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Fender Squier Contemporary Stratocaster Special
Fender American Performer Jazzmaster
VS
Playability
73
Sound
68
Build
50
Value
74
Score
64
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Playability
70
Sound
75
Build
67
Value
71
Score
71
FIND IT ON:
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Squier Contemporary Stratocaster Special vs Fender American Performer Jazzmaster Specs Comparison
Squier Contemporary Stratocaster Special Fender American Performer Jazzmaster
General
Brand: Fender Squier Fender
Year: 2021 2019
Configuration: SSS SS
Strings: 6 6
Made in: China United States
Series: Contemporary American Performer
Colors: Black, Blue Burst White, Sunburst, Blue
Left-Handed Version: No No
Body
Type: Solid Body Solid Body
Body Material: Poplar Alder
Bridge: 2-Point Synchronized Tremolo with Block Saddles 6-Saddle Vintage-Style Synchronized Tremolo
Neck
Neck Joint: Bolt-On Bolt-On
Tuners: Sealed Die-Cast with Split Shafts Fender ClassicGear
Fretboard: Roasted Maple Rosewood
Neck Material: Roasted Maple Maple
Decoration: Black Dot White Dot
Scale Size: 25.5" 25.5"
Shape: Modern C Modern C
Frets: 22 Jumbo Nickel Silver 22 Jumbo Nickel Silver
Fretboard Radius: 12" 9.5"
Nut: Graphite Synthetic Bone
Nut Width: 42mm (1.654'') 42.8mm (1.685'')
Electronics
Bridge Pickups: Squier SQR Alnico Single-Coil (Single Coil / Passive) Fender Yosemite Single-Coil Jazzmaster (Single Coil / Passive)
Middle Pickup: Squier SQR Alnico Single-Coil (Single Coil / Passive)
Neck Pickup: Squier SQR Alnico Single-Coil (Single Coil / Passive) Fender Yosemite Single-Coil Jazzmaster (Single Coil / Passive)
Switch: 5 Way 3 Way
Knobs: Bell Bell
Pickup Mods: None None
Volume Controls: 1 1
Tone Controls: 1 1
Hardware
Strap Lock: No No
Hardware Color: Black Chrome
Show Diagrams Comparison
Fender Squier Contemporary Stratocaster Special pickups switch selector and push knobs diagram
Fender Squier Contemporary Stratocaster Special's switch options
Fender American Performer Jazzmaster pickups switch and push knobs diagram
Fender American Performer Jazzmaster's switch options

Reasons to Get
Squier Contemporary Stratocaster Special over Fender American Performer Jazzmaster

Release Year
2021 vs 2019
From a more recent year
Switch Positions
5 vs 3
More tone options
Pickups
SSS vs SS
Beautiful cleans and good tone versatility
Nut Width
1.654'' (42mm) vs 1.685'' (42.8mm)
Favors small hands, easier bar chords and other shapes
Fretboard Radius
12'' (304.8mm) vs 9.5'' (241.3mm)
Flatter fretboard makes it easier to play single notes and bend
Value Score
74 vs 71
Better price/quality relationship

Reasons to Get
Fender American Performer Jazzmaster over Fender Squier Contemporary Stratocaster Special

Country of Manufacturing
United States vs China
Built with higher quality standards
Pickups Brand
Fender vs None
Pickups from a renown brand
Nut Material
Synthetic Bone vs Graphite
Good quality nut with rich tone
Pickups
SS vs SSS
Beautiful cleans
Nut Width
1.685'' (42.8mm) vs 1.654'' (42mm)
Less likely to mute strings by accident and more space for fingerstyle
Fretboard Radius
9.5'' (241.3mm) vs 12'' (304.8mm)
Easier to play chords without muting strings

Other Key Differences
Squier Contemporary Stratocaster Special vs Fender American Performer Jazzmaster

Bridge Pickup
Squier SQR Alnico Single-Coil vs Fender Yosemite Single-Coil Jazzmaster
Different Bridge Pickup
Neck Pickup
Squier SQR Alnico Single-Coil vs Fender Yosemite Single-Coil Jazzmaster
Different Neck Pickup
Body Wood
Poplar vs Alder
Different Body Wood
Neck Wood
Roasted Maple vs Maple
Different Neck Wood
Fretboard Wood
Roasted Maple vs Rosewood
Different Fretboard Wood
Nut Material
Graphite vs Synthetic Bone
Different Nut Material

Shared Features
Squier Contemporary Stratocaster Special vs Fender American Performer Jazzmaster

Headstock
6
Same Headstock
Strings
6
Same playing style
Body Type
Solid Body
Feedback free
Volume Knobs
1
Same volume control
Tone Knobs
1
Same tone control
Number of Frets
22
Same maximum octave
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
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
Jumbo
You won't feel the fretboard when pressing down the strings

Common Weaknesses

  • Neck-Through Build
  • Pickup Alter Switch/Knob
  • Weight Relief
  • Locking Tuners
  • Stays in Tune (Evertune)
  • High-Quality Frets
  • Compound Radius Fretboard
  • Luminescent Sidedots
  • Strap Lock
  • 21:1 Tuner Ratio
  • Active/Passive Preamp

Price History Comparison

Fender Squier Contemporary Stratocaster Special Prices

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Hand Size Comfortability

And after taking into account the scale length, nut width, neck profile and fretboard radius, we can conclude that the Fender American Performer Jazzmaster favors large hands more than the Fender Squier Contemporary Stratocaster Special. But it's still more comfortable for people with small hands, as you can see in the score meter below.

Fender Squier Contemporary Stratocaster Special:
Big Hands
Small Hands
Fender American Performer Jazzmaster:
Big Hands
Small Hands

Beginner Friendliness

The Fender American Performer Jazzmaster meets 6 out of our 8 criteria items for beginner friendliness, while the Fender Squier Contemporary Stratocaster Special meets only 5. 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.

New Player Friendliness

Fender Squier Contemporary Stratocaster Special
  • Comfortable shape
  • Easy-to-use bridge
  • Tall frets
  • Narrow nut
  • Comfortable neck
  • Comfortable fretboard
  • Short scale
  • Locking tuners

New Player Friendliness

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

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 the Fender Squier Contemporary Stratocaster Special

Roasted Maple wood pattern used for guitar building
Roasted Maple
Poplar wood pattern used for guitar building
Poplar

Roasted Maple is just maple without a finish. It's technically cheaper than regular maple, but it doesn't have any extra disadvantages because of this. The color is darker, and it's lighter weight and very stable even when there's a lot of humidity.

Poplar is a cheaper and heavier alternative to Alder wood. It terms of tone, it emphasizes the low-end and has cutting mids. It's relatively soft compared to most body woods. Find out more about Poplar.

Woods Used in the Fender American Performer Jazzmaster

Maple wood pattern used for guitar building
Maple
Rosewood wood pattern used for guitar building
Rosewood
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.

Rosewood is an almost purple-looking wood that is used mainly for fretboards since it's heavy, rare, and expensive. It's sometimes used on acoustic guitar bodies to create stronger warm tones. Find out more about Rosewood.

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.

Winner: Fender American Performer Jazzmaster.

Pickup Configuration

The Fender Squier Contemporary Stratocaster Special has an SSS configuration while the Fender American Performer Jazzmaster has SS pickups.

SSS is perfect for players who like to play clean. The definition you get between notes and the crispiness is unmatched by most other configurations. You can still use it for distortion, but you won't get the same kind of output and power compared to a humbucker, and the hum they produce also makes them less adequate for high gain.

On the other hand, SS is the classic Telecaster configuration. It's used mainly for playing clean or with low-gain distortion, and it's very popular for the country genre because of their brightness. It doesn't give you as much versatility as a Strat SSS configuration, but you might like the cleaner look of a guitar body with fewer pickups.

Pickups Quality

The Fender American Performer Jazzmaster pickups from a more specialized brand than the Fender Squier Contemporary Stratocaster Special. Its pickups should give you a fuller, richer sound, although it all depends on what type of music you're going to play. We recommend these pickups for Jazz and similar genres.

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 American Performer 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 Squier Contemporary Stratocaster Special gives you 5 switch options while the Fender American Performer Jazzmaster gives you 3. This means that the Fender Squier Contemporary Stratocaster Special gives you more options to find the right pickup combination for the type of sound you want to achieve

Neither of them come with some kind of coil split or pickup mod option. This makes both lacking in terms of versatility.

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 Squier Contemporary Stratocaster Special.

Final Sound Quality Scores

Fender Squier Contemporary Stratocaster Special
Pickups 70
Sustain 65
Versatility 70
Tuning Stability 65
Sound 68
Fender American Performer Jazzmaster
Pickups 100
Sustain 70
Versatility 64
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 Squier Contemporary Stratocaster Special compares to the Fender American Performer Jazzmaster.

Country of Origin

The manufacturing country can tell a lot about the build quality of an instrument. The Fender Squier Contemporary Stratocaster Special is built in China while the Fender American Performer Jazzmaster is made in United States.

China has a bad reputation when it comes to building quality. However, times have changed and now respectable brands use China's cheap labor to build good instruments for a lower price. Don't discount a guitar only because it was built in China, but also expect more quality from countries like Korea.

The United States is considered one of the best electric guitar manufacturers in the world. A guitar made in this country is supposed to have world-class quality control. Nowadays, guitars made in other countries can beat some of the ones made in the US, but most of the time, this country offers the best you can get. Of course, that comes at a price.

Winner: Fender American Performer Jazzmaster

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.

The Fender Squier Contemporary Stratocaster Special has a Graphite nut. It's a self-lubricating material that will allow the strings to slide over the nut without a lot of friction. It's a good type of nut if you want to have better tuning stability than with plastic, although it's not as resistant as Bone or Tusq.

On the other hand, the Fender American Performer Jazzmaster comes with a Synthetic Bone nut. 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.

Winner: Fender American Performer Jazzmaster.

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 Squier Contemporary Stratocaster Special's are Sealed Die-Cast with Split Shafts while the Fender American Performer Jazzmaster's are Fender ClassicGear

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 Squier Contemporary Stratocaster Special
  • Tremolo
  • Cheap Fret Wire (NS)
  • No Locking Tuners
  • Made in China
  • No Expensive Woods
  • No High-Quality Nut
  • No Top Brand Pickups
  • 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 American Performer Jazzmaster
  • Made in United States
  • Expensive Wood
  • Synthetic Bone Nut
  • Top Brand Pickups
  • Tremolo
  • Cheap Fret Wire (NS)
  • No Locking Tuners
  • 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

Final Build Quality Scores

Fender Squier Contemporary Stratocaster Special
Quality of materials 41
Features 55
Quality Control 55
Build Quality 50
Fender American Performer Jazzmaster
Quality of materials 61
Features 55
Quality Control 85
Build Quality 67

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 Squier Contemporary Stratocaster Special Nut Width
Fender Squier Contemporary Stratocaster Special Nut Width
Fender American Performer Jazzmaster Nut Width
Fender American Performer Jazzmaster Nut Width

The nut width will affect the separation between strings at the nut. In this comparison, the Fender American Performer Jazzmaster has the wider nut with 42.8mm (1.685'') vs 42mm (1.654''). This is a 0.8mm (0.031'') difference

This means that it will be more difficult to do bar chords on the Fender American Performer Jazzmaster, especially closer to the nut. However, it's also easier to play without muting strings accidently. This favors people with big hands.

Scale Length

Fender Squier Contemporary Stratocaster Special and Fender American Performer 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 Squier Contemporary Stratocaster Special Neck Profile
Fender Squier Contemporary Stratocaster Special's neck profile
Fender American Performer Jazzmaster Neck Profile
Fender American Performer Jazzmaster's 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 Squier Contemporary Stratocaster Special and the Fender American Performer 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 Squier Contemporary Stratocaster Special Fingerboard Radius
Fender Squier Contemporary Stratocaster Special's Fingerboard radius
Fender American Performer Jazzmaster Fingerboard Radius
Fender American Performer Jazzmaster's Fingerboard 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.

In this case, the Fender American Performer Jazzmaster's fingerboard radius is smaller, which means it's more curved than the Fender Squier Contemporary Stratocaster Special's. This extra arc will make playing chords easier in this model. You won't be as likely to mute the strings, especially if you have big hands. However, playing single notes and bending will be easier on the Fender Squier Contemporary Stratocaster Special.

Fret Size

Fender Squier Contemporary Stratocaster Special and Fender American Performer Jazzmaster Frets Size
Both have a similar Jumbo fret size

Both have a Jumbo fret size. This is one of the tallest frets you can get. You won't feel the fretboard when pressing down the strings. It will give you the best sustain and all types of chords will be easier to play. However, you can end up changing the pitch of your notes if you press too hard, which is something people used to feeling the fretboard do when trying Jumbo frets for the first time.

Final Playability Scores

Fender Squier Contemporary Stratocaster Special
Bending & Vibrato Ease 80
Chord Playability 60
Solo Playability 80
Playability 73
Fender American Performer Jazzmaster
Bending & Vibrato Ease 70
Chord Playability 70
Solo Playability 70
Playability 70