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Although I am pretty accepting of most progressive & modern developements in the Guitar world, there are a few things that I don't feel able to participate in. I'm not too keen on some of the modern finishes on guitars, which for me were the classic instruments of my early years. You are probably around the same age group as me, growing up in the 50s/60s/70s musical eras, so suffer from the nostalgia thing for our youth. I guess it will happen to all of the following generations, as it happens to us & our parents too.
As outlined in the thread on the new 'Troy Van Leeuven' Jazzmaster, I prefer Fender finishes in the original great colours from the 50s & 60s. I don't like Black on Fenders & Squiers; although Black does look quite nice on Gibson/Epiphone, Les Pauls, 335s, Casinos etc, especially with a nice cream binding, switches & pickup covers.
I also don't care much for finishes in metallic paint, or in Greens,Bright Yellows, Dark Blues & those finishes involving stickers & stripes.
I don't like those Maple fingerboards which are pale as a corpse. Much better to have that sweet honeyed lacquer which seems to add a classy finish to any guitar, as well as some protection from dings & corrosive sweat.
As far as amps go, I welcome most modern developements, as it does add some improvement & choice to what we can use. I do still get a kick from the appearance of the traditional Marshalls, Voxes & Fender ranges. I know they are also now available in 50s/60s livery, as well as bog-standard Blacks, & also some special editions in various Whites, Greens & Reds, & that is good.
The availibility of a fantastic range of effects pedals, & even super-computer pedalboards & racks from the likes of Boss etc. are a real boon to many players. A friend of mine has had 3 different versions of the Roland 'VG' series, but he is an effects freak, & goes for it in a big way, tending to slightly get away from being primarily a Guitar player. That's not for me, personally. If I play a guitar, I do want it to sound like a guitar & not a trumpet, violin or keyboard. But I guess, they all have their place in the modern band & are very useful when gigging live.

Are we old 'stick in the muds' ........ or, is it just me ? Hmmm ........ Answers on a postcard please.

Tony.

I am somewhat in agreement. We all have our preferences and nowadays it is so easy to customise things to your own liking. I guess these are all marketing ploys to get us to purchase more equipment.

I was intrigued to see on the Jazzmaster posting you refer to that the model had the slider switch replaced with a toggle switch. This was because players were accidentally switching during playing. I have had a Jazzmaster for 47 years and that's never happened to me. I would have thought it would have been easier to knock the toggle switch. Or why not add more features if changing to a toggle switch. I wonder if anyone uses that circuit ?

There have been very few colours that have appealed to me since the mid sixties. Quite like some of the switches and options particularly when using say 3 Humbuckers. Nice and easy as well to refresh your favourite colour guitar with a new pickguard cheaply

I too thought that it was a bit of a backward step putting a toggle switch at the top of the Jazzmaster, but hey, if that's what Troy wanted. I find the slider easy to use & virtually impossible to accidently switch while playing. That circuit is very good, as it enables a different preset tone at the flick of the switch.
I did own a Fender Japan 'Jagmaster' about ten years ago, & that was a superb guitar, apart from having humbuckers. That simply had a Volume, Tone & the bottom 3-way toggle switch.

Tony.

I feel the same as I like to see the guitars as they were back then, for me they got it right first time, though I do like black in some cases and black was one of the original finishes (eg Gene Vincent) but it only looks good if you wear the right gear to show it off. I bought a black USA Deluxe from the late Rob (CV Films) on this site and he had it gold plated prior to selling, it's a stunning guitar and looks cool if I wear a white top or silver suit. Other than that a black instrument is hard to see and I do agree the ivory bound ones look better. I presently have two humbuckers fitted to this guitar on a black pickguard, but I don't think it works for me. It looks stunning close up but is virtually invisible against my black suit.
That incidentally is where the white Burns Marvin guitars look stunning.

As for the switching on the Jazzmaster I like the original because it's designed to allow switching of extremes without the risk of doing it accidentally. So the answer to your question is no, it isn't just you.
I did have a loom made up for one of the Strats' with a 'push-push pot on the middle knob to bring in the neck pickup to work with the bridge pickup for the Telecaster sound and it works well. Also all of my Strats' have the tone control on the bridge pickup which is a mod I worked out for myself. It's just a case of bridging a couple of switch terminals and is described with a diagram in the current issue of Guitar & Bass magazine, along with more useful tips for cheap mods on Strats'.

Fender sure do seem to favour black, white, red and sunburst and there's no doubt, they are classic.
I like colourful innovations on guitars. Some work, others don't, IMO.

I still love the sounds of the 60s. Single coils, valve amps, spring reverb, tremolo etc They have a charm and musicality that's undeniable.
Some simple improvements, like locking tuners, more stable trem units and advanced switching, can and often do, make life a lot easier. for the guitarist.

My pet hate is relicing. I really think it's for the dim witted.

Despite its inexplicable popularity on copies, black is a hideous finish for a Fender solid.

Like the OP, I can only find it in my heart to like Fiesta Red / Coral Pink (both sold as "red" in the UK), three-colour sunburst á la Jazzmaster or Jazz Bass), Olympic White (just "white" as far as the Jennings catalogue was concerned) or Sonic Blue.

I am convinced that only those four finishes (OK, five if you distinguish the two reds) were imported into the UK by Jennings at the relevant time - and Selmer only offered sunburst and "red" (with blonde for the Telecaster).

My hideous black strat is beautiful with its ebony neck.

ecca wrote:My hideous black strat is beautiful with its ebony neck.

As is my hideous black Strat with it's maple neck - I guess it's down to who's playing them, it usually is.

beauty is in the eye of the beholder but the classic sunburst with maple neck on a fender stratocaster maybe boring but its my all time classic. i have it on a burns marqee and it really is stunning, which is more than i can say about my playing. peter

That would be the pre-mid-1959 Stratocaster model, Peter.

Andy