Please weigh in on this '63 Jazzmaster

[Double-0-Diablo]

Hello,

I am hoping to hear all opinions on the following vintage Jazzmaster:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... &rd=1&rd=1

Looks pretty good and legit to my novice eyes, but I'm by no means an expert.

As a surf music enthusiast, this rig is somewhat of the holy grail for me (a Showman would be way too big and loud for my situation). Now I need to find a matching Blonde Reverb Tank.

Please feel free to weigh in, good or bad. Maybe a tad overpriced, but I'm sure any price remorse will fade given another year or two.

[zhivago]

I think it looks amazing...but it is just overpriced...you'll probably be able to get the amp and guitar individualy for less.....I mean $6.5k?? - that's a lot of money!!


by the way, I play a '61 Jazzmaster through '65 Tremolux, and I gotta say the sound's pretty damn nice

[Gill]

Ditto!

Price wise, a bit high...however, like you said, it will be worth that much in a year, most likely!  Were you the winning bidder?

I play a '59 through a '66 Tremolux and the sound is wonderful.  The only thing that sounded better was when I played through a blonde...those amps are excellent, IMO!

Gill

[JazzBlaster]

blonde amps are my favorite, a JM through a blonde bassman is to die for! I wouldn't even look at that auction though, there is no way I can afford something like that.

[Naturality]

is it just me, or does the headstock on that look strange?

[fullerplast]

is it just me, or does the headstock on that look strange?

It's just you.  It looks  to me....

Nice Score, Diablo!

[mezcalhead]

It all looks OK in the pics.

The amp logo positions do seem to vary quite a bit from the factory, so I wouldn't worry as far as that goes.

I'm sure you'll get a good-looking and playing guitar and amp, and that's all I have to say about that really .. it isn't cheap, but if it's worth that to you then fine.

I have a blonde Tremolux head which I use with my JMs occasionally .. I'll probably use it more once I get around to finding it a cab. Sounds very nice.

I think you've done well!

[Double-0-Diablo]

Yeah, I was the winning bidder and am pretty excited.

I've been looking for a clean, original blonde piggyback for some time and figured now is as good as time as any to get a real, vintage pre-CBS Fender offset. The auction went about 1K higher than I thought it would, though - it looks like someone else bid up to my max at the end. But I figure about $4500 - 5K for the guitar and $1500 - $2K for the amp, which doesn't seem too far out of line to me.

I usually don't like the 3-tone sunburst - even on a Jag or a Strat, but for some reason it's always looked right to me on a Jazzmaster.

Naturality, is it the grain on the headstock that looks strange - or something more ominous?

[PorkyPrimeCut]

Congratulations Doulble-O-Diablo, you've just bought some fabulous gear!!!

I actually mentioned this auction in a thread a couple of days ago. Glad to here someone on the forum won it!! If I'd lived in the US I'd have gone up to the winning bid myself. Maybe higher. As you say, you picked a good time - give it 12 months & it's gonna be worth a whole lot more!!

Don't worry about the headstock, it looks fine. I've noticed that the positioning of the decal was a fairly random thing back then - being applied by hand. Maybe thats what Naturality was talking about??

I'm So fuckin' jealous of the case'n'stack you've got!!

[Double-0-Diablo]

Thanks for the comments. It's good to hear so many of you are getting good results using a Tremolux with a Jazzmaster.

I'll be picking up the set in person in about a week - I'm stoked! There goes my 401K contributions for the rest of the year.

But as I told my girlfriend, this will likely turn out to be a better investment - and in the meanwhile I'll be having FUN playing the gear!

[JazzBlaster]

nice! congrats on your retirement fund! I wonder if you can write that off on your taxes?

[Double-0-Diablo]

Hey, that's a good point - If I was gigging right now I think I could do a deduction.

Anyone want to start a surf band?!

[Gill]

Congrats!

You know, the only issue I see with that auction is that the amp is not a '63, it's a '64.  Either that or the knobs have been replaced...but, if it were a '63 it would have the white knobs on it...It looks to me like a transitional, aka, early-mid 1964 Tremolux...which is actually a blackface circuit in a blonde cab.  Value wise, not a big difference if any...but, tonally, it will be different from a '63.  It's essentially a BF Tremolux in a blonde Tremolux cab.

Actually, I'm positive that's a '64...an early '64, but it's an AA763 circuit, I'll bet you.

Gill

[Jay]

Awesome score Double-O.  Are you from the LA area?  I noticed you said you were picking it up and Tun-O (the seller) is in LA.

[i love sharin foo]

Both pieces look great to me. I also agree about it increasing in value fast enough that it won't matter at all in a year. Congratulations!

Justin