An Early Blond "Slab Board" Jazzmaster

This near mint Blond "slab board" Jazzmaster weighs just 8.10 lbs. and has a nut width of just under 1 9/16 inches and a scale length of 25 1/2 inches. Solid alder body, maple neck, and slab rosewood fretboard with 21 frets and inlaid clay dot position markers. Decal headstock logo with "Fender" in gold with black trim, "Jazzmaster" and "Offset Contour Body Pat. Pending" in black, and "With Synchronized Floating Tremolo" in black below. Single "butterfly" string tree. Individual Kluson Deluxe tuners with oval metal buttons. Two hot Jazzmaster pickups (large white rectangular six-polepiece pickups) with outputs of 7.44k and 8.00k. Four-layer (tortoiseshell/white/black/white) celluloid pickguard. Two controls (master volume, master tone) with white plastic knobs, plus three-way selector switch and jack socket on the treble side of the pickguard and two roller knobs (volume, tone) plus two-way slide switch on the bass side of the pickguard. Jazzmaster bridge and integrated tailpiece and tremolo. There are a few small marks on the back of the guitar, including two small filled screw holes where a former owner had apparently affixed the plastic cover that came with these guitars. A few small chips on the edges, some minor finish checking, and a few marks on the back of the neck. A wonderful and totally original example -- the best early "blonde" we've ever seen! The neck is dated "7-60." The pots are dated "137 9 50 and 304 60 42." Housed in its original Fender light brown Tolex case with brown leather ends and orange plush lining (8.50).

"The Jazzmaster first appeared in Fender sales material during 1958, and at some $50 more than the Strat it became the new top-of-the-line model...Immediately striking to the electric guitarist of 1958 was the Jazzmaster's unusual offset-waist body shape...For the first time on a Fender, the Jazzmaster featured a separate rosewood fingerboard glued to the customary maple neck...The Jazzmaster's floating vibrato system was new, too, and had a tricky 'lock-off' facility aimed at preventing tuning problems if a string should break. The controls were certainly elaborate for the time…A small slide-switch selected between two individual circuits, offering player-preset rhythm and lead sounds. The idea was a good one: the ability to set up a rhythm sound and a lead sound, and switch between them. But the system seemed over-complicated to players brought up on straightforward volume and tone controls. The sound of the Jazzmaster was richer and warmer than players were used to from Fender. The name Jazzmaster had not been chosen at random, for Fender was aiming this different tone at jazz players, who at the time largely preferred hollowbody electrics, and principally those by Gibson. However, jazz guitarists found little appeal in this new, rather difficult solidbody guitar -- and mainstream Fender players largely stayed with their Stratocasters and Telecasters" (Tony Bacon, 50 Years of Fender, p. 26). Much to Fender's surprise, however, the Jazzmaster turned into the best surf guitar ever conceived.