Incoming 1962 Jazzmaster but a lot of questions

[JVSeller]

Hi folks. Newish member. Posted previously about a 2007 thin skin American Vintage Jaguar I recently picked up and appreciated the replies mostly related to value in that the guitar and case/case candy etc are in mint condition.

But now things are getting serious. I just today bought a 1962 Jazzmaster at auction for 4K so with house fee, Tax (10.125 where I live ) and shipping I'm expecting to have the total be somewhere around $5800.00 Obviously this would be a real good deal for an all original 1962, like 10K less than market good deal. But of course there are always reasons for the old adage if it seems to good to believe it probably is. In this case it is the dreaded refinish.

However the listing claims "Fender Jazzmaster from 1962, original body, neck, pickups, hardware electronics and original guard. Refinished body and refinished headstock overlay. The sound and playability is amazing. There are some cracks in the lacquer, although never through the body, this is an absolute player for the age and status of the guitar! Condition: (Very Good)."

So all original right down to "paperwork" from the original purchase made it seem like a good deal even with the refinish. And it's drop dead gorgeous to boot so if the description is accurate it still seemed like a solid deal even with the refinish.

[JVSeller]

The guitar and case look to be in incredible condition assuming the all original is accurate. I mean it even has the bridge cover and the little metal cap thing in the top center of the bridge (sorry I don't know the name of that piece, but it seems like it's usually missing in the pics of vintage Jazzmasters I've seen.

[caples]

I saw that one, very cool. How was shipping? I'm always nervous about shipping from those places.

[Jonesie]

That looks awesome, reminds me of Mary Timony's.

[Marc]

Hi and welcome. It looks really good and considering the market values now I don't think you have paid too much.

[JVSeller]

So as you can see from the pictures, the guitar looks absolutely killer.

But here's where things get sketchy. I was reading the description after I had already placed my bid yesterday with my max bid being 4200 and I ended up getting it at 4000. But anyway this part of the description bothered me "There are some cracks in the lacquer, although never through the body"

I was like, what does that mean? I don't see any cracks and don't know how old this refinish is or if it is even lacquer. So I started looking up all the 62's I could find on the web and came across this long ago sold listing from what I believe is a British Shop called Max Guitars:

https://max.guitars/en-eu/fender-1962-v ... -arc-00032

I started reading about this 62 Jazzmaster and thought "damn, that sure sounds familiar" so I went back to the description of the guitar I had my pending bid in on, and I'll be damned if the auction description wasn't plagiarized word for word from this listing.

So obviously this makes the validity (and integrity) of the auction description be very suspect considering they didn't make any good faith effort to evaluate and describe the guitar but rather just stole the description of a completely different guitar. Of course this doesn't mean the description of the guitar being all original definitely not true, but it sure makes me leary of them.

[JSett]

Nice looking guitar. I'd say the price is about right for a refin. I've seen a few 61-63 JM's with refins sell for 4.5-6k online recently.

Hope it makes the journey safely and plays as good as it looks

[JVSeller]

Thanks for the replies guys and reassurance. Not sure on shipping yet, but I've bought guitars from these type auction houses before and it has usually run around 200. They have in-house shipping which usually saves you a few bucks but insurance might be pretty steep. But see my last post. These guys are at best lazy, but at worst unscrupulous. Do you see anything that would raise redflags in the pictures considering what I found related to the description being stolen word for word from a different guitar listing? Should I point this out to them and tell them I will only make payment if they can prove the description of all original other than the finish?

[Highnumbers]

You have nothing to worry about.

If the guitar in those pictures is what you bought, it's a great deal. There are more than $5K in visible parts just from these pictures, easily. (Not even remotely a suggestion to part it, just to help put things in context).

Nice score!

[JSett]

You have nothing to worry about.

If the guitar in those pictures is what you bought, it's a great deal. There are more than $5K in visible parts just from these pictures, easily. (Not even remotely a suggestion to part it, just to help put things in context).

Nice score!

I concur, it looks perfectly legit. That's also a fabulous tort on there too

[JVSeller]

You have nothing to worry about.

If the guitar in those pictures is what you bought, it's a great deal. There are more than $5K in visible parts just from these pictures, easily. (Not even remotely a suggestion to part it, just to help put things in context).

Nice score!

Thanks man, yeah, it sure looks beautiful. Okay, I can relax it seems. Probably they were more lazy than dishonest hopefully. Is there any way to estimate when the refinish was likely done?

[JSett]

Is there any way to estimate when the refinish was likely done?

Unless there is verifiable documentation, not really. Most guitars got a natural strip finish in the 70's though as it was the fashion of the time.
The good thing is you can now pretty much have it painted any colour you want (if you want, that is) and not really worry about affecting the value.

[JVG]

Looks nice. It will be fun to see if there are signs of its previous colour lurking under the guard.

Is it just the photo angle, or is the high E string really close to the fretboard edge?

[JSett]

Yeah, a good spot to look in is under the shielding tubs, depending how good a job was done stripping it.

[gishuk]

So as you can see from the pictures, the guitar looks absolutely killer.

But here's where things get sketchy. I was reading the description after I had already placed my bid yesterday with my max bid being 4200 and I ended up getting it at 4000. But anyway this part of the description bothered me "There are some cracks in the lacquer, although never through the body"

I was like, what does that mean? I don't see any cracks and don't know how old this refinish is or if it is even lacquer. So I started looking up all the 62's I could find on the web and came across this long ago sold listing from what I believe is a British Shop called Max Guitars:

https://max.guitars/en-eu/fender-1962-v ... -arc-00032

I started reading about this 62 Jazzmaster and thought "damn, that sure sounds familiar" so I went back to the description of the guitar I had my pending bid in on, and I'll be damned if the auction description wasn't plagiarized word for word from this listing.

So obviously this makes the validity (and integrity) of the auction description be very suspect considering they didn't make any good faith effort to evaluate and describe the guitar but rather just stole the description of a completely different guitar. Of course this doesn't mean the description of the guitar being all original definitely not true, but it sure makes me leary of them.

Small world, I bought that Jazzmaster in the link from Max Guitar.

The one you've bought looks great to me.