Late 60ties Jazzmaster

[Z*Z*Z]

I recently acquired this rare bird - 1968 Fender Jazzmaster. It had two owners before me, and its pretty good shape. This is my first time owning vintage Jazzmaster, played few old ones and couple of reissues, owned partmasters and Japanese reissues, and this is by far, best sounding and most comfortable playing guitar. Feels very substantial in hands and tone is full & articulate, almost 3D compared to my previous guitars, not that they were lacking, just that this one sounds different/wider and with stronger attack/thump in the mids. But there is something weird about this guitar. All internals: Stackpole switch, CTS pots, Switchcraft switch, Black bottom pickups, shielding, bridge, Tremolo unit, type of wiring, everything belongs to '59 or '60 Jazzmaster. Neck is typical CBS, B&B Jazzy neck. I know previous owner and I'm aware of guitar for a long time, so I dont beleive its a partsmaster. The replacement parts are tuners (long dead &gone) frets, some type of cloth to elevate pickups (foam lost its function) and nitro overspray to preserve finish. Is it possible that someone at Fender just picked up drawer full of old parts and just assembled it 7 or 8 years after? I know it seems impossible, but all parts are from same year/era (except neck and maybe body) and from Serbia its nearly impossible to assemble this type of partsmaster 30 years ago, as I stated, I know of this guitar for a long time.

[Embenny]

That's super mysterious. I've never heard of 8 year-old parts being discovered and put into a guitar. Gorgeous axe you've got there. To be honest, a B&B (you typed D&B - dots and binding) JM like yours, with pre-CBS electronics, would pretty much tick every possible box for me. I love the CBS aesthetics and the early pre-CBS tone...

Here's a question. Does the neck pocket have the "paint stick" mark? If it doesn't, could it be possible that someone put a '68 neck on a '60 body, without realizing how much more the '60 would be worth if advertised as such? I wouldn't exactly call that a "partsmaster", just a replacement neck.

Maybe that "nitro overspray" story actually represents a refin or partial refin, in order to get the neck and body to match each other?

All I know is, if you paid for a '68 JM, and got what might be most a '60 JM, you hit the absolute jackpot in terms of tone and value.

[PJazzmaster]

wow, interesting and nice score (especially if it has the early black bobbin PU's). Does it have a Pat Pend vibrato (hard to tell from the pic)?

[Pacafeliz]

Does it have a Pat Pend vibrato (hard to tell from the pic)?

yes it does, i see it!

[Z*Z*Z]

Yes, it does - black bobbin pickups and pat pend trem with short stiff spring and ground attached to the bottom of the plate, also those paper in oil caps from early jazzies, even the neck plate dates '59-'60. Also theres handwritten sentence on aluminium guard "ord by George" done by pencil, and stamped/engraved "1"and "O" or "U" between pickup routes. Neck is stamped 13 JAN 68 B and on the back engraved "44 4 WHITE" and stamped in greenish colour "B808". In the neck pocket theres paint stick marks of same colour as guitar and white primer and same greenish stamp "B807" and pencil drawn circle.

[Ursa Minor]

What kind of bridge thimbles?

Looks like the body + hardware and pickups are from an early one. The carve of the tummy cut is right for an older one.

We're gonna have to see some gut shot of this one.

From what you've told us so far it seems like an older body that got a new neck in 68 or so for some reason. Could be a factory job, maybe the owner needed a new neck and got a factory refin??

Or... its a parts guitar, but basically an easy one where its a combo of a pre-CBS body and CBS neck.

[rumfoord]

From what you've told us so far it seems like an older body that got a new neck in 68 or so for some reason. Could be a factory job, maybe the owner needed a new neck and got a factory refin??.

Along these lines...could it also be possible that whenever the overspray was done the parts sitting on the table got mixed up with another guitar?

[Z*Z*Z]

I dont believe that someone refinished body to match headstock, I think it would be nearly impossible since the neck and body have same shading, discoloration and cracks in finish. But its also weird to someone assemble whole body with vintage parts, its understandable in US, even Western Europe but in my parts of the world, nearly impossible. And the gunk and smell from the guitar was really bad, it was played and not in non smoking area Im pretty shure that Im the first person who removed theat pickguard for a long time. And this guitar looks practically the same for 2 decades and more. Judge by the pictures I got:

[Z*Z*Z]

And the thimbles are also older type, tall. But theres no shielding on the walls, only the "floor" of routing with metal triangles holding to to the body and plates are soldered to each other. And some kind of overspray was done, Im shure of it and it has light tint to it. The wiring/solder looks good and old, nothing that was done lately. Theres black wire routed to tremolo unit for grounding.

[lalalandstudios]

The neck heel stamp and numerical markings on body are typical for Fender factory refin/repair work. The neck pocket is NOT c/w factory refinished 59-60 body so if this was done at factory, the body and the neck were simultaneously replaced in 1968.

Interestingly, I have a very cool factory refinished '63 Jaguar that got a replaced/new B/B factory neck in 1968 (and they kept the old single line Kluson tuners), but I've never seen one where the electronics and hardware were the only thing carried over (to a new neck and body) at the Fender factory as part of a repair/refin order. I do think that is a possible explanation here.

[bencrit]

Definitely looks like some kind a factory repair work here. They would replace bodies or and keep whatever working parts with the “new” guitar. I don’t think I’ve seen one quite like this before, but all the markings point to some kind a factory repair work.

A cool oddity.

[eggwheat]

It's a factory refin with neck replacement...sometimes they did this... It's rare but you do see them from time to time. You got the sound of a '59 with '68 looks...very cool.

[andrewaward]

There doesn't seem to be any tan lines on the body - and also that whole harness has been off the guitar and put back on (and not a factory job).

The pickguard shielding also isn't original to that pickguard.

Also the screws on a 59 neckplate are usually only partially threaded.

The body / neck definitely has some factory repair markings - and the neck pocket looks OK (remnants of sunburst maybe) ...but the paint on the rest of the body looks kinda newer.

[lalalandstudios]

I just checked the neck pocket on my two Fender factory refins and agree w Andrew - it is probably the original earlier body that was refinished and neck replaced in 68. Also agree that there are some subsequent changes/issues that aren’t explained solely by a factory refin in 68.

[andrewaward]

The pickguard doesn't appear to be mint backed, just going by the pics............it looks to me like a 64/65 'guard with a mismatching shielding.

The electrics are from 1960.

I think the body has a non factory refin (based on the lack of tan lines, and the way its checking).

Hard to tell the exact year of the body - how do the glazier points look on the brass shielding, how does the solder look.?

Any close ups of the headstock front?

It looks really nice