Restoring a '58 Jazzmaster

Bringing your older offset back to life.
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ryverb
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Restoring a '58 Jazzmaster

Post by ryverb » Mon Jan 30, 2017 12:24 pm

Hi All,

I recently acquired this stripped '58 Jazzmaster body with some original hardware (shielding tubs, pat pend vibrato, bridge thimbles). The body is in seemingly good condition, having been refinished in black many years ago and left in it's current stripped condition for decades. I was able to uncover the body date with very light wet sanding, 11/58! I was thinking about restoring the routes before sending off to Danocaster for a proper burst treatment. Has anyone ever had luck with this using light solvents? Is it worth it? Now that I've confirmed the body date I don't feel like it's really necessary but this would be my last chance before the new burst refin.

Anyways I'm committed to finding as many '58 -'59 correct components to restore this guitar to it's original specs, definitely need to find a proper era correct neck first and foremost! Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated! I'll keep this thread updated on the progress of this project.


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Last edited by ryverb on Mon Feb 27, 2017 11:03 am, edited 2 times in total.

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Jaguar018
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Re: Restoring a '58 Jazzmaster

Post by Jaguar018 » Tue Jan 31, 2017 5:31 am

ryverb wrote: definitely need to find a proper era correct neck first and foremost! Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!


My suggestion is to start saving up for the small fortune a vintage neck will cost you. :D

Cool guitar! Good luck!

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ryverb
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Re: Restoring a '58 Jazzmaster

Post by ryverb » Tue Jan 31, 2017 10:18 am

Jaguar018 wrote:
ryverb wrote: definitely need to find a proper era correct neck first and foremost! Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!


My suggestion is to start saving up for the small fortune a vintage neck will cost you.

Cool guitar! Good luck!



Oh thank you, yeah it'll be expensive for sure and probably take a while to find a proper match. I have a bit of waiting time though for the refin and not in a big rush, just excited for a cool project 8)

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mcjt
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Re: Restoring a '58 Jazzmaster

Post by mcjt » Tue Jan 31, 2017 11:24 am

wow! congrats! i don't see extra holes either. that's awesome!
This reminds me of my may 59 body. though it has lots of superficial scratching. and a couple of extra holes.

Image

i used Polystripper with a scouring pad to lift the left-over white poly.
You can see that i had good luck in the pickup routs.
You have to figure out if it's lacquer or poly to then decide on the chemical to lift it.

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Re: Restoring a '58 Jazzmaster

Post by PorkyPrimeCut » Tue Jan 31, 2017 12:21 pm

Brings back memories of my '59 restoration.

The guy who did the eventual refin left the pickup cavities alone (full of black polyurethane paint) so I've never actually seen the pencil date. The pot codes & other parts matched though, along with other tell-tale signs.

I spent a fair amount of money on a '59 neck & single-line Klusons but it was worth every penny. When I last looked the asking price for pre-CBS, clay dot & slab necks hadn't even risen that much so you may still be able to get one for under a grand.

Have fun with it!
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Re: Restoring a '58 Jazzmaster

Post by ryverb » Tue Jan 31, 2017 1:57 pm

PorkyPrimeCut wrote:Brings back memories of my '59 restoration.

The guy who did the eventual refin left the pickup cavities alone (full of black polyurethane paint) so I've never actually seen the pencil date. The pot codes & other parts matched though, along with other tell-tale signs.

I spent a fair amount of money on a '59 neck & single-line Klusons but it was worth every penny. When I last looked the asking price for pre-CBS, clay dot & slab necks hadn't even risen that much so you may still be able to get one for under a grand.

Have fun with it!
Oh very cool!! That's so great that you have the original pots, do you have OG pickguard too?

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Re: Restoring a '58 Jazzmaster

Post by ryverb » Tue Jan 31, 2017 1:59 pm

mcjt wrote:wow! congrats! i don't see extra holes either. that's awesome!
This reminds me of my may 59 body. though it has lots of superficial scratching. and a couple of extra holes.

Image

i used Polystripper with a scouring pad to lift the left-over white poly.
You can see that i had good luck in the pickup routs.
You have to figure out if it's lacquer or poly to then decide on the chemical to lift it.
This looks so killer, is this a project that you're still working on?

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Re: Restoring a '58 Jazzmaster

Post by PorkyPrimeCut » Tue Jan 31, 2017 3:43 pm

ryverb wrote:
PorkyPrimeCut wrote:Brings back memories of my '59 restoration.

The guy who did the eventual refin left the pickup cavities alone (full of black polyurethane paint) so I've never actually seen the pencil date. The pot codes & other parts matched though, along with other tell-tale signs.

I spent a fair amount of money on a '59 neck & single-line Klusons but it was worth every penny. When I last looked the asking price for pre-CBS, clay dot & slab necks hadn't even risen that much so you may still be able to get one for under a grand.

Have fun with it!
Oh very cool!! That's so great that you have the original pots, do you have OG pickguard too?
Nah, the tortoiseshell guard was long gone. I bought it originally with an old Squier Strat neck & black pickguard. I hunted around for an 11-hole tort guard in the end. A slightly different era to yours.
You think you can't, you wish you could, I know you can, I wish you would. Slip inside this house as you pass by.

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Re: Restoring a '58 Jazzmaster

Post by mcjt » Tue Jan 31, 2017 4:55 pm

good guess!
it's in a box with its brass shields and gold guard, waiting for a project. i tried to sell it for a very reasonable amount on osg and no-one bit!
ryverb wrote: This looks so killer, is this a project that you're still working on?

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Re: Restoring a '58 Jazzmaster

Post by ryverb » Thu Feb 02, 2017 8:10 am

mcjt wrote:good guess!
it's in a box with its brass shields and gold guard, waiting for a project. i tried to sell it for a very reasonable amount on osg and no-one bit!
ryverb wrote: This looks so killer, is this a project that you're still working on?
Amazing, well shoot! With the original gold guard? Drool...

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Re: Restoring a '58 Jazzmaster

Post by ryverb » Thu Feb 02, 2017 8:12 am

PorkyPrimeCut wrote:
ryverb wrote:
PorkyPrimeCut wrote:Brings back memories of my '59 restoration.

The guy who did the eventual refin left the pickup cavities alone (full of black polyurethane paint) so I've never actually seen the pencil date. The pot codes & other parts matched though, along with other tell-tale signs.

I spent a fair amount of money on a '59 neck & single-line Klusons but it was worth every penny. When I last looked the asking price for pre-CBS, clay dot & slab necks hadn't even risen that much so you may still be able to get one for under a grand.

Have fun with it!
Oh very cool!! That's so great that you have the original pots, do you have OG pickguard too?
Nah, the tortoiseshell guard was long gone. I bought it originally with an old Squier Strat neck & black pickguard. I hunted around for an 11-hole tort guard in the end. A slightly different era to yours.
Amazing that you found a '59 neck, gives me some hope!

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Re: Restoring a '58 Jazzmaster

Post by mcjt » Thu Feb 02, 2017 8:23 am

ryverb wrote:
mcjt wrote:good guess!
it's in a box with its brass shields and gold guard, waiting for a project. i tried to sell it for a very reasonable amount on osg and no-one bit!
ryverb wrote: This looks so killer, is this a project that you're still working on?
Amazing, well shoot! With the original gold guard? Drool...
Yeah, i have another 1959 vintage i can steal parts from
gold Scot guard, 59 pickups, 1960 harness, pat pend tailpiece and either a real 1959 neck or a brazilian RW neck from Warmoth (in photo)

Image

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Re: Restoring a '58 Jazzmaster

Post by ryverb » Thu Feb 02, 2017 9:16 am

Yeah, i have another 1959 vintage i can steal parts from
gold Scot guard, 59 pickups, 1960 harness, pat pend tailpiece and either a real 1959 neck or a brazilian RW neck from Warmoth (in photo)
Image
[/quote]

WOW! That's amazing, dream projects!

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Re: Restoring a '58 Jazzmaster

Post by mcjt » Thu Feb 02, 2017 12:52 pm

i know! i guess i'll keep it and paint it pink!

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Re: Restoring a '58 Jazzmaster

Post by drmw93 » Sat Feb 25, 2017 8:23 pm

checking in! any updates coming soon?

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