A 1960 Fender Jazzmaster anyone?

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. One thing that the eagle-eyed amongst you will have noticed is the finish. While it's still unmistakably Fender in style, you will be wondering that it doesn’t quite look right for the year. That would be quite right as this 1960 Jazzmaster was in fact sent back to the Fender factory in Fullerton in 1967 to be refinished. We know this by the stamped letters and numbers on the body and neck. The finish still holds its vibrancy with little or no signs of fade. There are the expected knocks but these don’t detract from the look of the instrument.

The neck too has been refinished with a new decal (in 1967) applied.  The thick rosewood slab board has been refretted and inevitably sanded.

The guard has survived well with only slight marking where you’d expect. The plastics haven’t faded or suffered any damage.

Electronically some solder joints have been disturbed but this only looks to be for the shielding plate and related cabling. Pots are dated week 50 of 1959. Both black bottom pickups are correct and as you would expect for a 1960 Jazzmaster.

The guitar comes with its correct late brown 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.

If Jazzmasters are your thing you should definitely come and take a look at this one.