Fender Jazzmaster Model Solid Body Electric Guitar (1959), made in Fullerton, California, serial # 34376, sunburst lacquer finish, alder body, maple neck with rosewood fingerboard, original tweed hard shell case.
This is a lovely "Real Relic" played in first-generation Fender Jazzmaster built in early 1959; it has been refretted and the bridge pickup perfectly rewound but remains otherwise original. It carries a beautiful deep 3-color sunburst set off by the classic gold anodized pickguard that marks the early versions of the model. This then-brand-new offset guitar was Fender's showpiece instrument, their upscale top of the line prestige offering introduced in fall 1958 at $329.50, plus case. The Fullerton factory lavished a maximum of care on early Jazzmaster production; we find these first generation examples to nearly always be exceptionally fine instruments.
The slab-rosewood fingerboard maple neck is pencil dated 3-59 on the heel, only 6 months or so after Jazzmaster production commenced in the fall of '58. The visible pot codes are 8-43 (From fall 1958); there is no visible body date. The rig was wired up by Gail whose name is penciled under the pickguard. The guitar was most likely assembled and shipped in spring 1959. The striking looking anodized pickguard proved unfortunately prone to pick wear and was replaced with the familiar tortoise celluloid piece by late summer '59; the early models carrying it are exponentially rarer than their 1960s descendants.
When this guitar was made the Jazzmaster was a new concept and a bold step into the future for Fender. Novel features including the patented liquid sculpture "offset" body with a staggered waist, dual rhythm/lead circuit wiring, floating bridge and tremolo and the wider-coil pickups; all fresh ground for Fender. The thick "slab" rosewood fingerboard with clay dots was introduced with this model, and soon became ubiquitous across the entire Fender line replacing the earlier one-piece maple neck.
Leo's concept for the instrument was to appeal to the "sit-down" jazz players mostly loyal to hollowbody guitars; the design was bold and brilliant but failed to entice dedicated Gibson players to embrace Fender products. Still the Jazzmaster was quite successful in other genres from the start, and remained popular into the mid 1960s before losing ground as playing styles changed at the end of the decade.
Over the last 30 years or so the Jazzmaster, once maligned, has caught the fancy of new generations of players and risen to be one of the most widely played and copied of all vintage designs. This early example has been well used but never altered and remains an exceptional-sounding and extremely attractive twang machine. This guitar has a great feel and a lovely "ring" to it, even when not plugged in. The more-popular-than ever Jazzmaster has been the "Renaissance guitar" of the 21st century, but this one goes back to the model's roots!
Overall length is 41 in. (104.1 cm.), 14 in. (35.6 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 1 5/8 in. (4.1 cm.) in depth, measured at side of rim. Scale length is 25 1/2 in. (648 mm.). Width of nut is 1 5/8 in. (41 mm.).
This Jazzmaster shows general wear overall; it appears to have been heavily played for some time but not abused or altered from Leo's original intent. The bridge pickup was DOA; it has been neatly rewound to perfect original spec by Tom Brantly who is the best in the biz and should be certified a National treasure! Both pickups sound just as they should, with that particular Jazzmaster shimmer.
The all-original rich 3-tone sunburst lacquer finish on the body has some fading but retains more red hue than many; some from this period appear almost two-tone by now. There is fine checking overall and a collection of dings, dents, and scrapes over much of the instrument including extensive belt buckle wear to the back. The body edges have typical wear spots with some flaking from moisture on the lower cutaway horn, along the top back edge and most heavily along the back edge of the body on both sides of the endpin. The anodized pickguard has a typical spot of wear below the strings down to the metal; the gold finish on the rest of the surface remains nicely intact.
The neck shows somewhat lighter wear than the body, with scattered dings and chips and a few small areas worn away on the treble side edge. The fingerboard has some light wear; it was trued lightly for the refret but retains the original patina to the rosewood. The headstock finish is lightly "smoked" and has darkened a bit but retains a nicely intact decal with a couple of tiny chips; there is a very small cigarette mark at the lower bass side corner.
The hardware inside and out appears nearly all original and intact, even the oft-missing trem arm is present but the snap-on bridge cover is gone. The switch tip is old but not the "Amber" version we would expect so we must assume it was replaced early on. The original foam is still intact under the pickups; we added a bit extra for adjustability. The refret was done with wire just slightly taller than the original but not oversize, retaining a vintage feel with a bit more "meat" for the modern player; the nut was replaced as well. This "real relic" veteran first-generation Jazzmaster remains an excellent player; while it has seen some serious use over the last 65+ years as a whole it has survived very well with its distinctive sound and character fully intact, still housed in a worn but solid original tweed HSC. Overall Very Good + Condition.
