Single-Coil Jazzmaster
Pickup Configuration: SS
Controls: Lead Circuit Controls (Slide Switch Down): Master Volume, Master Tone; Rhythm Circuit Controls (Slide Switch Up): Two Thumbwheel Controls for Neck Pickup Volume and Tone
Switching: 3-Position Toggle (Lead Circuit)
Auxiliary Switching: 2-Position On/Off Slide Switch for Switching Between "Lead" and "Rhythm" Circuits
Case: Deluxe Gig Bag