Fender J.Mascis JM-JM, made in Japan 2008-9, purple sparkle. What a beauty. J.Mascis is the frontman and guitar slinger for punk/alternative cult favourites Dinosaur Jr.  He's well renowned in guitar-playing circles for pulling a thick, wall-of-sound tone with a generous dose of fuzz and effects. It's pretty easy to find the Squier version of his signature Jazzmaster, but these Fender Japan models came out a couple of years beforehand and are a pretty different beast. Firstly, the finish: heck. It's a glass glitter style sparkle, with big grainy flakes and plenty of depth, so it will look amazing under lights. The gold guard matching headstock set it all off perfectly. There's a few functional differences from a regular Fender Japan Jazzmaster too: handy Adjust-O-Matic bridge, satin finish neck, taller frets, flatter radius. It feels awesome in the hands: the neck is smooth and fast, it balances well, the tuning is stable... it's easy to play. This one has had a couple of functional mods: nicer pots, a buzz stop bar to save string slippage and sympathetic buzz from behind the bridge, and a chunky neck plate to transfer more vibration to the body. The tone is very enjoyable: bright and slicy on the lead circuit with plenty of space and eloquence through the mids, dark and doomy on the rhythm circuit. These have gone up and up in value over the last few years, and are getting quite tricky to find. This is the first example we've managed to score, and I'm quite taken with it. Cool, right?

Model: Fender Japan J.Mascis Jazzmaster JM-JM 
Made: Japan, 2008-9, Dyna Gakki factory
Serial: T074446
Finish: purple sparkle, gloss poly
Body: alder
Neck: maple, rosewood fretboard, 250mm radius, 42mm nut, jumbo frets, 25.5" scale, vintage C
Weight: 3.800kg
Mods: lead circuit pots replaced, knobs replaced, high mass neck plate and buzz stop bar  installed
Pickups: Fender Japan JM-Vintage single coil x2
Accessories: trem arm, new Xtreme hard case

Cosmetic condition notes: minor finish wear. The headstock has dimples on the end and bottom edge. The neck is clean and smooth in the hands, a few dimples and minor dents and some rub wear on the back only. The back has some surface scratches on both horns, the elbow area and the bottom corner. The sides have light scuffs on the top horn and elbow area, dimples near the jack and a pair of small dents on the bottom horn. The front has surface scratches around the jack, scuffs and a dent around the tailpiece, a scratch and some scuffs in the elbow area and some play wear on the guard and horns.
Overall: very good condition (7.5/10)

Playing condition notes: Action is low, neck is straight, intonation is good, truss rod works. All electronics tested and working properly. Wearing fresh 11/49 Moonshiners strings.
Fret life: 8/10, minor wear only