Fender Jazzmaster Natural Gloss 1959
Fender Jazzmaster, refinished in natural, made in USA 1959. This is a truly special guitar, no doubt about it. The Jazzmaster launched at the NAMM show in 1958, debuting a bunch of innovations from Leo's wild mind: 'pancake' pickups brimming with clarity, dual circuit electronics and the offset vibrato bridge and tailpiece. This one dates to mid 1959, so it's blessed with a truly gorgeous Brazilian rosewood fretboard with the clay dot markers and a pretty celluloid tort guard. The neck feels amazing: the replaced frets are in great shape, and it's playing super cleanly up and down the whole neck. The shape is a super comfy vintage C, reasonably slim and superbly intuitive. The body has been refinished several decades ago, so the gloss nitro has plenty of natural wear and looks great. It's nice to see the wavy grain lines of the alder too, it's a classy piece. The natural finish and tort guard reminds me of Elvis Costello's original 1960 model, it's an iconic look. The pickups and electronics are all original, and oh boy, it sounds magic. The neck pickup is deep, full and rich, with a piano-like clarity and fast, satisfying bass. The bridge pickup is breathy and open with a generous midrange snarl, expounding every note with delicious detail. The rhythm circuit is much darker than the lead, so it's fun to switch between gooey rich warmth and generous jangle. The original case, trem arm and docs are all included. It's fair to say these don't come around much in these parts. so if you've been waiting for the right one, maybe this is your chance.
Model: Fender Jazzmaster
Made: 1959, USA
Serial: 38325
Finish: natural, gloss nitro, refinish circa 1975
Body: alder, two piece centre join
Neck: maple, Brazilian rosewood slab fretboard, 25.5" scale, 7.25" radius, slim C shape
Weight: 3.690kg
Mods: refinished, nut replaced, re-fretted, knobs replaced (originals included), washer added to guard
Pickups: Fender Jazzmaster single coil x2, original
Accessories: tremolo arm, original case, original docs
Cosmetic condition notes: minor finish wear. The headstock has dimples and scuffs on the end, dimples and minor dents on the bottom edge, light scuffs on the top edge and back and some dimples, fading and checking on the front. The neck is clean and smooth in the hands, minor dimples, rub wear and scuffs on the back, as well as a little bald patch behind the ninth fret. There's minor visible evidence from a re-fret on the board, although you've got to look very closely. The back has a dent on the bottom horn, middle of the body and near the bottom edge, buckle rash along the belly carve and middle of the body, scuffs along the back edge and minor scuffs and rub wear around the whole body. The sides have minor scuffs, surface scratches and dimples around the whole body, as well as some bald patches on the back edge. The front has minor dents around the jack and tailpiece, dimples and rub wear on the elbow area and some play wear on the guard and horns. The guard has some cracks around the tone wheel, bridge pickup and on the bottom horn.
Overall: very good condition (7/10)
Playing condition notes: Action is low, neck is straight, intonation is good, truss rod works. All electronics tested and working properly. Wearing fresh 11/49 Moonshiners strings.
Fret life: 9/10, minor wear only