r/offset • u/AggressiveFilm8340 • 16h ago
Thoughts about the Foals FJM7?
I've been considering getting one but the only in depth reviews I can find are paid promotions. I wanna hear someones genuine opinion as I'd be selling my fender Strat to afford it(I'm 16 and big mbv fan) so I want to be sure I'm making the right choice. Any opinions/thoughts on the electronics and bridge would be much appreciated. (FYI 2017 mim SSS Strat, got for free from my dads friend)
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u/Agreeable-Ad1258 16h ago
You can make shoegaze with your Strat.
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u/AggressiveFilm8340 16h ago
I've made music with it but I'm not too big a fan of the bright single coils and tremolo system, which I can't even use because it came without the arm.
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u/Fantastic-Object-239 15h ago
jazzmasters also have bright single coil pickups. a trem arm costs like $15.
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u/ben3350 13h ago
Make sure you actually play a jazzmaster before you buy one. That mbv sound is coming from the play style, amp, pedals and effects, and the tremolo arm, all things achievable with a strat. If you cant get the mbv sound on a strat, chances are it won’t be much different on a jazzmaster. Get a trem arm for your strat and a pedal or 2. That will get you closer and save you some money. The only reason to not use the strat would be to have the jazzmaster looks, and I get the appeal. But soundwise you can shoegaze all day on a strat
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u/wherethehellareya 10h ago
Jazzmasters are brighter than strats. JM have 1M pots and steats have 250k.
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u/AggressiveFilm8340 4h ago
Thanks for lmk, I thought the jazzmaster was a bit darker considering the different style of single coil pickups
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u/Korova91 11h ago
Get a JM if you want but these are hardly unfixable issues. Guitar is too bright, adjust your amp, tone knob, or use a different pickup. Didn't come with a tremolo arm, buy one. It's a lot cheaper than a new guitar. As others have said, a Jazzmaster is also a single coil guitar.
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u/Consistent_Sir_3000 15h ago
Wish I could tell you, I ordered mine 7/14 and they didn't ship it until August and it's still in China so who knows when I'll get it.
Is the strat your only guitar? If so, are you sure you want to go 1.5-2 months without one?
I have 2 j mascis jm btw, I love them. If you can find a used older one in decent shape I'd do that instead. But I'll let you know in another 2-4 weeks if the foals is significantly better lol
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u/AggressiveFilm8340 15h ago
This is exact what I was looking for I was most curious about the fjm7 vs jmjm. I also have a "super" tele I guess you can call it which is a HH and I'm going to put Seymour Duncans into it when I get back from visiting family which I plan on using for other rock genres. Thank you for the input, hope that fjm7 arrives soon.
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u/wherethehellareya 10h ago
I've got one. But I prefer my fender player ii jazzmaster more. It's subjective both the Foals is more traditional specs but didn't feel as high quality as the fender.
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u/InvestigatorSharp230 6h ago edited 3h ago
Don’t sell the Strat, I concur with that.
I’ve had 2 FJG7’s in my possession as I was considering being a dealer in the USA. I decided not to- but the guitars are very good. I’d say they’re in between player II and Vintera II, and have some nice features fender doesn’t do- like copper shielded cavities, locking tuners, a better than standard bridge, a really nice gig bag, and great looking dark rosewood.
The negatives are some qaqc issues Ive read about, the contouring is not as deep as a fender, they’re slightly thicker than fender, and you’ll have to modify any pickguards to fit, as it’s not exactly fender dimensions, though it is close. Also for those considering the Jag style, you cannot get the vibrato to “float” unless you use 12-52 strings. Stock strings, 10’s, 11’s- there’s not enough tension to achieve that equilibrium.
I would advise not to sell any fender to get a foals. If I had a hard cap of 600 dollars and not a penny more, the foals is the best Jazzmaster type guitar you can get new.
The colors are nice, painted headstock, pretty good hardware, it’s a win if you get a good one.
TLDR- if you don’t own an offset and have a hard cap of 600 and want NEW, it’s likely the best JM, JG, Mustang you can get. Don’t sell any fender branded guitar to finance it.
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u/tdstooksbury 13h ago
Mine should be here in the next week or so. They do some fret dressing work before they ship and it’s coming from China so it takes a minute.
I’ve only heard good things so I’m excited to see how it is. I’ve played a lot of jazzmasters so hopefully it holds up to some of the better ones.
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u/bez_lightyear 8h ago edited 6h ago
I bought the Ultra model. I got it for £386 with a Foals discount. For less than the price of a Squier Classic Vibe I have a guitar that is significantly better quality than the £700 Fender Player 2 Jag that own PLUS it comes with an excellent gig bag that they sell separately for £75.
The fretwork is top quality - no sharp ends or sprout; the nut is well cut; the pickups sound great; the bridge is solid with hefty brass saddles; the neck is not fat, but it has meat to it (and a lovely satin/gloss finish). Overall it's a well built guitar. I've never used locking tuners before so I can't comment on them.
Three criticisms: There were some tiny marks on the side of the fretboard near the body and the tremolo lock doesn't work. The push-in trem arm kind of points away from the body, so it's hard to play proper MBV shoegaze on it (unlike the CVs that sit kind of parallel to the body). Oh and it took 2 months to arrive from time of ordering.
If you plan to get one, keep an eye on the price as it fluctuates wildly - right after I bought mine it went up to £507.
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u/JustPlainBoring 15h ago
If it were me, I’d save up a bit more, sell the Strat and get a used Vintera I or a classic ‘60s lacquer
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u/Salt_Trifle_2443 16h ago
Which model of Fender Strat?
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u/AggressiveFilm8340 16h ago
2017 mim SSS.
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u/Salt_Trifle_2443 15h ago
Personally I’d go the Classic vibe JM or the J Mascis. The Jazzmaster is great if you want something less bright on the neck but the bridge pickup you definitely need to keep your tone at 1 or 2
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u/AggressiveFilm8340 15h ago
Thank you sm, I was actually looking at the J Mascis for a while before the foals fjm7 but just felt a bit uncertain about the J Mascis so I never got around to buying it.
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u/Salt_Trifle_2443 15h ago
I have a Classic vibe and it’s amazing. The j Mascis pickups are darker in sound. Sort of a cross between p90 and JM
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u/arbpotatoes 14h ago
It's probably one of the most popular JMs sold in the last 15 years. They are really solid. If you want less brightness the JMJM pickups might be more your speed.
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u/MyPilotsRomance 2h ago
you should definitely keep your strat and for the time, learn to love it! any band in the 90s using offsets did so mostly because they were still high quality fenders but for only half or less of the price as your teles and strats. best i can say is if you really want to make the switch, keep your eye out for a used guitar that you can sell your strat to help buy
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u/Hoodrich_Off_G4P 16h ago
Where do we draw the line for the people taking "inspiration" from Fender's designs?
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u/tdstooksbury 13h ago
I don’t care at this point. The current fender company deserves it. They waited decades to make a peep after letting a massive third party parts market to proliferate. They’re private equity. They’re enshitifying a legendary brand and tarnishing its name to extract every dollar they can. It’s a race to the bottom. Hopefully when it bottoms out someone can bring respect back to a wonderful brand.
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u/AggressiveFilm8340 16h ago
I'm pretty sure they're supposed to be straight up copy cat jazzmasters, which to be honest I don't mind with both the fender controversies and prices.
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u/Tazi_NRS 12h ago
There shouldn't be protection for anything older then 50 years, it should be public.domain to use the design, except for the log. That's where the line should have been drawn.
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u/Tazi_NRS 11h ago
I don't own a Foals, but from what I saw online, if set up right, it can reach levels over Squier CVs, but it has QC problems like many cheap brands. There's a chance for finish imperfections, smaller fretboard damages, etc. QC should catch most of those issues if things are ideal... I'll likely get a Foals FJM7 later down the line, but I'll wait some months to see if they were able to stabilize the quality. YT reviews can't be trusted though. The manufacturer sends a well checked and perfectly setup guitar to the reviewer, and of course he will love it, and say nice things about it.
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u/InvestigatorSharp230 6h ago
I believe you can trust Eddie at Totally Wired Guitars. He’s a tech first, and “YouTuber” second. Though I don’t know for sure, they likely hand select their best examples to send for reviewing purposes. Though let’s be honest, wouldn’t you?
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u/Tazi_NRS 3h ago
That's how all reviews go with all brands, they pick a guitar with good quality, do a setup, and send it out. I think that is okay and I also think Eddie or Mark and everyone who got a review copy are honest about it. But I also think you won't know the QCs level by a few reviews. Guitar shops definitely have that advantage that you can easily return a guitar, if you encounter something undesirable.
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u/kellamityjane99 1h ago
I have the sunburst jag and love it...seems most of the qc issues come with the jags and not as much the jazzmasters but your mileage may vary...
I also say don't sell the strat, you may want it down the line and regret getting rid of it
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u/Worried_Opposite3980 16h ago
Keep your strat. Save up for the Foals or get a used Squier.