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Fender Noventa Jazzmaster
Fender Player Jazzmaster
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Playability
67
Sound
74
Build
60
Value
67
Score
67
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Playability
67
Sound
75
Build
60
Value
72
Score
67
FIND IT ON:
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Fender Noventa Jazzmaster vs Player Jazzmaster

Reasons to Get
Fender Noventa Jazzmaster over Player Jazzmaster

Release Year
2021 vs 2018
From a more recent year
Switch Positions
5 vs 3
More tone options
Pickups
P90P90P90 vs HH
Vintage tone with a lot of versatility

Reasons to Get
Fender Player Jazzmaster over Noventa Jazzmaster

Pickup Mods
Coil Split vs None
Splits humbuckers into single coil pickups
Pickups
HH vs P90P90P90
High output without hum
Number of Frets
22 vs 21
Allows to reach higher notes
Value Score
72 vs 67
Better price/quality relationship

Other Key Differences
Fender Noventa Jazzmaster vs Player Jazzmaster

Bridge Pickup
Fender Noventa Single-Coil vs Fender Player Series Alnico 2 Humbucking
Different Bridge Pickup
Neck Pickup
Fender Noventa Single-Coil vs Fender Player Series Alnico 2 Humbucking
Different Neck Pickup
Fretboard Wood
Maple vs Pau Ferro
Different Fretboard Wood

Shared Features
Fender Noventa Jazzmaster vs Player Jazzmaster

Body Wood
Alder
Same Body Wood
Neck Wood
Maple
Same Neck Wood
Headstock
6
Same Headstock
Nut Material
Synthetic Bone
Same Nut Material
Strings
6
Same playing style
Body Type
Solid Body
Feedback free
Volume Knobs
1
Same volume control
Tone Knobs
1
Same tone control
Neck Thickness at 1st Fret
0.82'' (20.8mm)
Same neck comfortability
Neck Thickness at 12th Fret
0.87'' (22.1mm)
Same neck comfortability
Nut Width
1.654'' (42mm)
Same string separation at the nut
Paint Finish
Poly
Resistant paint that ages well
Bridge
Tremolo
Simple vibratos without too much maintenance
Scale Length
25.5'' (647.7mm)
Same string tension and fret separation
Fretboard Radius
9.5'' (241.3mm)
Same fretboard comfortability
Pickups Power
Passive
Cleaner sound and no battery needed
Neck Profile Type
C
Comfortable neck that works for most people
Neck Joint
Bolt-On
Allows you to detach and swap the neck
Type of Frets
Medium Jumbo
You'll feel the fretboard when pressing down the strings

Common Strengths

  • High-Quality Nut
  • Top Pickup Brand

Common Weaknesses

  • Neck-Through Build
  • Weight Relief
  • Locking Tuners
  • Stays in Tune (Evertune)
  • High-Quality Frets
  • Compound Radius Fretboard
  • From a High-Quality-Standards Country
  • Luminescent Sidedots
  • Strap Lock
  • Expensive Wood
  • 21:1 Tuner Ratio
  • Active/Passive Preamp

Table of Contents

Price History Comparison

SET PRICE ALERT
SET PRICE ALERT

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Which One is Better Overall?

After going through our comparison algorithm, the results show that both instruments scored 67 out of 100, which makes them similar in terms of quality.

The Fender Player Jazzmaster wins when it comes to sound, value for the money. On the other hand, the Fender Noventa Jazzmaster has the upper hand when it comes to.

If you got small hands, none of these instruments will make a big difference when it comes to comfortability.

Which One is Better for Beginners?

Both meet 6 out of our 8 criteria items for beginner friendliness. This takes into account the type of frets, scale length, nut width, bridge type, fretboard radius, and neck profile to determine the easiest combination for new players. If you're looking for your first guitar to learn how to play, you can't go wrong with either of them.

New Player Friendliness

Fender Noventa Jazzmaster
  • Comfortable shape
  • Easy-to-use bridge
  • Comfortable fretboard
  • Tall frets
  • Narrow nut
  • Comfortable neck
  • Short scale
  • Locking tuners

New Player Friendliness

Fender Player Jazzmaster
  • Comfortable shape
  • Easy-to-use bridge
  • Comfortable fretboard
  • Tall frets
  • Narrow nut
  • Comfortable neck
  • Short scale
  • Locking tuners

Nevertheless, when it comes to choosing an instrument, you should pick the one more compatible with your personal style. Still, below we'll try you to give you our results as objectively as it's possible to help you decide.

Fender Noventa Jazzmaster Overview

  • From Fender's 2021 Noventa series
  • Made in Mexico
  • 6 strings
  • 25.5"'' scale
  • 9.5" Fretboard Radius
  • Alder body
  • Maple neck
  • Maple fretboard
  • Bridge pickup: Fender Noventa Single-Coil (Single Coil/Passive)
  • 1 volume and 1 tone Bell knobs
  • 5-way Switch
  • Adjusto-Matic™ Bridge with Vintage Style Floating Tremolo Tailpiece bridge
  • Modern C Bolt-On neck
  • 21 Medium Jumbo frets
  • Vintage-Style tuners
  • Compare Specs >

Fender Player Jazzmaster Overview

  • From Fender's 2018 Player series
  • Made in Mexico
  • 6 strings
  • 25.5"'' scale
  • 9.5" Fretboard Radius
  • Alder body
  • Maple neck
  • Pau Ferro fretboard
  • Bridge pickup: Fender Player Series Alnico 2 Humbucking (Humbucker/Passive)
  • Neck pickup: Fender Player Series Alnico 2 Humbucking (Humbucker/Passive)
  • 1 volume and 1 tone Bell knobs
  • 3-way Switch
  • 6-Saddle Vintage-Style Adjustable with “Floating” Tremolo Tailpiece bridge
  • Modern C Bolt-On neck
  • 22 Medium Jumbo frets
  • Standard Cast/Sealed tuners
  • Compare Specs >

Sound Quality Comparison

The wood used in an electric guitar or bass is not as important to determine the final tone. However, some people prefer specific wood types, so we'll take a look at those first. Then, we'll take a look at the electronics to determine the versatility and sound quality of each instrument.

Woods Used in Both

Maple wood pattern used for guitar building
Maple
Alder wood pattern used for guitar building
Alder

Maple is one of the most popular necks for good reasons. It is a strong wood that is relatively cheap to make and looks beautiful. The highest quality maple is the hardest that comes from North America. Find out more about Maple.

Alder is the most popular wood that Fender uses in most of their guitars nowadays. Even though they say it's because of its balanced tone with an emphasis in the upper midrange, it probably is because it isn't too expensive, and it's also pretty lightweight—more than Mahogany. Find out more about Alder.

Woods Used in the Fender Player Jazzmaster

Pau Ferro wood pattern used for guitar building
Pau Ferro

Pau Ferro has a dark, chocolate-like color with straight dark grains that is being used as a replacement to Rosewood due to the regulations. It produces a warm tone that is somewhere between Mahogany and Rosewood. Find out more about Pau Ferro.

Winner: Tie.

Pickup Configuration

The Fender Noventa Jazzmaster has an P90P90P90 configuration while the Fender Player Jazzmaster has HH pickups.

P90P90P90 will give you a vintage tone that is different from the typical single-coil and Humbucker. You'll have good output at the bridge position (although not as much as with a Humbucker), and beautiful, clean tones that are a bit less bright than other single-coils. The disadvantage of having three big pickups is that the middle pickup might get in the way of your right hand if you keep the height too close to the strings.

On the other hand, Double Humbucker (HH) is the choice for people who want a fuller, more round sound with tons of mids and lows. Humbuckers also get rid of the hum noise that plague single-coil pickups. They can work out for almost any genre going from Djent to even Jazz.

Pickups Quality

Both come with very good pickups from at least one of the specialized brands in the market. With pickups like these, you probably won't need an upgrade anytime soon.

However, the Fender Noventa Jazzmaster has a slight sound quality advantage when taking into account other factors like the type of pickups, magnet, position, etc.

Both use Passive pickups. This is what's used for most music genres. They have a regular output and will serve you for both high-gain and clean tones. The alternative (Active pickups) offer a higher output that is mostly used for heavy music.

Winner: Fender Noventa Jazzmaster.

Versatility Comparison

Some instruments offer you more ways to explore your creativity than others. Below you'll find how both compare when it comes to versatility.

Switch Options

The Fender Noventa Jazzmaster gives you 5 switch options while the Fender Player Jazzmaster gives you 3. This means that the Fender Noventa Jazzmaster gives you more options to find the right pickup combination for the type of sound you want to achieve

Only the Fender Player Jazzmaster comes with some kind of pickup modification: Coil Split.

Coil Split lets you disconnect one of the pickup coils. When used with humbuckers, it turns them into single-coil with lower output and cleaner tone.

Fender Noventa Jazzmaster pickups switch selector and push knobs diagram
Fender Noventa Jazzmaster's switch options
Fender Player Jazzmaster pickups switch and push knobs diagram
Fender Player Jazzmaster's switch options

When evaluating versatility, we also take into consideration bridge and neck joint type, number of frets, switch options, amount of pickups and more.

Winner: Fender Player Jazzmaster.

Final Sound Quality Scores

Fender Noventa Jazzmaster
Pickups 100
Sustain 60
Versatility 70
Tuning Stability 65
Sound 74
Fender Player Jazzmaster
Pickups 90
Sustain 70
Versatility 74
Tuning Stability 65
Sound 75

Build Quality Comparison

When it comes to build quality, we like to take into account everything used to build the instrument. This includes materials, hardware and the quality control expected depending on the country where it was built. Let's see how the Fender Noventa Jazzmaster compares to the Fender Player Jazzmaster.

Country of Origin

The manufacturing country can tell a lot about the build quality of an instrument. Both in this comparison where made in Mexico.

Mexico has been for a long time where Fender has built their semi-premium series. If you don't want to overpay for a wellp-built instrument, a guitar built in this country by a good brand always offers good value for the money.

Winner: Tie

Nut Material

If you want your guitar to stay in tune and sound good, you need a well cut nut. Nut quality can be inconsistent even when comparing two copies of the same model. The best way to make sure you're nut will be well done is by getting a nut made by an expert company like TUSQ or Micarta.

In this case, both have Synthetic Bone nuts. Bone is the best natural material for guitar nuts. However, its tonal properties can be inconsistent. That's the problem that synthetic bone fixes. This is much better than using a plastic nut because the nut is more slippery—which helps with tuning stability—, and it gives your open strings rich harmonics.

Fret Material

Most fret wire is made of nickel silver. This material eventually wears down after a lot of use and most instruments end up needing a complete fret replacement. However, some expensive models come with stainless steel frets. This is what you should aim for if you can afford it.

Unfortunately, none of them come with stainless steel frets.

Winner: Tie.

Bridge

The perfect bridge for you will depend on your playstyle because they all have advantages and disadvantages. However, some bridges are more expensive—like Floyd Roses and Evertunes—and thus add more value to a guitar.

Both come with a similar bridge: Tremolo. Tremolo bridges give you more versatility than fixed bridges. They let you perform the intense vibrato effects that would be impossible with a fixed bridge. However, since the bridge floats and there's less contact with the body, the strings lose sustain slightly faster. They can also be a bit harder to restring and set up correctly than fixed bridges.

Since we need to be objective, the most expensive type of bridge will be the winner of this section. In the end, this doesn't matter if you're not going to use the bridge for its original purpose, so choose the bridge that fits your playing style better.

Winner: Tie.

Tuners

Both come with regular tuners. The Fender Noventa Jazzmaster's are Vintage-Style while the Fender Player Jazzmaster's are Standard Cast/Sealed

Winner: Tie.

Neck Joint

Contrary to popular belief, the difference in sustain and tone that some neck joints give to a guitar is simply unperceivable—if they're all well built. However, some of them do have advantages over the others.

Both have a Bolt-On neck joint. This neck is joined to the body by 4 bolts that you can simply unscrew. This allows you to replace the neck or take it off for travel. It's the most common and cheapest way to build a guitar.

Winner: Tie.

Here is the list of features that were considered when choosing the winner in the Features subcategory:

Strengths & Weaknesses
Fender Noventa Jazzmaster
  • Synthetic Bone Nut
  • Top Brand Pickups
  • Tremolo
  • Cheap Fret Wire (NS)
  • No Locking Tuners
  • Made in Mexico
  • No Expensive Woods
  • No Neck-Through Build
  • No Push Knob or Extra Switch Option
  • No Weight Relief
  • No Luminescent Inlay
  • No Compound Radius Fretboard
  • No 21:1 Tuner Ratio
  • No Strap Lock
Strengths & Weaknesses
Fender Player Jazzmaster
  • Synthetic Bone Nut
  • Top Brand Pickups
  • Coil Split Pickups
  • Tremolo
  • Cheap Fret Wire (NS)
  • No Locking Tuners
  • Made in Mexico
  • No Expensive Woods
  • No Neck-Through Build
  • No Weight Relief
  • No Luminescent Inlay
  • No Compound Radius Fretboard
  • No 21:1 Tuner Ratio
  • No Strap Lock

Final Build Quality Scores

Fender Noventa Jazzmaster
Quality of materials 51
Features 55
Quality Control 75
Build Quality 60
Fender Player Jazzmaster
Quality of materials 51
Features 60
Quality Control 70
Build Quality 60

Playability Comparison

Let's now compare their playability. Bear in mind that the instrument will feel different depending on your hand size and play style. That's why you should always test before buying. But if you can't or want a second opinion on it, we can still take a look at each of the important measurements of the instrument for you. This way, we can predict how easy a guitar might be to play, or how different it will feel compared to the other.

Remember that, even though the difference might seem small, every inch counts when it comes to feeling of the instrument in your hands. Any variation can completely change how comfortable a guitar feels in your hands.

Nut Width

Fender Noventa Jazzmaster Nut Width
Both Guitars Have The Same Nut Width

The nut width will affect the separation between strings at the nut. In this comparison, both have a nut width of 42mm (1.654'').

This is considered a narrow width for a 6-string guitar. This means that this guitar will have a narrower string separation at the nut, which will affect your fretting hand.

If you are a player with big hands, you might find it difficult to play chords without muting strings. However, this is good for players who have smaller hands, as it will allow them to reach each string more easily at the nut.

Scale Length

Fender Noventa Jazzmaster and Fender Player Jazzmaster's Scale Length
Both have the same scale length

The scale length is one of the things that influences playability the most. This is the distance between the nut and the bridge and will affect everything from low action allowance, difficulty to perform bends, fret separation, and even tone.

In this case, both have a scale length of 25.5".

This is the scale used in most Stratocasters. It's slightly longer than the typical 24.75'' size found in Les Pauls, and it's one of the main reasons why Stratocasters have such a bright sound in general. A longer scale also means that the strings will have higher tension. This will help you get lower action without suffering fret buzz, which will also be helpful when playing in lower tunings without having to increase your string gauge.

However, this also means that there will be more separation between frets, which can make it more difficult to play. Also, bending the strings will require more strengths due to the increased tension, but remember that a tremolo guitar will offset this difficulty.

Lastly, remember that you can also affect the tension of the strings by changing your string gauge. You can use a thicker gauge for more tension and a lighter one for less tension.

Neck Profile

Fender Noventa Jazzmaster Neck Profile
Both guitars have the same neck profile

No single neck shape is better than others. However, most people tend to prefer a thinner necks because it doesn't get in their way when playing fast and most hand sizes can adapt to it pretty well. However, some people still prefer thicker necks for a better grip, especially if they have big hands.

Both the Fender Noventa Jazzmaster and the Fender Player Jazzmaster have a C-shaped neck. This is what you'll find in most modern guitars. Most people feel like the thickness of a C neck is simply the less intrusive one for playing fast, while at the same time allowing you to grab the neck easily for resting if you want to.

Fretboard Radius

Fender Noventa Jazzmaster Fingerboard Radius
Both Guitars Have The Same Fretboard Radius

Most guitar fretboards are not flat; they usually have a curve or arc across their width. A curved fretboard will make it easier to perform chords without muting strings, while a flatter one will make it easier to play single notes, which is good for bending and soloing in general. The best fretboards have a compound radius that varies across the fingerboard, but they're not common since they take a lot more work to build.

Both the Fender Noventa Jazzmaster and the Fender Player Jazzmaster have the same fretboard radius of 9.5". This is the most common radius for Stratocaster guitars. It's considered curved when compared to most other models. This allows you to play chords very easily without muting strings accidentally and gives you more space between strings for fingerpicking. However, this curve also gives the guitar less allowance for lower action. If you bend too hard at the high frets, some of your notes might get muted because the curve will make the string fret out.

Hand Size Comfortability

Everyone has a different hand size, and that's why it's recommended to try a guitar before buying, even if others tell you that it's comfortable to play. However, we can know whether a guitar favors small or large hands just by knowing its exact measurements.

After taking into account the scale length, nut width, neck profile and fretboard radius, we can conclude that both in this comparison favor small hands .

Fender Noventa Jazzmaster:
Big Hands
Small Hands
Fender Player Jazzmaster:
Big Hands
Small Hands

Fret Size

Fender Noventa Jazzmaster and Fender Player Jazzmaster Frets Size
Both have a similar Medium Jumbo fret size

Both have a Medium Jumbo fret size. These are slightly shorter than full Jumbo frets, so you'll still feel the fretboard when pressing down the strings. However, they interfere less with your fretting hand than medium-size frets. This is a good size if you like easy-to-press frets, but would still like to feel a bit of the fretboard when playing.

Final Playability Scores

Fender Noventa Jazzmaster
Bending & Vibrato Ease 60
Chord Playability 80
Solo Playability 60
Playability 67
Fender Player Jazzmaster
Bending & Vibrato Ease 60
Chord Playability 80
Solo Playability 60
Playability 67

Specs Side-by-Side

Fender Noventa Jazzmaster vs Player Jazzmaster
General Fender Noventa Jazzmaster Player Jazzmaster
Brand: Fender Fender
Year: 2021 2018
Configuration: P90P90P90 HH
Strings: 6 6
Made in: Mexico Mexico
Series: Noventa Player
Colors: Green, Brown, Red White, Sunburst, Orange, Yellow
Left-Handed Version: No No
Body
Type: Solid Body Solid Body
Body Material: Alder Alder
Bridge: Adjusto-Matic™ Bridge with Vintage Style Floating Tremolo Tailpiece 6-Saddle Vintage-Style Adjustable with “Floating” Tremolo Tailpiece
Neck
Neck Joint: Bolt-On Bolt-On
Tuners: Vintage-Style Standard Cast/Sealed
Fretboard: Maple Pau Ferro
Neck Material: Maple Maple
Decoration: Black Dot White Dot
Scale Size: 25.5" 25.5"
Shape: Modern C Modern C
Thickness: 1st Fret: 0.82'' (20.8mm) - 12th Fret: 0.87'' (22.1mm) 1st Fret: 0.82'' (20.8mm) - 12th Fret: 0.87'' (22.1mm)
Frets: 21 Medium Jumbo Nickel Silver 22 Medium Jumbo Nickel Silver
Fretboard Radius: 9.5" 9.5"
Nut: Synthetic Bone Synthetic Bone
Nut Width: 42mm (1.654'') 42mm (1.654'')
Electronics
Bridge Pickup: Fender Noventa Single-Coil (Single Coil / Passive) Fender Player Series Alnico 2 Humbucking (Humbucker / Passive)
Middle Pickup: Fender Noventa Single-Coil (Single Coil / Passive)
Neck Pickup: Fender Noventa Single-Coil (Single Coil / Passive) Fender Player Series Alnico 2 Humbucking (Humbucker / Passive)
Switch: 5 Way 3 Way
Knobs: Bell Bell
Pickup Mods: None Coil Split
Volume Controls: 1 1
Tone Controls: 1 1