Paul Dixon gives the OK to a US-made electric that blends Fender & Gibson features to create a distinctly vintage-flavoured original...

Because the majority of players have their eyes fixed firmly on the past in terms of preference for electric guitar design, it’s almost impossible to come up with an equally successful new shape. For this reason most makers opt to play safe and stick with the tradition long established by Fender and Gibson, but one alternative that’s become increasingly popular in recent years is to blend the best features from both of these major brands.

This mix ’n’ match method has been employed at all price levels and one upmarket exponent of the art is US builder Chris Kroenlein. Based in St. Louis, Missouri, he’s been in the guitar-making business since 1995 and is the ‘K’ behind the K-Line brand, launched in 2004. Kroenlein initially concentrated on custom-order instruments, but last year added the Spirit of 66 series, which offers standardised K-Line design ideas, but with additional options if required.

This new range includes four Fender-influenced 6-strings. The Truxton and Springfield are very obviously based on the Tele and Strat respectively, while the Texola incorporates features from the former into a Jazzmaster format. The quartet is completed by the San Bernardino reviewed here and this is a similarly mongrel model, sharing the same Jazzmaster styling but borrowing bits from Gibson.

Body & Neck

The alder body adopts the familiar offset outline of Fender’s flagship 6-string from 1958, with front and rear contouring making the quite sizable measurements moremanageable, while weight tips the scales at a well-balanced 3.5kg. These K-Lines come in a choice of over 20 colours, each offered in either new (Time Kapsule) or lightly aged (Closet Klassic) condition. The latter process has been applied to the review guitar’s Sherwood green cellulose finish, resulting in assorted dings, chips and wear pattern, mainly around the edges, while subtle lacquer checking is evident all over.

The snug-fitting maple neck is secured via the usual four screws and metal plate, but it sits on a slightly sloping body heel block that ensures a sufficient angle to suit the San Bernardino’s higher, Gibson-style bridge. The neck has a U-shaped profile that’s quite deep and chunky compared to more modern mainstream Fender dimensions, but the beefier proportions still provide a very comfortable handful. The semi-gloss lacquer finish is dark nicotine tinted and this evokes an appropriately vintage image, enhanced by some artificially induced wear and tear that matches the body’s pseudo battering.

The rosewood fingerboard features a more bend-friendly 10” radius, while hand finishing extends to rolled-over edges that provide an already-played-in feel. Additional finger friendliness comes courtesy of the 21 immaculately fitted and fettled medium-gauge frets, while a bone nut boasts evenly spaced slots cut for minimum clearance. Clay-like position dots contribute to the old-time tally, and the small side repeaters are set along the fingerboard join line in typical Fender tradition. As usual, this location makes them tricky to see, with the tinted finish further impeding visibility. The truss rod adjuster is equally vintage-correct and inconvenient, being hidden away at the body end of the neck to ensure that any tweaks become very time-consuming.

The K-Line headstock is a variation on the flat Fender theme, with a hooked top endowing some individuality. String travel is suitably straight for all six, and a single wing-type guide exerts additional tension on the top two.

Hardware & Parts

The machineheads are Gotoh-made repros of the classic vintage Kluson design, complete with slot-topped posts with centre holes to safely accommodate         string ends.

At first glance, the two large plastic-covered pickups also look the part, but these aren’t the usual Jazzmaster design. Instead they’re an overtly Gibson-origin ingredient, being P-90-style ‘soapbar’ single-coils supplied by highly regarded US pickup specialist Jason Lollar. Other types are available, including mini- or full-size humbuckers, while further makes and models can be fitted to order. These two have different outputs to match their respective positions, while one employs reversed coil winding and magnet polarity to provide hum-cancelling operation when both are selected.

The pickups sit in a tortoiseshell scratchplate that’s secured by suitably discoloured screws. As usual it carries all the electrics, although here the circuitry has been simplified, eliminating the Jazzmaster’s redundant rhythm roller controls and slide switch. This common modern modification allows the pickup selector to be resited up on the left horn, while master volume and tone pots still partner an adjacent output jack down below.

The Gotoh-made Tune-O-Matic-type bridge closely copies  Gibson’s original design, as does the stopbar-type tailpiece from the same source, although this sits on TonePros studs equipped with locking nuts to ensure maximum stability and sustain. Like all other metalwork, the plating on both components has been suitably dulled down, while all plastic parts are also aged to reinforce the retro image.

Sounds

Solid construction and meaty components contribute to a resonant and quite dense acoustic response. This character is conveyed by the Lollar-made pickups, which prove much more responsive than many modern P-90-style single-coils, being packed with the power and punch associated with the better examples of this tried-and-tested design. This amount of oomph doesn’t come at the expense of definition, although overall tonality has more mid-range grunt and grit than bell-like clarity and chime.

These aural attributes make the San Bernardino a natural for rough-edged rock, taking this K-Line well away from the sounds normally associated with a Jazzmaster-style 6-string, especially when combined with judicious amp overdrive. The neck position delivers bags of woody bottom end to back up a sweet and snaky treble response. The bridge alternative adds some mid-range bark and a more attacking snap, but doesn’t become overly bright or brash. Selecting both pickups immediately eradicates the buzz and hum interference typical of P-90 pickups and brings this K-Line closer to the Jazzmaster’s classic deep-toned surf sounds.

The volume pot appears to increase output in stages, while its tonal partner has a smoother and more progressive taper, but both are useful for making some subtly effective changes.

Conclusion

The San Bernardino looks authentically old and familiar, but it adopts an updated approach to the Jazzmaster that’s been employed in recent years on numerous similarly styled alternatives at various price points. K-Line’s interpretation works better than many and, although far from the cheapest of its type, the high build quality and attention to detail mean that the extra money involved could be considered well spent.

The end result is a well-crafted and clever bridge between California and Kalamazoo, making this amalgam an ideal choice for players who like the Jazzmaster’s streamlined styling, but not its idiosyncratic circuitry or hardware. The K-Line San Bernardino should also appeal equally to those who prefer P-90 pickups without their usual Gibson-orientated packaging and instead installed on something a little more eye-catching. GB