With the release of the "Spark-O-Matic" Jazzmaster, Fender has completed its Parallel Universe II instrument line up, an eight model range of limited edition electric guitars that combine elements of different Fender icons to create some interesting oddities.
The first Parallel Universe series landed in 2018, and included mashups of a Jaguar and Stratocaster, a Telecaster bass and a striking offset oddball called the Meteora – which looked at once novel and familiar, boasting a brand new body shape for the company, but also recalling elements of the Jazzmaster and Telecaster.
Fender launched the second series at the Winter NAMM 2020 trade show, starting with the Jazz Strat that fused a Stratocaster body with the neck, vibrato and pickups of a Jazzmaster. The true oddball of the pack came next, with a reworking of the Custom first released in the 1960s. Made from left-over parts, it didn't sell particularly well, but the original Fender misfit was reborn mid-2020 as the Maverick Dorado.
A humbucking Uptown Strat was followed by the appearance of a couple of troublemakers, a cowboy-class Tele and another Strat/Jazzmaster hybrid before the series finale – the Spark-O-Matic Jazzmaster.
Described by Fender as a "high-performance, no-nonsense rock ‘n’ roll machine with unlimited range," this latest release features a custom three-piece Jazzmaster body with a mahogany core and chambered ash wings, three chrome-covered Seymour Duncan mini-humbucker pickups for a choice of single-coil or humbucker tones, an American Professional Jazzmaster bridge, and a "Deep C" maple neck with a 9.5-inch radius that's topped by a 22-fret rosewood fingerboard.
The Spark-O-Matic is available now for US$1,999.99, the video below has more.
Product page: Spark-O-Matic Jazzmaster
