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Hey everyone, I just ordered a January 63 Jazzmaster and noticed that there are two grounding wires attached to the bridge thimbles. I haven’t ever seen that before, so I’m curious if that was something Fender was doing in 62/63. Thanks for any insight!

By 63 they were ground to the tail piece (yours might be on the cusp)............A hole was drilled between the main pots cavity and the trem cavity, and a wire is ran from the brass shielding to the trem.

Prior to this the grounding was achieved using a piece of B string and one of the bridge cups (as you have described).

If your jazzmaster has the hole drilled between the cavities then the thimble earthing was probably added later by someone.

andrewaward wrote: ↑

Wed Jul 11, 2018 9:07 am

By 63 they were ground to the tail piece (yours might be on the cusp)............A hole was drilled between the main pots cavity and the trem cavity, and a wire is ran from the brass shielding to the trem.

Prior to this the grounding was achieved using a piece of B string and one of the bridge cups (as you have described).

If your jazzmaster has the hole drilled between the cavities then the thimble earthing was probably added later by someone.

quoted for accuracy.

Thanks! The neck date is January 4, 1963, so the body is likely a 62. There is no paint stick shadow in the neck pocket, which, as I understand it, is normal for 62. So it seems like grounding wires to the bridge cups may be factory original. The dealer I got it from is reputable, and he is certain that it’s original, but I just had never seen that before. Any additional insight is welcome! I feel like I’m always learning new things about vintage jazz masters.

personally I've never seen an original with 2...……….but anything's possible.

Any pics?

andrewaward wrote: ↑

Wed Jul 11, 2018 2:06 pm

personally I've never saw an original with 2...……….but anything's possible.

Any pics?

all originals I have seen had just the one...I mean, you only need one to do the job...

Here’s a pic https://imgur.com/a/MvXup65

Any thoughts?

its had some work done to it...……..the entire wire harness has been out...……….and the solder joint on the glazier point that I can see doesn't look original.
Is there a pecail date on the body (usually under the brass shielding of the bridge pickup).

Have you pics of the front and back showing the sunburst?

What makes you think the harness has been out? The guy I got it from (Fiesta Finishes) assured me everything has been untouched and it’s all original. Here are some more pics if anyone else has thoughts. https://imgur.com/a/SyViXuh

I’ll have two days to decide whether to keep it so I’m hoping to get some extra eyes helping me sort this one out. Appreciate any input!

all the original masking tape, that would have held the harness in place, is gone...………...the harness isn't sitting right - quite easy to spot that its been out.

andrewaward wrote: ↑

Thu Jul 12, 2018 9:09 am

all the original masking tape, that would have held the harness in place, is gone...………...the harness isn't sitting right - quite easy to spot that its been out.

Interesting. Thanks for the reply. The masking tape looks to be in similar condition to the rest of the components, but to be honest, I can’t really tell from the pictures as they are kind of grainy. That’s kind of my standard for assessing originality...do all the components look to be the same condition/have the same wear. You may be right about the tape, but I just can’t tell from the pics. Either way, thanks for taking a look. I will pop it open when it gets here to take a closer look. I also did some digging around and found one or two other vintage JMs that had two ground wires going to the bridge cups. So, while I think it’s extremely rare, it’s something I think Fender May have done on occasion.

The masking tape I'm referring to is gone - its not there - its been ripped off.