I've been playing guitar for a long time. Self taught and a detailed listener to the more influential guitarists of my childhood. Jimi Hendrix, Keith Richards, Jimmy Page, John Fogarty. Although I idolized players like Eddie Van Halen, The Edge and Stevie Ray Vaughan, they came along after the Rock bug had already bitten me as a child. Still, they were all huge inspirations as well.
Back in the mid 1980s, a high school friend of mine had a guitar laying around that he did not play. It was a 1960s Fender Jazzmaster. I became instantly fascinated with the instrument, and borrowed it from him for a month of so. It was very useful for playing the Blues and Rock & Roll, and I liked it more than a Stratocaster at that point. My friend contacted me and asked for it back, returning the '72 Fender Telecaster I briefly swapped with him. I had never played one since then.
I had been doing some research over the years about more recent models, and there are a ton of them out there to choose from. You have the Fender American standard, the Vintera series, the Player series, the Classic Player series, the Modern Player series, the Blacktop series, the Affinity series, the Classic Vibe series, the J Mascis series... and the 40th Anniversary Series. I went witth the 40th, because it reminded me the most of my friend's faded and dull looking '60s Fender. Both guitars have a ton of quirks (all of which I adore) although there's obviously a difference between a brand new Squier and a 60 year old Fender. I'm sure the electronics will need replacing, but those are easy and affordable upgrades expected if you intend to put these instuments to daily use. It only took me a few days and a new set of strings to make it feel like the one I played nearly 40 years ago!
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