The Jazzmaster was introduced by Fender in 1958 in hopes of attracting jazz players.  This effort was largely unsuccessful, but this model instead became a favorite of the surf music scene and later by rock musicians as diverse as Elvis Costello, Johnny Marr, Jim Root, Nils Lofgren, John Frusciante and many others.  It is a model that is easily recognized by its offset waist body, large white rectangular pickups and unique floating tremolo.

Leo Fender gave this model unique pickups that may look like P-90’s but are designed differently. The pole pieces on the Jazzmaster pickups are magnets themselves and the coil is wound flat and wide in contrast to the tall coils found on other Fender models, giving the Jazzmaster a slightly warmer tone without loss of single coil clarity.  It also features unique wiring and higher output pots designed to allow the player to quickly switch between “rhythm” and “lead” modes.

Offered here is a superb example of a transition era mid-1965 Jazzmaster (serial number L99826) in particularly nice original condition. The neck dates to August of 1965 and the Stackpole pots date to April of 1965. It has lovely dark Brazilian rosewood fingerboard. It has just been given marvelous new vintage style Jescar frets so it plays great. It weighs just 7-3/4 pounds. The untouched original pickups remain strong sounding with outputs of 7.4 ohms at the bridge and 7.5 ohms at the neck.  Please check out the included sample for a taste of what these fine pickups sound like.

This guitar appears entirely original except for the new frets and remains in excellent condition for an instrument that is rapidly approaching 60 years of age. It shows only a few dings and light play wear as indicated in the included photos.  It comes in the original black tolex case along with a significant portion of the original accessories, including, the tremolo arm, bridge cover,  instruction manual, warranty card, bridge adjustment wrench and case key.

If you are looking for a great playing vintage Jazzmaster to add to your arsenal or a fine all original example for your collection, this is certainly a guitar worthy of your consideration.