We seem to have a revolving door system here at ATB Guitars with Fender Jazzmaster from 1959, which in all honesty is not a bad thing.

The first few chords of ‘Walk Don’t Run’ by the Ventures should be enough to convince you of the merits of these guitars. As with most inventions, it sometimes takes others to really turn the populous on to a product and its was the now infamous ‘You won’t part with yours either’ campaign, the brainchild of Adman Robert Perine, that really set the ball rolling for the Jazzmaster and got it into the hands of the surf music community.

This guitar makes quite a package. The very distinctive three-tone sunburst, a feature specific to this particular year, still holds its vibrancy with little or no signs of fade. There are the expected knocks and there are a few patches on the front and back where the finish has worn through to the wood. Overall these don’t detract from the look of the instrument. 

The neck, as with a previous Jazzmaster we’ve had here, is made from an attractive piece of maple. There is a slight flame and some bird’s-eye figuring in the grain which really adds a glamour to the finished piece. Unlike the body, there aren’t any dents on the back of the neck and the lacquer still retains its lustrous finish. The rosewood slab board shows a slight sign of use and the frets are in great shape.

The anodised guard has survived well with only slight marking where you’d expect. The plastics haven’t faded or suffered any damage and electronically all solder joint are untouched and both black bottom pickups are correct.

The guitar comes with its correct Tweed hardshell case which is in very nice condition.

This guitar sounds great. The magic of these guitars is the two independent circuits and how they open up different tonal options. The rhythm circuit is dark without being murky. The lead circuit adds some more high end. Here the neck pickup is smooth and contrasts well with the bridge pickup, this bringing a delightful twang to the mix. With both pickups on the guitar has a wonderful shimmer which is great for chords.

So many things are noteworthy about this guitar and if Jazzmasters are your thing you should definitely come and take a look at this one.