with no chance to try before buying, am i out of luck? help!

[canuck]

the jazzmaster is my favourite guitar after the tele. actually, were it not for my magical #1 tele, the jazzy might reign supreme. fuck it, it is my favourite guitar...

but i'm in a real dilemma.

i'm looking for a GREAT, MAGICAL, INSPIRATIONAL, SPECIAL, pre-cbs jazzy that's all original. i don't care much for what condition it's in so long as it's original. i want to experience it as it left fullerton, except with 60 or whatever years of life on it.

my problem is they NEVER come up for sale locally and i don't want to solely rely on snake dealers' testimonies online. i want to either be able to try the guitar out before shelling out the cash OR buy from a trusted source who represents the guitars accurately.

i've owned my fair share of vintage guitars, some of which are considered "holy grails" by many, but honestly found them all to be dogs when compared to modern alternatives. sorry, but that's just my honest objective take.

that said, the best vintage guitar i owned was a '60 oly white jazzy which i hate myself daily for selling.

i'd really love to get a nice original pre-cbs one, ideally in fiesta red or oly white, but realize the colour preference really narrows down the possibilities.

how can i make this work?

i'm going to be recording my own album and would like to use the jazzmaster on about 50% of the tracks.

[Despot]

I bought my '62 Jazzmaster from this forum - for a very fair price from a fellow OSGer in Belgium.

I hadn't played it. I knew nothing about it other than what the photos told me. But given the nature of this forum I was happy to rely on the seller's comments and his assurance that it was a good one.

It is. It really is a good one.

A couple of ideas - maybe wait for one to come up for sale here on OSG? Otherwise perhaps if you saw a guitar in a city where you knew there to be an OSGer living you could kindly ask them to help? It happens - I know I've even gone so far as to check out and ship a guitar for a forum member (from Ireland).

Good luck with the hunt.

[canuck]

I bought my '62 Jazzmaster from this forum - for a very fair price from a fellow OSGer in Belgium.

I hadn't played it. I knew nothing about it other than what the photos told me. But given the nature of this forum I was happy to rely on the seller's comments and his assurance that it was a good one.

It is. It really is a good one.

A couple of ideas - maybe wait for one to come up for sale here on OSG? Otherwise perhaps if you saw a guitar in a city where you knew there to be an OSGer living you could kindly ask them to help? It happens - I know I've even gone so far as to check out and ship a guitar for a forum member (from Ireland).

Good luck with the hunt.

that's so awesome that it worked out with your '62. i'd love to buy one from here- didn't even know there's a market place (doesn't show up for me?).
there seems to be no shortage of jazzy's for sale on reverb, but most sellers will tell you whatever you want to hear to make the sale, so i really want to avoid that and buy from a trusted/reputable person who's as mad about jazzy's as me.

[bencrit]

the jazzmaster is my favourite guitar after the tele. actually, were it not for my magical #1 tele, the jazzy might reign supreme. fuck it, it is my favourite guitar...

but i'm in a real dilemma.

i'm looking for a GREAT, MAGICAL, INSPIRATIONAL, SPECIAL, pre-cbs jazzy that's all original. i don't care much for what condition it's in so long as it's original. i want to experience it as it left fullerton, except with 60 or whatever years of life on it.

my problem is they NEVER come up for sale locally and i don't want to solely rely on snake dealers' testimonies online. i want to either be able to try the guitar out before shelling out the cash OR buy from a trusted source who represents the guitars accurately.

i've owned my fair share of vintage guitars, some of which are considered "holy grails" by many, but honestly found them all to be dogs when compared to modern alternatives. sorry, but that's just my honest objective take.

that said, the best vintage guitar i owned was a '60 oly white jazzy which i hate myself daily for selling.

i'd really love to get a nice original pre-cbs one, ideally in fiesta red or oly white, but realize the colour preference really narrows down the possibilities.

how can i make this work?

i'm going to be recording my own album and would like to use the jazzmaster on about 50% of the tracks.

I've bought nearly all of my vintage guitars sight unseen, and have been happy with nearly all of them as far as tone and playability goes. If there as been one that has been lacking, a good setup by a skilled luthier has almost always rectified the shortcomings.

"Trying before you buy" isn't always all that it is cracked up to be in terms of setups. I think many dealers miss out on a lot of sales simply because they do not have their guitars set up properly in store. When a buyer sits down to play it, and the action is high, intonation is off, the corrosion on the bridge is inhibiting sustain, etc, the guitar just doesn't sound as it should.

That said, the ideal situation is being able to try out a guitar with a good setup before you buy it. I just find this to be pretty rare, even in the high end vintage shops I visit.

But I trust the quality and consistency of the major brands from the 50s and 60s (Gibson, Epiphone, Fender, etc). Its been pretty consistent across the board.

So my advice is: rest easy. Be prepared to spend 60-100 bucks on a good setup and you will probably be good to go 95% of the time.

IF you are wary of that, find sellers that have a good return policy (many have a 24-48 hour approval period)...although I know that is a narrow window especially if you want to set it up..

[canuck]

the jazzmaster is my favourite guitar after the tele. actually, were it not for my magical #1 tele, the jazzy might reign supreme. fuck it, it is my favourite guitar...

but i'm in a real dilemma.

i'm looking for a GREAT, MAGICAL, INSPIRATIONAL, SPECIAL, pre-cbs jazzy that's all original. i don't care much for what condition it's in so long as it's original. i want to experience it as it left fullerton, except with 60 or whatever years of life on it.

my problem is they NEVER come up for sale locally and i don't want to solely rely on snake dealers' testimonies online. i want to either be able to try the guitar out before shelling out the cash OR buy from a trusted source who represents the guitars accurately.

i've owned my fair share of vintage guitars, some of which are considered "holy grails" by many, but honestly found them all to be dogs when compared to modern alternatives. sorry, but that's just my honest objective take.

that said, the best vintage guitar i owned was a '60 oly white jazzy which i hate myself daily for selling.

i'd really love to get a nice original pre-cbs one, ideally in fiesta red or oly white, but realize the colour preference really narrows down the possibilities.

how can i make this work?

i'm going to be recording my own album and would like to use the jazzmaster on about 50% of the tracks.

I've bought nearly all of my vintage guitars sight unseen, and have been happy with nearly all of them as far as tone and playability goes. If there as been one that has been lacking, a good setup by a skilled luthier has almost always rectified the shortcomings.

"Trying before you buy" isn't always all that it is cracked up to be in terms of setups. I think many dealers miss out on a lot of sales simply because they do not have their guitars set up properly in store. When a buyer sits down to play it, and the action is high, intonation is off, the corrosion on the bridge is inhibiting sustain, etc, the guitar just doesn't sound as it should.

That said, the ideal situation is being able to try out a guitar with a good setup before you buy it. I just find this to be pretty rare, even in the high end vintage shops I visit.

But I trust the quality and consistency of the major brands from the 50s and 60s (Gibson, Epiphone, Fender, etc). Its been pretty consistent across the board.

So my advice is: rest easy. Be prepared to spend 60-100 bucks on a good setup and you will probably be good to go 95% of the time.

IF you are wary of that, find sellers that have a good return policy (many have a 24-48 hour approval period)...although I know that is a narrow window especially if you want to set it up..

i'm afraid i couldn't disagree more re: the consistency of brands from the 50's and 60's. perhaps i downplayed it in my op, but i'm actually quite a "vintage hound" and have owned over three dozen instruments from that period from various manufacturers and played several hundred more over extensive periods. the instruments from that period were, in my personal experience- good setup and all-, everything but consistent. guitars, by their very nature, are wildly idiosyncratic objects, with something as seemingly trivial as which piece of the tree certain planks of wood were cut from, yielding drastically different tones/timbers. there are just too many variables that even the most competent of techs won't be able to remedy with a good setup. plus, after having handled thousands of guitars in my life, i'm pretty good at gauging/imagining what the instrument would be like setup more to my specs. my dilemma isn't stemming from a poorly setup guitar, but from bad experiences with guitars that, no matter how much work you put into bettering them, just remained dogs. pickups that no matter how much you adjusted the heights would always remain incredibly thin and brittle sounding, bodies with zero resonance that translated to a dead sound, warped or crooked necks, etc., etc. i'm talking real material problems, of which i've seen no shortage over the years. it's pretty much common knowledge that the instruments churned out back in the heyday/golden era of guitar design were wildly inconsistent, made not by luthiers, but mere factory workers. so i'm actually quite bitter over my experience with instruments, but, like the idiot romantic i am, keep wanting to go back to them, hoping "the one" is around the corner.

[mgeek]

I've bought nearly all of my vintage guitars sight unseen, and have been happy with nearly all of them as far as tone and playability goes. If there as been one that has been lacking, a good setup by a skilled luthier has almost always rectified the shortcomings.

"Trying before you buy" isn't always all that it is cracked up to be in terms of setups. I think many dealers miss out on a lot of sales simply because they do not have their guitars set up properly in store. When a buyer sits down to play it, and the action is high, intonation is off, the corrosion on the bridge is inhibiting sustain, etc, the guitar just doesn't sound as it should.

Cosine on all of this. I can't think of the last time I bought a guitar that I tried first. It arrives, you tinker with it if it needs so, and if it has the magic, keep it, and if not, sell it on for at least what you paid for it and try another.

My best guitar arrived with a ugly headstock repair, two open circuit pickups and desperately needing a fretjob

[Paul-T]

Personally, I've never bought a guitar without trying it. My first (actually, only) Jazzmaster, a 62, came a couple of hundred miles to me, a dealer sent over with a friend so I got to try before committing. I've had a few good guitars (63 XII, 64 Gretsch 6120, 64 Epiphone) from a local dealer but otherwise would get on a train for 200 miles in search of a good guitar. As well as Jazzmasters I love early Les Paul Jrs and Melody Makers. Some of them happen to be great. Others are awful.

At the most basic; my Jazzmaster played well, good sustain, all the qualities that made a good guitar. My friend's Jaguar at the time, poor tuning staibility, was never a good guitar. I would never play a lottery with an instrument I know I want to use.

On reflection I remember I bought a Hofner Club 50 without trying it, after finding it on a market stall. Restrung it, set it up, an absolutely terrible guitar. But as I paid a fraction of the market value, fine. It's up for sale on Charing Cross Road to raise renovation funds for my car. Similarly, it makes sense to buy on eBay without right of return if cheap.

But otherwise... no no no. It's like going on a blind date except you've committed to marry in advance. Buy online by all means, but from a dealer who offers right of return.

[i love sharin foo]

I can't think of the last time I bought a guitar that I tried first. It arrives, you tinker with it if it needs so, and if it has the magic, keep it, and if not, sell it on for at least what you paid for it and try another.

This right here is how it's been for me for the last 20 years at the least. There's no shortcut to a guitar that feels and sounds great to one individual in particular. IMO, you just have to jump in and pray for the best. Sometimes it works out, sometimes it doesn't.

[Pacafeliz]

I can't think of the last time I bought a guitar that I tried first. It arrives, you tinker with it if it needs so, and if it has the magic, keep it, and if not, sell it on for at least what you paid for it and try another.

This right here is how it's been for me for the last 20 years at the least. There's no shortcut to a guitar that feels and sounds great to one individual in particular. IMO, you just have to jump in and pray for the best. Sometimes it works out, sometimes it doesn't.

+1
...then, there's also those times that you get it home, fall in love with it... but after the honeymoon you just don't feel it any more. then sell it.
i mean, just always try to get a good price that you can get back without loss.
it's just the way it is.

unless, of course, it is a complete lemon. but with the amount you're spending, chances are big (should be?) you can return it...

good luck!

[Embenny]

Yeah, you're going to have to take the gamble of a catch-and-release. Sounds like you're really building up the expectations with the "GREAT, MAGICAL, INSPIRATIONAL" description you're looking for in a guitar you've never played.

I'm also Canadian, and I have only been able to buy two vintage Fenders in person that fit my requirements. The others were sales or trades on this forum.

Vintage Fenders are cool. They mostly sound great. Many play great. But, if you've never had a pre-CBS JM in your hands, how do you already know you want to use it for 50% of the tracks on your upcoming album? It might be an unpopular opinion with some here, but the studio is perhaps the environment to which a vintage JM is least suited; I have never met a noisier guitar. Sure, it's a great tone, but it takes more effort than any other Fender to get a track that isn't sullied by 60Hz hum.

Live, I find you can deal with hum in most venues, and whatever amount sneaks through generally goes unnoticed. But everything is laid bare in the studio.

As others have said, they're also quite variable in feel, tone, etc. I wouldn't kick any of them out of bed, but if you're looking for a soulmate, you're probably going to have to go on more than one first date.

[Fuzzbuzz]

Perhaps the cost of a round trip ticket and a hotel to L.A., NYC, Chicago, or even Nashville might have to be factored into your guitar cost. It sounds like you are pretty set on getting a guitar in your hands before you buy it, which I 100% understand. The only alternative would be finding a “Proxy” in a town with a decent selection of early 60’s Jazzmasters, and they report back to you what they have found that might meet your needs.

[canuck]

just curious, but those of you saying "most vintage fender's play and sound great"... how many have you actually played? because my experience has been the exact opposite. as mentioned in my above post, they wildly varied and weren't assembled by experienced luthiers. i've had several pre-cbs guitars from a '55 strat to a '65 jazzy and most everything in between and they were mostly shit. sorry to burst your guys bubble, but vintage doesn't definitively mean better... i prefer my $2k custom shop tele to any vintage piece i've had... and prefer most new fender's (be they, mim, mia, whatever) to most old ones. but i don't think most people would admit that given their investments and biases towards vintage. i understand vintage is infinitely cooler, but i'm not in this for bragging rights- i just need a great sounding and playing guitar. i'm almost certain this hunt will end up in disappointment again, but as i mentioned in my op, i'm a romantic who's willing to give this another go- and i want exactly what i want if i'm doing it and am ready to pay. if it doesn't work out, big deal... i'll just sell the thing... it's stupid to keep something around just because it's cool and vintage. vintage guitars suck. but i'm open to finding one that will change my mind. i mean, literally out of the hundreds i've played, no more than ten stood out, and only one was really great- a '61 335. the refin '60 jazzy i had was good, but nothing a modern one couldn't top. flame on.

[Mechanical Birds]

Perhaps the cost of a round trip ticket and a hotel to L.A., NYC, Chicago, or even Nashville might have to be factored into your guitar cost. It sounds like you are pretty set on getting a guitar in your hands before you buy it, which I 100% understand. The only alternative would be finding a “Proxy” in a town with a decent selection of early 60’s Jazzmasters, and they report back to you what they have found that might meet your needs.

Yeah I’d say you should just go to Norm’s or Dave’s or Wildwood or whatever and make a vacation out of it

[Jaguar018]

just curious, but those of you saying "most vintage fender's play and sound great"... how many have you actually played? because my experience has been the exact opposite. as mentioned in my above post, they wildly varied and weren't assembled by experienced luthiers. i've had several pre-cbs guitars from a '55 strat to a '65 jazzy and most everything in between and they were mostly shit. sorry to burst your guys bubble, but vintage doesn't definitively mean better... i prefer my $2k custom shop tele to any vintage piece i've had... and prefer most new fender's (be they, mim, mia, whatever) to most old ones. but i don't think most people would admit that given their investments and biases towards vintage. i understand vintage is infinitely cooler, but i'm not in this for bragging rights- i just need a great sounding and playing guitar. i'm almost certain this hunt will end up in disappointment again, but as i mentioned in my op, i'm a romantic who's willing to give this another go- and i want exactly what i want if i'm doing it and am ready to pay. if it doesn't work out, big deal... i'll just sell the thing... it's stupid to keep something around just because it's cool and vintage. vintage guitars suck. but i'm open to finding one that will change my mind. i mean, literally out of the hundreds i've played, no more than ten stood out, and only one was really great- a '61 335. the refin '60 jazzy i had was good, but nothing a modern one couldn't top. flame on.

So basically, you're looking for a unicorn. I am firmly in the 'vintage guitars are hit and miss' camp, and I don't really care about pre-CBS or vintage things any more or less than reissues... BUT.. I did play a unicorn once. A pre-CBS parts strat with all the cliches. It 'rang like a bell' and it was 'light as a feather.' It was pretty much the only time I've ever been 'blown away' by a vintage guitar.

Good luck.

[jebuscrebus]

just curious, but those of you saying "most vintage fender's play and sound great"... how many have you actually played? because my experience has been the exact opposite. as mentioned in my above post, they wildly varied and weren't assembled by experienced luthiers. i've had several pre-cbs guitars from a '55 strat to a '65 jazzy and most everything in between and they were mostly shit. sorry to burst your guys bubble, but vintage doesn't definitively mean better... i prefer my $2k custom shop tele to any vintage piece i've had... and prefer most new fender's (be they, mim, mia, whatever) to most old ones. but i don't think most people would admit that given their investments and biases towards vintage. i understand vintage is infinitely cooler, but i'm not in this for bragging rights- i just need a great sounding and playing guitar. i'm almost certain this hunt will end up in disappointment again, but as i mentioned in my op, i'm a romantic who's willing to give this another go- and i want exactly what i want if i'm doing it and am ready to pay. if it doesn't work out, big deal... i'll just sell the thing... it's stupid to keep something around just because it's cool and vintage. vintage guitars suck. but i'm open to finding one that will change my mind. i mean, literally out of the hundreds i've played, no more than ten stood out, and only one was really great- a '61 335. the refin '60 jazzy i had was good, but nothing a modern one couldn't top. flame on.

If this has been your experience and how you really feel about vintage maybe you should be looking at regular Production or a Custom Shop piece.