dana's Reviews

Secret sauce

I once read someone saying that the Spark was their always-on secret sauce to their tone. I had to get one for myself, and when I found a great deal on a returned item at Amazon, I grabbed it. I am talking, like, 50% off. It looked unused and I haven't found any malfunction with it. I suspect someone just wasn't happy with what it does. But I am.

At the right settings, this adds a sparkle and grunt - life, even - to my guitar tone. It keeps it clean, but lives up to the booster designation. I wasn't sure if I wanted it pre- or post-dirt, but it was easy to slot it onto my board where the Hypergravity once was, post-dirt. At the moment, I am happy with it there. I'm mostly using the EHX OD Glove into it, and I had to flip my settings on it - more volume and less gain, as compared to before. This combo is just so good with my Jazzmasters. With the Rat, it also sounds great. I'm really happy with it, and do believe it is a secret sauce. For everyone? Maybe not. But definitely for me.

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My best guitar

After the Classic Vibe introduced me to the Jazzmaster, I knew I had found MY style of guitar. Being in my 40s, I knew it was time to finally get myself a real Fender. I debated the Vintera, couldn't afford the American Vintage II, but then discovered a way to get a high-quality Jazzmaster for cheaper than either of those - import one from Japan!

I am so, SO glad I did. From the moment I opened the box, I knew this was a quality instrument. I could tell by how it looked and even more by how it felt in the hand. The neck is a little thicker, but I like it. The fretwork was immaculate. Not a scratch on the thing; it is just so beautiful! It didn't require much out of the box - a bit of fretboard conditioning and a change of strings, that's about it. I have played it nearly every day since I got it, and I've definitely admired it hanging on my wall several times a day.

I did do some upgrades, however. Most notably, the pickups. For whatever reason, the Classic Vibe sounded more like a real Jazzmaster to me, and this sounded more Stratty. A quick swap with custom handwound Alnico 2 pickups from Tone Hatch and this thing sounds AMAZING. I also swapped in an AmPro Mustang bridge, because the string spacing seemed off with the stock vintage style (and it was a bit buzzy). The only other upgrades were cosmetic - knobs for the pots and main pickup selector switch.

I would buy Japanese again, any day of the week. Especially now that I also own a Mexican-made Jazzmaster that runs roughly the same price (maybe a tiny bit cheaper) as I paid for the Japanese. The Mexican doesn't really feel even as good as the Squier that remains in my collection, but it's still a decent guitar. I haven't really been searching guitars anymore. I've found The One for me. Jazzmasters are so good. I wish I had tried one years ago, instead of wasting all the time with a Jagmaster, and thinking I wanted a Jaguar.

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Wish I knew about this sooner!

I am not too into modulation as a standalone effect (other than the built-in chorus on my Jazz Chorus amp), but was finding myself wishing I had a phaser here and a vibrato there. When I found this pedal and checked out some demos, I was shocked that you get so many effects in one convenient pedal (not just 11, but variations on those 11). Yes, you can use only one at a time, but that's good enough for me. If I ever want to run two, I'll just get a second Mod11 pedal.

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It'll do until I can get a Fender

So, I had a health crisis earlier this year, and thought, if I make it through this, I'm finally buying a Fender Jaguar.

I made it through, but then I balked. What if I don't like the Jaguar? What if I would have liked a Jazzmaster more? I haven't ever played either of them, and there are no stores around me that carry Fender. The closest thing was the Jagmaster that'd been my main guitar for the past ten to twelve years.

That's when I decided to skip the Fender (for now), and get both as Squier versions, after doing research and finding the Classic Vibe series was getting a lot of praise. I got the Jaguar first and thought it was decent. But when the Jazzmaster arrived (originally a disgusting sonic blue), I knew I'd found The One. I was so glad I hadn't spent 3+ times as much on a Fender that I wouldn't be completely happy with.

The sound of the Jazzmaster, the feel of it (after an hour of setting it up...), it was just... Home.

I wound up returning it, though, because the more I saw that sonic blue hanging on my wall with my bursts and blacks, the more I grew to lament buying the finish that was on sale (clearance, no doubt... Who wants that nasty colour?). In no time, I had a three-tone sunburst in my hands. It was beautiful! Finally, the perfect guitar.

Well, the perfect Squier guitar. Again, after a setup. At least this time I didn't need to shim the neck.

I've played it pretty much every day since it arrived. I've never played so much guitar in my life, and I'm a few decades old, by now. I just love it. It's inspirational, feels good, sounds great, and looks even better... Except for that one blemish. The logo. Now I am saving my pesos to get a Fender Jazzmaster. The ultimate guitar. The final boss. I will be victorious. Until then, this is my baby.

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Great for an always-on tuner!

This is the first thing on my board, not only as a buffer, but I have it set to always-on, so I don't have to stomp it to tune up, and I can always hear my playing (I am not performing live or anything, but if I were, I'd reverse that setting). On the flip side, I can hit the switch if I want to mute my signal at any point, and still have access to the tuner functionality. I like that it can also daisy chain power to another pedal. The only negative, really, is the namesake poly tuning mode is not nearly as useful as I once thought it might be. It could be improved greatly if the screen was used better in that mode, but the reality is, maybe it's just not that accurate to do so. Oh well, I can only turn one tuning peg at a time, anyhow.