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The ultimate Jazzmaster mod for the alt-rocker? Quite possibly, and the release is accompanied with a signature accessories range, including picks, straps and coiled guitar cable

Fender has expanded its J Mascis signature range with the launch of Jazzmaster electric guitar pickup set, a pair of Alnico II soapbars that in the words of the Dinosaur Jr main man promise a “sweeter more vintage sound”.

With the Fender Jazzmaster one of the most fun electric guitars to mod – the Jazzmaster bridge often the first thing to be upgraded – these will no doubt sell like hot cakes, and offer something a little different to bright snap and midrange growl of his signature Fender Telecaster.

These will sound a little bit more mellow, and just the thing for giving your offset a fresh voice for alt-rock adventures. Those who own one of those gnarly MusicRadar-approved Squier J Mascis Jazzmasters should read on, because they could be just the aftermarket power-up you've been waiting for.

As you might expect from a man with Mascis’ discography, these pickups are voiced to pair well through any manner of overdrive and fuzz pedals, eating up the gain, maintaining warmth and clarity, and playing nice with your pedalboard, but they’ll also excel at honeyed cleans, too.

The J Mascis Jazzmaster pickups have an Alnico II rod magnets and enamel-coated magnet wire, have flush-mounted pole-pieces for an even response across each string, and are wax-potted to help cut down on noise when all around you is volume and gain. 

They have a vintage-style cloth wire and fibre bobbin build, and will be just at home turning your favourite offset into a bona-fide fire-breather, capable of the sort of tones you might hear when watching 1991: The Year Punk Broke, but also for more sedate sounds, the sort of cleans you can comp with, or send through some reverb and delay pedals for a dreamy soundscape.

But, if you are happy with your pickups – or perhaps are more of a Telecaster player and prefer that side of Mascis’ sound – there is also a cornucopia of new J Mascis signature accessories available.

Those comprise a pair of brightly coloured guitar straps in Magenta Flower and Yellow Burst respectively, a 30-ft J Mascis coiled guitar cable (in bright purple) and a signature Dinosaur Jr tin and guitar pick set.

For more information, head over to Fender (opens in new tab) .

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Jonathan Horsley has been writing about guitars and guitar culture since 2005, playing them since 1990, and regularly contributes to MusicRadar, Total Guitar and Guitar World. He uses Jazz III nylon picks, 10s during the week, 9s at the weekend, and shamefully still struggles with rhythm figure one of Van Halen’s Panama.

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